i've made a huge mistake

2009-05-28T15:10:00.003-05:00

I've moved

2009-02-01T14:57:00.002-06:00

Trying out tumblr for at least a little while: mrsbuffy.tumblr.com

If you've ever seen a one-trick pony then you've seen me

2009-01-17T12:28:00.005-06:00

As a follow-up to my post about all the movies I want to see RIGHT NOW, I should say that I finally saw "The Wrestler" last weekend and completely loved it. I thought last year was a good year for movies, but so far this year (by which I mean the last couple months when I've been actively watching the movies) has it beat. I didn't know what to make of the fact that Darren Aronofsky directed "The Wrestler," because while I've seen "Requiem for a Dream" and "The Fountain," they are such a completely different kind of movie that they couldn't prep me for how much I was going to love "The Wrestler." While I enjoyed both films, I can't forget that after watching "Requiem for a Dream" back in high school (or was it early college?) with my friend Gillian, that I had to watch like two hours of "Friends" re-runs before I could fall asleep. Only a couple movies have so completely disturbed me -- the only other I can recall was "Dancer in the Dark," and I think this is a testament to the films (and of course, my own ability to being disturbed).

And of course I was completely affected by "The Wrestler," albeit in a very different place. Sitting in the second-to-front row at AMC downtown because we got there last minute (and it was sold out), at first I struggled to get used to the shaky camera movement, especially as we moved around from the Ram's POV, but somewhere along the way I completely lost track of that as I got sucked in. The wrestling scenes were so badass that I found myself looking to Colin for validation of what was going on -- is that staple really in his head, and OH MY GOD HIS BACK IS COVERED IN STAPLES. A couple times I had to close my eyes, which is to say that the wrestling, from what I've read, was spectacularly accurate and real and frightening to watch at times. And it made me want to attend a wrestling match. For real. I'll never forget what it was like to go to a Cannibal Corpse concert, and while I am not trying to equate the two, I think it's fair to say that I am really not a part of either subculture, but that the brief experience of them was and could be amazing.

But the wrestling scenes weren't the only thing really working for me in the movie. The performances, both Mickey Rourke (who I'm pretty sure I've never seen in a movie before) and Marisa Tomei were outstanding. The small scenes with just the two of them were so heartbreaking and real. And man, you've got to be impressed that Marisa Tomei is 43 and completely naked, plus dancing. Man, she looked really good for someone that age who hasn't had plastic surgery, though it probably helped that she has small boobs and never had any children. Still, a badass performance. The only complaint I can have, and it's small, is that I really wanted more information on the relationship between the Ram and his daughter. Past incidents are alluded to, but I really wanted to know how old she was (we guessed college age, though it wasn't clear). I also thought that when she throws the Ram out of her house she was a little melodramatic, but these are quibbles I have, and not even flaws with the film.

Both "Rachel Getting Married" and "The Wrestler" really took me back to my film studies classes in college. As dorky as this sounds, I really loved dissecting films and maybe this is something I can do in the future, but for right now, this is my only venue for it. Coming out of the movie, Colin told me that the only thing that bothered him about the film was the scene where the Ram quits his job. He thought it was too over-the-top, and then I started to think about it, not already set on my response. It's easy to say that, but that's not making the connection, which I think Aronofsky may have deliberately made, between the deliberate showiness of wrestling. In one of the film's earlier wrestling matches, Randy hides a little piece of razor in his arm wrappings to later pull out and make a surface scratch on his head, which then bleeds. It's all for show. When Randy quits his job, he shoves his hand into the meat grinder, but not in a way that causes any real damage (as far as the audience is shown). He causes another surface wound for show, then running through the store, bashing boxes and making a real dramatic, showy, mess of things. And then he's gone. He's quit. And where does he go - to a pay phone to call about wrestling his former foe in that highly-anticipated rematch he had backed out of after his heart attack. It was a brilliant scene that so clearly demonstrated how much Randy doesn't fit in with that world anymore. He can shoot the shit with old ladies about their deli selections, but only for so long, because there's a part of him that needs to wrestle, that needs that show and what the crowd gives back to him, that mix of awe and fear and delight that only a crowd can give you. And from that point on, I was just waiting to see how it would end, because I was just that curious. When it came, I knew it was going to happen right at the moment it did, and it was the perfect ending. And then the Bruce Springsteen song written specifically for the movie played and we all just sat in the theatre, in awe.

