I am not frazzled today, for the first time in over a week. This is a good thing. Last week, when I was trying to do ten hundred frillion different projects and run to 40 gajillion meetings and run 890 trilgazillion errands, I remember the thought briefly crossing my mind that damn, I could sure use a clone. Why are we so opposed to cloning, again? Besides the innate creepiness and the frightening possibilities of life-gone-wrong, I mean? Come on now. Couldn’t you use a clone of yourself?
If I had a clone, I’d totally give it all the shit work while I’d go travel the world. Just think – as quickly as the clone could earn money, I could spend it! I wouldn’t even have to wait till the weekends! Or work around vacation time! On other days, I’d leave the clone at home to clean. Really scrub. Hell, I’d have the clone wash the cats.
The possibilities are endless. I could take the clone shopping with me, because I love shopping, but I’d make it try on all the clothes, so I could be forever spared from the harsh, unforgiving lights of the dressing room and the demoralization that comes from stuffing your body into stretch jeans that are STILL too tight. I would always have a designated driver. In fact, I could make it drive me everywhere, all the time! And at night, while I slept, I’d make the clone get a second job on the night shift. Just for extra spending money, you know. For all the traveling.
I would sign the clone up for eHarmony so it could weed through all the weirdo losers, and then I’d step in when it found someone worthy. Just think of it – no more bad dates, ever again. Kick. Ass. And if I did settle down and have a baby someday, the clone could totally babysit and do all the night feedings, too!
Bring it on, mad scientists of the world, bring it on.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
CO photo array
Tonight I finally FINALLY downloaded the pics of CO I've taken on my camera in the past few weeks. So in lieu of a deep and meaningful post, instead, I present you with my photo array.
First is the first snowstorm of the season. I say "first" because there have been THREE!!! This one was a couple of weeks ago, and it was my first real snow since I was 11. The photos are taken from my apartment balcony.
Now, here's a pic of the giant snowstorm we had last Thursday - 18 inches or so - my sistah posted pics of their antics on the big day. I stayed indoors and took pics instead...
First is the first snowstorm of the season. I say "first" because there have been THREE!!! This one was a couple of weeks ago, and it was my first real snow since I was 11. The photos are taken from my apartment balcony.
Now, here's a pic of the giant snowstorm we had last Thursday - 18 inches or so - my sistah posted pics of their antics on the big day. I stayed indoors and took pics instead...
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
singletons unite
Today I was reading this fish, and I stumbled upon this excerpt, referring to how she wished she could respond when people ask her why she is in her 30s and still single:
OMG. She totally stole that out of my brain, only I’ve never verbalized it so clearly. I read that and just…stopped. She’s exactly right. That is how I feel.
At first I felt such an utter sense of relief that I am not the only one. Followed by a swift, crippling sadness. Then that faded right back to relief at my simple, selfish, carefree life. I am not sad, not really; I know I will let someone in when I’m "good damn and ready", as my friend Christine used to say…
Well, because! Because I have unrealistic expectations. Because I really, really like myself just exactly this way. Because when I’m single I’m funny and rambunctious and relaxed. Because love makes me anxious and worried about losing things and having been there just too many times, the idea of loving anyone or anything more than my idiot cat absolutely terrifies me. That’s how come!
OMG. She totally stole that out of my brain, only I’ve never verbalized it so clearly. I read that and just…stopped. She’s exactly right. That is how I feel.
At first I felt such an utter sense of relief that I am not the only one. Followed by a swift, crippling sadness. Then that faded right back to relief at my simple, selfish, carefree life. I am not sad, not really; I know I will let someone in when I’m "good damn and ready", as my friend Christine used to say…
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Seasonal update
I know, I know, it probably seems like months since I updated. But I've been very busy, people; I mean, what with THE SNOW and all!!! :) :) :)
Yes, now that I'm in Colorado I'm one of those annoying Texans who flips out in giddy, childlike excitement at the first flutter of snow, who embraces the bone-chilling cold and in fact stubornly refuses to don a coat -- because I enjoy the cold over the heat of Texas JUST THAT MUCH.
It actually started snowing while I was at work Tuesday, very slowly in the morning, then picking up speed as the day progressed until it culminated in a snowy storm that gave us 4-5 inches. Yay! Anyway, you can clearly tell who has lived in CO their whole lives and who the TX transplants are. Us Texas exes were pressed up against the glass all day, staring out in rapt fascinationg at the pretty flakes! Look at them! See how they fall! From the sky! and the CO-natives were all hunched at their desks, grumbling about ice and traffic and plants and stupid things like that. And to that I say, embrace the magic, people! Snow ROCKS!!!
