Musings
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Romantic? Or Realist?
Every once in awhile, I’ll be talking to someone, and they’ll mention that someone is (or isn’t) their ‘soulmate’. The idea, the way I understand it, is that there is one person out there, who is perfect for you, and assuming you want to be in a relationship, you have to find them. I find this difficult to believe. Also, somewhat depressing. What if they’re perfect for you, but they get hit by a car, and you never get to meet them? What if they’re already married? What if they’re perfect for you, but they’re in Sudan, and you’re in Stockton, and you never have a chance to meet? What…
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Elephant Appreciation
Yesterday was Elephant Appreciation Day*. I thought it was September 23rd, but I was wrong, and thus, I missed it. But really, is it ever too late to appreciate elephants? And, since elephants in the wild are pretty much in Africa and India and Southeastern Asian countries, shouldn’t I have celebrated on Thursday night? Do elephants care about such things? I’ll admit that I never had much of an opinion about elephants growing up. I mean, they’re big, and they’re kind of prehistoric looking, but what else? Dumbo? Dumbo’s cute. That’s about as far as I went. Then, when I was an International Relations major in college, we watched a…
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Calling all Gramarians
Awhile ago, I posted a list of thirteen grammar mistakes that bug me. If you like that kind of thing, you might enjoy listening to this. It’s “To The Best Of Our Knowledge”, from NPR, and it talks about IM and text messaging, but also about changes to grammar in general. My favorite part so far is an interview with the author of “Woe is I“. I’m about 2/3 through (Have it on my iPod, and I listen while I walk the dog…), and I’m enjoying it. Hope you do as well.
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My Horse Picture
When I was maybe 7 or 8 years old, my mom worked as both a Montessori school teacher, and because we all know how well teaching pays (esp a private school), she also worked at a local restaurant. The restaurant, as I remember it, was next door to a small art gallery, where they sold paintings by local artists. I’m not sure how we ended up going inside the gallery, but we did, and I fell in love with one of the paintings. It was of two horses, running in a field, and it was painted on a piece of wood. My love of horses knew no bounds, and this…
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Dealbreakers
I was reading Dooce yesterday. I don’t usually read her blog, because when someone gets 400+ comments on a post about nothing at all, I get a little jealous, and I don’t want to hang with them anymore. Of course, she never knew I was hanging with her to begin with. Anyway, once in awhile, I’ll come back and check out her blog, and see what’s new in Dooceland. On this particular day, she was talking about her friend Maggie (who is cousin to a friend of ours), another big time blogger, and how she has a book out called No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas…
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I’m Just Sayin’
I bought a cute dress at maxstudio.com once, and now I get these emails telling me of their new lines, etc. The one I received yesterday came with the subject line, “Snazz up your office wardrobe”, and this picture. Tell me, if the girl in the middle doesn’t work at Vogue, where could that possibly be appropriate office attire? I’ve only been working from home for a few months here…has office culture changed THAT much? Wait…maybe she works from home, so she can wear whatever she wants? I’m thinking maybe she should add a bra to her ensamble.
