The less said about the Steelers at the moment, the better. How they could do this to me when I'm marooned so deep in enemy territory? And alas, poor Skippy! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore us on his foot a thousand times, and now how abhorr'd in my imagination it is!
My gorge rises at it.
Then again, perhaps we knew him a little too well.
Otherwise... Thanksgiving is coming. There's positivity. It's a happy holiday, though now I'm one of those people who get to join the teeming masses that have to actually take off time and travel for the holiday. And travel on the busiest day of the year, no less. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm not sure how I feel about (dun dun dun) not really making anything for a holiday.
You see, not making anything is unfortunate because I recycled my beautiful decorative pumpkins into over 11 and a half cups of cooked mashed pumpkin. A standard 15oz can of pumpkin has about 1.75 cups. So... I have the equivalent of over 6.5 cans of pumpkin. Or had. Two cups were turned into a batch of ginger pumpkin muffins in a little recipe I concocted/ adapted. They seemed to be mostly well-received, though the amount of moisture in the fresh pumpkin threw off the water: oil ratio more than I thought (and I was trying to not use too much fat). So, lesson learned there. Otherwise they were fairly decent pumpkin-ginger-molasses things with streusel tops and rum drizzle. And one person said they looked like they came from Starbucks or something. I'm not too much of a snob that I won't take that as a compliment. But seriously, I'm going to wind up with a freezer full of pumpkin bread, aren't I?
Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
As a stereotypical government employee, I have Veterans day off. Actually, it's not completely inappropriate given the incredibly large-- about 25%-- portion of federal employees that are veterans. So, serious business first. From Breakfast of Champions:
Of course, the number of verified WWI vets still living has dwindled to three (four, if you count "era" vets) since BoC was published in '73. Vonnegut (a WWII veteran, lest we forget) himself has been gone for three and a half years.
In less SRS BZNS, I finally read the new issue of Bon Appetit and I have a confession to make. I really can't wait to actually host Thanksgiving. I mean, I know it would drive Le Père just fou (he prefers his Thanksgivings ubertraditional-- I've been banned from seasoning the stuffing in the past because I might put "weird shit" like rosemary in it... of course, then my mom turns around and puts it in when he's not looking). But seriously? It would be awesome. And I'd invite just about everyone that could possibly come, because I am incapable of cooking just a little for a holiday.
In even less SRS BZNS, how freaking bummed am I about Max Starks? I know that the core is getting older, but the injuries are just piling up. And I don't think the Pats are going to make the same mistakes they did last week against the Browns. This is going to be a rough week.
I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, and when Dwayne Hoover was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.
Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not.
So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things.
What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.
And all music is.
Of course, the number of verified WWI vets still living has dwindled to three (four, if you count "era" vets) since BoC was published in '73. Vonnegut (a WWII veteran, lest we forget) himself has been gone for three and a half years.
In less SRS BZNS, I finally read the new issue of Bon Appetit and I have a confession to make. I really can't wait to actually host Thanksgiving. I mean, I know it would drive Le Père just fou (he prefers his Thanksgivings ubertraditional-- I've been banned from seasoning the stuffing in the past because I might put "weird shit" like rosemary in it... of course, then my mom turns around and puts it in when he's not looking). But seriously? It would be awesome. And I'd invite just about everyone that could possibly come, because I am incapable of cooking just a little for a holiday.
In even less SRS BZNS, how freaking bummed am I about Max Starks? I know that the core is getting older, but the injuries are just piling up. And I don't think the Pats are going to make the same mistakes they did last week against the Browns. This is going to be a rough week.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
I'm chatty today. I guess I'm making up for those long bouts of silence-- plus, I haven't had my usual Sunday distraction of a Steelers game and/ or a several hour long drive. Tonight's game features the Cowboys and Packers-- really, as much as I'm enjoying watching the Cowboys implode, that sounds like a desperately boring match. At least Sherlock is on. I'm not sure which I like best-- Doctor Who with Ten, Doctor Who with Eleven, or Sherlock. Despite lacking Captain John Hotness, er, I mean Harkness, it helps to bridge the gap until BBCA starts running Who again around the holidays (as I assume they will-- I hope). And Moriarty totally reminded me of Simon Pegg in The Long Game. Or the Master. A little of both.
I got too late of a start yesterday to make it to Gunpowder Falls, so I spent some of yesterday at Soldier's Delight. While not encountering a single person on the utterly silent trails was creepy, it was eerily pretty with the rocky fields and stunted flora.
I got too late of a start yesterday to make it to Gunpowder Falls, so I spent some of yesterday at Soldier's Delight. While not encountering a single person on the utterly silent trails was creepy, it was eerily pretty with the rocky fields and stunted flora.
MNF means empty kinda Sundays
Though not without their own amusements and surprises. I mean, what the frick, Cleveland? 3-5, and two of those wins are against the Saints and Pats? Lions leading the Jets?
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A west country girl with a big fat cat that looks into her eyes of green
Today marks four months since I drove a jeep full of plants and two miserable cats down the long road to Baltimore. I think the cats have finally more or less recovered, though the plants have been less resilient. And me? Well... that's more complicated. I miss home. I was in one of the most amazing areas for over a decade. But I needed to move on, move away, get away from the ghosts of the past and the familiar places so patinated with memories as to be petrified. Most days I think I took the right job. I like being closer to the coast and New York and DC, but I'm not sure that Baltimore is the city for me. The jury's still out on that. But I can always move. In fact, I think I will in the not too terribly distant future.