Funny

2008-12-31T11:10:00.004-06:00

Man, I save the weirdest things. I just found a hilarious IM conversation I had with my mom like 5 years ago that for some reason I saved. She's telling me about a bathing suit she found online and I ask for the link and she tells me, No I don't do that, it's illegal. Anyway...

Possibly one of the funniest things I ever saved is this [see below]. Because you can't save drunken voicemails forever (at least, I don't know how to) I transcribed this one. Name of caller is omitted but you can probably figure it out.

2008: year in review

2008-12-31T10:38:00.002-06:00

Well, I'm about halfway through the last day of 2008. So far, so not exciting. It's snowing pretty intensely out there -- too dry of snow to make a snowman -- so I'm stuck inside, hoping my New Year's Eve plans are still a go despite the weather. Here we go...

A lot of exciting and big things happened in 2008. Also some sad ones. The highlights and lows, all at once and not in the correct order.

- Traveled to Japan with Colin and my parents to meet my nephew BABY KAI.

- 2 out of the 4 agents I queried were interested - leading to a few intense weeks of wondering if any day I could have an agent. Clearly, the answer was no. Still, it was an exciting time, and it's only just the beginning of the process. (This Christmas break is also the 4 year anniversary of when I started writing said book.)

- "Sprung" my wrist conveniently less than two days before the half-marathon, and two hours before the first Red Sox - White Sox game at U.S. Cellular Field. So, never quite ran the race, but I did run one 10 miler, which is sort of an accomplishment in itself.

- Won third place TWICE in ?ub Trivia. Thank god for that round on porn...

- Watched from Chicago as my grandfather quickly succumbed to Alzheimer's.

- Canvassed for Barack Obama in Indiana... and then won Indiana for the Dems !!!

- Attended the Grant Park rally where Obama was officially announced as the first African-American President-Elect of the United States of America. God, I can't wait for the "elect" to be removed and for him to truly be our president.

- Ate octopus balls (at my first Japanese baseball game, Chunichi Dragons at Yomiuri Giants).

- Witnessed one of the most amazing single game championship comeback ever in sports history, as the Red Sox overcame a 7 run deficit in ALCS game 5. Of course, they lost game 7, but what a miracle that game was.

- Resurrected my doll-making skillz and created the one of a kind Youk and Dusty dolls. So creepy, so awesome, and so pet-able.

- Read 126 books (more than last year).

- Attended my little bro's wedding.

- Went to my first NBA game with the library teens. The Chicago Bulls somehow managed to win one at home for the kids.

- Received my very own buffy pop-up card, handcrafted by Colin, for Christmas.

I'm sure other stuff happened too, but this is what I can remember at the moment.

Happy New Year!

Good God!

2008-12-30T09:56:00.003-06:00

At least four people I know got engaged over the holidays... and New Year's Eve hasn't even happened yet! Three of them are Sturbridge folks that I've known since elementary school, and one is from NDA. Everyone's gettin' hitched!

As far as I know, this is looking to be another year for weddings. Monica is getting married down under in August, and Kayla is getting married in the fall in New England. I think I am now at the point in my life where each year I'll have at least one wedding to attend. (I almost wrote that I didn't go to any weddings this past year and then I remembered, my brother's!)

So not Mia Thermopolis anymore

2008-12-28T21:11:00.002-06:00

Mere weeks remain until the release of the final Princess Diaries book is released, but in the meantime, I caught Anne Hathaway in a decidedly un-Mia Thermopolis role: an addict just out of rehab to attend her sister's wedding. Rachel Getting Married was superb. I went to see it with my parents at the West Boylston second run cinema where it cost us $3.50 each. Lynnie sure knows a bargain when she sees one. The screen was tiny, but it was kind of the perfect place to see a movie like this. It's a small, at times obviously dark -- given what's going on -- and super-intimate. Director Jonathan Demme has taken a Dogme approach, only using music and sound effects that would exist in the scene. I've seen Dogme films before at Doc, but it had been awhile. Let me tell you, it is one thing to find yourself deeply affected because something sad is happening and the song playing in the background is orchestrated to just get you to cry. It is quite another for the intensity of the acting to just cut away at your core. Anne Hathaway was amazing, and while physically recognizable, she was no Anne Hathaway you have ever seen before. I'm entirely rooting for her to win an Oscar for Best Actress.

