Life Accoutrements

2004-11-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

Because, they are!

They're damn stylish

2004-11-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's just Cleveland?

Back to the land from whence we came. Going to through Vegas once again, of course. We’re hoping for a repeat incident of inspiration. Though, I must say, half of what was so inspiring the last time was that I didn’t have to spend any time in the airport at all. Just walk from one gate to the other and get directly on to my next flight. This time though...Well, let’s just say that two hours is a much more intimidating number.

Did have a brief scare at the ticket counter, though. Several seconds of panic when I looked down at my ticket and saw 608 as the departure time. It was at that point several minutes after 7:00pm. Yeah, not so much with the warm fuzzies that one. And the sick feeling that settled in the pit of my stomach was so familiar, that that fact alone almost made it worse. How many times have I missed flights out of Ohio for San Diego? Too many.

Of course, it turns out that I was reading the flight number instead of the departure time, so I was fine, but even so. When that feeling of “Damn. Again.” is that familiar then it’s probably some kind of sign. A sign about how your own incompetence.

Going through any airport now a days, though, is an adventure. It would seem that anyone who isn’t white is more suspect. That is to say, I don’t think that I think I look particularly suspicious, or Arab, if you’re following stereotyping trends now a days, and I was asked for my drivers license and boarding pass four times between when I got my boarding pass and when I finally made it through security. I’ve never been asked to prove who I was so many times. I mean, It sort of makes sense the first two times. To get my ticket, sure, I should need to be who I claim to be. And then again at the the beginning of the security checkpoint. But again before they assign me to a lane for the checkpoint? And again once I’ve gone under the metal detector?

There was a family of three ahead of me at the security check. They’d been in front of me at the America West ticket counter, and apparently they’re going to San Diego too seeing as how the security guy (number 2) asked them if SD was home of if they were just “going for a good time.” When he saw me though, he didn’t say much of anything. Seems brown people headed to the coast makes more sense to him than these other people did. This other family though, at security person (a woman this time) number 3, wasn’t asked for anything. They were walked through and that was that.

On the other hand I had to take my shoes off and provide my boarding pass and drivers license for the fourth time. They did the same to the black man behind me. I guess it’s getting to the point where any kind of brown is a problem colour. Fun for us, that’s for sure.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

There is a man directly across from me here that has excessive buckles on his shoes. They’re brown doc marten oxford type shoes, and yet, inexplicably, they have this huge belt like strap over the middle portion of the laces. Because, yes, they lace up. They’ve got to be Sketchers. There isn’t another brand out there that sees any real need for buckles and soles that thick on men’s shoes. Though, it also seems important to note that I’ve never seen anyone guys in SD wear them. Or at least not without a healthy sense of irony. Because, really? They’re girl’s shoes.

(Yes, blanket statements about shoes and the gender issues that go with product identification are not to be taken lightly, but there’s no way around the sheer “girlieness” of Sketchers brand shoes. Sorry.)

* * * * * * * * * * *

A decision has finally been reached concerning the whole LiveJournal v. Blogger debate. The lj will be exclusively for writing. Snippets of fictions (either in progress or completed), and all insundry writing that I feel could benefit from helpful criticism. The Life Accouterments will remain for all everyday life writing, and personal updates. Notes will be made here of updates to the LJ, but not the other way around.

Now all I need to figure out is how to reformat the LJ so that the colours and the layout don’t suck quite so much. Or there’s always the option of trying to track someone down who actually knows about this kind of stuff.

That and it needs a new name. Hey, don’t knock the importance of a name. Remember, snark begins in the home.

Inspired by: The Las Vegas airport, or course.
~~Reading~~ Writing: Working on a short fiction piece and another story that's in the outline stages.
Listening to: Ryan Adams. He counters the sound of the slot machines in the background.

2004-11-25T11:09:00.000-08:00

You never hear it falling...

There was snow when I woke up this morning. At least an inch of it covering everything. Bright and glowing. It’s like I’d forgotten the way the world changes when it’s been washed together like that. The little things that become so much brighter than they ever are when they’re forced to stand out against the gaudy colours of fall. Small red berries that we all miss, their yellows and rich oranges that small points of light against the white of the snow, topped in small elven caps of snow.

Inspired by: seasons...
Reading: The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton.
Listening to: Wolf's Rain soundtrack.

2004-11-22T22:03:00.000-08:00

Airborne religious tolerance...

Apparently America West has decided that they are more than just a means of transportation and that a part of their job is to spread understanding and tolerance. Seeing how there’s not a lot that they can do they’ve made “What is a muslim place of worship called?” one of the questions in the “AWA Trivia” portion of our in-flight entertainment.

I'm not sure what exactly I think of this. I mean, it's cool and all, but a little strange none the less.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Blogging needs to become more of a habit for me. Or at least writing in general does. It can be rather hard to make the whole thing work out, what with the books to read and comics to buy and cartoons to watch and the laziness. Okay, so mostly it’s the lazy part, but still, those other things factor in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The woman next to me on the plane is trying to sleep. It doesn’t seem to be going very well for her. The people in front of us are talking and there’s a now silent, but previously crying, baby behind us and to the left. Hopefully she’s going home and will be able to rest when she gets to where ever it is she’s going.

Haven’t really bothered with the trying to sleep part at all myself. I was hit by a writing attack (and what have I always said about the Vegas airport? Smells like something that died and was then cured with cigarette smoke, but is inspiring as all get-out) and managed to crank out a rather good, or at least I think so, three page short story. So it’s Saiyuki fan fic, so what. It’s still well written, and my own. Also, it makes me feel at least vaguely productive. Since less has been gotten done on the werewolf novel recently I feel the need to write something. I just keep hoping that I’ll be able to get my fingers back in the “zone” so to speak. If that works out the rest should take care of itself.

I say this every time I want to start blogging again, though. A kind of random-times-of-the-year resolution. Well, maybe it’ll stick this time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

So, being rather jealous of the Damn Hell Ass Kings, P.T. and I have decided that we need our own ring of snark. We aren’t entirely sure what that means, but I’m confident it will, at some point, help me in furthering my goal of running a small island nation. Ah, I long for the days when, I, The Chief will reign supreme.

There remains one thing about the ring of snark, however, about which P.T. and myself are certain. We need a really cool name. I mean, take a look at Damn Hell Ass Kings. That, my friends, is a prime example of “now that would be an awesome band name!” at it’s best. And so it is that the previous statement will now be amended to read, “now that would be an awesome band name, or ring of snark type internet cooperative.”

That’s right. I begin my reign here!

Inspired by: Days off from work.
Reading: Vol. 3 of the Y: the last man trades.
Listening to: five days worth of music set on random.

2004-11-22T13:12:00.000-08:00

And as always...

As per the usual I have left my packing until the last minute. I have also allowed almost no time to complete the much more important task of finishing my traffic school (shut up speeding ticket!) test and course.

It's true almost anyone who knows me would express absolutely zero surprise at this particular turn of events, but there are days when I even manage to disapoint myself. Like this morning when I came into the office and realized that today was the last day to sign up for my benifits plan and as such had to do it all essentially blind. True, it's an advantage to work in the HR dept, seeing as how I was able to procure some help, but even so. I need to get a day callendar and then staple it to my forehead.

Inspired by: Ohio. Okay, maybe not the state, but I'm fond of a few people who call that place home.
Reading: Well, The BH (who is from this point on to be refered to as PT - if you really care about why, just let me know) just loaned me a copy of the new "Y: the last man" trade, so I'm think "hey, plane reading!"
Listening to: Saiyuki soundtrack, vol. 1

2004-09-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Laundry is hard...

But folding? Now that's easy.

2004-08-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Where inspiration comes from...

Looking down on the city of Yagul.

The first of what will hopefully be many posted pictures. This is without a doubt my favorite of all the pcitures that I took while Wayne and I were in Oaxaca. Hopefully I'll have (make) the time to put up both more pictures and the stories that go with them. After all, what's the point in being a writer if you never put it anywhere other people can read it?

Inspired by: All those places that I haven't even had the chance to take pictures of yet.
Reading: Y: The Last Man. The graphic novel you should all be reading.
~~Listening to~~ Watching: Full Metal Panic. My latest favorite anime. The Black Hand splurged and now we've got a full season's worth of giant robots to watch fight each other. Then again, chicks do dig giant robots.

2004-08-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

There's no reason for this...

Other than sheer coolness.

Inspired by: Techno and starchy foods.
Reading: Confidential information...
Listening to: Postal Service -- Bug, you'd love this stuff.

2004-08-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

The Bear returns...

And I get to eat a really good dinner. After six weeks in Maine and then another week visiting her boy friend, Bear finds herself laying on my bed talking to my mom about the other musicians and the boyfriend's parents and about how she "feels bad for people who aren't us."

Saddly, I do kinda agree with that last part. Esspecially after a dinner of carne asada fries. After all, who gets a better life than eating well, sleeping in a comefortable bed, and all the comic books you can read? Okay, so maybe I could do with some more cute shoes, but who couldn't.

Alright, it's time to break up the party in my room so I can get me some sleeps. Oh, and Anabelle, guess who gets her sorry ass out of bed at 6:00am every day? Damn straight. I knew you'd be proud.

Inspired by: Our darling AmyJo and her hookin' me up with the low down on good times things to do in SD.
Reading: Rogue #1. Damn straight she needs to leave Remy alone. Crazy sucubus.
Listening to: Fountains of Wayne. Dude, I so have to track down that cd. Anyone out there know some place to get it cheap?

2004-08-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

So this is something of an experiment. The hope here, in terms of having another web page, is the whole picture hosting thing...now all I have to do is see if I can't get it to work...

Look, it's Misstress Anabelle

Inspired by: The fact that I continue to rock this whole "Master of the Internet" thing.
Reading: "How to..." at the .Mac site.
Listening to: Yellowcard. Come on, you love the Emo and you know it.

2004-08-01T02:28:00.000-07:00

Master of the Universe.

Or at the very least Master of My New E-mail.

Spent a lot of money today. More than I should have. I do have an new e-mail though (go ahead and click on the "wanna join?" portoin of my little bio over there to get it.) and that's pretty happy. I'll also have a web page where I can host pictures and such, so for those of you interested some this upcoming week will bring you pictures from Mexico (finally, I know) and quite possibly this new haircut we've all heard so much about. Although that part of it may not happen for a little longer as I'm gonna need a trim pretty soon and I might just wait until after that.

Wicked late blogging will always remind me of Kenyon, but in the mean time one of the small dogs is giving me a dirty look and that means I'm keeping him up. So in order to keep our young prince happy I'm signing off for the night.

Inspired by: So Mac's may be easy to use, but I still get points for getting all this new junk set up. I am Awsome!
Reading: Astonishing X-men #3. Joss is. The. Man. Who else could actually make me care that Jean may not be dead (again) after all? Then again, he did do the "dying and then coming back to life over 'n again," thing with Buffy, so the man's had practice.
Listening to: Franz Ferdinand. A cd you all need to own.

2004-07-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

Formal Thursday...

So, tonight's a night at my aunt's. With one crazy cat (she's tried to eat the Bear before) and one sweet cat (she just tight-rope-walked the curtain rod -- impressive.) it's always fun to stay here. Besides, she has cable. Cable means a couple of things though. Mostly that I end up watching tv that both horrifies and saddens me. Tonight's reason for loosing all faith in humanity? Extreme Makover.

A note to all my readers: if you ever think of getting a nose job, make sure that your nose looks better when you're done.

And while The Job continues, I realize that my stint in corporate America may be both longer and more educational than I imagined. All this because at some point in the recent past The Job threw up its hands, gave all the paperwork to blind weasels and now want myself, the Black Hand (BH) and the Other Intern (OI) to fix it. Fortunately we come from a long line of trained primates more than capable of dealing with the situation. But only if they can raise the temperature of the back room above 65degrees. Ninety-five outside, and I'm wearing pants, a sweater and scarf at my desk. One of these days the monkeys will revolt and then where will they be? Covered in unalphabetized papers and weasel crap.

Went out to dinner and shopping tonight. Had a brilliant time. For those of you in the area, Italia Mia in the Target shopping center on Pomorado Rd. up here in Poway is excellent. Black Hand and I were also complimented by the waiter on the fact that we were eating the bread the "right way." (Dipped in balsamic vinegar if you want to know) Also, actors are people "just sitting around waiting for people to love them." Though coming from a man who could only live in El Cajon for three months because it was "creepy" is hard to take at face value. Then again, living in SoCal, everyone knows at least one person who's future life plans include moving to L.A. "just to see."

In shopping news I got two shirts, a red hoodie and these really cute (if by cute you mean sexy) black heels. Target is so the basis for any style my wardrobe has. Well, that and the $0.50 sweater bin at the Salvation Army in Mt. Vernon. If I ever go back to Kenyon to visit Gracie I'll need to stock up. It's hard to find anything thicker than a long sleeve t-shirt in a place where rain fall is so rare people forget what it looks like.

Tomorrow is "Casual Friday," and good Lord if the fact that I'm actually looking forward to it isn't the 23rd sign of the apocalypse, then nothing is.

Inspired by: Quote of the night, "Everyone looks better slightly damp and in a towel."
Reading: I see paperwork for the federal government, even when I close my eyes....
~~Listening to~~ Watching: Adult Swim. Way to go Cartoon Network. (Sea Lab 2021. Woot!)

2004-07-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Mexican writes again...

Okay, so how long has it been since I blogged? About a million years. Yeah. And what does this mean to me? Mostly that I have to relearn almost everything about how Blogger is conducting buisness right now.

Too many new buttons.

Also, there are times when I wonder about whether or not a LiveJournal account might not be a good idea. I mean, honestly, Blogger? Exponentially better, but LiveJournal means I can "friend" randome strangers...maybe I'll look into maintaining the two of them. We'll have to see what this means for the future of my "blog-life."

So...since the last time I blogged....Got back from Mexico. Spent a long time doing nothing. Have fed my comic book obsession. Got a "real job." Went to San Diego's Comic Con, and realized that I want to do way too many things with my life. Have continued at my job and realized that HR is the dumbest department ever.

Am also feeling writing inspired as well. Obviously. I'm also hungry though, so I think the Black Hand and I are going to make an attempt at hunting down and killing dinner.

Inspired by: Sexy comic book writers.
Reading: Anything with pictures.
~~Listening~~ Watching: Daria. Mtv's one good show. Scary how much her life reminds me mine. Scarier how much she reminds me of me.

2004-05-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

I geek for you...

Yeah, so if they get Gambit wrong I'm pitching a fit.

Then again, I wonder what it would take to get a job working on the set...

2004-04-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

Alone: Day 2

Wayne is still gone. Papa and the Bear get here on Monday, and the following things were learned:

1) Your mother calls really early in the morning because she loves you and worries. Not because she's determined to deprive you of sleep.

2) The hardest part about living alone is when you can't get the lid off the mayonnaise jar and there's no one to ask for help.

3) It seems (the source of this information being the Senora Isadora, or incomparable yard woman) that three people, a man, a woman and girl, drowned at the beach bellow our house this past week. It's a big stretch of open beach, with a wicked rip, and the hotel hadn't given anyone any kind of warning about the strength of the water. According to the radio (according to the Senora), the woman's body was found quiet a few miles away.

4) You should remember to thank your father both for teaching you how to swim, but how to swim in the ocean.

5) It is a grey tabby cat that has been sneaking into the house and knocking over the kitchen trash. It is also the same cat that ate the loaf of bread on the kitchen counter.