I've now worn my wool coat and scraped frost-- actual frost-- from my windshield two mornings in a row. I also wore non-khaki type pants today for the first time since wearing a suit during orientation. Woe. I'm not quite ready for it to be winter just yet. Though the summer was long and painfully hot (literally when sitting on seats that have baked in 105 degree heat all day), I feel like I missed something. Perhaps because fall has felt so short. Labor day came, but it was marked only by the closing of the complex's pool and the appearance of children waiting for buses in the morning. It remained unseasonably warm-- to me, anyway. True, I was born & bred a northerner and all, but it's not THAT far south of the Mason-Dixon line here. And then a few short weeks, not even a full month, of what I consider fall, and then BAM! We're into winter now.
Granted, this would be the beginning of the rainy season back home. November means perpetually leaden skies spitting icy rain that soaks through your hair and coat. It means trudging from a too-cold office to a coffee shop or noodle place with windows heavy with condensation to a tiny apartment where the radiator clanks and hisses all night while sleet ticks against the window. It's a fantastically cold and lonely time of year, even if you're paired up. Pairing up this time of year is really a desperate charade with the end game of keeping warm. Oooh, listen to moody, cynical me.
Which is probably why I'm in a Nick Cave listening mood lately. And doing my best PJ Harvey. Come take him by his lily-white hands, come take him by his feet.
I've now worn my wool coat and scraped frost-- actual frost-- from my windshield two mornings in a row. I also wore non-khaki type pants today for the first time since wearing a suit during orientation. Woe. I'm not quite ready for it to be winter just yet. Though the summer was long and painfully hot (literally when sitting on seats that have baked in 105 degree heat all day), I feel like I missed something. Perhaps because fall has felt so short. Labor day came, but it was marked only by the closing of the complex's pool and the appearance of children waiting for buses in the morning. It remained unseasonably warm-- to me, anyway. True, I was born & bred a northerner and all, but it's not THAT far south of the Mason-Dixon line here. And then a few short weeks, not even a full month, of what I consider fall, and then BAM! We're into winter now.
Granted, this would be the beginning of the rainy season back home. November means perpetually leaden skies spitting icy rain that soaks through your hair and coat. It means trudging from a too-cold office to a coffee shop or noodle place with windows heavy with condensation to a tiny apartment where the radiator clanks and hisses all night while sleet ticks against the window. It's a fantastically cold and lonely time of year, even if you're paired up. Pairing up this time of year is really a desperate charade with the end game of keeping warm. Oooh, listen to moody, cynical me.
Which is probably why I'm in a Nick Cave listening mood lately. And doing my best PJ Harvey. Come take him by his lily-white hands, come take him by his feet.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
happy halloween
Let's start this off with Tim Curry. I can't tell you how many times I remember watching The Worst Witch before trick-or-treating-- and this part in particular has aged past Velveeta to, I don't know, port wine cheese spread ball.
Of course, any instance of Tim Curry singing will always be compared to...
Of course, Rocky Horror means it's time to do the Time Warp again. It's just a jump to the left.
And a trip back in time means the Misfits
Though this little pieces of REM nostalgia has been flitting around as well
I love Halloween. Not only does it happen during my favorite season, it's pretty much whatever you want it to be. Drunken revelry or sweet nostalgia fest, huge celebration or a quiet night with some quality scary movies-- it's all good, and who could find fault with that? Other than your no-fun fundies, anyway. I was Medusa this year (post-modern, anyway)--
Isn't that some scary shit right there? In a world where virtually all costumes for women are sexy/ slutty/ whorey something-or-other, I went to the classical version of the extreme opposite. Come on, it takes balls to choose something that basically says you're fugly and you don't care. Not that you'd really know-- you should be made of stone now. I'm glad I spent some quality time with some of my favorite people back in Pixburgh. My frustrating trip up (a wreck shut down the Turnpike and cost me an hour and a half delay) was countered by a beautiful and mercifully non-dramatic drive back. I obtained Pocky, popcorn, and pomegranates. I drove through a cloudy morning on an empty Parkway West and East while listening to the Ramones. And I was greeted by two very lonely cats at home. Hopefully it'll be enough to see me through the coming week-- it's looking a little rough at the moment.
Of course, any instance of Tim Curry singing will always be compared to...
Of course, Rocky Horror means it's time to do the Time Warp again. It's just a jump to the left.
And a trip back in time means the Misfits
Though this little pieces of REM nostalgia has been flitting around as well
I love Halloween. Not only does it happen during my favorite season, it's pretty much whatever you want it to be. Drunken revelry or sweet nostalgia fest, huge celebration or a quiet night with some quality scary movies-- it's all good, and who could find fault with that? Other than your no-fun fundies, anyway. I was Medusa this year (post-modern, anyway)--
Isn't that some scary shit right there? In a world where virtually all costumes for women are sexy/ slutty/ whorey something-or-other, I went to the classical version of the extreme opposite. Come on, it takes balls to choose something that basically says you're fugly and you don't care. Not that you'd really know-- you should be made of stone now. I'm glad I spent some quality time with some of my favorite people back in Pixburgh. My frustrating trip up (a wreck shut down the Turnpike and cost me an hour and a half delay) was countered by a beautiful and mercifully non-dramatic drive back. I obtained Pocky, popcorn, and pomegranates. I drove through a cloudy morning on an empty Parkway West and East while listening to the Ramones. And I was greeted by two very lonely cats at home. Hopefully it'll be enough to see me through the coming week-- it's looking a little rough at the moment.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Bored now.
