One of the things that O. finds somewhat perplexing about me is the amount of time I spend with my extended family, and the eagerness that I have to just hang out with them. I was lucky enough to grow up with almost all of my aunts, uncles and cousins within an hour's drive, and we see each other often. One of the best examples of this is lunch.
For God only knows how many years, my aunts have gathered every Monday at noon for lunch. The roster changes based on availability, work schedules and who has retired recently, and every once in awhile there's an uncle or a cousin thrown in, but at twelve sharp every Monday, they can be found at one of these two restaurants.
I love lunch. When I was a kid, it made me feel grown up, and as an adult it makes me feel connected. One of the things I was most looking forward to this summer was getting to go to lunch. Sadly, this was my last week for awhile...my practicum must take priority. But while my body may be in Arlington for the next month, my heart will be at lunch.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
I feel like the biggest moron in the world. In preparation for having people over on Saturday, I decided that the couches looked kind of dingy, so I took the cushion covers off and took them to the dry cleaner. I was halfway home before I thought to look at the receipt.
$168.
Jesus. For that much I could have paid someone to come over and clean both couches.
$168.
Jesus. For that much I could have paid someone to come over and clean both couches.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Fandemonium.
When xkcd gets it right, they really get it right...
Last night, I was up until 2:30 a.m. seeking out any and all information on this story. Why?
Sigh.
It started with this book, which features a character called Keelin. That made me think of this actress, but I couldn't remember her name. So I trotted on over to imdb.com to find her. Well, it turns out that she guest starred on several episodes of Battlestar Galactica, so I surfed on over to the show's IMDB page, where I discovered a new feature called NewsDesk, which collates news stories about particular shows and people. Because one of the Battlestar Galactica actors has been very, very vocal on this story, there was a link to it.
So that explains how I heard about it in the first place. Why did I care about a sci-fi convention that I did not attend, did not desire to attend and had in fact never heard of before it imploded? Damned if I know.
Well, I sort of know. Situations like this piss me off--when someone has so clearly and blatantly done something wrong, I want justice whether or not I was the wronged party. It's kind of like how it's so satisfying to see the guy who was weaving in and out of traffic pulled over by the police--even if he didn't cut you off, he still deserves it.
Or maybe I just have anger issues. That could be it.
Last night, I was up until 2:30 a.m. seeking out any and all information on this story. Why?
Sigh.
It started with this book, which features a character called Keelin. That made me think of this actress, but I couldn't remember her name. So I trotted on over to imdb.com to find her. Well, it turns out that she guest starred on several episodes of Battlestar Galactica, so I surfed on over to the show's IMDB page, where I discovered a new feature called NewsDesk, which collates news stories about particular shows and people. Because one of the Battlestar Galactica actors has been very, very vocal on this story, there was a link to it.
So that explains how I heard about it in the first place. Why did I care about a sci-fi convention that I did not attend, did not desire to attend and had in fact never heard of before it imploded? Damned if I know.
Well, I sort of know. Situations like this piss me off--when someone has so clearly and blatantly done something wrong, I want justice whether or not I was the wronged party. It's kind of like how it's so satisfying to see the guy who was weaving in and out of traffic pulled over by the police--even if he didn't cut you off, he still deserves it.
Or maybe I just have anger issues. That could be it.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Meet me in St. Louis...
...well, maybe not. Not this version, anyway.
When I start reading a series, I usually use the devouring method. I read everything as quickly as possible and then wait impatiently for more. I worked my way through Janet Evanovich's entire Stephanie Plum series in two weeks*--that was eleven books at the time--and began haunting the library's New Arrivals section the day the next book came out.
Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series is different. Three years into reading them, I'm only on book eight. They're my guilty pleasure, my indulgence--but I can only read them when I'm in the right mood, and that mood only comes around three times a year or so. It's not that they're that good, because they're not. I mean, they're decent books, but Hamilton is a little bit of a hack, and Anita is a classic Mary Sue. No, I don't come for the writing, or for the characterization. I come for the sex. And there's plenty of that, even in the first several books where most of the main characters were celibate.
Actually, that's not even accurate. I come for the sexual tension and the supernatural aspects, although whichever critic at the New York Review of Science Fiction supplied the quote on the back of all of the books was clearly on drugs. R-rated Buffy my ass. The only thing the two have in common is the vampires. The writing on Buffy had subtlety. Hamilton prefers to hit you with an anvil.
As does Anita, actually. As a rule, I can't stand books with obnoxious main characters, and Anita is certainly that. But somehow it works, for now. I understand that the later books in the series are worse--like throw the book across the room worse. I've been told that at some point, Hamilton drops all pretense and begins shoehorning sex scenes in wherever she possibly can--there is a succubus subplot that seems to be universally reviled, but I haven't gotten there yet. They're not erotica, but I can't put my finger on why, exactly--perhaps they're not explicit enough?
But for now, for me, these books feel decadent. They're made to be read in the bathtub with a glass of wine and some sort of bath-related smelly thing. So that's where Blue Moon and I are headed right now.
* If you have not read these books, do it now. You'll die laughing.