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Old Friends
Old friends, Old friends Sat on their park bench Like bookends. A newspaper blown though the grass Falls on the round toes Of the high shoes Of the old friends. Old friends, Winter companions, The old men Lost in their overcoats, Waiting for the sunset. The sounds of the city, Sifting through trees, Settle like dust On the shoulders Of the old friends. Can you imagine us Years from today, Sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange To be seventy. Old friends, Memory brushes the same years Silently sharing the same fears. – Paul Simon Does anyone understand how it is that friendships grow, then wither away? How do…
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Speechless
I don’t even know what to say about this…I was just reading Salon’s Broadsheet, and came across a trifecta of bullshit that should make every woman in the United States wretch, and hopefully, make both men and women understand why it is so important that we claim the term Feminist, and fight this shit. I don’t have the energy to try to paraphrase, so I’m just going to copy and paste. Some days there is just so much repulsive news that it would be, well, criminally depressing to separate it into three separate entries. So for everyone’s vomitous convenience, I present the three grossest stories of the day, in no…
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Thankful
I have an idea for a post kind of percolating in my head, but it’s not fully formed, and it’s somewhat depressing, so I’m not ready to write it up yet. Maybe tomorrow. So, for today, I’ll mention a few of the little things that I’m thankful for in my life. I’m thankful that the combination of Oxy Clean and the new Bissell that Ted bought yesterday (yay Sears! This link isn’t to Sears…it’s to a post that I read about them) removed all traces of orange dog barf from our bedroom carpet. Also that Ted and the Bissell worked together to get some of the worst of the ‘high…
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The Post Where I Literally Murder my Readers with Boredom…
This was one of those weekends where you are so very busy, and you take a peek at the activities that are planned, and you think, if I had no child, this would be a COMPLETELY different weekend. Not better. Not worse. Different. Friday, I took the day off of work, and chaperoned Maya’s class to the Monet Exhibit at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. All I can say is, WOW. There are some paintings that just look…DIFFERENT…in real life. I’ve seen pictures of Monet’s Japanese bridge with waterlillies for as long as I can remember. On posters, greeting cards, whatever. It’s background noise for the eyes. Then,…
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Edelmiro Abad
Edelmiro Abad of Brooklyn at a wedding with his close-knit family: his wife, Lorraine, and in white from left, daughters Serena, 19, Rebecca, 26, and Jennifer, 23. (note: the original photo was larger, but the source I had for it discontinued it for some reason.) Beloved husband, proud father, loving son, brother, uncle and dear friend are words that best describe Edelmiro Abad. Ed touched the lives of all who knew him with loving words, a kind gesture, or his unique sense of humor. Ed lived a happy, fulfilled life with his wife of 29 years and three daughters. He also enjoyed a successful career with Fiduciary Trust for 26…
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Overreacting?
I expected the lead-up to 9/11, the 5th anniversary of September 11th, to be full of fear. I expected BushCo to try to scare me with talk of war and terrorism. Hell, right before the midterms, I wouldn’t be surprised if they found Bin Ladin AND the elusive WMDs in Iraq. What surprised me was watching Nova last night, which was all about the structural strength of the World Trade Center. I watched them talk about how the buildings did what they were supposed to do, to a point, and what went wrong. They talked about ways that the buildings could have been better designed. They said that about 10K…
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Who Put the Labor in Labor Day?
We did, that’s who. When I think of labor day, my mind first thinks of the end of summer…the crisp fall weather on the horizon, the cool weather clothes, school starting up again, the return of the good TV shows… Then there are the Labor Day celebrations…one last bbq of summer, maybe a trip to the beach, the lake, or the shore… For some people it is a chance to get caught up with some chores around the house, to enjoy a 3-day weekend by sleeping in one extra day, maybe see some friends. I agree with all of these things. Not a thing wrong with any of them. But…
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I Need a Ticker
Have you seen the blogs, where the blogger has a little ticker at the top, or in the sidebar, wherever, to keep track of how much weight they’ve lost, or counting down to an important event? Well, they have them for health and fitness, too, and for all sorts of interesting and odd things. I signed up for Black Belt Mama’s challenge, but so far I haven’t been doing so great…so here’s what I need. I need a ticker to keep me honest, to remind me to: Floss my teeth at least 6 days a week (because you don’t have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want…
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Historical Fiction
Whilst in Portland, I read a short book titled “When the Emperor Was Divine“, by Julie Otsuka. At only 144 pages, it is difficult to believe that this novel can cover the subject of the Japanese Internment during WWII so well, so evocatively. I’ve never studied this chapter in American history, other than perhaps as a footnote to our study of WWII. Reading this book made me think of how effective a class would be that incorporated the dry facts of history with novels, which really open one’s eyes and imaginations to the experiences of those people who were alive at a particular time and place. What if, for example,…