Clearly it is fall despite being unseasonably warm (in my area at work, anyway). All I want to do is cook and knit and/ or crochet and do other nest-y kinds of things. And watch copious amounts of football until I'm drunk on it. The Steelers are keeping ahead of Baltimore, though we lost Aaron Smith AGAIN?! Argh. The Ravens fans were oddly quiet today, as though they realized that they BARELY beat the Bills and that they had a few calls go their way. Oh, who am I kidding-- strike that last. This is Baltimore, where the persecution complex runs as deep. And can I just say how absofrickinglutely hilarious the Cowboys meltdown has been? I savor their yummy, yummy tears like a delicious small batch bourbon.
Also, I am ridiculously excited about this coming weekend and seeing Pittsburgh peoples. Even though I may experience massive costume FAIL, it's still nice to be around familiar faces in familiar environs.
Anyhoo, I'm killing time while waiting for Halloween treats to finish in the oven, so here's one of the many memes/ notes to which I owe a response.
Getting to know you...
You've been tagged, you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging other victims. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you - but not in a creepy stalker kind of way.
1. What time did you get up this morning?
First alarm at 5:30, in the shower by 5:55.
2. How do you like your steak?
Medium rare
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Inception. I haven't had time for movies since moving.
4. What is your favorite TV show?
Doctor Who, Bones, Dirty Jobs, The Good Wife, Burn Notice
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I'd have multiple houses, because I can't decide.
6. What did you have for breakfast?
Yogurt, granola, & tea
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Spicy
8. What foods do you dislike?
Absolutely wouldn't eat? Mushrooms. And seafood gives me hives.
9. Favorite place to eat?
I miss quite a few places back home.
10. Favorite dressing?
Balsamic vinaigrette or a rustic Italian-ish vinaigrette
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Jeepers
12. What are your favorite clothes?
jeans and a teeshirt/ sweater
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Just about everywhere
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
Depends on what I'm drinking
15. Where would you want to retire?
A small farm-ish kind of place with a huge garden, greenhouse, a few fleece livestock. Or a place on the water, so I can finally have my sailboat.
16. Favorite time of the day?
I'm an afternoon kind of person, if we're not assigning any particular place or company
17. Where were you born?
Pittsburgh, PA-- in Oakland, natch.
18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
NFL football, hockey, Olympic events
22. Bird watcher?
Look at the birdie /Vonnegutted!
23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Certainly not morning. Never.
24. Do you have any pets?
Two cats here, one with my parents'
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I have a multitude of burns on my fingertips from making Halloween treats. 300 degree sugar syrup will do that.
26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Teacher, scientist, writer, librarian, pilot, engineer
27. What is your best childhood memory?
Holidays, especially Christmas
28. Are you a cat or dog person?
I like both, but prefer cats when pushed
30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yes, it keeps my pants up and shirt down.
31. Been in a car accident?
Minor
32. Any pet peeves?
Just a few... dozen.
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
Spinach & feta or the classic sausage/onion/green pepper three-fer
34. Favorite Flower?
To see: orchids, daisies, sunflowers
To smell: gardenia, citrus blossom, sweat peas, jasmine, lilac, old roses...
35. Favorite ice cream?
ginger or vanilla
36. Favorite fast food restaurant ?
In-and-Out. We definitely need them on the east coast.
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Third time's the charm, though the administrator scared the piss out of me the first time by blowing my horn at the person parallel parking ahead of me.
38. From whom did you get your last email?
A work contact
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
B&N or Ikea
40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Inquired about part-time doctoral programs
41. Like your job?
Absolutely
42. Broccoli?
Just not raw
43. What was your favorite vacation?
Too hard to pick one
44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
A coworker
45. What are you listening to right now?
Monday Night Football (and loving it!)
46. What is your favorite color?
Green
47. How many tattoos do you have?
One.
50. Coffee Drinker?
Tea. Hot cinnamon spice, black ginger, chai, or Earl Grey.
Also, I am ridiculously excited about this coming weekend and seeing Pittsburgh peoples. Even though I may experience massive costume FAIL, it's still nice to be around familiar faces in familiar environs.
Anyhoo, I'm killing time while waiting for Halloween treats to finish in the oven, so here's one of the many memes/ notes to which I owe a response.
Getting to know you...
You've been tagged, you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging other victims. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you - but not in a creepy stalker kind of way.
1. What time did you get up this morning?
First alarm at 5:30, in the shower by 5:55.
2. How do you like your steak?
Medium rare
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Inception. I haven't had time for movies since moving.
4. What is your favorite TV show?
Doctor Who, Bones, Dirty Jobs, The Good Wife, Burn Notice
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I'd have multiple houses, because I can't decide.
6. What did you have for breakfast?
Yogurt, granola, & tea
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Spicy
8. What foods do you dislike?
Absolutely wouldn't eat? Mushrooms. And seafood gives me hives.
9. Favorite place to eat?
I miss quite a few places back home.
10. Favorite dressing?
Balsamic vinaigrette or a rustic Italian-ish vinaigrette
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Jeepers
12. What are your favorite clothes?
jeans and a teeshirt/ sweater
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Just about everywhere
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
Depends on what I'm drinking
15. Where would you want to retire?
A small farm-ish kind of place with a huge garden, greenhouse, a few fleece livestock. Or a place on the water, so I can finally have my sailboat.
16. Favorite time of the day?
I'm an afternoon kind of person, if we're not assigning any particular place or company
17. Where were you born?
Pittsburgh, PA-- in Oakland, natch.
18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
NFL football, hockey, Olympic events
22. Bird watcher?
Look at the birdie /Vonnegutted!