I don't know what it is about Oscar season, but it sure makes me want to get out of my apartment/house and out to the movies. So far, I've seen Milk, Doubt, and Rachel Getting Married, but there are many more that I'm dying to see. In order:

1. The Wrestler

2. Revolutionary Road

3. Slumdog Millionaire

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

5. Gran Torino

6. The Reader

7. Wendy and Lucy

8. I've Loved You So Long

That is a lot of movies! And 1-6 I absolutely must see before the Oscars, so that's almost one a week until the end of February. Sheesh. This coming from someone who didn't see Dark Knight until the end of summer/early fall... and can't remember what movie she saw most recently before that one in the theaters.

Anyway, I never even posted about Christmas! It was fun. Crowded, different from last year, a little emotional because of my grandfather not being there at Christmas Eve, but definitely improved by the addition of some new folks. Like the Colin guy! Colin was a real trouper, putting up with a very relaxed schedule in Sturby, which turned out to be the calm before the storm. A 13 month old Baby Kai adds a lot of intensity and challenges to normal holiday activities. Like leaving the house to do things all together. Also, opening Christmas presents. An activity that usually was well over by 11 AM, well, this year we were still opening presents at 7 PM. And this is without Grandma even coming out (with presents) since she wasn't feeling well.

I must admit, as much as I miss the little guy right now, I am super excited to sleep in a bed! The whole night through! It's been 3 nights on an air mattress in my brother's claustrophobic tiny room that just barely contained said double air mattress, and then 2 nights on the couch, praying the cat won't jump on my face at night. Not one night did I get to sleep all the way through, thanks to the little guy who still doesn't sleep through the night. I'm not complaining really. I wouldn't want to not be spending all that time with the little guy... but I am really really stoked about having my bed and room back!

this is the worst day of my life

2008-12-13T12:33:00.002-06:00

Crucifictorious t-shirts are SOLD OUT.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

one truly crappy ass day

2008-12-01T21:28:00.002-06:00

Coming back to work after Thanksgiving is never fun, but man, this day just kept getting worse and worse. I make it through work, just itching to read my book on the train, go grocery shopping, and loaf around on the couch, but things soured pretty quickly. My train is delayed by 10 minutes, make that 22, now 37. It has equipment failure and is still at University Park (the beginning of the route, a few stops before mine). It is twenty-something degrees outside, and I am standing in an unheated vestibule and I am freezing. Now we're at forty minutes. We see the train light. We go outside. It idles, 50 feet away for us, for another fifteen minutes. Fifty-seven minutes after my scheduled boarding time, I get on the train. Not two stops later, in the sketchiest place this side of the city where there are many an unsolved murder and the average house value is $30,000, they make me get off. Anyone that's not going all the way downtown must get off. The other train, they say, is right behind them. Ten minutes waiting in another unheated vestibule in sketchy ass Harvey, then I get on the train. Right behind us, eh? We're going over the river, heading back in to Chicago, maybe things are picking up. NOPE! The train is going to stop at every fucking stop between 115th and mine. Lovely. I call my parents to whine. My dad suggests making friends on the train...aaaand he's serious. It takes a lot to not hang up on him. Finally, my stop. It's fucking cold out but I still have to head to the grocery store as I have absolutely nothing to eat for dinner or breakfast or lunch tomorrow. Treasure Island is undergoing renovation, but I'm filling up my basket, things are looking good, oh, WHAT NOW. They have no milk. The only real grocery store in Hyde Fucking Park, and they have NO MILK. Le sigh. I trudge over to the check out aisle, where the most idiotic woman on the planet insists on waiting till I have every item out of my basket before ringing me up. I keep my cool but inside I want to slap her or tell her how dumb can she be, etc, etc. I manage not to slip on the icy sidewalks, none of them with any treatment whatsoever, as I make my way to the corner market to get the necessary milk. Get home. Apartment is freezing. Heat up some soup and sit down to watch David Cook on Ellen, DVR-ed. Skips, freezes. Somehow resist throwing things (am impressed at self control, truly). Watch it online. Make mac and cheese and sit down to watch Privileged. Can't wait the end because the DVR is fucked up. As of 9:30, Gossip Girl will still not play, so I go online to watch the Baby Kai video I put on Facebook to cheer self up. It plays the sound but the images all play over each other.