When I start reading a series, I usually use the devouring method. I read everything as quickly as possible and then wait impatiently for more. I worked my way through Janet Evanovich's entire Stephanie Plum series in two weeks*--that was eleven books at the time--and began haunting the library's New Arrivals section the day the next book came out.
Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series is different. Three years into reading them, I'm only on book eight. They're my guilty pleasure, my indulgence--but I can only read them when I'm in the right mood, and that mood only comes around three times a year or so. It's not that they're that good, because they're not. I mean, they're decent books, but Hamilton is a little bit of a hack, and Anita is a classic Mary Sue. No, I don't come for the writing, or for the characterization. I come for the sex. And there's plenty of that, even in the first several books where most of the main characters were celibate.
Actually, that's not even accurate. I come for the sexual tension and the supernatural aspects, although whichever critic at the New York Review of Science Fiction supplied the quote on the back of all of the books was clearly on drugs. R-rated Buffy my ass. The only thing the two have in common is the vampires. The writing on Buffy had subtlety. Hamilton prefers to hit you with an anvil.
As does Anita, actually. As a rule, I can't stand books with obnoxious main characters, and Anita is certainly that. But somehow it works, for now. I understand that the later books in the series are worse--like throw the book across the room worse. I've been told that at some point, Hamilton drops all pretense and begins shoehorning sex scenes in wherever she possibly can--there is a succubus subplot that seems to be universally reviled, but I haven't gotten there yet. They're not erotica, but I can't put my finger on why, exactly--perhaps they're not explicit enough?
But for now, for me, these books feel decadent. They're made to be read in the bathtub with a glass of wine and some sort of bath-related smelly thing. So that's where Blue Moon and I are headed right now.
* If you have not read these books, do it now. You'll die laughing.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
2008: The Big List
Here we go again...Happy New Year, everyone.
Personal Care
1. Develop a skincare regimen
2. Wear a bikini
3. Learn how to apply makeup
4. Make a sincere effort to introduce more calm into my life
5. Walk a labyrinth
Environmental Goals
6. January - Use a reusable bag for all purchases
7. February - Stop drinking bottled water
8. March - Eat only organic meat
9. April - Take public transportation to work at least twice per week
10. May - Plant and harvest vegetables
11. June - Plant a tree
12. July - Develop a strategy for recycling more
13. August - Eat locally for one week
14. September - Buy as much as possible from farmers markets
15. October - Eliminate all single-serving food purchases
16. November - Use environmentally friendly cleaning products
17. December - Calculate my carbon footprint and develop a strategy for reducing it further
Career/Professional Development
18. Wake up at five a.m. on work days
19. Read one professional development book per month
20. Plan for the week each weekend
21. Do not leave work for the weekend with unshelved books
22. Complete my Masters degree as close to a 4.0 GPA as humanly possible
23. Attend ALA midwinter meeting
24. Attend ALA annual conference
25. Write three booktalks per week
Culture and Local Attractions
26. Go to the top of the Washington Monument
27. Take a tour of the White House
28. Tour the Holocaust Museum
29. Visit Haines Point before they move the statue
30. Visit Mount Vernon
31. Visit Harpers Ferry
32. Go to a movie at the AFI Silver Theatre
33. Take a duck tour
34. See the cherry blossoms in bloom
35. Attend an event at the Kennedy Center
36. Attend a formal gala
37. Go to a DC United game
38. Go to the National Arboretum
39. Try a new restaurant (January)
40. Try a new restaurant (February)
41. Try a new restaurant (March)
42. Try a new restaurant (April)
43. Try a new restaurant (May)
44. Try a new restaurant (June)
45. Try a new restaurant (July)
46. Try a new restaurant (August)
47. Try a new restaurant (September)
48. Try a new restaurant (October)
49. Try a new restaurant (November)
50. Try a new restaurant (December)
Health and Fitness
51. Do the Billy Goat Trail at least once
52. Go kayaking at least twice during the summer
53. Ride my bike twice a week during the months of May-September
54. Use the pool twice a week during the summer
55. Eat breakfast every morning
56. Drink 48 oz. of water every day
57. Take my lunch at least four days per week
58. Participate in the Patuxent River Rural Legacy Ride on June 7
59. Join Weight Watchers
60. Do yoga often enough for it to have a cumulative effect
61. Floss regularly enough that my dentist stops yelling at me
62. Ski at least once
63. Reduce my Diet Coke intake by half
64. Ride the Sligo Creek Trail
65. Learn to salsa
66. Play tennis three times
Household
67. Refinish coffee table
68. Refinish end tables
69. Cook at least once a week; actually use the cooking blog this time
70. Keep a clean house
71. Plant a flower garden
72. Tame the roses
73. Buy new curtains
74. Make sushi
75. Make salsa
76. Organize closets
Financial
77. Read Suze Orman's book and implement her strategies
78. Roll everything into AIG account
79. Do my taxes before March 1
80. Pay off two credit cards
81. Cut up all credit cards except one
82. Have $2000 in my savings account by the end of the year
83. Get a summer job that makes at least $300/week
84. Start a financial log
85. Beginning in April, put $50 away per month for holiday shopping
86. Do not eat out for one month. Each time I have the urge, put $5 into a "reward fund." At the end of the month, spend the money on whatever I want.