23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Certainly not morning. Never.
24. Do you have any pets?
Two cats here, one with my parents'
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I have a multitude of burns on my fingertips from making Halloween treats. 300 degree sugar syrup will do that.
26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Teacher, scientist, writer, librarian, pilot, engineer
27. What is your best childhood memory?
Holidays, especially Christmas
28. Are you a cat or dog person?
I like both, but prefer cats when pushed
30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yes, it keeps my pants up and shirt down.
31. Been in a car accident?
Minor
32. Any pet peeves?
Just a few... dozen.
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
Spinach & feta or the classic sausage/onion/green pepper three-fer
34. Favorite Flower?
To see: orchids, daisies, sunflowers
To smell: gardenia, citrus blossom, sweat peas, jasmine, lilac, old roses...
35. Favorite ice cream?
ginger or vanilla
36. Favorite fast food restaurant ?
In-and-Out. We definitely need them on the east coast.
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Third time's the charm, though the administrator scared the piss out of me the first time by blowing my horn at the person parallel parking ahead of me.
38. From whom did you get your last email?
A work contact
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
B&N or Ikea
40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Inquired about part-time doctoral programs
41. Like your job?
Absolutely
42. Broccoli?
Just not raw
43. What was your favorite vacation?
Too hard to pick one
44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
A coworker
45. What are you listening to right now?
Monday Night Football (and loving it!)
46. What is your favorite color?
Green
47. How many tattoos do you have?
One.
50. Coffee Drinker?
Tea. Hot cinnamon spice, black ginger, chai, or Earl Grey.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
They're coming to get you, Barbra
Another Thursday and I'm finally posting again. Part of the reason for light posting is because work (and life) were quiet-ish for a while and have, well, stopped being quiet now. More to be done, less time to write. Or, more precisely, to write for myself and not for work. Never underestimate the value of being at least semi-competent at writing, kiddos-- shockingly few professionals are. Another reason for light posting is that I'm still deciding what details I'm comfortable releasing into the wild of the internets. Discretion, valor, better part of, and all that make for a limiting blogging experience.
So, what can I talk about? Well, today was yet another Welcome To The World Of The Federal Employee kind of day, when I found myself incredibly irritated with tourons in DC. I had to go down for training at an agency that, like so many agencies, is fairly close to the mall and monuments. I may not live or work there-- and indeed, I am usually one of those visitors I'm demonizing-- but god DAMN people, some of us have to get TO WORK. So MOVE your ass and stop blocking sidewalks and stop stopping short to take pictures.
It was a new thought, an alien thought that found purchase as I go from one of them to one of another set of them. And the federal employee boots got broken in just a little more.
At any rate, I'm relaxing after an 11 hour workday (where my coworker sincerely offered a hug because it was just that frazzling) with CodependentKitty, a delicious beverage, and what's this? Night of the Living Dead on cable? Perfect. "Yeah, they're dead. They're... all messed up." If for nothing else, I love Halloween for all of the classic horror films. I really wish I had The Shining on hand-- the theme song was on the shuttle driver's playlist as he drove us into DC, giving me an absolute fit of giggles. Too bad my popcorn-making pot is dirty, else my night would be complete. I'll settle for finishing this post & making it look a little more seasonally appropriate around these parts.
So, what can I talk about? Well, today was yet another Welcome To The World Of The Federal Employee kind of day, when I found myself incredibly irritated with tourons in DC. I had to go down for training at an agency that, like so many agencies, is fairly close to the mall and monuments. I may not live or work there-- and indeed, I am usually one of those visitors I'm demonizing-- but god DAMN people, some of us have to get TO WORK. So MOVE your ass and stop blocking sidewalks and stop stopping short to take pictures.
It was a new thought, an alien thought that found purchase as I go from one of them to one of another set of them. And the federal employee boots got broken in just a little more.
At any rate, I'm relaxing after an 11 hour workday (where my coworker sincerely offered a hug because it was just that frazzling) with CodependentKitty, a delicious beverage, and what's this? Night of the Living Dead on cable? Perfect. "Yeah, they're dead. They're... all messed up." If for nothing else, I love Halloween for all of the classic horror films. I really wish I had The Shining on hand-- the theme song was on the shuttle driver's playlist as he drove us into DC, giving me an absolute fit of giggles. Too bad my popcorn-making pot is dirty, else my night would be complete. I'll settle for finishing this post & making it look a little more seasonally appropriate around these parts.
Monday, October 11, 2010
insert clever title here
Because I am a (allegedly) lazy ass federal employee sucking at the teat of the taxpayer-- though I am most assuredly also a taxpayer, so I'm still trying to figure that out-- I'm home today. Though I have a lot of things to do, and I'm severely sleep deprived. So whilst I await my laundry-- and I assure you, it's not nearly all of the laundry I have to do, just the laundry that I needed to get done so that I don't have to rewear more clothes-- I finally downloaded pictures from my camera so I can start posting to Flickr again. I mean, I paid for the Pro status so I'd better use it.
The problem with slightly older pictures for someone in my position (that is, a recent transplant) is that they make you homesick. I saw a very large (Orthodox) Jewish extended family in Target yesterday-- and was immediately pierced with longing for my crappy but homey apartment and all of Squirrel Hill. All of the east end. I miss the 61C (the cafe, but I kind of miss the bus too now that I don't use public transportation daily) and having that kind of cozy hangout open until late. I miss stir fry with rice cakes from Rose Tea and dropping by the Sq. Hill CLP branch. I miss happy hours at Kelly's and Big Azz margaritas from Mad Mex, and not being surrounded by tacky purple.