IS THIS DAY OVER YET?

signed, me.

A Carrie Bradshaw moment

2008-11-07T11:07:00.002-06:00

Well, I thought that the next time I blogged, it would be tearful, but I didn't think it would be about this! (I was planning to blog about the Grant Park election night experience.) Alas, I am just ten minutes away from crying in the street a la Carrie Bradshaw when someone stole her Manolos. This morning I went to pick up my leather repairs from the shop down on 57th near the train. One shoe, two purse straps that needed to be repaired. When I dropped my stuff off last Friday, I also had a pair of boots that needed work, but upon seeing the man's hands (very grimy, calloused) I decided maybe they needed special attention. If only I had heeded my own advice! First, the man had all of the stuff lying in heaps and I had to tell him what was mine. What if someone else had seen my pretty purses and wanted them? Well, they would've been gone by now! First, the shoe. It looks good. Then the Betsey Johnson purse, whose strap was coming unattached from the side. Looking good. Then the beautiful Jill Stuart purse that Colin got me for my birthday from Loehmann's.

HOLY FUCKING CHRIST WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKKKK

It has a looped strap, that runs through a cylinder on the sides. It was the part of the strap that fit right under the barrel where the stitching was coming undone. This fucking idiot had patched over that section with a piece of another color of blue PLEATHER. It didn't even fit under the barrel anymore! I summoned my inner bitch and told him this was completely unacceptable, that this is a $500 purse, and refused to pay for it. Then out on the street started to cry. Here's the thing. I like nice things, like Carrie. And the very nice things, I plan on keeping for a very long time. Especially when they are gifts! Hence the tears, the frantic call to Lynnie, the slamming of the apartment door, the yelling "fuck," and then, thankfully, the realization. Sure, it was fucked up, but not unfixable. On closer inspection, I saw that it was basically patched over. I just needed to remove the sticky leather patch. So I got my tiny scissors and picked away at it and now it looks basically the way it did before it was repaired, but with some little holes where it had been stitched. Luckily, those will be mostly under the barrel thingy, so not noticeable unless you look really carefully.

Anyway, the point of this entry. Be forewarned! Do not take anything of value to Hyde Park Shoe Repairer! The shoes looked okay. We'll see how they hold up. When I looked closer at the Betsey Johnson purse repair, I was again not impressed. It was restitched with a weird red colored thread, but you can't see that until you look inside. Then again, I think I got that bag for under $50 at TJ Maxx so I had much lower expectations.

Now, Everwood.

Making Biden cookies again

2008-10-29T20:53:00.002-05:00

They were so good I had to make them again. Joe Biden's favorite oatmeal raisin cookies. I learned some upsetting news tonight. My grandmother (my Mom's mother) is going to vote for McCain. That is, if she makes it to the polls this year. I learned this from my mother who is spending the night in Rhode Island tending to Grammy who just had back surgery and can't be home alone. There is little I can do about this, as Grammy is the most stubborn person ever. I can just be glad she is voting (if she makes it there) in Rhode Island.

Oh well! I hadn't checked 538.com lately, and was thrilled to see: 96.2% chance of Obama winning. I'm not counting my eggs before they've hatched or anything, but Tuesday night, Grant Park, 8:30 PM cannot come soon enough!

It never completely goes away, does it?

2008-10-26T23:52:00.002-05:00

Twenty minutes ago I was finishing watching the season finale of "Mad Men." Four hours ago, while cooking (!), I had a breakthrough about my book and furiously wrote a new (the missing?) chapter while listening to Third Eye Blind's "The Background" on repeat. And what was I doing just ten minutes ago? Reading emails from 2002.

Peggy gave a fabulous monologue when confronted with Pete telling her that she's perfect and he loves her (don't get me started!) and it somehow brought everything together for me, because it hit at the heart of what happens, or maybe, doesn't. She was talking about how people change, how something floats away from them, and they can never get it back. We age, we change, we lose bits of our old selves. This, I acknowledge, and yet I am always just stunned at the way our old selves come flooding back like a torrent.