6) In the Ultimate X-Men universe there is no Northstar. But there is Colossus, and he's gay and he's there to stay. He also has a crush on Wolverine.

7) Love knows no rhyme or reason. Even with mutants.

8) Then again, when Logan looks like Hugh Jackman, can you blame him?

Inspired by: Senora Isadora also said that since the surf has been getting higher and higher she figures we'll get the first of the rain by the last week in May. I'm sorry Papa, but it's HOT here and I'm looking forward to a drizzle to cool things down.
Reading: a world of nothing. Doing some writing of my own actually.
Listening to: the Master and Commander soundtrack.

2004-04-30T01:52:00.000-07:00

Why soul searching is saved for the middle of the night...

Wayne showed me the list several days ago. Matt has another copy.

And then I found this. Penknife has more details on her journal, and speaks about the issue more eloquently than I can right now, but....You aren't supposed to sit on the roof of your house at 2:00 in the morning awake because the injustice of the world makes you sick.

And it's more than injustice! To create a bill that, negates any "partnership contract or other arrangements that purport to provide the benefits of marriage," is to deny something so much more than the simple use of the word "marriage." How can we, as a nation allow this to be done to us? And it's not just an "us" vs "them" situation. This is a decision that affects everyone, personally affected or not. To rob people of the right to make wills, to decide who cares for them in old age -- who can care for their children! I -- I -- I ....there just aren't words.

The bill proposed in Virginia is based in something more than the need to "protect" the sanctity of "marriage." It's based in a kind of bigotry and hatred that I find horrifying to have to accept still exists. This bill does not come from place in heart of people who want to "protect," but from people who wish to condemn, punish and displace a portion of the population that wants nothing more than to be able to live with the people they love. What makes this even more sickening is the number of these people who will support measures such as this are people who will destroy families with one hand, while handing out "God is Love" tracts with the other.

Just to get you to read more about this, to make you just as angry as I am, I'm going to lift a quote right from this article:

Once this bill is enacted, it will likely deprive gay and lesbian Virginians of some of the few choices that they currently have to protect their families including:

* Advanced Medical Directives (also known as Power of Attorney)
* Custody decisions and arrangements
* Health Insurance coverage through those companies in Virginia currently able to offer benefits to unmarried partners.
* Estate planning and wills.

Think about it. What can they take away next?

How about your home:

"Unfortunately, gay and lesbian Virginians can no longer call Virginia home," said Joseph Price, Equality Virginia Board Chair. "Because of this hostile legislation, it is clear that many families will choose to move to Maryland or other states that embrace diversity and welcome difference."

Inspired by: too much caffeine and righteous anger.
Reading: news that only further confirms my feeling that this world could use a few gay mutant super heroes. Then again, Bush would never allow cross species marriages. So even in my imagination the Right ruins the possibility for a happy ending.
Listening to: Across the Universe, the Rufus Wainwright cover.

2004-04-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

Alone: Day 1

Wayne left today and the following things were learned:

1) A three story house, while nice, is very, very large when inhabited by only one person.

2) That life is a lot like the Discovery Channel and since Wayne and Elisa already had "Scorpion Week," it makes one wonder what's next...

3) Since Wayne is gone home now (well, Colorado, actually), and Elisa is alone it seems that she has started to talk about herself in the third person.

4) Speaking in the third person is generally the first sign of madness and if Elisa goes all Dark Phoenix, it's Wayne's fault.

5) The fact that Wayne will absolutely understand the above reference makes Elisa give an Evil Laugh. Which is the second sign of madness and the first sign of potential as an Evil Genius.

6) The corruption of others in the ways of Geek-dom is fare too simple a task when armed with good sources of procrastination, and a willingness to commit.

7) Corruption goes both ways, and Elisa will soon be joining AmyJo at a comic book store near you.

8) Also, apparently, as super heroes in her own comic book, AmyJo assures Elisa that she will "wanted by all the comic book geeks."

9) Elisa sees no down side to AmyJo's plan.

10) Either Elisa or AmyJo will have to take an art class though, if this plan for Geek World Domination (though, Total Mansion is next) is to succeed.

11) A two liter Coke in a day? Yeah, it means you're awake.

12) The Bear is home. She also bases her understanding of true love around feet. And, actually, it makes perfect sense.

13) It doesn't take much digging to find HoYay, everywhere.

14) Yeah, Elisa is Pyro, because every new thing she reads about Drake just confirms that he's her perfect match. And Wayne? You can shut up with the laughing now.

Inspired by: Northstar; the gay, French Canadian, X-Man, endowed with the ability to fly at super speeds, and create light bursts so bright it can knock a person (or mutant) unconscious. Besides, he has a crush on Iceman too.
Reading: Umm...the recaps of the last 35 or so Uncanny X-Men comics.
Listening to: the Thursday Afternoon Mix. In honor of Wayne.

2004-04-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

I'll take you to our leader...

You are 37% geek

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator.

Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend.

You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines!

Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals!

You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Inspired by: Yeah...uh...we rented x-men 2, again. And, yeah, I understood all of that "geek-speak" conversation up there. Shut up.
Reading: You don't want to know...
Listening to: Bob Dylan, The Hurricane.

2004-04-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

Kenyon...they don't like to just let you go...

Got the following e-mail today from Kenyon, and figured, if I was gonna answer their questions, why not post it here too. Kenyon, I loved ya. I was ready to move on though.

hello seniors!!

I am writing an article for the D-MA newsletter entitled "Experiencing
Kenyon." I would like to include your responses to the following questions as
the content of the article. I would appreciate it if you take a moment and
answer the following questions. Your responses can be humorous or serious.

1. Why did you choose Kenyon? (money, legacy, location, corn fields, prestige,
other, etc)

It's an easy and hard question at the same time. I visited Kenyon, I applied to Kenyon because I thought that they would give me a scholarship. They did. I WENT to Kenyon because I felt like there I mattered. It's a place that was so different from home, but was so full of the kinds of people I'd always wanted to be surrounded by that it just fit.

2. What is your favorite thing about Kenyon? What's your least favorite?

Favorite thing about Kenyon: the campus and the professors. It's a wildly inspiring place to walk around in terms of the natural beauty. Especially for someone from Southern California where we don't even have trees let alone weather, every day was full of new things I hadn't even imagined being out there. The professors too inspire a similar level of admiration. As a student who tried their hardest to slip through the cracks, they just wouldn't let me. It's hard to fail when you have so many people determined to see that you succeed. And I did.

Least favorite thing: The fact that when a student doesn't actually, actively try to fail or to call for help it's so easy for them to be brushed under the rug. I may not have slipped through unnoticed, but that's because I went out of my way to fail in the most spectacular ways possible. It wasn't a slow decline it was a massive jump. Other students though, those who manage to do "well enough," are ignored by the administration and their concerns are too easily brushed aside with platitudes of, "well if you just CHOOSE to succeed." Sometimes it's just not that easy, or the school is honestly not doing enough, and that's when students really loose.

3. Is Kenyon doing enough to support the multicultural community and
camaraderie amongst students? If yes, why? If no, why not?
And if yes, what is your favorite aspect of the multicultural community?

Um...I think Kenyon's TRYING to support the multicultural community. I think that this effort really does mean a lot. I also think that there is a long way to go yet. Being someone from the West Coast in the Midwest is a big transition. Being one of, maybe, 4 Mexican or Mexican American students on campus was harder. The fact that there was an African American lit course offered was never a problem for me. The fact that there was never an Asian, Hispanic or Latino, or Non-Western literature course, was. It's understandable that the faculty is limited by their own knowledge, and so forth, but couldn't an effort be made increase the knowledge base of those people who are in charge of teaching us?

An effort needs to be made to ensure that no "student of colour" feels like a "second-class minority" because of the manner in which they are represented on Kenyon's campus. It's a truly buzzer feeling to know that you are the first person of your racial background that another student may have met. My freshman year the number of times I was actually told, "Wow. I've never met anyone from Mexico before," astounded me. There's a kind of thoughtlessness in lumping all "minority" students together. Some people are labeled by their skin colour, some people are labeled because of the wave of their hair, or the accent they have. It's even harder for those bi-racial students (myself included) to make the adjustment to a new place when people as you what "your parents are," as though they aren't human. And it's not meant in a mean or malicious manner but, even to have to answer the "where your parents are from," question stems not from an interest in the fact that my father's family is white, and hale, many generations back from England. What people want to know is that my mother is Mexican, because I have black hair and dark skin, and can not possibly just be "American" and look like that.

At some point the numbers at Kenyon will shift. The "mix" will become more even. But until that point Kenyon needs to remain aware of the struggles that students make going not only from urban to rural settings, but in suddenly loosing the comfort of simply knowing when you go to the bookstore, or grocery store, or even just to dinner, you will see other people who look like you.

4. What advice would you give underclassmen to adjust to life at Kenyon?

It's never the end of the world. It may seem that way, but it's not. And even if you flunk a class, just keep on truckin'. Actually, most important thing: Just go to class. Full stop. Even if you don't have the work, or didn't do the reading, just go. The profs. appreciate it, and when you need help later on it's one less thing to feel guilty about.

5. What cherished item, memory or experience would you pass on to
underclassmen? (i.e. I will my Middle Path view from Farr Hall)

I will the first day when it is finally warm enough to wear sandals, and you do, despite the fact that there are still patches of snow on the ground in the shade and by the time you get to class you can't feel your toes any longer.

Inspired by: Well, they sent me this e-mail didn't they?
Reading: I continue in the world of all things bloggish...
Listening to: Cat Power...this one's for you Bear.

2004-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

OMG!!!1! its 4 hte Grammar Nazis...

"She blames the decline on the failure of schools to teach the basic rules, and on the explosion of communication technologies that have allowed punctuation ignoramuses everywhere to deluge others with their poorly organized thoughts.

'People who don't know their apostrophe from their elbow are positively invited to disseminate their writings to anyone on the planet stupid enough to double-click and scroll,' she writes."

2004-04-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

And even more list-y things...

Really, these things accomplish nothing, but at the very least I get to hear the happy keyboard sounds that come with typing.

THREE THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND

1. How I ended up in Mexico. I mean, I did everything I could to screw up school and I still made it. Sometimes my own life just blows me away.

2. My mom. God I love that woman, but unless she cuts down that tree in the back yard we're gonna have words. (If it's any consolation, Mama, I don't get you, but it's because you're complex! Besides, that's why I love you.)

3. People who wear shoes and socks to the beach. Come on people! It's just sand! Geez...

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME

1. Heights. Gah, it's getting worse every day, and one of these times I'm gonna go some place and just get stuck up there.

2. Failure. No, it doesn't get any easier with practice..

3. Scorpions. I have acquired a good and healthy fear the little buggers.

THREE THINGS I'D LIKE TO LEARN

1. How to paint with Oils.

2. How to write in Spanish. The reading better part might not hurt either.

3. Rock climbing. Shut up. Yeah, yeah, the whole "scared of heights" thing. But really, it's less about the heights and more about the falling off the heights.

THREE THINGS I AM WEARING RIGHT NOW

1. Khaki cargo shorts.

2. An Ironman, Timex watch.

3. A white "San Diego Young Artists Symphony" shirt. I think it might actually be my dads...

THREE THINGS ON MY DESK
(Um...I sit on the roof in a hammock with the laptop sitting on a plastic chair....)

1. A copy of Icy Clutches by Aaron Elkins. (It's propping up the left back side of the computer.)

2. A copy of Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. (Propping up the right back side.)

3. My iBook itself.

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE

1. Go to Great Britain. And PEI.

2. Live in my own house. With a dog. And several cats.

3. See snow drifts taller than I am.

THREE GOOD THINGS ABOUT MY PERSONALITY

1. Friendly. Could probably carry on a very nice conversation with gravel if I had to.

2. A good listener. Apparently I'm one of those folks that people can "just tell stuff to."

3. An encourager. I have ridiculously talented friends and family. I just want them to know it too.

THREE BAD THINGS ABOUT MY PERSONALITY

1. I pick fights. When I'm mad I'll make you mad too so I can fight and feel better.

2. I really do care what everyone things about me. And obsess about it constantly.

3. I am sooooo lazy. Like, "wow look at all those dirty dishes I'm going to let someone else do," lazy.

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE

1. Mexican. (Hello Mama!)

2. English. ('Sup Pops!)

3. So, I've only got two...but I have always (will always) wish that I was Canadian.

THREE THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY BODY

1. My hair. It's thick and black, and I love it. It's also getting so long that about once a day I turn to Wayne and ask her to shave my head. To which she says, "Sure." But then I remember the dire warnings of the Bear and leave well enough alone.

2. As the Bear says, "Good feet." Also good because I judge other people by their feet, and how would that be if I had like monster feet or crazy toes or something?.

3. Biggest. Eyes. Ever. I'm really sorry, but Elijah Wood, you've got nothing on me. Your eyes may be blue, but I've got longer lashes.

THREE THINGS I DON'T LIKE ABOUT MY BODY

1. In Ohio, I loose the tan and then I just look freakish.

2. Me - a few pounds = Me very happy.

3. My knees. I'm too young to have random body parts stop working.

THREE THINGS MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME

1. That eating fish is beginning to grow on me. I mean, fish with bones? Still a major Ew!, but there was this salad we had downtown the other day that was actually pretty good...

2. The smell of red or purple Tootsie Pops makes me want to gag.

3. I secretly sort of, half-believe, all that crazy X-Files type stuff that's out there..."There are more things under the sun..."

THREE THINGS I SAY THE MOST

1. Dude.

2. Wicked/Awesome/Sweet. (They're interchangeable.)

3. "You know?" (Worst. Verbal. Pause. Ever.)

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO

1. New Zealand.

2. Tahiti.

3. Pitcairn Island.

THREE NAMES THAT YOU GO BY

1. Elisa - That would be my actual name folks.

2. The Mexican, or just Mexican - You try going to a private college in the middle of Ohio and see how many other people turn around to that name.

3. Elise - because there are apparently people out there who, even after 11 years, can't get my name right.

Inspired by: Well, Algernonmouse had this at her LJ and so, yeah, it got tacked up here.
Reading: Umm...blogs only so far today.
Listening to: The LOTR soundtracks.

2004-04-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

'Cause this list made me feel smart and really stupid at the same time...