The problem with slightly older pictures for someone in my position (that is, a recent transplant) is that they make you homesick. I saw a very large (Orthodox) Jewish extended family in Target yesterday-- and was immediately pierced with longing for my crappy but homey apartment and all of Squirrel Hill. All of the east end. I miss the 61C (the cafe, but I kind of miss the bus too now that I don't use public transportation daily) and having that kind of cozy hangout open until late. I miss stir fry with rice cakes from Rose Tea and dropping by the Sq. Hill CLP branch. I miss happy hours at Kelly's and Big Azz margaritas from Mad Mex, and not being surrounded by tacky purple.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Columbian adventures (where Columbian refers to, you know, Columbus day weekend)
Mission accomplished. Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917 viewed before it closes tomorrow. Very good stuff, though it was insanely crowded even with timed tickets. I'm not going to say that I didn't consider shoulder checking a truly obnoxious woman that would push herself in front of everyone else at every single work or sign. Very poor museum manners. Of course, the people-watching in New York is unmatched and the people-watching at any art museum or gallery is always fun, so the two together? Perfect. Especially the over-the-top outfits some people wear to somehow demonstrate that they are Artistic and totally Get It more than you. One (caucasian) woman wore a jacket tailored like a man's kimono jacket, but with long open detached sleeves like on a woman's kimono. It was in the 70s, sunny and warm yesterday, but another woman wore a knee-length Cowichan-esque sweater. Very strange.
But, anyway, exhibit and MOMA visited. Street vendors haggled. Battery Park visited and Statue of Liberty viewed. Pearl River visited and unique lanterns acquired for my lair (and Pocky for my desk restocked). Cabs ridden. Dinner & mini cannoli consumed in Little Italy. Not bad for a little under 11 hours. Though I am seriously tired.
On the plus side, being a (as reputation has it) lazy ass Federal employee, I do have Monday off. I have chores to run, but I'm also embarking on my first real culinary adventure since moving: making fresh plum pierogies. While I'm fine with savory pierogies, and with lekvar, filling with fresh fruit's going to be an interesting challenge. But I have a little over two pounds of fresh prune plums in the fridge, so I'm committed at this point. So here we go..
But, anyway, exhibit and MOMA visited. Street vendors haggled. Battery Park visited and Statue of Liberty viewed. Pearl River visited and unique lanterns acquired for my lair (and Pocky for my desk restocked). Cabs ridden. Dinner & mini cannoli consumed in Little Italy. Not bad for a little under 11 hours. Though I am seriously tired.
On the plus side, being a (as reputation has it) lazy ass Federal employee, I do have Monday off. I have chores to run, but I'm also embarking on my first real culinary adventure since moving: making fresh plum pierogies. While I'm fine with savory pierogies, and with lekvar, filling with fresh fruit's going to be an interesting challenge. But I have a little over two pounds of fresh prune plums in the fridge, so I'm committed at this point. So here we go..
Saturday, October 2, 2010
We can't stop here. This is bat country.
Hunter S. Thompson made my little whiteboard this week at work. The resultant conversations made me nostalgic for undergrad days.
I turned my heat on. It was either that or I learn how to function with two cats permanently attached to my lap. I daresay fall is definitely here.
At some point, I'll get around to looking over my pictures from the Banks and post them to Flickr. It was a depressingly awful trip-- sick, almost non-stop rain, speeding ticket of questionable fairness, and cutting my part even shorter so I could skedaddle before the briefly nameable tropical system made the drive back to Baltimore even more fun. No sailing. I didn't make it to see all of the lighthouses. My swimsuit went unworn. Pretty pathetic. At least NuJeep got to ride the ferry and go on the beach. Talk about putting it through its paces.
I think the only drivers scarier than Maryland drivers are Virginia drivers. Seriously. I was on 64 between Hampton & Richmond in a driving rain, water ponding across the road, visibility down to 25 yards... and for about five miles, I had a tiny silver-grey car tailgating me. With no headlights on, for extra invisibility. Really freaking unnerving.
At any rate, let's focus on the positive. One week from today I'll be in NY, dragging my momma to MOMA to see Mats. Yay! I do so like New York, like any good East Coaster that doesn't actually live there. Not in the possessive kind of way that people who live in the New Jersey or Connecticut or Long Island exurbs do, but in the respectful, what an amazing city kind of way. Even though I'd still rather live in Pittsburgh over Manhattan. And now I'm only three hours away and a Megabus ride away. Speaking of which, I should probably finish going through my pictures from May...
I turned my heat on. It was either that or I learn how to function with two cats permanently attached to my lap. I daresay fall is definitely here.
At some point, I'll get around to looking over my pictures from the Banks and post them to Flickr. It was a depressingly awful trip-- sick, almost non-stop rain, speeding ticket of questionable fairness, and cutting my part even shorter so I could skedaddle before the briefly nameable tropical system made the drive back to Baltimore even more fun. No sailing. I didn't make it to see all of the lighthouses. My swimsuit went unworn. Pretty pathetic. At least NuJeep got to ride the ferry and go on the beach. Talk about putting it through its paces.
I think the only drivers scarier than Maryland drivers are Virginia drivers. Seriously. I was on 64 between Hampton & Richmond in a driving rain, water ponding across the road, visibility down to 25 yards... and for about five miles, I had a tiny silver-grey car tailgating me. With no headlights on, for extra invisibility. Really freaking unnerving.