87. Write a will
88. Sell CDs
89. Get renters insurance
90. Sleep on any purchase over $20
91. Set up automatic deposits into my savings account
92. Begin making student loan payments no later than March
Travel
93. Take a vacation that requires a passport
94. Go camping
95. Go to the beach
96. Visit Rochester
97. Go away for the weekend by myself
98. Visit Chapel House at Colgate University
99. Visit the Thousand Islands
Reading
100. Read the entire Bible
101. Read a book on the beach
102. Read a book on the National Mall
103. Read all of my shelf-sitters
104. Keep up with my reading journal
Misc.
105. Work on a political campaign
106. Plot out a novel
107. Get my oil changed on time
108. Use my Palm Pilot to get organized, or develop another method
Personal Care
1. Develop a skincare regimen
2. Wear a bikini
3. Learn how to apply makeup
4. Make a sincere effort to introduce more calm into my life
5. Walk a labyrinth
Environmental Goals
6. January - Use a reusable bag for all purchases
7. February - Stop drinking bottled water
8. March - Eat only organic meat
9. April - Take public transportation to work at least twice per week
10. May - Plant and harvest vegetables
11. June - Plant a tree
12. July - Develop a strategy for recycling more
13. August - Eat locally for one week
14. September - Buy as much as possible from farmers markets
15. October - Eliminate all single-serving food purchases
16. November - Use environmentally friendly cleaning products
17. December - Calculate my carbon footprint and develop a strategy for reducing it further
Career/Professional Development
18. Wake up at five a.m. on work days
19. Read one professional development book per month
20. Plan for the week each weekend
21. Do not leave work for the weekend with unshelved books
22. Complete my Masters degree as close to a 4.0 GPA as humanly possible
23. Attend ALA midwinter meeting
24. Attend ALA annual conference
25. Write three booktalks per week
Culture and Local Attractions
26. Go to the top of the Washington Monument
27. Take a tour of the White House
28. Tour the Holocaust Museum
29. Visit Haines Point before they move the statue
30. Visit Mount Vernon
31. Visit Harpers Ferry
32. Go to a movie at the AFI Silver Theatre
33. Take a duck tour
34. See the cherry blossoms in bloom
35. Attend an event at the Kennedy Center
36. Attend a formal gala
37. Go to a DC United game
38. Go to the National Arboretum
39. Try a new restaurant (January)
40. Try a new restaurant (February)
41. Try a new restaurant (March)
42. Try a new restaurant (April)
43. Try a new restaurant (May)
44. Try a new restaurant (June)
45. Try a new restaurant (July)
46. Try a new restaurant (August)
47. Try a new restaurant (September)
48. Try a new restaurant (October)
49. Try a new restaurant (November)
50. Try a new restaurant (December)
Health and Fitness
51. Do the Billy Goat Trail at least once
52. Go kayaking at least twice during the summer
53. Ride my bike twice a week during the months of May-September
54. Use the pool twice a week during the summer
55. Eat breakfast every morning
56. Drink 48 oz. of water every day
57. Take my lunch at least four days per week
58. Participate in the Patuxent River Rural Legacy Ride on June 7
59. Join Weight Watchers
60. Do yoga often enough for it to have a cumulative effect
61. Floss regularly enough that my dentist stops yelling at me
62. Ski at least once
63. Reduce my Diet Coke intake by half
64. Ride the Sligo Creek Trail
65. Learn to salsa
66. Play tennis three times
Household
67. Refinish coffee table
68. Refinish end tables
69. Cook at least once a week; actually use the cooking blog this time
70. Keep a clean house
71. Plant a flower garden
72. Tame the roses
73. Buy new curtains
74. Make sushi
75. Make salsa
76. Organize closets
Financial
77. Read Suze Orman's book and implement her strategies
78. Roll everything into AIG account
79. Do my taxes before March 1
80. Pay off two credit cards
81. Cut up all credit cards except one
82. Have $2000 in my savings account by the end of the year
83. Get a summer job that makes at least $300/week
84. Start a financial log
85. Beginning in April, put $50 away per month for holiday shopping
86. Do not eat out for one month. Each time I have the urge, put $5 into a "reward fund." At the end of the month, spend the money on whatever I want.
87. Write a will
88. Sell CDs
89. Get renters insurance
90. Sleep on any purchase over $20
91. Set up automatic deposits into my savings account
92. Begin making student loan payments no later than March
Travel
93. Take a vacation that requires a passport
94. Go camping
95. Go to the beach
96. Visit Rochester
97. Go away for the weekend by myself
98. Visit Chapel House at Colgate University
99. Visit the Thousand Islands
Reading
100. Read the entire Bible
101. Read a book on the beach
102. Read a book on the National Mall
103. Read all of my shelf-sitters
104. Keep up with my reading journal
Misc.
105. Work on a political campaign
106. Plot out a novel
107. Get my oil changed on time
108. Use my Palm Pilot to get organized, or develop another method
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