College Board's 101 Greatest Works of Literature – italicize/bold those you have read, underline those you want to read

Beowulf
Achebe, Chinua - Things Fall Apart
Agee, James - A Death in the Family
Austen, Jane - Pride and Prejudice
Baldwin, James - Go Tell It on the Mountain
Beckett, Samuel - Waiting for Godot
Bellow, Saul - The Adventures of Augie March
Brontë, Charlotte - Jane Eyre
Brontë, Emily - Wuthering Heights
Camus, Albert - The Stranger
Cather, Willa - Death Comes for the Archbishop
Chaucer, Geoffrey - The Canterbury Tales
Chekhov, Anton - The Cherry Orchard
Chopin, Kate - The Awakening
Conrad, Joseph - Heart of Darkness
Cooper, James Fenimore - The Last of the Mohicans
Crane, Stephen - The Red Badge of Courage
Dante - Inferno
de Cervantes, Miguel - Don Quixote
Defoe, Daniel - Robinson Crusoe
Dickens, Charles - A Tale of Two Cities
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - Crime and Punishment
Douglass, Frederick - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Dreiser, Theodore - An American Tragedy
Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers
Eliot, George - The Mill on the Floss
Ellison, Ralph - Invisible Man
Emerson, Ralph Waldo - Selected Essays
Faulkner, William - As I Lay Dying
Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury
Fielding, Henry - Tom Jones
Fitzgerald, F. Scott - The Great Gatsby
Flaubert, Gustave - Madame Bovary
Ford, Ford Madox - The Good Soldier
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - Faust
Golding, William - Lord of the Flies
Hardy, Thomas - Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Hawthorne, Nathaniel - The Scarlet Letter
Heller, Joseph - Catch-22
Hemingway, Ernest - A Farewell to Arms
Homer - The Iliad
Homer - The Odyssey
Hugo, Victor - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hurston, Zora Neale - Their Eyes Were Watching God
Huxley, Aldous - Brave New World
Ibsen, Henrik - A Doll's House
James, Henry - The Portrait of a Lady
James, Henry - The Turn of the Screw
Joyce, James - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Kafka, Franz - The Metamorphosis
Kingston, Maxine Hong - The Woman Warrior
Lee, Harper - To Kill a Mockingbird
Lewis, Sinclair - Babbitt
London, Jack - The Call of the Wild
Mann, Thomas - The Magic Mountain
Marquez, Gabriel García - One Hundred Years of Solitude
Melville, Herman - Bartleby the Scrivener
Melville, Herman - Moby Dick (Worst. Book. Ever.)
Miller, Arthur - The Crucible
Morrison, Toni - Beloved
O'Connor, Flannery - A Good Man is Hard to Find
O'Neill, Eugene - Long Day's Journey into Night
Orwell, George - Animal Farm
Pasternak, Boris - Doctor Zhivago
Plath, Sylvia - The Bell Jar
Poe, Edgar Allan - Selected Tales
Proust, Marcel - Swann's Way
Pynchon, Thomas - The Crying of Lot 49
Remarque, Erich Maria - All Quiet on the Western Front
Rostand, Edmond - Cyrano de Bergerac
Roth, Henry - Call It Sleep
Salinger, J.D. - The Catcher in the Rye
Shakespeare, William - Hamlet
Shakespeare, William - Macbeth
Shakespeare, William - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare, William - Romeo and Juliet
Shaw, George Bernard - Pygmalion
Shelley, Mary - Frankenstein
Silko, Leslie Marmon - Ceremony
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Sophocles - Antigone
Sophocles - Oedipus Rex
Steinbeck, John - The Grapes of Wrat
Stevenson, Robert Louis - Treasure Island
Stowe, Harriet Beecher - Uncle Tom's Cabin
Swift, Jonathan - Gulliver's Travels
Thackeray, William - Vanity Fair
Thoreau, Henry David - Walden
Tolstoy, Leo - War and Peace
Turgenev, Ivan - Fathers and Sons
Twain, Mark - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Voltaire - Candide
Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. - George Bergeron
Walker, Alice - The Color Purple
Wharton, Edith - The House of Mirth
Welty, Eudora - Collected Stories
Whitman, Walt - Leaves of Grass
Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Gray
Williams, Tennessee - The Glass Menagerie
Woolf, Virginia - To the Lighthouse
Wright, Richard - Native Son

Inspired by: Dude! I have read a lot of books. Then again, there also a lot more books I haven't read....No wonder B&N always ends up with all my disposable income.
Reading: Ironically, nothing yet.
Listening to: Just some tunes from Bend It Like Beckham

2004-04-19T23:34:00.000-07:00

My doctor does home visits...

Or at least, sends the medicine I need by mail. With that I would like to say:

Dr. Ann, you are one amazing lady.

And yes, everything got here just as it should have. The chocolates did have to go in the freezer for a few, but it's all good now. Really though, you made our evening. Wayne's got some weird skin condition that makes her all Mystique in X-Men, and so we just spent time tonight eating ALL the Peeps and the left over potato chips from earlier and some beans (and my mom is gonna kill me when she finds out how we were eating today), and just generally spoke your praises for the good timing.

The beach was wonderful this evening. So few people, and clear water, it was all you could ask for. I did have a moment of feeling sorry for the teenage kid who's dad struck up a conversation with Wayne and myself about whether we were ever scared of sharks being so far out in the water. We, of course, said no. That poor kid though. You could just see, "Daaaad. Please, just shut up! Are you trying to make me look like more of a dork?" written across his face. Heh. Travel with family is sometimes hard.

Oh, and speaking of family, I can start a new count down...Family arrives in 14 days.

And yes Papa, the water's still very clear. And no, the waves tonight were not so much. The few that did come through were pretty closed out.

Inspired by: The breeze blowing across the roof, and crickets in the empty lot next door.
Reading: In between books now, actually.
Listening to: Yeah, Bear, this Reliant K stuff is pretty good.

2004-04-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

We've increased our blogging rate by 100%!

Yeah, it's a cop out. It's also, kinda cool. (And also lifted from about a million places, including, Shelbecat and Denise.)

1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
"air n. the atmosphere; a light" (way to go having a random dictionary on the roof.)

2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?:
The left side of the hammock I'm sitting in.

3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?:
In Spanish? Some soap opera with a girl that Wayne at first thought was a man because of her prosthetic nose. (It was on at a restaurant we went to.) In English? Probably an old episode of Law and Order; that show is always on.

4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is:
1:49pm

5: Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?:
1:59pm

6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?:
Some crazy ska playin' on the computer; the wind blowing through the palm trees; some weird bird call.

7: When did you last step outside? what were you doing?:
Am outside right now actually. Just chillin'.

8: before you came to this website, what did you look at?:
TWoP.

9: what are you wearing?:
Navy blue shorts and a green tank top.

10: Did you dream last night? What about?:
Nothing. But I did wake up in the middle of the night really thirsty, and spent a good long while debating wandering around in the dark, without shoes and getting water would be worth stepping on a bug that could kill me.

11: When did you last laugh?
About five minutes ago, when I read this: "The TV boyfriend (a close relation to the Movie boyfriend, Music boyfriend, and Morning News Anchor boyfriend, among others) is generally a fictional character" (From the wonderful Lumino Magazine.)

12: what is on the walls of the room you are in?:
On the roof, we live free--no walls for us baby!

13: Seen anything weird lately?:
Wayne's face.

14: What do you think of this quiz?:
Well, it was cool until this question.

15: What is the last film you saw?:
Hope Springs. And Colin Firth, if you ever do that to me again, we're through.

16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?:
Fox and fire Mischa Barton.

17: Tell me something about you that I don't know:
I'm not wearing a bra right now.

18: If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?:
Fire George W. Bush.

19: Do you like to dance?:
It's more of a wiggle really...

20: George Bush: is he a power-crazy nutcase or some one who is finally doing something that has needed to be done for years?:
Didn't I just answer this question?

21: Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?:
Ruth. Or Julia. (Take that Bear!)

21: Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?:
Michael. (Hi dad!)

22: Would you ever consider living abroad?:
Umm...further than I am now? Next time I'm try for someplace in another hemisphere...

23: Will you pass on this survey?:
Grace, I'm lookin' at you.

Inspired by: Umm...having too much time on my hands.
Reading: E! Gossip news. Woot!
Listening to: Bay City Rollers, Saturday Night.

2004-04-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

And when Graces' head explodes...

You can blame this guy.

2004-04-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

We may not be McSweeney's...

Hell, we aren't even Harpers's but today you're getting a list. Yup, a list of all the important (and not so much) events, thoughts and issues of living life on the roof of your house.

Number of days spent in Puerto Escondido: 53.
Number of those days spent at the beach: 48.
Number of times asked to "go see turtles": 48.
Average daily hours at the beach: 2.
Average daily departure time: 4:30pm.
Usual bed time: (Elisa) 2:00am.
(Wayne) 11:30pm.
Usual wake up time: (Elisa) 11:00am.
(Wayne): 6:30am.
Average number of hours per day spent on roof: 18.
Numbers of nights per week spent sleeping on roof: 5.
Number of friends who've visited: 1.
Number of pseudo-family to have visited: 17.
Number of road trips taken since arriving: 1.
Number of road trips avoided: 2.
Number of books read: 29.
Number of books left to read: 8.
Scorpions squashed flat with a brick: 4.
Number of bricks broken while squashing scorpions: 1.
Average daily water intake: 16 litres.
Number of times house water tank has been empty: 6.
Does that include today: yes.
Do we wish we'd showered yesterday: yes.
Number of fish to try and eat Elisa's hair: 1
Size of fish: Does it matter? It was a fish!
Number of days per week where Quesadillas are a main course of least one meal: 6.
Number of containers of peanut butter eaten: 3.
Did eating nothing but coconut and mole for three days give Wayne a stomach ache: yes.
Does she know better now: not really.
Latest T.V. obsession: Joan of Arcadia.
Is it sad that this happened without an actual television: yes.
Number of new incredibly embarrassing guilty pleasures acquired: 1.
Number that will ever be acknowledged publicly: 0.
Number of times "We will never tell anyone about this," has been said: 73.
Number of times today: 5.
Number pertaining to guilty pleasure: all.
Did Wayne just explain guilty pleasure via Venn diagram: yes.
Number of spontaneous rooftop dance parties: 3.
Number stopped because neighbors might be watching: all.
Number of hammocks on roof: 3.
Number of hammocks with holes: 1.
Size of hole: Very Large.
Number of times Elisa has said, "have you seen ____ movie": 57.
Number of times Wayne has said, "yes": 8.
Number of jobs Wayne got in a day: 1.
Did job result in a Happy Dance: yes.
Number of jokes about Snoopy: 15.
Will we explain them: no.
Frequency with which grammar is discussed: daily.
Did we know how to spell grammar: no.
Number of times Wayne and Elisa have compared themselves to fictional characters: 12.
Number of times they've been embarrassed by this: Every.
Number of times Wayne and Elisa have exited water because of imaginary sea creatures: 3.
Number of times it was actually a caterpillar: 1.
Can Wayne carry on a conversation in her sleep: yes.
Does she remember it later: no.
Number of dreams Elisa and Wayne have had concerning a T.V. show they won't admit to watching: 7.
Did Elisa get a recipe from a character in one of hers: yes.
Did one of Wayne's feature Ian Mckellan as a gay mentor to same character: yes.
Has Elisa acquired a new paranoia about dirt in her drinking water: yes.
Does the dirt selectively target Elisa: yes.
How far can Elisa throw half a rotten watermelon: 30 feet.
Was it from the roof: yes.
How far can Wayne throw a rotten orange: further than the empty lot permits.
Are we glad that one house is vacant: yes.

Will eggs left on the counter for a week make you sick: we'll let you know.

Inspired by: The threatening e-mails I've been getting. Seriously people, I'll update more often. I swear!
Reading: Peace Like a River. A gift from Wayne, it's amazing!
Listening to: Well, it's after 11:00pm so that means, The Writing Mix.

2004-03-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes there are no words...

And then there are those times when all you can say is, "I'm sorry Grandma, but, What The Fuck."

2004-03-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

I almost think Agent Smith seems Cuddlier...

Heh.

2004-03-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

Findin' our groove...

And let me tell you, it's a lazy groove.

Almost a whole week since my last substantial post. Wild excitement since then? More bus adventures? No. Essentially the last week has consisted of trips to the grocery store and going to the beach. It's a good life. Not exciting, but man, it's certainly relaxing.

For those of you keeping track, Wayne and I did go out last Saturday. Far from exciting, but we had popsicles and watched a bunch of drag queens wander up and down the main drag (no pun intended), so the night wasn't a total loss. We may even try another adventure sometime in the near future.

Honestly, we're wildly boring these days. Promise to keep better track of the amusing minor adventures to share with you all in the future. For now though, it's off to get ready to go to the beach.

Inspired by: Well, the oven works so today we're gonna try and make cookies...
Reading: Wayne and I have both finished all the Amanda Pepper mysteries and I've just put down another P.G. Wodehouse. Am thinking of rereading Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. That book always makes me want to be a writer.
Listening to: the Pogues, the wind in the palms, and dogs barking in the street...

2004-03-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Nothing saves the world like...

marshmallows.

2004-03-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

We're goin' live.

After many hours, and innumerable phone calls both in Spanish and in English, Wayne and I have finally gotten an internet connection at the house here. To be able to check my e-mail, blog and chat with everyone while sitting in front a high power fan makes the $20 month the best money spent in a long while.

No beach today. What with the computer and having the new stove delivered today was pretty well booked up otherwise with a great deal of laying around. Several hours were spent in the hammocks on the roof, and the at least an hour was dedicated to catching up on all my web-surfing. Oh, how I have missed the movie news and blogs. That and the comics. Yeah, as one soon to be visitor put it, now I can "geek it up," down here too.

Speaking of visitors I just found out that one my most favorite liberal feminists is coming down for a stay. That in and of itself is worth at least one, Woo! Wayne and I are hoping that having people come and stay will motivate us to get out of the house a little more, as the beach during the day is about as far a social activities have gone. This weekend though, we are Going Out. To a bar even. Yes, a big move for this little girl. Because, really, what does it say about me that this move arouses nothing but the utmost apprehension? Might it stem from the fact that I don't drink? No, I don't mind other people throwing back a few. At Kenyon there are times when the mulled beverages flow like water. It must be the fact that at the age of 23 I have yet to ever actual set foot in a bar. Does it count to say that it's just something I've never gotten around to before? Is going to a bar even one of those that you "get around" to doing? Mostly though, I just don't like the idea of having to dress up and go out. Wayne isn't any help either. Tonight's exchange went something like this:

"So, we still going out tonight," as I bang dishes around in the sink after dinner.

"Sure, I guess, " Wayne said as she put leftovers in the fridge, "but we don't have to. I mean, I'm fine with staying in too."

"Okay, I'm gonna finish my book then," and I headed up stairs.

Yeah, two fairly anti-social people living together...all we're going to do is go the beach in the morning and go to bed earlier at night! In an attempt to nip this bad habit in the bud we're determined to make it out of the house tomorrow. Saturday Night, here we come....

Inspired by: my ability to, with much effort and dedication, waste an entire day doing absolutely nothing productive. The internet doesn't count as it is just a new way to acomplish even less.
Reading: Well, I finally finished Northanger Abbey and must say...Not such a fan. She needed a better editor on that one. Well, written, but with a little too much of it making the final cut. I did just finished an Amanda Pepper mystery (Philly Steaks) by Gillian Anderson, and it gets many points from both Wayne and myself. Funny, intelligent women who save the world always make my day.
Listening to: strangely enough, the Bravehart sountrack. Really though, listening to anything of my own choosing while typing is still such novelty...oh, and would you look at that, now it's Guster. Good times.

2004-03-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

Sweatin' to the Oldies...

Okay, so maybe it's not all oldies, but whatever music I hear, where ever I am down here, I'm sweatin'. It is, according to Wayne's handy thermometer, 110 in the sun and only 87 in the shade. Either way, we're a roastin'. Beach later today though, so it's worthwhile in the end. That feeling of actually being cold when you first hit the water...Man! The mile and half walk down to Puerto Angelito is totally worth it.

Life down here isn't really all that exciting, seeing as how these next few weeks will just be spent getting into a grove and figuring out how to cook for ourselves in world where nothing comes ready made out of a box. Abuelita is making sure that we won't starve by teaching us how to make everything, but there are still times when it all seems just a bit surreal.