At any rate, let's focus on the positive. One week from today I'll be in NY, dragging my momma to MOMA to see Mats. Yay! I do so like New York, like any good East Coaster that doesn't actually live there. Not in the possessive kind of way that people who live in the New Jersey or Connecticut or Long Island exurbs do, but in the respectful, what an amazing city kind of way. Even though I'd still rather live in Pittsburgh over Manhattan. And now I'm only three hours away and a Megabus ride away. Speaking of which, I should probably finish going through my pictures from May...
Sunday, September 19, 2010
If you ain't a Steelers fan, you ain't...
I found a Steelers bar. It's an, er, unusual gathering place-- a budget hotel bar. I suppose that it's easier that way. No "regular" clientèle that might be offended by the notion of STEELERS FANS? IN MY BAR? (complete the meme: it's more common than you think!). And the bar is happy to take money they probably wouldn't be taking in otherwise. So I watched the game with about 200 of my new best friends. We had the Steelers Polka. There were Terrible Towels. Easily 85% of the people wore jerseys. We didn't have any of the fine products brewed by Penn Brewery (truly Pittsburgh beer!), but there was Yuengling (an adequate substitute). There were no seats if you arrived after 11. Best of all, there was a Steelers win despite playing the dreaded OldOilers and being 5.5 point underdogs and all of the injuries in the game.
Which is good. I needed a good Sunday, because I know this week is going to be a challenge. My consolation is that next week at this time I'll be down the Banks.
Which is good. I needed a good Sunday, because I know this week is going to be a challenge. My consolation is that next week at this time I'll be down the Banks.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
God, what a godawful week.
And there's nothing like coming home from said godawful week, looking forward to the blissful feeling of just not. thinking. about. anything. for a few hours to find a past-due notice for a parking ticket I never received. I mean, I was where I was alleged to be, but this ticket that I allegedly received? Most certainly was not there. I know this for a fact because I did receive another parking ticket that day, which was paid, and for which I also received a past-due notice (though it has been paid in the parking awful-thority database). This appears to be a duplicate-- same violation, fine, issued within a minute of the one I paid, and a sequential ticket number with the one I paid. Hopefully I can resolve this without having to take a day off, driving four and a half hours back to Pgh, and everything that appealing a ticket usually entails. But let's be realistic. The parking awful-thority is nobody's friend, and certainly not reasonable.
Very frustrating.
Somewhat less frustrating was renewing my Flickr Pro account. Just in time for vacation. My mini-cation. The quality of my pictures has declined so much over the course of my Flickr account ownership, which is really depressing. I guess that's what happens when your camera wears out. Mine is a five year old basic point & shoot, so I think I really can't put it off any longer.
This week's Steelers game won't be shown in Baltimore, which means I need to find a safe haven to see it. Unfortunately, identifying an actual safe haven is challenging when all there is to go on is a five year old list that links to places that are out of business and defunct fan club pages.
Bleh. So much bleh lately. I think I need to go torture the cats with catnip and laser pointers to make myself feel better.
And there's nothing like coming home from said godawful week, looking forward to the blissful feeling of just not. thinking. about. anything. for a few hours to find a past-due notice for a parking ticket I never received. I mean, I was where I was alleged to be, but this ticket that I allegedly received? Most certainly was not there. I know this for a fact because I did receive another parking ticket that day, which was paid, and for which I also received a past-due notice (though it has been paid in the parking awful-thority database). This appears to be a duplicate-- same violation, fine, issued within a minute of the one I paid, and a sequential ticket number with the one I paid. Hopefully I can resolve this without having to take a day off, driving four and a half hours back to Pgh, and everything that appealing a ticket usually entails. But let's be realistic. The parking awful-thority is nobody's friend, and certainly not reasonable.
Very frustrating.
Somewhat less frustrating was renewing my Flickr Pro account. Just in time for vacation. My mini-cation. The quality of my pictures has declined so much over the course of my Flickr account ownership, which is really depressing. I guess that's what happens when your camera wears out. Mine is a five year old basic point & shoot, so I think I really can't put it off any longer.
This week's Steelers game won't be shown in Baltimore, which means I need to find a safe haven to see it. Unfortunately, identifying an actual safe haven is challenging when all there is to go on is a five year old list that links to places that are out of business and defunct fan club pages.
Bleh. So much bleh lately. I think I need to go torture the cats with catnip and laser pointers to make myself feel better.
Monday, September 13, 2010
falling...
It's been a strange week. Summer is definitely over. Trust me. It may climb back into the 80s, but once you ascertain that the heater works in your new vehicle out of actual need for heat and not out of test driving need, you can't take it back. On the plus side, I didn't have to buy a new tire for said new vehicle this week. On the down side, there is a non-zero chance that someone may be messing with my tires because I'm in Ravens territory. That... blows, quite frankly. Something to keep an eye on, I suppose.
In the meantime, I'm doing a massive amount of training at work, breaking in a gift from an overgenerous benefactor, and getting ready for an actual vacation. Well, an abbreviated vacation. Down the Banks. Here I come. Think about them every time I'm on the water. Why yes, I may have looked at navigation charts and wondered how one would traverse the Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal on windpower alone. Daydreams are fun.
I spent so much time getting my tire looked at on Saturday that I missed my sailing class. Sunday, it was 65 and raining. The bay was downright toasty compared to the boat, and I got truly seasick for the first time in my life. How embarrassing. On the plus side, I still got my little red book (like a small craft sailing cert). And because the wind gusted to 20-22 knots during some of our classes, we got a big and small air signoff. Rock on. Though I still would rather another course before I would trust myself to spend much time on the water without an instructor. Sailors are that special kind of outdoor sports crazy that I've observed among serious cavers and climbers. I wonder how well my garden-variety eccentricity would mesh. I'm not a racer, definitely more of a cruiser. I think I need to find a sugar daddy down here with a nice sloop or cutter or ketch to try out. You know, so I can decide what kind I'm going to buy. Eventually. After a little place on the water. Priorities, people.