This afternoon I'm watching the SNL that I taped from last night and Coldplay is performing and they are doing "Yellow" and suddenly I'm back, to some time my junior year in high school, I'm sitting on the floor of my room and I'm making a birthday card for someone ("Yellow" is playing on the radio in the background), The Little Prince-themed. The recipient is someone I hardly know yet feel these intense teenage feelings for. I sent it off, not even sure if I had the address right, and now, nearly ten years later, it still gets me choked up, thinking of my teenage self, feeling everything so fucking strongly back then, and then my college self, getting wrapped up into it all over again. And here I am, nearly 26, and still writing about the same thing. Why didn't that part of me float away? Why does what happened back then still matter so much to me? Obviously, it's not something I think about constantly, but when I'm working on my book, I am completely in that zone and all of it matters all over again, or rather, it feels like it matters. And then I have to seriously look at my surroundings, count how many things in my life have changed, give it perspective, and realize it doesn't matter.

Damn, fiction is powerful. And so I can't help but wonder, as this rewrite is starting to shape up, what will happen if and when my book gets published. Will anyone else who was there see themselves in it. Or have their old selves just floated away. I'll admit, as I'm sure I have either on the blog or to people in person, that every time the book is out there -- the whole thing -- I get these twinges of worry, about repercussions. But then, I'm probably being too self-absorbed and not realizing that nobody (okay, nobody qualified as people in their mid to late twenties that are not librarians or teachers or writers) reads YA novels. I guess we'll see.

But then again, I think someone has blocked me from seeing that they are even on Facebook, which is a stunning reminder that we haven't all lost bits of our old selves now, have we.

It's gonna hurt when it heals too

2008-10-20T22:56:00.002-05:00

"I couldn't turn on the TV

Without something there to remind me

Was it all that easy

To just put aside your feelings

...

Thought I couldn't live without you

It's gonna hurt when it heals too

It'll all get better in time."

- Leona Lewis

So it's probably completely inappropriate to say that whenever I hear Leona Lewis' song, which is anytime I turn on the radio or catch the ad for "The Secret Life of Bees" I think of the Boston Red Sox. I teared up reading about my players tearing up last night and it's settling in, this feeling that I have months and months until baseball season starts up again for me.

Whine whine bitch bitch. Okay, bedtime.

The 2008 Red Sox Mix

2008-10-17T12:38:00.004-05:00

I guess it's about time I made this. Most of the song choices should be obvious, but I'll explain the ones that don't.

1. Faith - George Michael (this is for the SurvivingGrady guys)

2. Blame it on the Rain - Milli Vanilli (pictured at right, remember?)

3. Don't Stop Believing - Journey

4. Tessie - Dropkick Murphys

5. Fuck Wit Dre Day - Dr. Dre (Pedroia's at-bat song)

6. Blow the Whistle - Too $hort (One of Papi's at-bat songs)

7. Push it - Rick Ross (Youk's at-bat song)

8. Alive - Pearl Jam (Jason Bay's at-bat song)

9. Low - Flo Rida feat. T-Pain (Mark Kotsay's at-bat song)

10. The Kids Aren't Alright - the Offspring (one of Jed Lowrie's at-bat songs)

11. Plush - Stone Temple Pilots (Sean Casey's at-bat song)

12. Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

13. I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys (Paps' warm-up song)

14. Dirty Water - the Standells

15. Joy to the World - Three Dog Night

Some overlap with last year's mix, but not that much, thanks to some new team members and updated at-bat songs. I am really relieved that Jason Bay's at-bat song is no longer butt rock but actually respectable. It turns out Milli Vanilli is not on iTunes so I had to interlibrary loan that CD. Only a few libraries still have it.

I am not not singing along with "Blame it on the Rain" right now. You know, that might be one of the boons of not having Colin around for a month. I really need to do more singalongs.

Goonies never say die

2008-10-17T12:01:00.003-05:00

Clearly, this goes for the Red Sox too. Last night's game was so completely unexpected. Before the game, I had claimed we would win it and then lose the next one, but after the first couple innings, I just wanted the whole nightmare to be over. I couldn't watch us hit ball after ball to B.J. Upton, so I switched to watching "The Office," which was hilarious. As expected, the pretend birthing scenes with Dwight were fabulous and started to erase the sour mood that the game brought on. But then I switched back. Ugh! Still no runs on the board for Boston! So then back to SNL Weekend Update: Thursday Edition. Funny and necessary. Then back to the game. We're getting smacked around even further so I make dinner, switch back and forth to MSNBC, which I've been watching a lot more these days. Finally, it's the 7th inning and I'm thinking, okay, nine more outs and then I can start to move on.