Oh! The one piece of big news for now (outside of the new stove which is probably only exciting to those of you out there who have actually tried cooking on that death trap), is that we're getting the internet at the house. Woo! In Oaxaca we were paying around 8 pesos ($0.80 American) for an hour at an internet cafe. Here in Puerto we're looking at 20 pesos, or $2.00 American for the same hour! In the long term, it's just cheaper to pay the monthly fee at the house. Needless to say, the most exciting thing is that I'll be able to type on a keyboard where I know where all the keys are and what they do. Besides, my iBook misses me. Shut up. You personify inanimate objects too and you know it.

* * *

We went to Puerto Angelito because it's the best beach for swimming, and also we know one of the ladies who runs one of the restaurants, so Wayne and I knew our stuff would be safe when we were out in the water. Abuelita was at home having opted for the "cool off in front of the fan," means of dealing with the heat. Our first real day at the beach was everything we could have hoped for. Not too crowded in the water, not too many people trying to sell you random things (really, what are you going to do with that grain of rice that now has your name on it?), just nice and quite and cool.

Getting down to the beach though was a little bit interesting, as they have paved the road all the way down to the beach, and made it longer that way as a means of staying with the smoother grade. Wayne and I, though, cut off the paved portion and went down the dirt path that seemed to be the local method, and made it down to the sand in good order, if a little bit dustier than we might have the other way.

We went to our usual restaurant and after ordering a couple of sodas headed out into the water. Right in at the sand there are always more people, but it's nothing like it gets in San Diego. There "crowded" means no open sand or water for miles. Here it's something like 20 or 30 people out in the water at the same time. Wayne and I decided to avoid the "crowds" anyways, and headed out deeper, just floating around and goofing off. We hadn't been out long though when one of the little tourist boats went by and the driver leaned out to yell at us.

"Hey ladies!" he actually managed in English, " want me to swim with you?"

Wayne and I ignored him, and the boat went on it's way. I couldn't help but feel a little bit pleased. You know you've made it back to Puerto when you've finally been hit on by one of the boat-men.

Inspired by: Am I allowed to say the beach two blogs in a row? Well, it isn't any less true today than it was before, so it stands. The Beach.
Reading: Still working on Northanger Abbey. As much as it pains me to say it, I can't feel that this is Austin's best work.
Listening to: Well, it was crazy techno stuff, but we seem to have mellowed into a kind of Julio Eglesias kind of thing. Very "easy listening," all of it.

2004-03-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

Done and Done!

Or at least, Made it and Made it!

The beach is ours. In fact the beach is waiting as I type this. So I think I am going to go swimming now. It is very warm. Not hot, but humid and so, swimming sounds like a fine idea. Even at 8:00pm. Yay! Swimming!

Wayne and I also had the best popsicles ever. She had coconut and I had melon. Good times. Also, all the cabs here have their seats covered in plastic, like old people do with their couches. I had forgotten how much that stinks. Especially when the backs of your legs stick to the plastic.

Inspired by: The beach.
Reading: Northanger (sp?) Abbey, by Jane Austin.
Listening to: the ceiling fan and people cruising up and down the walk out front. That and the waves in the background.

2004-03-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

And we're off...

The tickets have been purchased and at 8:45 tomorrow morning we leave for Puerto Escondido. Sweet in only the sweetest way possible. Also though, it means that when we get hot now we can remedy the situation by going to the beach. All around, we're stoked.

The only possible problem with this situation? Well, we're traveling by bus. In all honesty it isn't so much the bus that we're worried about as the fact that we seem to have acquired really atrocious bus karma somewhere and just hope that our concern for the LBD (don't know who that is? Check the post below), will fix that. In any case, we made a point of buying tickets for a first class bus (at a whopping $10), and figure we've done all we can.

* * *

Wayne and I tried a used bookstore today, but as we were both low on cash--having just spent most of ours on bus tickets and a new pot for boiling water--we decided to let it go. What was amusing though was the kinds of books they had. Really we were mostly looking at terrible romances and a few mysteries that just made you cringe to read the back. Hey, if any of you all out there have any old used paper backs you want to send our way Wanye and I would be most appreciative. I mean, dude, Danielle Steele in Spanish just isn't going to cut it.

* * *

Also, having received a few e-mail questioning this, I want you all to know that I do in fact read the comments you all leave. And I love them! To quote the Bear, Keep Up the Good Work.

Inspired by: Beaches. Long sandy beaches.
Reading: Still doing P.G. Wodehouse. Though Wayne is enjoying the Aaron Elkins book I recommended for her, so points to me.
Listening to: Busses going past the internet cafe. Usually in places like this there's music, but since we're ground level on really busy street down town, it's not like you could hear it even if there was any.

2004-02-28T11:45:00.000-08:00

The Littlest Bus Driver...

Well, we found him. He and a kid who is apparently his cousin drive this one bus that goes to our drop off, so Wayne and I have gotten to ride his bus three times now. He has yet to look any older than the about 15 years old I thought he was the first time we got his bus. Last night though, we got to check one more item off the list of "adventures to have involving a bus."

We had gone down to the Socalo just to be able to say that we had actually gone out at least one our nights in Oaxaca, and so it was about 9:00pm when we finally hopped on a bus that turned out to be that of the LBD (or Littlest Bus Driver). Despite his tender age the LBD is quite capable, and the first half of the ride was absolutely uneventful. And then we pulled up to the curb and stopped. We have gotten use to the LBD sending his friend off to get things from stores while we wait at red lights and such (rather like we get to do errands with the LBD on his way), but this time the Driver actually got off. This was more than a little unusual. There was a pleasant younger couple and a nicely dressed older lady sitting with us in the front of the bus, and the way they started to talk it seemed that the bus had been in some kind of an accident.

As it turns out, at the really big left turn just before this hill a woman in a little hatchback had tried to beat the bus around outside of the turn through the intersection, and had not been quite able to make it. The woman with dyed red hair, and gold jewelery was blaming the poor kid. Everyone on the bus knew it was her fault. Wayne and I actually had not felt anything. After a little while of sitting on the bus waiting the Cousin climbed back on the bus (the LBD was still talking to the woman and several large men who seemed to come out of no where.) and gave us all our money back. It seemed that we were not going to get to leave any time soon.

Piling off those of us at the front of the bus started to talk. The older woman was furious, saying that the woman was only making a big deal out of it because the driver was some poor kid (both he and his cousin were still in their school uniforms today!), and some was some rich middle aged lady. I echoed her sentiment and so did the couple who had also been at the front. And so we stood, watching, waiting for the police to come. All of us let other busses that could have taken us home pass by. No one wanted to abandon these kids to this mean lady and her friends. Just sitting there waiting at the bus stop listening to the others talk I realized what an issue of social equality something like this represented. That there was something at stake for the passengers of the bus, just as much as there were for the boys. This woman in the car thought she could walk all over them because they were poor and she was not. The way these people were talking you would be hard pressed to find any more vehement or stern witnesses to this accident. They were going to wait for the police and they were going to make sure that the kid was not going to end up getting into any kind of trouble. Wanye and I felt better knowing that.

The last busses run at 9:30, and when it was 9:45 and we saw one last bus headed towards home go by, we realized we had to leave. I gave my best to the bus driver, and told the older woman to say something good for him. She smiled and said of course. Just as we were hopping onto our impossibly packed bus, the flashing lights of the police pulled in behind us. A part of me wanted to stay, just to be there for the LBD and company. But it was too late and the bus pulled away.

Getting home, we told the story to Abuelita, who was of course of exactly the same mind as the older woman on the bus. Wayne and I laughed, saying that today we wanted to go on a hunt and track down the LBD just to ask how everything turned out last night. As it turns out, we did not even have to wait that long. Abuelita said that on the news this morning they mentioned the accident. (Well, it had been a big deal, closing one of the main roads down to only one lane. Alright, so it was only, two lanes to begin with, but still.) It seems that the woman and LBD were able to reach some kind of accord. It was an "accident" and not the Fault of either party. I agree with Wayne though, that the somehow just does not satisfy. We may go looking for the LBD afterall.

* * *

Ancient ruins are amazing. Always and universally. The pyramids of Yagule are particularly so. Standing at the top a very tall hill (or a small mountain), looking down over the valley, filled with small farms, the sense of peace is almost overwhelming. From the top you also look down on the ruins themselves. Room and rooms, all connected making only the smallest part of what was once a large and powerful city. Now two kilometers from the road, the closest people live in the small farms below, descendants of the people who built the pyramids we climb over now.

It is also a place where, if sunscreen is not properly applied, one will end up with a wicked sunburn. In retrospect, all that I can say is that at least now I am not glaringly white any more. Or at least not now that most of the red has dulled to a either a deep tan (my face) or only a slight pink (tops of shoulders). In either case, the whole thing was worth it. No, not the tan part, the seeing the pyramids.

Inspired by: if a 16 year old can drive a bus before and after school, then I should be able to do anything.
Reading: P.G. Wodehouse. Though, I did just finish another Agatha Christie. Maybe in a few weeks I will stick up something of a "wild travels" reading list...
Listening to: some sort of mix being played in the store below us. So far it has included Madonna, Creed, Backstreet Boys, and some random Mexican rock. It is not anywhere near as good as the mix on the bus back from Teotitlan del Valle yesterday. That one had R.E.M., Rod Stewart, Tears for Fears, M.C. Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Talking Heads--absolutely the best of the 80s.

2004-02-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

Like getting hit by a bus...

But we'll talk about that later.

Wayne has just informed me that today's high was 87, but it's certainly not that warm now. There's a brisk breeze blowing, and it's feeling very much like one of those "in the cool of evening," kind of times. The weather here has been wonderful, but Wayne's excited about the fact that it's supposed to get cooler this week, with the high on Friday only being 64. Which I suppose is fine, as the current plan has us leaving on Monday for Puerto. Beach, here we come.

* * *

The last few days have been nice. Fairly uneventful, but in a good way. For the benefit of Wayne's parents, we've made several unnecessary, and totally frivolous purchases. The Mercado de Abastos has absolutely everything a person could ever hope to buy and so we did. Or rather, Wayne and I bought things that we put on "the list," and were just excited that we found it all. (For the curiouss, the"all" is as follows: sunglasses, a brush, vase for Abuelita, a comb, and miltomates. Way to go Us.) That was Monday. Yesterday involved a trip to Abastos, but this time with Abuelita, which is, well...an event.

My Abuelita walks faster than any other human being on the earth. She also is the most intense marketplace shopper I've ever met. That means that taking two such American looking kids with her is something of a liability. Wayne and I mess with her bargaining mojo. Keeping this in mind Wayne and I spent the entire trip 6 to 8 feet behind her everywhere we went. The only times we got close were the brief moments when she would do the "hand off" and give us a new purchase to stick into the bags we had brought with us. Watching her in action is like watching a professional athletet. It's inspiring. Yesterday though, she was on fire. You could really tell that she missed Oaxaca.

Yesterday afternoon brought an adventure of a different sort though. To start out with, for once, Abuelita's directions about where to catch the bus we needed weren't quite on, and so a little asking for directions was needed. We made the bus though, and off we went. Where to? A little town called San. Bartolo Coyotepec. It's only about 20min outside the city, but that far enough so you feel like you've at least made it part way into the countryside. The reason we went though, is the pottery. Black and shiny, like carved hematitee, this small town is the only place in the world where it is made. Some times you'll find it up in the states, but it's always horribly expensive, and always only for thebenefitt of the middle man and final retailer. It was wonderful to be able to go right into the little shops, most of them the size shape of those small "self-storage" units you find at home, and see the artisans working the clay right there. It is also nice to know that the pottery we bought was a direct benefitt to the people who actually made it.

The people too were great. There was one older woman, very tiny, and very old, from whom I bought a small pot. She complemented me on my own braids and then unwound her own from her head to show me. Very long white hair, braided with faded red cloth, and then wound around the top of her head in a sort of crown. She lamented the fact that her hair wasn't as thick and dark as mine. "When I was young, it was down to my knees!" she told me. Looking at her bright dark eyes and obviously winning smile, I didn't think she had anything to worry about.

Another woman, in another shop, won Wayne over with a rather wonderful show of false surprise, when addressing the question of where Wayne and I were visiting from. "You're not from around here?" she said, managing admirably to keep a straight face even as Wayne and I laughed. She had waited until I had said I was from California, pretending that Wayne's light skin and light brown hair weren't any kind of a give away.

Needless to say, we bought things from both these women.

We caught a bus back into the city and it was there, at the end of our trip, that perhaps the most...exciting event so far, took place.

The bus ended it's run by pulling into the terminal where it had started from, not far from where Wayne and I had gotten on earlier in the day. The driver let out the remaining passengers. Gwen and I were the last two off the bus.

It was a fairly small courtyard and had a small raised sidewalk along the far right wall, where we were let out. Walking next to the bus though, I didn't realize how close to it we were until the bus started to pull forward and away from us. Keep in mind that this raised sidewalk had meant that we didn't have to jump down from the last step, but it also meant we were extactly even with the body of the bus. So when it began to make a left hand turn, the back ride side of the bus swung wide. Right up onto the sidewalk. Right Smack! into me, where I was smooshed inbetween the bus and tree that had been planted in the sidewalk. It felt almost exactly the same as when you walk into a door jam at home. Startling, but not painful.

My right hip and shoulder took most of the impact, but were fine. The arm that had hit the tree first felt a little scraped, but that too was nothing. Wayne got knocked in the elbow, when she put her arm out, to, as she put it, "do what? Deflect it?" But, like me, sustained no lasting damage. We didn't even get any bruises! What we did get though, was a moment where we could both look at eachother and say in unison, "I just got hit by a bus."

Like Wayne said, "Well, now we can cross that off our list."

Inspired by: Self-inflicted haircuts. Yup, Wayne and I did it. She lost like and inch and a half. I only evened out the back, so don't worry, it's still long. Now it just looks better.
Reading: The Honk and Hollar Opening Soon. by Billie Lettes (though, I may have the last name wrong).
Listening to: It was Mexican punk rock, but now it's just the sound of the cars passing on the street outside, and the kids doing their homework a couple of computers down from me.

2004-02-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

And it's not raining!

Well, Gwen and I made it in one piece to our little bit of adventure. So far the day's events have consisted of going to change dollars to pesos and then wandering around in circles in the market (where we bought one of those great mesh bags that everyone around here has), followed by an extensive search for some place with the internet. Obviously, we were successful.

The trip down here was wonderfully uneventful. Abuelita and I traveled well, though I was a little hungry by the time we finally got home. As I still have e-mailing to I'm going to leave with a series of interesting things viewed along the way since I left home on Sunday morning...

A man working the luggage cart in the rain at the Tijuana Airport wearing one of those novelty umbrella hats.

That you can buy a copy of Michael Moore's book Stupid White Men, in Spanish in the Mexico City airport bookstore.

That the Spanish word for Jewelry Store is "Joyeria."

That I think I'm going to let Gwen cut my hair.

Inspired by: Dude, I'm actually kinda tall here! Gwen is a giantess.
Reading: Agatha Christie.
Listening to: Well, the internet place was playing Britney Spears, but they have thankfully switched to some local pop star.

2004-02-21T23:54:00.000-08:00

Me? A chicken?

Must begin with some big Thank You's to both Papa and Jem. Papa for the new tires that got me through the rain in one piece and Jem for the wonderful day at Disney's California Adventure and Disneyland yesterday. Thanks guys!