I have more pics on my other camera, which I will post in a timely manner (I promise), but for now I present to you my car about halfway through the storm. (Actually, it's a photo of my car after I'd driven home and parked in my apt parking garage. So that's why it's not COMPLETELY covered...):
I'm serious, y'all. If I could marry a snowman I totally would.
Yes, now that I'm in Colorado I'm one of those annoying Texans who flips out in giddy, childlike excitement at the first flutter of snow, who embraces the bone-chilling cold and in fact stubornly refuses to don a coat -- because I enjoy the cold over the heat of Texas JUST THAT MUCH.
It actually started snowing while I was at work Tuesday, very slowly in the morning, then picking up speed as the day progressed until it culminated in a snowy storm that gave us 4-5 inches. Yay! Anyway, you can clearly tell who has lived in CO their whole lives and who the TX transplants are. Us Texas exes were pressed up against the glass all day, staring out in rapt fascinationg at the pretty flakes! Look at them! See how they fall! From the sky! and the CO-natives were all hunched at their desks, grumbling about ice and traffic and plants and stupid things like that. And to that I say, embrace the magic, people! Snow ROCKS!!!
I have more pics on my other camera, which I will post in a timely manner (I promise), but for now I present to you my car about halfway through the storm. (Actually, it's a photo of my car after I'd driven home and parked in my apt parking garage. So that's why it's not COMPLETELY covered...):
I'm serious, y'all. If I could marry a snowman I totally would.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Welcome to my imaginary world.
I knew I wanted to be a writer soon after I discovered the wonder of reading. I read my first “thick” book, on my own, in 2nd grade. It was called Otis Spofford, by Beverly Cleary. Of course all her other books followed: the Beezus and Ramona series, the Mouse and the Motorcycle, Henry Huggins. Then I moved on to Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Roald Dahl, and eventually, Judy Blume. I giddily looked forward to those book clubs from which you could order books in elementary school (do they still do that, btw??). Reading opened up a whole new world for me, an exciting world where I could escape from the everyday monotony of being a kid in the 70s. On a military base. In Kansas. With a little brother who drove me up the wall and beyond.
I read so much that it was messing with my pronunciation. I knew what words meant, in context, but I’d never heard them spoken, so I’d pronounce them all wonky, much to my parents’ amusement. Example: I can’t tell you how utterly crushed I was to find out that a book I had read about a magical island (it was something about a dragon and an island and I’ve been searching Amazon but can’t find it) was just an “eye-land” and not an “izz-land”, which in my head was a magical, mystical place. I was devastated. The book was ruined for me. There was another time when I breezily referred to heredity at the dinner table and couldn’t understand why my mom was snorting – I had pronounced it “herra-ditty”.
I got my own bedroom for the first time when I was in 4th grade. My dad let me move into his office in the basement, the one he built when we moved into the tiny duplex on base. I slept on a fold-out couch with a “sump pump” in the corner, but I didn’t even care because I COULD READ ALL DAY LONG AND NO ONE WOULD INTERRUPT ME. Also, since I now slept in the basement with no windows, I could sleep late on the weekends without the light waking me up. Yes, my habits started early. Shut up.
My summers in Kansas were spent reading novel after novel in the basement and then riding my bike to the library with my BFF Meredith once or twice a week to load up on new books. I probably read 4-5 books a week, seriously. I always gravitated to fiction, and that is where I remain to this day. I know lots of people who diligently read self-help books or how-to books or educational books – but I’ve never been able to get that into anything but fiction because reading anything else reminds me of required reading in college. Which I hated. It’s the rebellious streak in me, I suppose. I can’t get into most nonfiction, no matter how hard I try. I just don’t enjoy it and it takes me for. ev. ah. to finish. And if I’m going to tax my tired eyes at night with more reading (beyond the computer all day long) I’m going to read something fun, something that helps me escape. The one exception to the nonfiction rule is the memoir – for some reason I love reading about other people’s fucked up childhoods. Go figure.
I enjoy books way more than movies. I’ve never been one of those people who has seen every cool movie that comes out – I usually catch it later on TV or HBO and don’t feel I’ve missed that much. The book was probably better anyway. Movies are an escape, don’t get me wrong, but an escape that only lasts a couple of hours. A book can get you into your imagination for days, even weeks at a time. I’ve never understood people who don’t enjoy reading. I just don’t get it. You can go anywhere in the world and beyond! You can experience everything! How utterly freeing! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve finished a good book and felt such a sense of loss that the funk hangs on for a couple of days, as I’m depressed to no longer be a part of that world. Until I find the next one…and there is always another world to explore, another story to tell.