And then, the tide turns. Every single thing goes our way, from Dustin getting that necessary, night-changing RBI single, to Papi's much-missed ability to hit home runs, now returning in full force, to J.D. Drew's home run, to B. J. Upton for once not catching a ball hit in his direction (thank you Mark Kotsay), to Coco Crisp having a fucking 10 pitch at-bat. Jesus. Once we tied, I knew we would win it. It was a storybook, classic Red Sox comeback, and I'm so glad I never truly gave up (okay, maybe I did in my head, but after Papi's home run, I was back in it full force). I sat with my dolls, Youk and Dusty, on my lap, my Red Sox hat plucked off its perch in the hallway, now back on my head (some day I need to wash that hat), and settled in to watch the bottom of the ninth. Dusty - out. Papi - out. Youk - oh my god are you kidding me, error on Longoria, Youk's at second. They're walking Bay. And Drew is up. AND JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THEY WIN!

On a night when I'd already given up to the point where I was no longer throwing things and yelling, where I was just resigned, the Red Sox reminded me why they are really more of a religion than a sport... in moments like these. My throat hoarse, my mind racing after the thrilling victory, I'm looking ahead to Saturday and I'm kind of glad I finally burned "Blame it on the Rain" and bought George Michael's "Faith" off iTunes. Oh yeah, and I'm reminded why being a Cubs fan can't even compare with being a Red Sox fan.

Love those guys.

If the Red Sox can't win well then maybe Manny can lose

2008-10-13T21:26:00.004-05:00

Feeling no satisfaction from today's shittay Red Sox game (9-1?! with Lester on the mound?!?! really??!?!) I now find myself watching the Phillies-Dodgers game and rooting against Manny. Am I really that joy-less?

Perhaps. As someone at work said, my "honeybun" has left me. For Chile! For a month! It turns out that when you are going somewhere for a month, you do all this real and mental preparation for it, so you're not so stunned when it happens. But when someone DESERTS YOU for a month, yeah, you just end up pretty much blindsided, which sort of captures how I feel. I'm lonely and I guess tomorrow I will be less lonely because I have work but man, it is such an adjustment, living alone! It turns out I really haven't ever done it. I've obviously lived sans Colin before, but sans roommates too? I think there was one week at the end of my time in Boston where everyone else had already left. But that was only a week. A WHOLE MONTH!

I guarantee that a week from now, I will find this less mystifying and be bringing out the positive, but right now, I am realizing that my longest in-person (not phone) contact with humans in the past 24 hours was the checkout guy at Treasure Island in the middle of the day today. God how I wish I had a kitty right now. And not just five buffies, a lllama, a Youkilis doll that now at least has a shirt, and a shirtless Dustin Pedroia. Doll! Not the real thing.

Amazingly, I did not throw either of them today, in spite of the loss. I really cannot blame them. Nor can I blame Jason Bay or Mark Kotsay. But everyone else! Oh, Jesus, while Saturday's monster 5 hour and 27 minute game was an emotional rollercoaster, this afternoon's game was just depressing. We couldn't muster up any offense against a sub-brilliant pitcher. And now we're down 1-2. Sure, last year, we were 1-2 after the first three and look what happened afterwards. Winning the ALCS and the World Series. I think the ALDS set me up to think my team was just that awesome every night. But I know the Rays are a better team than the Angels and that it will take more to beat them. I'm just a little worried with Wakie getting the start tomorrow night. Will it be shakey Wakie? Or the Wakie that gets no run support? Or the Wakie whose ERA is, I believe, the third best on the team after Matsuzaka and Lester. God, a girl can only hope. More than that, I have to keep things together because tomorrow night is "Dracula" at the library and I'll be keeping an eye on (or pitch by pitch watching on my iPhone, your choice) the game. This is to say that it will probably be completely inappropriate to yell "fuck" every time things don't go our way... or to throw things.

Lordy.

Get 'er done Wakie, get 'er done.

YES YES YESSSSSSSS

2008-10-06T22:42:00.002-05:00

YES!