It seems though, that I am scared of everything. Making me a real joy at amusement parks. After all I'm scared of the following: big drops, loops, things that go in circles (fast or slow), and heights. Which automatically elimates the following: most roller coasters, merry-go-rounds, ferris wheels, and practically every ride in DCA. Yes, Jem is pacient boy, and I appreciate it. But it brings me to the question; do I have deep psychological issues that need dealing with? Am I holding back some terrible trauma from my past? Or am I just a really big chicken? Having consulted with Gracie, the conclusion was...I'm a hobbit. Small, hopeless, and endlessly lovable. Alright, I added the lovable, part, but hey, it's still true!

* * *

Okay, the big day is tomorrow. We're (Abuelita and myself) meeting Wayne at Abuelita's house Oaxaca , and the adventure begins. I'm actually done packing at a semi reasonable hour and am now going to go copy many recipes for use in Puerto. If any of you guys have good ones you want to share do! Wayne and I both like veggies and so anything along those lines would even more appreciated.

There probably won't be any more posts until Monday or Tuesday when I make it to the internet cafe in the city. We'll be in Oaxaca for a week, maybe more before we head to the coast, where both e-mail and blogging will be much more regular. In the mean time, amuse yourselves by reading Gracie's blog and checking out the links to Oaxaca and Puerto themselves.

The next time I post something I'll be doing from the other side of the border. Sweet.

Inspired by: the desperate need to be braver than I feel.
Reading: looks like Agatha Christie for the plane...
Listening to: the "Good Times" mix.
Skipping Town in: Well, tomorrow. Woo!

2004-02-21T23:13:00.001-08:00

Because who wants to be a Sane ruler?

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

You are Charles VI of France, also known as Charles the Mad or Charles the Well-Beloved!

A fine, amiable and dreamy young man, skilled in horsemanship and archery, you were also from a long line of dribbling madmen. King at 12 and quickly married to your sweetheart, Bavarian Princess Isabeau, you enjoyed many happy months together before either of you could speak anything of the other's language. However, after illness you became a tad unstable. When a raving lunatic ran up to your entourage spouting an incoherent prophecy of doom, you were unsettled enough to slaughter four of your best men when a page dropped a lance. Your hair and nails fell out. At a royal masquerade, you and your courtiers dressed as wild men, ending in tragedy when four of them accidentally caught fire and burned to death. You were saved by the timely intervention of the Duchess of Berry's underskirts.

This brought on another bout of sickness, which surgeons countered by drilling holes in your skull. The following months saw you suffer an exorcism, beg your friends to kill you, go into hyperactive fits of gaiety, run through your rooms to the point of exhaustion, hide from imaginary assassins, claim your name was Georges, deny that you were King and fail to recognise your family. You smashed furniture and wet yourself at regular intervals. Passing briefly into erratic genius, you believed yourself to be made of glass and demanded iron rods in your attire to prevent you breaking.

In 1405 you stopped bathing, shaving or changing your clothes. This went on until several men were hired to blacken their faces, hide, jump out and shout "boo!", upon which you resumed basic hygiene. Despite this, your wife continued sleeping with you until 1407, when she hired a young beauty, Odette de Champdivers, to take her place. Isabeau then consoled herself, as it were, with your brother. Her lovers followed thick and fast while you became a pawn of your court, until you had her latest beau strangled and drowned.

A severe fever was fended off with oranges and pomegranates in vast quantities, but you succumbed again in 1422 and died. Your disease was most likely hereditary. Unfortunately, you had anywhere up to eleven children, who variously went on to develop capriciousness, great cruelty, insecurity, paranoia, revulsion towards food and, in one case, a phobia of bridges.

2004-02-21T23:01:00.000-08:00

Well, we always suspected as much....

your pippin

!!!!!!!WHAT LORD OF THE RINGS HOBBIT ARE YOU!!!!!!!
brought to you by Quizilla

Gracie Lou, this one's for you. (And no, the rhyming wasn't intentional.)

2004-02-18T23:13:00.000-08:00

The Most Vile Act Ever!

Dave Barry had this up on his site...something that just had to be shared. Also so not something Viggo would ever do. Ever.

Inspired by: American Splendor. Gah! Good movies just kill me.
Reading: Well, I got a Spanish/English picture dictionary...
Listening to: Nickel Creek is always good before bed.
Skipping Town in: 4 days.

2004-02-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

"Leavin' on a jet plane" or "How Wayne set her watch wrong and had go find dinner after all."

First things first...Hello Wayne's Parents!

Yes, this means that the first stage of the Oaxaca Trip has begun. Wayne left this morning for Mexico D.F. (Mexico City, for those of you not in the know), and got in this afternoon. She's all in one piece but had apparently, "moved my watch an hour in the wrong direction (its 3:30 not 5:30), which explains a lot of confusion I had so far today - including being amazed at how high in the sky the sun was at 5 o clock." This also meant that since she gained two hours she had extra time to kill and a dinner to find. Hey, Wayne, don't eat from street vendors!

Also, it would seem that the keyboards down there are different, so apostrophe's are not happening for her. She's going to be meeting me in Oaxaca on Sunday or Monday, so further updates on her time in the Capital will be posted here as she sends them to me. Ah! I must admit to jealousy that she is already off an away and I still have several days to go...then again, I do get to go to Disneyland on Friday, so it's not all bad.

* * *

Went out to dinner with my cousin Sarah tonight. Good times. Dinner at the family's favorite little Italian joint, followed by some time spent wandering the Barns and Nobel and looking for books I shouldn't have spent money on but did anyway. Many things were discussed, including people of our mutual acquaintance. Quote of the night goes to Sarah, though, for her ability to get to the heart of the matter.

"And she said, 'I don't mind that gay people are gay, but I'll never forgive them for taking such wonderful word. Couldn't they have taken another one?'"
"So then it's another kind of extreme. She wasn't bent about people being gay, it's all about them messing with her vocab."

~~Inspired~~ Tormented by: the worst hiccups ever. Second time I've gotten them today, too. Seriously, they hurt! (On a side note, the spell check wanted to make this say "hookups" instead of hiccups, which I suppose could work, as that might be painful as well...assuming that it happened Multiple times in a single day.)
Reading: Amphigory by Edward Gorey
Listening to: Just a bit of Guster.
Skipping Town in: 5 days.

2004-02-16T23:35:00.000-08:00

Why boys are trouble, but girls will make you crazy.

Went to the zoo today, and then shopping for some art supplies for my mom, and then came home and watched TV. All of these things were done with the companionship of my younger cousin, Cat. She's great. Really. She also talks more and faster than anyone I have ever met. Yes, even including myself. I almost wanted to tell her to be quiet a few times, but it was all so genuinely young, and awe induced, that I couldn't. She just happens to be one of those people who shares with everyone exactly what she's thinking at exactly the moment that it pops into her head. Makes for some interesting comments. Today's highlights:

(At the Zoo)
"When I grow up I'm going to have a cat. And a monkey trained in the circus."

"I shouldn't have come, now I just feel sorry for the meerkats."
"Why? They're fine here. I'm sure they don't mind too much, as long as they have dirt to dig up."
"No, it's not. They're stuck here by that bird! He would really get on my nerves if I lived next door."
(This was when a macaw near by started yelling.)

(Shopping)

"I love paint so much. I love paper too."

"Ninety-nine cent paint brushes! It's a good thing my eyes work, or I never would have seen that deal."

(To the woman in front of us in line, who just said I was a good baby sitter and that Cat should keep me around.) "Oh, she's my cousin. You don't get to get rid of those."

Yes, today was a good day.

Inspired by: Lost in Translation. Amazing. Absolutely, amazing. If you worry about subtlety being lost in art, just watch this movie. It renews my hope for our future film makers.
Reading: It's all being saved for The Trip...
Listening to: Newsies. Shut up.
Skipping Town in: 6 days.

2004-02-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

No more French-Kung-Fu-Historical-Romance-Werewolf Movies right before bed.

Okay, had the following dream....

Myself and several people I don't know were highered to take the old ladies from my church (including my grandma) down to Tijuana to go gambling. So we drove them down, and dropped them off, but then the other people who were with me disapeared, so the only person who knew where all old folks had gone was me. I then ran into these crazy people with big hair who, it turns out, were werewolves and they needed me to show them where I'd dropped off the old people because one of them was an old werewolf who had run away from an old folks home especially for mythological beings. Needless to say I helped them find the man, and then I went and got all my old people, and we went back to the church to go to the valentines dinner. The dinner though, was really a concert, and carnival. There were all kinds of people there and Madonna was really annoyed to have to play before Weezer, but the old folks didn't like her and they were big fans of the "Buddy Holly" song, so Madonna just had to deal with it. One of my friends then took me to have my fortune told at the booth for that, and Goldie Hawn told me that I would have to come back at 2:00, because she wasn't set up yet.

But then my alarm went off and I never did get my fortune told by Goldie Hawn. The End.

Inspired by: Gracie. She always has the coolest dreams.
Reading: Dictionary of Quotable Definitions. Yeah, I'm a dork.
Listening to: a little bit of everything this morning...

2004-02-12T23:19:00.000-08:00

Not a problem Nan is going to run into...

Poodle's went to the groomers today. Yup, both of them. Only $60 for the both of them, and they both look wonderful.(Yes, Nan, the "puppy cut.") So soft and fuzzy. Also very poodle-ly. My dad made sure I told the groomers, "No bows. I don't have sissy dogs." So instead he got two very fluffy, white mini-poodles with red bandanas with white hearts on them. It was too cute, and as the Amy the nice groomer lady said, "We know they're boys, but it's Valentines! Everyone gets hearts for Valentines." Terribly stylish my dogs. Duncan, on the other hand, who is getting to be a very old man, was just glad to have the peace and quiet of being the only dog in the house for a little while.

But guilt strikes deep, and I can no longer write under this false pretence. Of course I want you all to think that I'm a good and responsible pet owner (and I am!), but taking the dogs to get hair cuts more expensive than my own is not generally the way I operate. What happened today then? Today was entirely Stewart's fault.

I must begin with what is one small, but vital, piece of information; Stewart is a dog who will eat (or at least try) anything.

He is also one of those dogs who likes to go out into the yard and roll around in the dirt. He is a "dirty dog" and likes it that way. He is not a "poodle."

Today, he tried to eat and then got his head covered in...Surf board wax.

This only happens on the West coast, huh?

The best my dad and I can figure is that a piece of the stuff must have gotten knocked off my dad's dresser at some point and then this morning Stew took it outside to chew on and then forgot about it. Surf wax is pretty soft to begin with and sitting in the SoCal sun on one our lawn chairs the stuff melted down into the chair, and just sat there, a waiting, sticky, viscous blob. Later in the morning, Stewart must have walked under the chair, and gotten it all over his head and ear.

It's that or he was chewing on it, fell asleep in the sun with the wax by his head and the stuff melted all over his face.

Either way, he was a mess. True, he did end up with a pretty cool spiked hairdo (I now know what a dog would look like with palmaide), but his left ear was a disaster and all the fur on the top of his head that wasn't pointed up, was just one sticky rug.

So, to the groomers he went. We didn't want Tlaloc to feel left out so he went along too. And honestly, he got the better end of it. Because there was so much wax on Stew's ear they had to shave both of them really short so the hair on the top of his head that much more noticeable. It looks for all the world as if he's got on this sort of tall fur cap. It's like I've got one French Poodle and one Russian Poodle.

From the point of view of their humans the dogs look great. The number of times they've been told they're "soooo cute!" since I picked them up has to be in the millions. My mom is so impressed that she's thinking of making this a regular thing. Dad just wants to take Duncan in. I'm pretty sure that Duncan doesn't care one way or the other. Tlaloc and Stew though? Stew, well, let's just say that he had fun with dirt tonight, and isn't as white tonight as he was this evening. When I got to the groomers to pick the boys up Tlaloc was being brushed and sprayed with "fragrance," and was enjoying himself a little too much.

Inspired by: The beginning of packing...only things still missing from the list? Salami and Gummi bears.
Reading: Still vampire PI's. I'm thinking I may finish this one and then send the rest of the series back to the library unread....
Listening to: Nickel Creek, This Side.
Skipping Town in: 10 days.

2004-02-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

Learning new things every day...

So not much happening in Casa Mexicanan. Mostly just trying to help my mom clean up the house. Have been messing around with the blog though. Well, obviously. The colour change is nice, and there's a new "about me" bit that should hold up through the move South. I've also added new links and run across several new note worthy blogs. Be sure and check them out:

Blogs:
Republic of Virtue
San Diego Bloggers
Do you have that in my size?
"The Cheese Stands Alone."
I moved to Oaxaca

New Sites to Visit
Ben Horton, Painter.
Prairie Home Companion
Moleskine Journals
Mozilla

(Am also ridiculously proud of the fact that now, if you wave your mouse over a link, it changes colours! Also, some of them have little messages that pop up. Humour me and try it a few times.)

~~Inspired~~ Geeked out by: learning all this HTML stuff.
Reading: P.N. Elrod. Vampire private eye...we'll see how this one turns out.
Listening to: Garrison Keillor. "Cows with Guns."

2004-02-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

Why I don't like spiders...

Dave Barry's got an article up that just made me go, "ewww!"

2004-02-11T17:14:00.000-08:00

I think it's because I said I didn't like to shop at Walmart...

But that's not snobbery, that's fighting the Capitalist System!

Which "Saved By The Bell" Character Are You?

2004-02-11T17:06:00.000-08:00

Even funnier because it happened by accident...

You're Mexico!

While some people think you're poor and maybe a little corrupt, you know where it's at, enjoying good food and nice beaches. You like to take things a little slower than those around you, and you really wish the air were cleaner, but sometimes compromises must be made. For some reason, Chevrolet keeps trying to sell you Novas as well, even though they don't really go.
Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

2004-02-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Reason #237 why life isn't like movies...

In real life you'll get stuck.

2004-02-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

This is what Viggo would do.

Makes me glad the sea life in Puerto is shy...

2004-02-11T00:43:00.000-08:00

Fun for girls and--well, just girls I guess.

Test your skills, how many stupid boys can you throw rocks at?

2004-02-09T23:54:00.000-08:00

"Now with Brighter marshmallows!"

That's what you get when you by generic brand lucky charms. "Brighter" marshmallows.

It's also what you get when you only know generic brand HTML. "Brighter" blogging. I figured if I was gonna mess with the layout or colours now was the time to do it. Besides, Gracie's blog is so bright! I was jealous, I'll admit. But now I'm ready to shine on, so here's to a paint job making up for a multitude of sins. (Anyone out there know enough about HTML to help me add another column to the left hand side of the page?)

Inspired by: Gracie and her hot pink.
Reading: way too much about "making the most of your blog"...
Listening to: a bit of Relient K.
Skipping Town in: 13 days.

2004-02-09T23:27:00.000-08:00

Some things never change...

A man at a random blog remembers both his youth and Kenyon.

2004-02-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

All grown up and saving China...

Or at least, blogging. Way to go Gracie! Check her and her librarians out.

www.librariansinmyhead.blogspot.com

2004-02-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Just keeps getting better and better...

Over at Coming Soon they have a story about some of the new scenes that are going to be in the extended edition of Return of the King.

There's more news at TheOneRing.net where they quote Peter Jackson as saying that the ROTK:EE has a running time of 4hrs 10min, with 50min of that being new scenes!

I'm going off to do my very geeky-est happy dance now.

2004-02-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

Starting to get antsy...