In the meantime, I'm doing a massive amount of training at work, breaking in a gift from an overgenerous benefactor, and getting ready for an actual vacation. Well, an abbreviated vacation. Down the Banks. Here I come. Think about them every time I'm on the water. Why yes, I may have looked at navigation charts and wondered how one would traverse the Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal on windpower alone. Daydreams are fun.
I spent so much time getting my tire looked at on Saturday that I missed my sailing class. Sunday, it was 65 and raining. The bay was downright toasty compared to the boat, and I got truly seasick for the first time in my life. How embarrassing. On the plus side, I still got my little red book (like a small craft sailing cert). And because the wind gusted to 20-22 knots during some of our classes, we got a big and small air signoff. Rock on. Though I still would rather another course before I would trust myself to spend much time on the water without an instructor. Sailors are that special kind of outdoor sports crazy that I've observed among serious cavers and climbers. I wonder how well my garden-variety eccentricity would mesh. I'm not a racer, definitely more of a cruiser. I think I need to find a sugar daddy down here with a nice sloop or cutter or ketch to try out. You know, so I can decide what kind I'm going to buy. Eventually. After a little place on the water. Priorities, people.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Your failure today can fuel your journey to success tomorrow
My horoscope today says that I will fail abjectly, but it's okay because I might succeed tomorrow. Metaphorically speaking. Now I remember why I don't read my horoscope.
My impromptu bathroom redux is supposed to be finished by tonight. It involved rehabbing the exterior wall from the interior. Personal cost: a week and a half of constant phone calls, work people in my apartment daily, two injured orchids, various cleaning supplies appropriated by said workmen for the bathroom (like my pot scrubber?!), my kitchen and living areas covered with supplies and the removable contents of my bathroom, and almost a week of showers in a very chilly shower that has plastic sheeting in lieu of complete walls. And plaster dust EVERYWHERE. Ick.
Oh, and Pete has been living chez parents for almost a week. Les parents threaten to keep him because really, he is that lovable. It's depressing to realize that such a lovable lump came within a whisker of euthanasia. It's even more depressing that Zizi (who has weathered the construction in place as she refused to go) is such a selectively affectionate thing that she would most certainly not survive a shelter. Nobody but an idiot like myself would appreciate her personality. Or discover how madly affectionate she can be when the mood strikes. She is the embodiment of a one person cat. Hopefully I can reunite Pinky with the Brain again tonight.
School continues to march to its inexorable end as December approaches. Dear god, so much to do. It's really annoying how I keep having that nagging sensation of knowing less as I learn more. Will it ever stop? The pressure to find a job-- not just A job but THE job, THE job that justifies this going back to school thing-- also grows in the back of my mind with the sure steady growth of a waterfall of stress. In the midst of this all, I've had super odd bursts of creativity. Super. Odd. As in, I entered an entrepreneurial competition even though I have zero intention whatsoever of owning my own business ever because I have an excellent idea for a business. That kind of weird creativity. If only I could harness it into helping me finish my actual class work and fellowship applications.
My impromptu bathroom redux is supposed to be finished by tonight. It involved rehabbing the exterior wall from the interior. Personal cost: a week and a half of constant phone calls, work people in my apartment daily, two injured orchids, various cleaning supplies appropriated by said workmen for the bathroom (like my pot scrubber?!), my kitchen and living areas covered with supplies and the removable contents of my bathroom, and almost a week of showers in a very chilly shower that has plastic sheeting in lieu of complete walls. And plaster dust EVERYWHERE. Ick.
Oh, and Pete has been living chez parents for almost a week. Les parents threaten to keep him because really, he is that lovable. It's depressing to realize that such a lovable lump came within a whisker of euthanasia. It's even more depressing that Zizi (who has weathered the construction in place as she refused to go) is such a selectively affectionate thing that she would most certainly not survive a shelter. Nobody but an idiot like myself would appreciate her personality. Or discover how madly affectionate she can be when the mood strikes. She is the embodiment of a one person cat. Hopefully I can reunite Pinky with the Brain again tonight.
School continues to march to its inexorable end as December approaches. Dear god, so much to do. It's really annoying how I keep having that nagging sensation of knowing less as I learn more. Will it ever stop? The pressure to find a job-- not just A job but THE job, THE job that justifies this going back to school thing-- also grows in the back of my mind with the sure steady growth of a waterfall of stress. In the midst of this all, I've had super odd bursts of creativity. Super. Odd. As in, I entered an entrepreneurial competition even though I have zero intention whatsoever of owning my own business ever because I have an excellent idea for a business. That kind of weird creativity. If only I could harness it into helping me finish my actual class work and fellowship applications.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
stress relief
This is how I've spent the past few Saturdays (click on the pics to go to Flickr for more info):
You know? It's a hell of a lot of work, but this is the second piece of furniture I've rehabbed over the past year and... I kind of like it. I can see this being yet another hobby down the line. Way down the line. When I have the house with the greenhouse and conservatory (greenhouses are for gardening, conservatories are for indoor plants like orchids.. in my mind, anyway) and the big yard and garden and maybe a few animals. See what reading Mother Earth News will do to you?