All of this to say, I have always known I wanted to write. I wrote my first “book” when I was in 5th grade, and it was a very detailed science fiction story that I can still picture very clearly in my head. I’m quite confident my mom has it somewhere in the attic… I went through the bad poetry phase in high school, and then got more serious in college. I used to think I wasn’t old enough to write a novel because I hadn’t done enough. Today I realize I’m 36 and damn, I probably have stuff to say, stories to tell. So what have I done about it? Well, almost two years ago I started this blog thingie...
...to be continued...
I read so much that it was messing with my pronunciation. I knew what words meant, in context, but I’d never heard them spoken, so I’d pronounce them all wonky, much to my parents’ amusement. Example: I can’t tell you how utterly crushed I was to find out that a book I had read about a magical island (it was something about a dragon and an island and I’ve been searching Amazon but can’t find it) was just an “eye-land” and not an “izz-land”, which in my head was a magical, mystical place. I was devastated. The book was ruined for me. There was another time when I breezily referred to heredity at the dinner table and couldn’t understand why my mom was snorting – I had pronounced it “herra-ditty”.
I got my own bedroom for the first time when I was in 4th grade. My dad let me move into his office in the basement, the one he built when we moved into the tiny duplex on base. I slept on a fold-out couch with a “sump pump” in the corner, but I didn’t even care because I COULD READ ALL DAY LONG AND NO ONE WOULD INTERRUPT ME. Also, since I now slept in the basement with no windows, I could sleep late on the weekends without the light waking me up. Yes, my habits started early. Shut up.
My summers in Kansas were spent reading novel after novel in the basement and then riding my bike to the library with my BFF Meredith once or twice a week to load up on new books. I probably read 4-5 books a week, seriously. I always gravitated to fiction, and that is where I remain to this day. I know lots of people who diligently read self-help books or how-to books or educational books – but I’ve never been able to get that into anything but fiction because reading anything else reminds me of required reading in college. Which I hated. It’s the rebellious streak in me, I suppose. I can’t get into most nonfiction, no matter how hard I try. I just don’t enjoy it and it takes me for. ev. ah. to finish. And if I’m going to tax my tired eyes at night with more reading (beyond the computer all day long) I’m going to read something fun, something that helps me escape. The one exception to the nonfiction rule is the memoir – for some reason I love reading about other people’s fucked up childhoods. Go figure.
I enjoy books way more than movies. I’ve never been one of those people who has seen every cool movie that comes out – I usually catch it later on TV or HBO and don’t feel I’ve missed that much. The book was probably better anyway. Movies are an escape, don’t get me wrong, but an escape that only lasts a couple of hours. A book can get you into your imagination for days, even weeks at a time. I’ve never understood people who don’t enjoy reading. I just don’t get it. You can go anywhere in the world and beyond! You can experience everything! How utterly freeing! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve finished a good book and felt such a sense of loss that the funk hangs on for a couple of days, as I’m depressed to no longer be a part of that world. Until I find the next one…and there is always another world to explore, another story to tell.
All of this to say, I have always known I wanted to write. I wrote my first “book” when I was in 5th grade, and it was a very detailed science fiction story that I can still picture very clearly in my head. I’m quite confident my mom has it somewhere in the attic… I went through the bad poetry phase in high school, and then got more serious in college. I used to think I wasn’t old enough to write a novel because I hadn’t done enough. Today I realize I’m 36 and damn, I probably have stuff to say, stories to tell. So what have I done about it? Well, almost two years ago I started this blog thingie...
...to be continued...
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Exploring Colorado: Chapter 2
This past weekend was an interesting one. I got up early on Saturday to get a massage. Which – yay! On my way home afterwards, I was hungry and passed a Denny’s-type breakfast place – so I stopped and had breakfast. Alone. And didn’t even feel too self conscious. Then I went home and took a nap, which is fortunate because I didn’t yet know the plans that had been put into motion for that night… bwa ha ha ha ha!!!
But seriously. My friend K got us tickets to see a play downtown – downtown Denver, which I had not seen yet and had been dying to explore! An actor she worked with on a video recently was in the play. She also invited a long-ago friend of hers living in Denver, and he then invited us to the Grand Opening of the new wing of the Denver Art Museum – at midnight!!! (theme: exclamation points). The deal is, the tickets were free, but people had to stand in line to get them last week and they were for specific time slots – the museum was open for something like 35 hours straight. So ours was at midnight. He just happened to have two extras. We joked that we wouldn’t be home til 3, ha ha ha! Um…we weren’t.