Figity-ness and the desperate urge to go on extended driving trips mark for me the beginning of any trip. Anticipation is half the fun of anything, and this is doublely true of travel. There is so much preparation that goes into taking even a short trip. Going to another country for three months leaves no end of things that need to be "taken care of" before departure. Today's attempt to assuage the feeling that my skin is about to crawl right off my body and explore the world with out me, was a shopping trip. List of "things to get for Oaxaca" in one hand, shopping basket in the other, I made stops at Target and Longs Drugs, and bought all kinds of things. Not all of them from the list, and some of which I'll be returning tomorrow. Impulse shopping when buying for a trip tends to be even worse. The problem itself might also lie within the list as it leaves plenty of room for addition...

~~sunscreen~~ (Coppertone, Oil free, SPF 45)
hard salami
gummymmi Bears
film for camera
extra camera batteries
~~tampons~~ (they were on sale even)
~~toopaste~~ (Aquafresh whitening. Mint, of course)
toothbrush
dental floss (the cheapest kind)
shampoo
~~conditioner~~ (Aussie Moist conditioning)
Advil
~~face wash~~ (St. Ives medicated exfoliating scrub, and Cetaphil)

[I must say though, that when I was picking out my sunscreen (that Spectra stuff by Copertone looked good, but was too expensive. Besides, who really needs SPF 50?), I had to ask a Target "team member" where it was. Two fairly normal looking young guys stocking paper towels showed me. They then proceeded to have a conversation about whether or not the white one of the two should try some of that self tanning stuff and how long it would last. In the end they just decided it was hopeless and that the black guy had at least one thing to be thankful to his skin colour about. Needless to say, when I saw this lobster read lady pick up a bottle of the Spectra, I had to agree.]

Didn't get everything today, but there's always tomorrow. There's also always CostCo. where you can get practically everything cheaper and in bulk.

Now some of the things on list may seem a bit odd, namely the salami and the gummi bears, but a life time of travel to the Southern reaches of Mexico has proved these to be indispensable. Sandwich meat is a rare commodity and gummi bears...well, there's nothing else like them after a long day at the beach. It's also sort of one of those traditional type things with no explination other than, that's just "how it's always been."

* * *

I spend a fair amount of time cruising the blog-sphere, checking out what other bloggers are up to, and it's come to my attention that while my little piece of the internet has a spiffy title (thanks Nan), it's still lacking in the "tag line" department. So in a mad effort to remedy that I spend an even longer amount of time looking for quotes and other random possibilities, and came up with--nothing. Did find some spiffing sites for quotes though: BrainyQuote, Entplaza: Quotes, and Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.

So no new quote. Cool, I can deal with that. Not keeping the old quote though. So I was forced to come up with a Plan. If "accoutrements" are "Outward forms of recognition; trappings," then that's what the "tag line" will be. Changed, probably weekly, or as situations warrant. Sweet. Although, Vickie's "small things travel faster," was way up there on the list of possiblities.

Inspired by: Plane tickets. Woo!
Reading: takin' a break...Gracie's right, our brains are full of librarians, and right now mine are pretty back logged. No point giving them new info, they'll just lose it.
Listening to: Just the mellow stuff.
Skipping Town in: 14 days.

2004-02-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

Short people got no reason...

Howdy there, partner, you're the cowboy - a rough
and tumble guy with a smile for everyone.

Which Little People figure are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

2004-02-07T23:27:00.000-08:00

"Non-Fanny-Packs" and other shopping news.

Well, the bag is mine. The belt is next and I'm getting shorts. Way to go parents!

And to you "fanny pack" nay-sayers, I have only this to offer you--when I got home from the store dad said (and this is a quote), " Wow, that would be really handy to have for fishing!" This statement comes to you from a long time mocker of the fanny-pack, and to gain his approval it must be a pretty darn cool bag. So to again quote my father, "Neinner-neinner!"

Also went to Paradowski's today for their big sale. Got Wayne a new swim suit top and myself some nice goggles. Also sun burned standing in line to pay for everything. About half the store had been moved outside into the parking lot with one check out line to go with it. The fact that it was probably 80 in the sun today though didn't help anything. Reminded me that I need to add sunscreen to my "don't forget" list of things for Mexico. Every swimmer in San Diego County must have been at the sale today though. Even ran into my old boss from the pool. Apparently since the last time I saw her she swam the English Channel. Some people exist just to make me feel like a total slug. (I did run a mile and half on the tread mill though, so go me.) She's one of those people though, who has so little body fat that you wonder how she's able to do a channel swim like that. Today, standing there in the boiling sun, I almost wanted to ask her about it. Doesn't she freeze? I have more than enough "insulation," and even I end up freezing in the water out here. Spending 20-something hours in the water would be more than I could handle. Which I guess is why I was just buying goggles and not a crazy number of suits and hardcore swim gear. But hey, in just a few days the ocean (a real, warm ocean) will me mine!

Long beach hikes beat the treadmill any day.

Inspired by: maps of the hiking trails in the Sierra Nevada.
Reading: more Douglas Adams.
Listening to: my parents watching Secondhand Lions with the volume up all the way. With out the close captioning they're both hopeless.
Skipping Town in: 15 days.

2004-02-06T23:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday StinkyBear, and "A crime fighting update."

Happy Birthday to the kid sister. Also, she has some of the coolest friends ever, as they all pitched in together and bought her an iPod. Way to go Bear's friends.

Went to a Mary Kay party tonight. Honestly, I don't remember the last time I went to one of those things. It must have been back in high school at some point. I think there was probably a reason for that too. Not that it wasn't plenty of fun sitting around with Maegan and co., but I'm not really one for packing the make up on. Mary Kay parties involve lots of foundation. Lots of foundation. It's sort of one of those times when I wonder why bother with getting a tan at all if you can completely remove your actual skin from the picture at all.The other thing that struck me as I was rubbing the millionth layer of junk on my face, was that at some point shiny wasn't going to be a problem because my skin was going to dissolve under the weight of it all. I did however end up getting (thanks Maegan!) this "anti-shiny face" cream stuff though. Everyone has a price, I guess it turns out that mine is not wanting a nose that could blind people on sunny day.

The other thing about going to events like this is the fact that people want you buy stuff. Yeah, sure, I know I caved and bought something too, but that's not the point. They're so nice and helpful and all that, but it's mostly just so you'll buy something. The nice Mary Kay lady must have spent like 20min on just me, trying to find the perfect lipstick for me. I guess if we'd found the perfect one I would have had to buy it, because, well, because it was perfect. As it was we didn't find the perfect shade of lipstick for me, and I think I'm going to stick to the CoverGirl stuff I wear. It's not $12 a tube-y thing.

Update: Crazy Crime Fighting Dogs! They're fine. Once we saw the guys in the yard my mom made us hold on to the little ones and they just barked but couldn't get into the yard. They maybe tough dogs, but they are little and we didn't want the big baddies to hurt them. In the end though, the bad guys got away. But this morning my mom found that they'd left their screwdriver--they used it to break into the Explorer across the street--stuck in the ground in the way back of the yard where they'd climbed over the fence. My mom thought it should go the police. My dad said, "It's just a screw driver." I think this is because we couldn't find a phillips head driver the other day when we needed one and now we've got a nice strong one.

Also, we realized that the reason the guys set off all the dogs (they--the bad guys--tried to climb into both our neighbor's yard, but Maggie their black lab barked her big mean bark and they climbed back over the wall into our yard and got away over our other fence) was because it was a full moon last night. There might as well have been a giant spotlight following these guys around. Dumb guys in their twenty's with two tone jackets should at least learn to dress all in black. Full moon and guy in light grey jacket= dogs see you really, really easily.

Moral of the story? If you're gonna break into cars, do it on a night when the moon isn't full and in a neighborhood with fewer dogs.

Inspired by: hey! I got my DIPLOMA in the mail yesterday. Way to go me!
Reading: Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams.
Listening to: you just can't go wrong with Nickel Creek.
Skipping Town in: 16 days.

2004-02-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

And another "New Feature"!

Over to your right is my latest gift to you: The Quote of the Day.

Because sometimes, someone else said it better, and someone else said it first.

2004-02-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

and it's all just so shinny...

Really, nothing says "best friends" like tin foil.

2004-02-06T03:19:00.000-08:00

Down Mexico way...

Tomorrow we buy plane tickets. Yeah, ridiculous to have put off the purchasing this long, especially since we've know for weeks when I was leaving, but there you have it. What this means now though, is that the "getting ready" portion of my leaving must begin. Mostly this just means my mom gets to decide what she wants me to take down for the house and I get to convince my folks there are at least one or two things they want to buy me for my trip. On this year's list we have the following:

One or the other of these waist packs.
A belt.
And maybe, a few different books.

There are also those things that are a given, like sunscreen, sunglasses and so on. Besides, all this there are those family classics, things we've just learned are too hard to find or too expensive to buy when we're down in Oaxaca. It's a fairly random list:

Emergency Interruption: My dad just came in and asked to use the phone because he needed to call 911. Apparently the reason the dogs are barking is because there are people breaking into a car across the street.

Interruption, cont'd.: Several (close to two) hours have gone by since we called 911, and the people (3-4 four guys) ran from the cops, cut through out back yard, and seem to have gotten away. Will write more tomorrow. It is now after 3:00am and this little crime fighter needs her sleep.

Inspired by: My dogs--way to save the neighbor's car!
Reading: my new Country Living: Gardening magazine.
Listening to: the dogs not barking. That means the backyard is empty.
Skipping Town in: 17 days.

2004-02-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

Fighting The Man.

The grocery store strikes drag on, but it looks like there may be some hope after all. A federal anti-trust lawsuit though? That right there is the most interesting element of the whole thing. With these stores sharing their profits the strikers haven't had a chance. I'll be interested to see where that part of this dispute end up.

2004-02-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

Never ends, huh?

Procrastination is a disease people! A disease!

2004-02-03T00:35:00.000-08:00

And was I productive? Yes, I was.

Alright, I was productive, assuming you weren't judging by the standards of say...Martha Stewart or something. For an unemployed, recent college graduate who's still on a sort of "extended vacation," I as pretty darn productive. Shut up, I was.

* * *

I went to the library today, and was told by the librarian that I had $450 worth of books and other materials checked out right now. The lady behind me laughed, when all I could come up with to say was "wow." I mean, really, what do you say when you find out that you're "borrowing" that much from someone? All I have to say is, "Way to the Library!"

Also did a bit of shopping today. Got a watch battery and a new watchband for an old digital from high school. It's a Timex: Ironman, but girly size so it works. What really thrills is that it's black, neon green and has magenta pink buttons. Could you get more early 90's? Only if it was a swatch. Could it be more perfectly "me"? Not at all. The watchband situation is a bit of a bummer though. The only ones I found were real crap, and so I got one, but I'm not opening it up until after tomorrow when I can do some more shopping around. Any suggestions? I'm looking for that "fabric" type band, but something that's gonna hold up. "Sport" style perhaps? It's gotta make it to Mexico and back.

* * *

The room cleaning continues, though it's finally at the stage where I'm just trying to figure out the most aesthetic places for stuff. Everything has a home now, which is comforting. Or will be until whenever I finally move out and I need find stuff again. Lord knows, I can pack this stuff away. If I got anything from my mom it's the ability to hold on to junk I don't need. Oh, and the U.C. (Ugly Chair) is doing well. It is officially property of Tlaloc now though as he won't get his cute, miniature poodle, butt out of it. I'm just waiting for him to hide dog biscuits under the cushions.

* * *

"Amazing Grace" performed to the melody of "House of the Rising Sun," may seem beyond strange, but to listen to The Blind Boys of Alabama sing, as the rain rattles the corrugated steel roof of the back patio, its beyond appropriate. They've been predicting rain for the San Diego are for about a week now, but nothing was happening. The storms kept getting stalled in other places or dissipating before they got this far. Tonight though, we're finally getting a little relief. Not particularly warm or anything, just in the 70's, the usual for this part of the world, but we're about four inches behind our usual average rainfall for this time of the year. They're saying that this weather system may bring us actual inches of rain. Some people are pretty excited.

Some people are much less excited. When FireStorm 2003 (the dumbest name the news people have come up with in a long time), ravaged the San Diego area, it completely elimated huge amounts of ground cover throughout the county. This means that people who's homes might have been saved from the fires are now worried that those same homes might be buried in mud slides created by the runoff that just can't be held in place any more. With out the vegetation, there's nothing to hold the soil in place either. There are also those people who's homes were burned and who now may have what's left of either their homes or the new construction threatened as well. That's the problem with trying to live in what is, in truth, a desert. The weather may be nice, but there's always a price to pay.

* * *

Blogging was heavier today dude to the fact that I'm terribly lazy and couldn't bring myself to actually sit down and get some writing done. (We'll talk about what exactly it is that I'm writing some time later) What I did do though, was wander around the insanity that is Quizilla. The thing that makes it scary, is that in the maybe...20min, that I spent just looking at the different quizzes that random members of the internet public had created, a fully 3% of them had to do with either Orlando Bloom or Legolas from Lord of the Rings (LOTR). (To those of you in the know I only say, "The MIST!") They ranged from having to do with whether you thought he was hot to which of the many LOTR men "you are meant for!" But my favorite had to be, "Legolas or Orlando, Who will You Marry?" It seems that I'm destined to be "Mrs. Bloom." I'm sure Orlando will be so excited to hear. I did have the dream that one time where Legolas made me wooden whistle...trust me, you know you've eaten something weird before bed when you start dreaming about movie characters whittling little wood things.

Inspired by: my now clean room. Done and Done.
Reading: so many books to choose from! I think I'm going to start with an Anita Blake mystery...Nan, vampire hunter series for you...
Listening to: The Blind Boys of Alabama. Gospel, Blues, it's amazing.

2004-02-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

Further proof I need a job...

2004-02-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

But I never rhyme!

I'm terza rima, and I talk and smile.
Where others lock their rhymes and thoughts away
I let mine out, and chatter all the while.

I'm rarely on my own - a wasted day
Is any day that's spent without a friend,
With nothing much to do or hear or say.

I like to be with people, and depend
On company for being entertained;
Which seems a good solution, in the end.

What Poetry Form Are You?

2004-02-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

Ugly Chair III

Well, the room certainly isn't done (we're at like 85% containment at this point), but it's getting there. All that's still needing to be straightened up are about 20lbs. of random papers and notebooks and that random "stuff" that you just can't get rid of but needs to be put away regardless. I mean, seriously, how long do you really need to hold on to the instructions for you cd player for?

Independent of the cleaning though, this has been a night of growth for the room. My mom has three old armchairs in her painting room outside. Now, I've never really thought much about any of them until this weekend when we decided that one of them was going to end up in my room. After much testing and many minutes spent sitting in each I went with the short one right by the door, figuring that it would be the easiest to move and that it had the squishiest seat. What I didn't realize until my dad and I finally managed to maneuver it into my room was that it's got to be one of the ugliest chairs ever. It's short and squat with these little wooden feet and a low back. It looks wider than it is, but only because it's been so squashed. In fact it looks remarkably like other ugly chairs we have known. What sets it apart though, is the design. It's like some insane person took an illustrated copy of pride and prejudice and made an upholstery fabric from it. The painting like pictures scattered over a dirty cream coloured back ground are all done in realistic, if faded, 18th century portraiture colours. There are two different English cottage houses, of the two and three story variety, and a church with a steeple all depicted. There's a man on horseback and even a couple in a horse drawn carriage who are passing by a covered well. Let me say that I can't remember having seen a more ambitious use of textiles in some time. I'm sure Jane Austin would be very proud.