You know? It's a hell of a lot of work, but this is the second piece of furniture I've rehabbed over the past year and... I kind of like it. I can see this being yet another hobby down the line. Way down the line. When I have the house with the greenhouse and conservatory (greenhouses are for gardening, conservatories are for indoor plants like orchids.. in my mind, anyway) and the big yard and garden and maybe a few animals. See what reading Mother Earth News will do to you?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
veterans
I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, and when Dwayne Hoover was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.
Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not.
So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things.
What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.
And all music is.
Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions
Contrast Vonnegut's "voice of God" in WWI with Wilfred Owen.
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime. . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Even the most celebrated cynic could soften with respect for the previous generation's battles. I wonder what will happen to the veterans being minted in Iraq and Afghanistan. We supposedly learned our lesson from Vietnam, but look at how vets with Gulf War syndrome have been treated. Now I read about special courts for crimes committed by vets with PTSD, answer questions about traumatic brain injury Medicaid waiver services for vets coming home from Walter Reed, hear that projected homelessness rates for returning vets are through the roof. I don't think we ever really learn. Of course, if we ever did, there wouldn't be newly minted veterans, would there?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
ennui
I hate this time of year.
I love October. I despise November. October is the warmth and goodness, harvest and fulfillment, promise. November is cold and cruel, harsh and wanting, threatening. October is a hill full of brilliant leaves, a fat full moon low on the horizon. November is skeletal remains, flinty stars with the scantest crescent. Weakest, wan sunlight if any. Sleet ticking at the windows. Relentless gray skies occasionally spitting a few flakes, begrudging the flurries that break the monotony. The abrupt change in lightness and darkness instead of the gradual change to which we were adapting.
I know that there is towering pile of things to do at the moment-- homework to do, proposals to write, bills to pay, permissions to obtain, fellowship applications, job searches, housekeeping, produce to cook, a litterbox to clean, miles to swim, objects to knit, books to read. And so on. And yet, the boredom. The complete and utter lack of desire to do anything more than stare at the wall. The apartment feels cramped and stuffy, but is unpleasantly chilly after a few moments of opened windows. I'm tired with every nerve aflame.
I hate this time of year.
I love October. I despise November. October is the warmth and goodness, harvest and fulfillment, promise. November is cold and cruel, harsh and wanting, threatening. October is a hill full of brilliant leaves, a fat full moon low on the horizon. November is skeletal remains, flinty stars with the scantest crescent. Weakest, wan sunlight if any. Sleet ticking at the windows. Relentless gray skies occasionally spitting a few flakes, begrudging the flurries that break the monotony. The abrupt change in lightness and darkness instead of the gradual change to which we were adapting.
I know that there is towering pile of things to do at the moment-- homework to do, proposals to write, bills to pay, permissions to obtain, fellowship applications, job searches, housekeeping, produce to cook, a litterbox to clean, miles to swim, objects to knit, books to read. And so on. And yet, the boredom. The complete and utter lack of desire to do anything more than stare at the wall. The apartment feels cramped and stuffy, but is unpleasantly chilly after a few moments of opened windows. I'm tired with every nerve aflame.
I hate this time of year.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Scary
Halloween, having been on weekdays and me having to work, has not been that much of a factor in my life for the past few years. I always brought in candy and made students at the library say "trick or treat" before taking some, and there was the time I brought in my portable DVD player and showed Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead at the circ desk at a low volume, but that's about all. This year has Halloween on a Saturday, so the various spook-related events have quadrupled. Next weekend offers my choice of FOUR parties and three "happy hours", plus the Phantom of the Paradise/ Rocky Horror double feature at the Oaks (which sadly is on the other side of town from all of Saturday's festivities, so I doubt I'll be making that one).
Eep. And double eep, because I need a costume.
Over the course of a year, I will think of a million great ideas for Halloween costumes-- until Halloween actually draws near, and then not only does the well run dry but I also manage to forget all of the great ideas I had. This is not unique to Halloween (this happens every time there's a costume-thing), but obviously is more pronounced this time of year. I'm the person who has actually worn a toga made from my flat sheet and safety pins out of desperation (which I categorically DO NOT RECOMMEND for typical Pittsburgh weather in late October-- that which is comfortable for the arid Mediterranean does not work so well for lows in the low 40s with wind gusts and drizzle). And here we go again. Eep. I do have three ideas, but at least two would require dyeing my hair very dark at a time when I've already started going back to natural (I know, there's always temporary dye-- but my hair is light enough that temporary dye will definitely stain and I have two events the week after that require me to look the part of a professional so I'd need to commit to the color and make it look good). And, of course, cost is always a factor.
Hmm. I need to have a good think about this.
Eep. And double eep, because I need a costume.
Over the course of a year, I will think of a million great ideas for Halloween costumes-- until Halloween actually draws near, and then not only does the well run dry but I also manage to forget all of the great ideas I had. This is not unique to Halloween (this happens every time there's a costume-thing), but obviously is more pronounced this time of year. I'm the person who has actually worn a toga made from my flat sheet and safety pins out of desperation (which I categorically DO NOT RECOMMEND for typical Pittsburgh weather in late October-- that which is comfortable for the arid Mediterranean does not work so well for lows in the low 40s with wind gusts and drizzle). And here we go again. Eep. I do have three ideas, but at least two would require dyeing my hair very dark at a time when I've already started going back to natural (I know, there's always temporary dye-- but my hair is light enough that temporary dye will definitely stain and I have two events the week after that require me to look the part of a professional so I'd need to commit to the color and make it look good). And, of course, cost is always a factor.
Hmm. I need to have a good think about this.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
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