Colin is rather relieved because there has been a lot of shouting and throwing these past two nights. I am so proud of our mild, Canadian addition, Mr. Jason Bay, and our rookie, Jed Lowrie, who should no longer be known for THE ERROR THAT DIDN'T MATTER IN ALDS GAME 1, but instead for his game-ending RBI to clinch the fucking series. I'm not nit-picking. Clearly.

I can't wait to watch all the champagne-soaked footage tomorrow, once it makes its way onto my Sox blogs. It's time to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Crankypants

2008-10-04T08:24:00.001-05:00

Why oh why oh why is there banging and drilling and banging and drilling right outside our window at 8 AM????????????????

Okay, I do know the answer: construction, but it does not ease my tiredness nor my crankiness! All yesterday and the day before I have been looking forward to sleeping in this weekend... only to find out now that no sleeping in will happen because of construction! We didn't get to bed last night until 12:30, staying up for the spectacular finish of my Red Sox, who are playing their best baseball of the year, seriously.

Grrrrrrrrrr.............................

Also, why don't I own earplugs!?

Aaaand we're back to square one

2008-09-22T18:37:00.002-05:00

Of course on the day I manage to ignore my email, when I finally do check it, there is an email from THE AGENT. At this point in "the game," an email is always an ominous sign. The call is what we aim for, and the email we fear. Well, at least I don't have to fear checking my email anymore! I now have 2 manuscript requests that were rejected, after 3-4 weeks. At least they are getting back to me quickly...

As expected, I got a more personalized email from this particular AGENT and he gave me some tips that I am considering [WHEN NOT CRYING!]. Of course, it's been about 20 minutes since I got the rejection, so we're definitely in the mulling things over stage. I'm disappointed -- how could I not be! -- but, you know, I'll move forward, I'll probably at least tinker with the book, and talk it over with some friends to see what they think. The good news is I don't seem to be having trouble getting agents to read my manuscript, so my query letter's pretty darn solid, but when they get the actual book, they aren't completely smitten. I have gotten good comments on my "writing," which is good, because that's not something you can really fix. The thing this agent was hung up on was that it moved to slow. Things need to start happening faster, and it might need more action. At this point, it's been months since I've really looked at the thing, so maybe my fresh eyes will have some kind of insight. Or my friends!

Le sigh. I wish Colin would come home so I can, um cry all over again, and show off all the cleaning I did. Vacuuming the stairs (never fun), scrubbing the hallway floor. Vacuuming the rest of the apartment. Dishes! Man, I was such a housewife today.

Time to get the mail.

The things you look up sometimes...

2008-09-19T19:27:00.002-05:00

I don't know why, but I was just looking at the U of C Department of English website and stumbled upon a list of PhD placements. Anyway, the funny thing is that back in my first year of college, I had, what I still believe to be, a true doofus of a PhD candidate teacher. Now, I've had some very, very good non-professor teachers at the U of C, in case you are thinking I am biased. But for Hum I had a man that I truly found, well... how do I say this... rather unqualified for this position. I had the feeling he must have been someone who knew someone, or something. Anyway, any suspicion I had has been declared fact.

This man is now teaching at.....

.... wait for it....

THE FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE

Steubenville!!!!!

I am still chuckling over this. Maybe also because there is little to chuckle about Jacoby getting out, Papi striking out, and now having 2 on with 2 outs instead of 2 on with 0 outs.

Oh Bay...

2008-09-19T18:58:00.002-05:00

"I got there at 6 o'clock -- she was [born] at 6:47 -- so any time you have a child it's exciting, but to go all the way and just miss it would have been heartbreaking," said Bay. "To get there and go through it all was great, and I still got to watch the second half of the ballgame. That was by my wife's choice, too. It wasn't just me. She wanted to see it, too."

Oh, Jason. Glad to have you back, buddy. We need it. Congrats to Jason Bay and his wife Kristen on the birth of their daughter, Evelyn Jane. Now, please hit some home runs and get us back in this game!