Inspired by: the Chair. It makes you wonder how many other Ugly Chairs might be out there, unacknowledged by the world at large.
Reading: The Barbed Coil by J.V. Jones
Listening to: the Rob Roy and Braveheart soundtracks.

2004-01-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

Now with bonus features!

I've added a new fun toy: you can sign up to be on a mailing list that will let you know when I've added a new post to the page. This will be especially helpful once I head down South and internet access becomes somewhat iffy.

Nan--this one's for you!

~~Inspired~~ exhausted by: my room still not being done!
Reading: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
Listening to: the crazy Irish punk of Flogging Molly.

2004-01-31T01:01:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while...

And you have our darling Gracie to thank for my triumphant return. She sent me this and I think sharing the joy of reading with a child is about the best thing a person can. Obviously these folks agree. Make sure you take a look at Harry Potter--it's way down at the bottom.

~~Inspired~~ Terrified by: that it took two days to clean up just one room in my house...anyone for a yard sale?
Reading: Gate of Darkness by Tanya Huff.
Listening to: a little bit of everything tonight...thinking about making a mix.

2003-12-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

Port Columbus-->Las Vegas-->Home.

So I'm finally back in grand San Diego. Good to be home. Am finally done with this paper for my religion class. But I do have something for y'all. I spent a long time in the airport getting home so there's what I wrote while waiting around....

December 15, 2003
Port Columbus Airport

Having missed my initial flight out of Columbus, I now have a vast stretch of time ahead of me. I’m now going from Columbus to Vegas and then to home, arriving at the wonderfully early time of 12:15. Plenty of time in which to finish both my paper and do some long overdue journal type updating. Also, the people watching here is great and there is much of interest of observe and document.
For instance and plane, or several, just down the terminal from me have arrived, because judging from the sudden influx of people, all heading in a leaving direction. Some of them are moving very quickly, obviously anxious to finish their journey, or maybe just excited to be home. An elderly woman in a fedora was just driven past me on one of these carts that makes the truck-backing-up “beep” everywhere it goes. Actually, I got to ride in one of those today. I was making my way up the terminal, much further up than my flights usually are, carrying my laptop and pillow and all my other accouterments of comfortable travel (though, whether The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton is really necessary for genuine comfort), when the guy driving the car pulls up beside me, offers me a ride. I stop walking because it just strikes me as silly to debate this while still movie, thereby reducing the potential ride from 100yrds to 50. In any case the young man was most instant and in the end I got on the little cart and then felt supremely silly, because, personally, I have never felt anything but the utmost envy and jealousy of all those who I see riding in the little cars who are anything less than total invalids. (Totally Random Note: A man who looked exactly like Jonny Cockrine just walked by) At the very least the lucky cart people should be missing limbs and so on. But here I was breaking my own personal rule--okay, so not a rule, but we’ve established that I have strong feelings on the issue--and riding high through Port Columbus. In the long run, i’m sure no lasting damage has been done, besides, it was kinda fun. People get out your way fast when they hear the “beep-beep-beep” coming.

*************

In other interesting airport news it would seem that the plane we’ll be taking from here to Vegas has arrived at our gate. One problem though, there was no one there to meet it. Exciting. Oh, seems as though the situation has remedied itself, though the guy who made it down here to fix everything just got hit on by a passenger. Or rather several. Then again they might know each other. They’re very friendly. Oh, but you can tell that he thinks the other guy is cute too. There’s something about a gay man in a sweater-vest that just makes me smile. Though the cute guy asleep all stretched out just a few seats down from me is pretty smile worthy too. He looks so little and far from home. He also looks really cold. He put his coat on to lay down. Though, considering that the gate door from the outside is open right now, I’m sort of wishing that I had my coat on too. But a purple rain coat at this juncture seemed just a little silly. My elbows really are unreasonably cold.

***********

As a part of today’s adventures in travel I also lost my pocket knife today. I got to the security check and realized that I hadn’t bothered to take it off my key ring. By that point though, I’d already missed one flight, was tired beyond belief and didn’t have any money. These things combined managed to make impossible for me to go and mail my knife to myself. So, as it is, I just took it off the rest of the keys, said a quiet goodbye and handed it over, “I’ve got a pocket knife.” And it’s gone now.

***********

A man has been waiting around the gate here since just before the plane got here. Didn’t look like the regular passenger. Just had the cutest reunion ever with his son. Kid come sprinting down the gangway and throws himself at his dad, who scoops him up and just squeezes.
“Now that is a Bear Hug,” says the elderly flight attendant who has come up behind the kid. She’s smiling, and so am I, and the dad still hasn’t put his son down.
“I’m so glad to see you!” the boys squeaks out at last, and the dad finally sets his feet back on the ground, holding him at arm’s length. “I’ve missed you,” the boy adds, grinning up at his father.
“Sure you have.” I really do think if this man looked any happier he’d been glowing like a Christmas tree. “Were you good?”
“I slept, “ the boy offers.
“Not too much though,” the Flight attendant adds as dad signs the paper confirming his son’s arrival. She smiles at them both, and turns away.
“You ready for Christmas?”dad asks, hand on the son’s shoulder as they walk away.
“I’m gonna need pants! I’ve only got three pair!” the son offers helpfully, and dad laughs as he ruffles the boy’s hair. No longer a slightly stooped blue collar working man, feeling out of place in an airport when he has no destination. His destination just found him, and you can tell.

************

(Random Note: Cute guy just woke up and asked me to watch his stuff while he goes to the magazine/book place. I’m going to chew some minty-fresh gum now, so that I can speak with minty-fresh breath.)

*************

Some people are remarkably loud when they speak on their cell phones. and it’s saying something if I can hear them, what with the blaring of the airport mood music and then my own iTunes mix playing away over my earphones. I live with the hope that I’ll overhear something really great one of these days and I’ll use it as my amusing anecdote at all my future parties. These ladies though, are wonderfully banal. maybe in an alternate universe. That or the one closest to me has figured out how to take her voice down a notch.

*************

The young man has left me with two bags to watch. One, I assume to be a laptop bag. At least that’s what it most looks like. It seems a bit square and more like a case for a camcorder, but I’m thinking I’m right and it’s being the former. The other piece is a garment bag, but not the very fancy kind, but serviceable. It makes me wonder where it is that he is going to, or coming from that required nice enough clothes to warrant a garment bag, but obviously not often enough for the fancy fabric kind. It makes one wonder.

I’ve been amusing myself, by watching this guy and some crazy lady who’s been wandering around in circles. Or rather she’s been moving in strategically from seat to seat until she’s moved almost the entire way around me and and now across the main isle, and doesn’t seem to know where she’s going. she reads some and other times is under her blanket. I am currently operating under the “busy typing” cover so as to avoid both eye contact and conversation. Though, I must say, I would like to talk to the guy....sometimes sacrifices must be made. And the lady is under her blanket again.

You can’t go wrong with stream of consciousness writing in a place like this. Especially when there’s nothing else to or loose. I can’t believe how long I’m going to be waiting to get home for! My tiredness and frustration knows no bounds. Then again, I suppose it is about time that I actually write a bit on my paper. Maybe I’ll update from Vegas.

*********

Brief Notes on the Las Vegas Airport:

This place is filthy. It smells and and I can’t help but feel that there’s a level of grim over everything. Even the air feels dirty and tainted. You wouldn’t think that it could, but the gaudiness and the total lack of any kind of taste seems to permeate everything. The inclusion of slot machines throughout the airport does nothing to add to the sense of class. It’s as though people just can’t get enough of throwing their money away, and must do it right up until the very minute they board the plane and some greater benevolent force gets them mercifully out of here. As for me, I have a solid hour and 20 minutes to wait before I can get out of here. I may as well attempt to get some work done. Though, the noise and the smoke in the air is going to make it hard. Who can concentrate on anything while some mechanized crowd in the background is shouting “Wheel-Of-Fortune!” in time to the “BEEP-boop-boop-be-OP!”? The “smoking lounge” I passed on my way down to this gate was just a room off to one side of the long terminal walkway. There were no doors on the room, no way of keeping the smoke out of the rest of the airport. Every second that I sit here, every breath that I take I can feel my lungs closing up.

Hey, our plane just pulled up. I wonder which of these poor souls have come to vegas to stay for a while, and who like me, have simply been left to the mercy of the dragon. The great lit up, smoking dragon of an airport that is Las Vegas.

(Random Note: Someone behind me just won some money at one of the slot machines. Bully for them. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t encourage too many other people. besides, couldn’t a whole sack full of nickels be considered a weapon in some places? Ah, see, one needs to be careful where ever one goes.

(Addendum Random Note: Moderately sketchy guy across from me asked me about my laptop and then proceeded to ask if I was a Christian. I said yes and he said he goes to some church out in El Cajon. Not a big deal, sure, but they’re “uber-Christian,” the kind who protesting things and so on. The kind I’m pretty sure dad yells at to “get a job.” Though he did know Dave Thomas. Then again, Dave was one of those pretty out there Christians. Ah, the joys of wearing a “Jesus fish” earring. Never had anyone come up and talk to me about it before though. Crazy Jesus people--looks like they’re everywhere these days.)

Inspired by: Being Done
Reading: the funny papers.
Listening to: my sister watch Live! with Regis and Kelly

2003-12-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

So little time...

I leave Kenyon the day after tomorrow. Had my last class here ever, yesterday. Still have a paper to write and a set model to build. The more things change the more they stay the same.

Inspired by: The reviews Return of the King has been getting.
Reading: Thomas Merton's essays on peace.
Listening to: Beth snore.
Kenyon Kount Down: 1 day. (not counting today)

2003-12-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

"People with too much time on their hands...

Guess the Dictator or Sit-Com Character

2003-12-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

Of Fish, Phones and Nightmares.

A new fish has been added to the family. His name; Remus Lupin. He's actually a She, and was supposed to live with James (Potter), but James was a bully and wouldn't let Remus eat anything, so yesterday Remus got his own bowl. He seems pretty happy about the move, even if he doesn't have any landscaping like the other three do. I'll try and get him some nice plastic type plant when I get home. That's right, when I get Home, as in San Diego. They're going on the plane. These guys (and gal's) will be the world's four most well traveled fish.

Actually, I don't think that I've every really introduced my aquatic roommates...

First came James. Named for James Potter. Like Remus, James is actually a She, but we liked the name too much to change it after we figured this out. As a general rule James is a pretty amiable fish, friendly and so on. We like him. He has a good attitude.

Then, in a fit of moment of extreme weakness (I mean, really, who ever heard of betas being an impulse buy?), both Lilly and Harry came to stay with us. Both of these guys are actually Guys, though only one of them was named as such. Lilly lives quite happily on my desk under the lamp. She's got this weird thing for sitting in the middle of her plastic plant and blowing bubbles. She also likes to eat the bugs that fall into the bowl after they hit the lightbulb in the desk lamp--He's a wild one that Lilly. Harry, though...Harry's got just about the worst attitude I've ever seen in a fish. He's surly, and mostly just sits at the bottom of his bowl scowling at us. When we change the water in his bowl he won't look at us for days afterward. We don't' know where he gets this terrible attitude. Ungrateful, that's what he is.

Remus so far seems pretty well adjusted. Then again, fish can be tricky buggers...

* * *

I love talking to my family. I talk to them all the time. I talk to them long distance, after punching 20 consecutive numbers into the phone. Sometimes the process of getting all the numbers dialed in correctly can take as long as 20 minutes.

No, I'm not, in fact, dumber than toast, and incapable of dialing my own phone number. The problem lies with the phone. You see, the 1,2 and 3 buttons don't work properly. Half the time when you push a button it dials the number twice, the rest of the time it doesn't dial at all. So trying to call home, or essentially any long distance number, is an adventure in both patience and finger strength (sometimes the buttons work but you have to press really hard). I've Of all the things I will miss the least when I leave Kenyon, this phone is slowly working it's way up the list.

* * *

Under normal circumstances I'm not one for anxiety dreams. Sure, sometimes I have weird dreams that I find disconcerting, but for the most part, My dreams have nothing to do with what's actually going on in my life. Sure, sometimes in the dead of winter I imagine myself on a tropical beach somewhere, but who doesn't?

Then, last night, I had a dream, that filled me with a genuine sense of terror.

It's a beautiful Winter's day, the sun is shining and I'm walking down Middle Path. It's my last day on campus, I'll be leaving the next morning. Everything is going well, and I'm ready to leave on a good note. Out of nowhere a professor I don't know, and who I've never seen before comes striding up to me with a look of genuine disgust and disappointment on his face.

"You haven't come to a single one of my classes this semester, and if you don't get your final paper in to me by 7:00 tonight I'm going to be forced to fail you," he informs me.

I manage to stammer out something about how there must be some mistake, that there's no way I could have missed his class as I was never in his class to begin with. But no, it turns out that he's right, only no one told me, or something, because I've been enrolled in his class all along.

"But what paper?" I finally manage. But there's no sympathy from this man.

"You've got until 7:00 and that's it!" He barks and then walks away.

That's it! I don't' even know what class it is that I've supposedly been missing all along! I don't know what the paper is supposed to be about or how long it needs to be. All I know is that I'm going to fail this class and I won't graduate.

And then I wake up.

Sometimes, sleep is anything but restful. Really, I don't know that I could handle another dream like that one. Honestly, I just don't think my heart could take it.

Inspired by: ...it was just a dream....it was just a dream...it was just a dream...
Reading: Thomas Merton's essays on peace.
Listening to: My roommate watching The Santa Clause
Kenyon Kount Down: 12 days.

2003-11-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

Back in the 'Na

Made it back to this home away from home, after a wonderfully uneventful drive. The Bug did good by her driving and even I did my share of it. We also saw Nan yesterday, and it was great fun. Saw Master and Commander again, and still enjoyed it, even if there were people with me who thought they talked too much. Ah, there is much to tell about the end of break, but it must wait until tomorrow as I must now go and stun the world (or at least Beth) when my Mad Monopoly Skillz (yes, spelled with a "z").

Inspired by: the idea of taking fish on a plane ride...
Reading: One last Agatha Christie
Listening to: the Love Actually soundtrack.
Kenyon Kount Down: 15 days.

2003-11-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

Fun with Bugs.

Went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean again tonight for $3.50. Money well spent in my opinion. Really, what more can you want in a pirate than Captain Jack Sparrow? Not much I can tell you, not much.

The entire Bug family is here now. Having all the various siblings here makes for some interesting times, but I think it explains a good deal about the Bug herself. Dinner tonight was very good, and I am making myself useful by contributing to tomorrow's dinner a dish of greenbean casserole. Essentially you just have to add those fancy onion things and you're good to go, but hey, I like to feel like I can bring something to the table. Literally.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and gets to and from wherever they're headed safely. Here's to the good food awaiting us!

Inspired by: Hey, act now, your tickets are on sale NOW.
Reading: more Agatha...
Listening to: the wind outside the window.
Kenyon Kount Down: 18 days.

2003-11-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

Another day passes in Cleveland...

Saw The King and I put on by Near West Theatre day before yesterday. Rather a good show, and possessing some of the cutest children I have ever seen. It was one of those instances of beautifully colour-blind casting that is so rarely seen. Then again, if you're the king of Siam and have 70+ kids, there's bound to be some variation.