So the play was really really good. And those of you who know me well know that I’m not usually a live production type of person – watching people perform, live, gives me a stomachache. I think it’s because I project how I would feel in that situation onto them – and I cringe if there is even the slightest mistake. I know – freak. But anyway, it was funny and interesting. After the play, we still had three hours to kill until midnight so we stayed for the (prepare yourselves) comedy improv group that performed after the play. Now – I typically hate live comedy. Same reason as above, except add to that the extreme discomfort if they’re not funny. But – it was really funny and entertaining and an all-around good time. We then had two hours left, so we went to a bar called Hamburger Mary’s and chatted until it was time for the museum.
The museum. It was awesome. It has received a lot of attention for its unusual and famously-designed architecture, which while somewhat impractical, was very stunning to look at. And it was also surreal being in a packed museum at midnight! There were soooo many people there, and some good people watching too. I definitely got a glimpse into the hip side of Denver. The first exhibit we saw was my favorite, but we spent about 2 ½ hours exploring before heading home for the night. Arriving at my doorstep at 3am.
Sunday was a complete loss, but so worth it. Finally, I have seen downtown! I have ventured out of my comfort zone of North Denver/Boulder! I have seen a museum in a new city!
So there you go.
But seriously. My friend K got us tickets to see a play downtown – downtown Denver, which I had not seen yet and had been dying to explore! An actor she worked with on a video recently was in the play. She also invited a long-ago friend of hers living in Denver, and he then invited us to the Grand Opening of the new wing of the Denver Art Museum – at midnight!!! (theme: exclamation points). The deal is, the tickets were free, but people had to stand in line to get them last week and they were for specific time slots – the museum was open for something like 35 hours straight. So ours was at midnight. He just happened to have two extras. We joked that we wouldn’t be home til 3, ha ha ha! Um…we weren’t.
So the play was really really good. And those of you who know me well know that I’m not usually a live production type of person – watching people perform, live, gives me a stomachache. I think it’s because I project how I would feel in that situation onto them – and I cringe if there is even the slightest mistake. I know – freak. But anyway, it was funny and interesting. After the play, we still had three hours to kill until midnight so we stayed for the (prepare yourselves) comedy improv group that performed after the play. Now – I typically hate live comedy. Same reason as above, except add to that the extreme discomfort if they’re not funny. But – it was really funny and entertaining and an all-around good time. We then had two hours left, so we went to a bar called Hamburger Mary’s and chatted until it was time for the museum.
The museum. It was awesome. It has received a lot of attention for its unusual and famously-designed architecture, which while somewhat impractical, was very stunning to look at. And it was also surreal being in a packed museum at midnight! There were soooo many people there, and some good people watching too. I definitely got a glimpse into the hip side of Denver. The first exhibit we saw was my favorite, but we spent about 2 ½ hours exploring before heading home for the night. Arriving at my doorstep at 3am.
Sunday was a complete loss, but so worth it. Finally, I have seen downtown! I have ventured out of my comfort zone of North Denver/Boulder! I have seen a museum in a new city!
So there you go.
Friday, October 06, 2006
frolicking salamanders
This pretty much sums up my Friday:
What you're looking at, folks, is two gummy* salamanders getting frisky by the glow of the iPod.
I'm so glad this week is almost...ovah.........
*gummy - yes, as in edible
What you're looking at, folks, is two gummy* salamanders getting frisky by the glow of the iPod.
I'm so glad this week is almost...ovah.........
*gummy - yes, as in edible
Monday, October 02, 2006
Excuse me while I dust myself off after my fall from the face of the earth...
Um, yeah. So I haven't posted in a while. It's not that I have had nothing to say, I've just been ... preoccupied, and too busy to say it! Even now, I can't think of a quick way to sum up the past couple of weeks except through my favorite format, a LIST! I know, choke back your excitement. In the past two weeks, I have:
- entertained the lovely Hope, who visited me from Austin
- replaced the battery in my car
- bought a lovesac
(yeah, that's me on it -- doesn't Colorado look good on me?? riiiiiggghhhttt......)
- been swallowed by said lovesac
- hung pictures in my apartment - finally!
- babysat my nephews
- hosted my sistah for a girl's night
- discovered the wonders of HBO On Demand
So I've been somewhat busy. But still, I apologize for my absence. Sadly, I've got nothing else to share at the moment, except that YAY, Monday's over! More soon....don't worry, i'll think of something...
- entertained the lovely Hope, who visited me from Austin
- replaced the battery in my car
- bought a lovesac
(yeah, that's me on it -- doesn't Colorado look good on me?? riiiiiggghhhttt......)
- been swallowed by said lovesac
- hung pictures in my apartment - finally!
- babysat my nephews
- hosted my sistah for a girl's night
- discovered the wonders of HBO On Demand
So I've been somewhat busy. But still, I apologize for my absence. Sadly, I've got nothing else to share at the moment, except that YAY, Monday's over! More soon....don't worry, i'll think of something...
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