* * *

Speaking of The Man, got an interesting e-mail from Wayne yesterday. Seems she was at a protest (Wayne, you'll have to "say something" and remind me what groups exactly you were down there with) in Tampa, and the girl got herself SHOT. Yes, as in with a gun, by the police. This is why Wayne and I are friends--you're gotta fight The Man! Admittedly, it was a rubber bullet and it seems she only has a cut and huge bruise, but even so. Way to go dude! If I can get her to send me an e-mail with a few more details I'll put it up here so as to make sure I don't relay information incorrectly.

To quote's Wayne's e-mail though, "ahhhhhh, the us version of democracy: I'm glad we're so eager to share it with the rest of the world."

* * *

As someone who currently is keeping herself sane by reminding herself that there are places in the world where snow will never exist, I think the world hates me. Yesterday dawned, bright and sunny, probably somewhere in the very low 60's. By last night however, it was 31, and falling. Today's high is something in the neighborhood of 35 and I hate to think that this is just the beginning. When I am finished here I think that my first course of action will be to find myself some socks and another sweater. The drastic change in weather has done nothing if not make sure that I am gloriously inspired by own Very Good Plan For After Graduation revolves entirely around warm weather, palm trees and sun. I must say, weather like this makes me terribably homesick.

* * *

The Bug herself will be arriving tomorrow and I am besides myself with joy about seeing her. In fact, I had a dream about her. We were sitting in the room I use here talking about life generally when I asked if she needed her hair cut. Bug responded in the affirmative, but all that we could find in terms of a cutting untensil was a SwissArmyKnife with little sissors on it. In spite of everything the haircut turned out rather well and I was very proud of myself. Then again, even in my dream I was forced to remind the Bug about the last time she'd tried to cut her hair herself...

Inspired by: That, "Somewhere the sun is shining..."
Reading: Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
Listening to: Cd #4 in my "Ducky Mix"
Kenyon Kount Down: 19 days.

2003-11-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

Laundry Day.

Eventually, a time will come when I will think before I act, and I will have enough clean clothes to last me up through Laundry day. This is not that time. As it is, I did remember to bring with me to Bug's my laundry (Parents, should be pleased to note it is not a great deal of laundry), but I did not think to pack more than two day's worth of already clean clothes. No, I do have clean undergarments, but not so much on the outer clothing front. So that means that this afternoon is to be a day of Laundry and Christmas preparation.

Sending friends cards has been, for a long time, one of my favorite endevors and Christmas, is simply one more opportunity to do just that. It does, however, mean that I must do a great deal more preparation. So, today, while my jeans shrink back to a normal size and my socks loose that weird smell that only comes from Chucks, I will be sitting on the floor of Bug's living room breaking my own rule about pre-Thanksgiving Christmas-ness. Though I would like to be able to think of this kind of preparation as being something slightly different. After all, as long as I'm not listening to carols and watching It's A Wonderful Life while I work, I think I'm fine.

***

We made to the movies last night. It was Runaway Jury. Much better than I thought it would be. Easiest thing to say about it was the fact that it was a John Grisham movie. Really fairly predictable, but the performances were good and it ended the way that it should (as do all Grisham books and movies) and it's one you wouldn't mind renting.

Inspired by: Christmas!
Reading: Agatha Christie
Listening to: nothing.
Kenyon Kount Down: 21 days.

2003-11-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

Ah...Vacation.

Well, I write to you today from the lovely city of Cleveland where I am staying with the Bug's family. Wonderful people, all of them. Went to the West Side Market with Bug's dad this morning and got some very good bagels. The whole place reminded me of Oaxaca and for a moment there I was struck with an incredible wave of homesickness, but it has since passed. Besides, with so few days left before my own semi-permanent move to warmer climates south of the Border, I need to enjoy my time state side as much as I can.

In other news the Bear, has recently been invited by the San Diego Chamber Orchestra to solo with them this January. There's one kid who's not going to have any problem heading out into the world, now is she?

Ah, well, it seems to be nearing dinner time and I should go and help with the preparations. I think also I may be heading to the movies tonight with Bug's little sister, who I shall simply call Ducky, which I am sure will be an event to remember.

Inspired by: Not having a single class for a week.
Reading: Just finished A Cat Among the pigeons by Agatha Christie
Listening to: Bug's dad in the kitchen, and my own typing.
Kenyon Kount Down: 22 days.

2003-11-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

The internet is an amazing research tool.

And it's sites like this one that prove it.

2003-11-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

Because you really needed more

...of these.

2003-11-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

If by "work" you mean "watching TV," then, yes.

The dvd of The Two Towers: Extended Edition came out yesterday....yeah, my mind is a little somewhere else right now...

Inspired by: Something like 6 hours of behind the scenes documentaries.
Reading: Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton.
Listening to: "Feels good to be a gansta'"
Kenyon Kount Down: 26 days.

2003-11-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

Killing time...

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? elisa (it is the internet after all)
2. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? Jeans...so jean coloured.
3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO? the "Corndogs" mix.
4. WHAT ARE THE LAST 4 DIGITS OF YOUR PHONE NUMBER? 6406
5. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Pretzels. I know, I know, I'll find a ham later, I promise.
6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? either bright green or cobalt blue.
7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? mmm...chilly.
8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? the Bear.
9. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? shoulders, eyes...hands.
10. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? Well, I am going to be in her wedding so I hope so.
11. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? not too shabby, I must say.
12. FAVORITE DRINK? Blue. Or Squirt.
FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? mmm..no drink.
14. FAVORITE SPORT? water polo. Sometimes soccer is fun though.
15. HAIR COLOR? black.
16. EYE COLOR? dark brown.
17. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? sorry no.
18. SIBLINGS AND THEIR AGES? Dude, the Bear is gonna be 19 way too soon.
19. FAVORITE MONTH? April.
20. FAVORITE FOOD? either mole or chicken divine.
21. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? While You Were Sleeping. I love that movie!
22. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Easter or Christmas. Though, this year, I think it's going to be December 15th.
23. FAVORITE RELAXATION SPOT? swimming, preferably in the ocean.
24. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? World of yes.
25. FIRST TEENAGE (OR PRE-TEEN) MOVIE STAR CRUSH: I don't know why exactly, but I remember being really, really small and wanting to marry Steve Garvey, from the Padres. I don't think I was even 5 or 6 yet, so Lord knows where that came from...
26. SUMMER OR WINTER? Today? Summer. In May, in Puerto, it'll be winter. Always? Spring.
27. HUGS OR KISSES? Well, I don't know, seeing as how I'm not tired and I did just ate...
28. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS? Relationship. (duh!)
29. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? depends. Vanilla for icecream, chocolate for almost everything else.
30. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE BACK? Considering this is posted on a blog, ummm...sure? You all know you have too much free time as it is.
33. LIVING ARRANGEMENT? Ah, the dorms of Kenyon...But my room this year, does rock.
34. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? A little Thomas Merton for class and then some Douglas Adams the Gracie lent me.
35. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don't have one.
36. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Either Clue or Uno. Oh! Or Pictionary!
37. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Did a little reading for class. Hung out with the Gracie and the Beth.
38. FAVORITE SMELLS: clean laundry, my mom cooking and the ocean.
39. CAN YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR TONGUE? no. But the Bug can!
40. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Heroic people, books, amazing poetry, blank paper, and traveling.
41. BUTTERED, PLAIN, OR SALTED POPCORN? When Dad makes it, just salt. Anywhere else, a little butter and salt.
42. FAVORITE CAR? I think I want my aunt's Honda CRV....
43. FAVORITE FLOWER? Pansies and Night Blooming Jasmine.
44. HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? Two. The room and my P.O. Box. At home there are more because I get to drive.
45. CAN YOU JUGGLE? World of uncoordinated.
46. FAVORITE DAY(s) OF THE WEEK? Depends...any day where I get to laugh a lot.
47. RED OR WHITE WINE? I've yet to meet a wine that I really like (I'm coping the Kate on this one).
48. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY? I got cheese cake. I love my friends!
50. LIFETIME GOALS? To see the world. To go to every continent, and write a book about it. To live in a country where I don't speak the language. To make at least one person fall in love with reading. To write a novel they assign as high school reading. To end up on stamp.

2003-11-14T16:16:00.000-08:00

Bear, I've got the sport for you...

Right here.

2003-11-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

Long day = short post.

Don't know why I'm so sleepy tonight. Perhaps because I stayed up rather late last night. Perhaps because romantic comedies always make me sleepy. Speaking of romance, here's something for you all out there to debate: which of these two pairs of shoes are cuter? These ones or these ones? They'd be the ones I'd wear in our darling Katie's wedding, but I was also hoping for something I might wear again some other time.

Alright, that seems to be about all I have in me for tonight. In the mean time, comment much and let me know which ones you like better. Oh, and for you all out on the West Coast, it snowed today.

Inspired by: How few days I have left at Kenyon.
Reading: Still working on my mouse book...
Listening to: The sounds of Beth getting ready for bed.
Kenyon Kount Down: 32 days.

2003-11-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

Show and Tell.

I've spent a while yesterday evening browsing the world of online journaling. It's sort of like wandering about in a used bookstore. There are always those writers out there who should be allowed within miles of a keyboard, or even a pencil for that matter. But then there are those folks who not only have something to say, but they say it well. A fair number of the journals I enjoy reading are fairly well known, so I'm generally rather pleased when I come upon a winner, all on my own. Like this guy. He's a teacher. And he's funny--check out the entry for Sept. 10. Doesn't make me miss high school, but it does remind me of what did make the good times, well, good times.

* * *

The wind is howling in an incredible way tonight. Beth has just mentioned to me that she's worried about our window breaking, and while I seriously doubt that would happen, the wind is blowing hard enough to make all of the windows on my side of the room rattle. Then again, the power has already gone out once tonight, so we'll just have to see what the morning brings.

Tonight's weather isn't a new thing, though. It's been a pretty gusty since this morning, and at one point while attempting to walk to class I rather feared I was going to be blown right off the sidewalk. There's a part of me that wonders, every time I get that feeling, what would happen if I was, in fact, blown away? Where would I end up? How far do you think I could get? The feeling of being able to lean into the wind and be fully supported must be one of the most exhilarating in the world. I think it gives me something to look forward to for this summer. I voting Wayne and I spend some quality time on the roof, waiting for the storms to roll in....or at least in the hammocks, the wind will really get those suckers going sometimes.

* * *

Tomorrow is Thursday, (yes, my Captain Obvious jumper is in the mail) and that means two things. Firstly, it means that the new episode of The O.C. that aired tonight is available for pick-up from Jess. Secondly, it means that I get to sleep in. Sadly, that's all that Thursday means. At some point in the near future I may make some sort of attempt at getting myself a life, but since my thesis is done and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's kinda hard to stay motivated. Perhaps this journal will serve as some sort of motivation of it's own. I mean, I've got to do something worth writing about every day, or what's the point? Which reminds me, I have a story about my dad, my sister and how hard it is to use a phone....but that will have to wait for another day. Maybe even a Thursday.

Inspired by: The fact that Blogger really is better than the competition.
Reading: The Sands of Time, by Michael Hoeye.
Listening to: mellow stuff, "Faith my eyes" by Caedman's call.

2003-11-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

There are no words.

...!

2003-11-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

More inspiration for the Bear...

Right here.

2003-11-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

Eddie would be proud

It's even a colour I think I could pull off.

2003-11-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

CHUNK!

Sequels make generally make me feel a little aprehensive, let's just hope if they do this one, it'll be worthwhile.

2003-11-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

Washin' up.

So today I did the dishes. It may not sound like a big deal, but we had reached a point where any moment the dishes were going to get up and attack us in the night. besides, the hall is a rather small confined space and the smell made it a kinda freaky moment every time someone came into the room. So, yes, Gracie, the smell is gone.

Outside of the dishes, today hasn't made itself particularly noteworthy. I indulged in a second viewing of Singin' in the Rain, and fed the fish. I should probably change their water, but chances are that won't happen until tomorrow. In the mean time I attempt to apease them by making promises of castles and larger bowls and exotic trips to Cleveland. That's one of the nice things about fish, as long as I actually change their water there's no way they'll ever remember any of the other things I said I would do and I feel less guilty. Though, the bit about Cleveland is true, and something I should be thinking about...how would you take three fish on two hour car ride?

Inspired by: Sleeping in tomorrow.
Reading: Still working on Abarat.
Listening to: Rufus Wainwright...good stuff, this.

2003-11-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Blog browzing

It's always sort of fun when you come across a well written blog. Nice to know there are other people out there.

2003-11-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

It's Bunnies!

Seriously folks. Bunnies.

2003-11-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

Don't like squirrels?

Then don't go here.

2003-11-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

I always suspected something...

After all, that red hat had to mean something.

2003-11-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

So clean it's dirty.

"Foaming action right where you need it!"

2003-11-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

Boy Bands

I confess, it's the guys in the pink and green who have landed a special place in my heart.

2003-11-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

And in the "what the hell?" dept...

We have this situation.

2003-11-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to feel a lot like...

Christmas? Well, according to both K-mart and Walmart it is, and who am I to fight to corporate beast? So a part of me caved, and spent a while this evening making a Christmas music mix. Admittedly, I generally hold with the idea that it can't be the Christmas season until after Thanksgiving, so I made a loophole for myself; I may have made the mix, but now that it's burned I've put it away and won't bring it out again until after November 27. There's something about the getting ready for Christmas that I have always loved, and with how busy we tend to get while in school it's nice to be able to find little ways of enjoying the season.

This evenings activities also consisted of some nail painting and a bit of movie watching. As it turns out, Gracie and I have one more thing in common, our love of the movie Singin' in the Rain. One of those films that makes a person, as Gracie put it, "suffer physically because [they] can't dance like that." Dancing has been the theme for Gracie and I since yesterday, when we watched Billy Elliot, a favorite of the Bear's. Gracie was talking about the ability, even the need, to express emotion through dance, and it is that very sentiment that makes that movie so good. When Billy's upset he doesn't go break things or yell at his dad or do any number of stupid "angry kid" things, he dances. So I have decided that the world would be a much better place if that was how humanity dealt with their problems. Could you imagine Mr. Bush having a dance-off with Saddam? Legions of men in high waisted pants, the still air broken only by the sound of a thousand tap shoes moving together. Think what the ability to high-kick would do the "Don't ask, don't tell," policy...

In other news, we're supposed to get snow on Wednesday night. My joy at this news knows no bounds. Actually, as sarcastic as the last sentence sounds, I'm not quite as put out about the whole thing as I might be. True, the idea of the prolonged cold and the rather stifling heat of the droms aren't exactly possibilities that thrill me, there is something to be said for the first snow of the season. It is also to be watched for more keenly when it is to be the last "first" snow fall I may see in Ohio for a very long time. All these events which used to be "first's," the leaves changing, the snow falling, the impossibly red robbins, are all now becoming "last's." Even events like Thanksgiving Break begin to take on a slightly melancholy colouring to my eyes as the days until I finish creep slowly closer. Winter is the colour of crystal and white, sparkling in a million fragments, each like a prism, splintering light in a million directions, each one lighting an infinite number paths. Perhaps then, it is appropriate that I am leaving Kenyon in the Winter, all I have to do is choose a well lit path, and walk on.

Inspired by: The distance between Today and Tomorrow.
Reading: Abarat, by Clive Barker.
Listening to: "Not of this Earth," by Robbie Williams.