Three weeks

2008-09-17T12:47:00.002-05:00

Thank God for "Sex and the City." Last night, I was in a funk, not a typical funk with a reason behind it, one that I understood, but a funk that I couldn't put words to. Until today. Yesterday, I finished Haruki Murakami's "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running," and decided I needed to run 5 miles today. I haven't run that far in a couple weeks, but there's something about a longer run that just clears your head. So, despite another headache from getting mascara in my eyes overnight (why haven't I learned to not wear mascara!), I set off, and while it wasn't the fastest run ever-- far from -- it left me feeling a little bit exhausted, in a good way. Wow, I just got deja vu. Did I write an entry like this already? Anyway, back at the apartment, watching "Sex and the City" later on, it hit me. I'm feeling like I'm waiting. Constantly checking my email, waiting for something to happen. You know what: that watched pot never boils. And then I remembered, fuck, I am waiting. It has been almost three weeks since I sent out my manuscript, via email, and this is what we do, we wait. We learn how to check our email not only at home, incessantly, but also at work, and on our cell phones, etc., etc. We're so focused on it that we forget even that we are doing just that: waiting.

And that's the thing. I compared this process to applying to college, but that comparison is so far from apt. It's not really the same, at all. With college applications, you have deadlines and then you have a date to wait for, to fret around, to go out and check the mail--or I guess now, the email. So, you don't just sit around and wait. You keep busy until that day arrives, and then you completely lose it.

Well, I guess I'm not afforded that one day of completely losing it. Instead, I am tapping my hand on my leg watching SATC until it ends and I "allow" myself to check my email. To find NOTHING. Well, about thirty child_lit messages, but no emails from THE AGENT.

And then I reach the "Sex and the City" with Carrie's book launch party, and I realize why I will put up with this, this feeling of waiting for god knows what and not knowing how long the waiting will last. Of wondering whether THE AGENT has read the manuscript at all yet, or if its still sitting in his inbox, abiding time until it's her turn. Or if, for some crazy reason (and my true hope) it is being passed around and read and in some further stages. But we don't learn about that. We wait. Well, I wait. I know I'm not alone. I've trolled the message boards, followed other people's stories from querying to acceptance to publication. Book launch parties! So, I put on my cute Theory dress, which could be completely appropriate for a book launch party or book tour someday, do my makeup, and get ready to head to the library.

I guess helping adorable kids find Junie B. Jones, chatting quietly with Mary at the desk, and "doing weedy" are perfectly acceptable of biding my time, hoping one day this dress has a slightly fancier use.

Not again!

2008-09-13T14:01:00.003-05:00

I checked Five Thirty Eight and wanted to cry. Okay, there is time yet, but I'm a starting to take a more panicky approach to the election. I am truly terrified of what might happen if he who shall not be named is elected. On the phone the other night with Liz, we talked about this prospect, and I shared the sad fact that one of co-workers who lives in Indiana is going to vote for McCain. "Wait, you're kidding," Liz said. Nope. And this isn't even one of my crazy co-workers! We are already coming up with emergency scenarios. Her boyfriend is a French citizen, and, Colin's almost done with his PhD. I just shouted out to him, "Can you apply for post docs outside the country?" "Sure!" He brings up the point that it will be far away from Baby Kai. Well, with gas prices, it'll probably cost the same to fly from England to Boston as it would from anywhere in this country to New England, as I've sadly come to learn.

I hope hope hope it doesn't come to that.

In the meantime, I sucked it up and bought "American Wife." With the rainy weekend we have going here in Chicago, I might actually get around to doing some serious reading. And "The Wire" watching. And Libby birthday present buying. And putting all our new food in airtight containers. We're going to have the cutest pantry ever! Meal-worm free, three days and counting.

What a fantastic question

2008-09-12T13:32:00.003-05:00

Reading the new, improved (maybe? too early to tell) version of the Red Sox mailbag with Amalie Benjamin today:

Amalie -- Let's put the Sox chatter on hold for a moment. Let's talk about you. Is Sarah Palin stealing your mojo when she clearly has invaded your fashion-design space and ripped off your signature eyewear statement?

John, N. Yarmouth, Maine

A: I was stunned. I mean, the nerve! In this politics-free space, however, I'll just say that I applaud the use of eyeglasses by anyone. Now, here's an answer without a question to get this back to baseball. Best frames on the Sox? That would be Jacoby Ellsbury, who goes with a stylish pair with a frame on the top and not the bottom.

Gah! Oh, this is killing me. Ever since Contactgate 08(Flashback to a few weeks ago: Jacoby makes a really great play out in center field, I believe, and in the process his contact falls out. For at least 10 minutes, the staff looks for it, tries and fails to put it back in his eye -- as any contact wearer knows, you gotta put them in yourself, because someone else's finger heading toward your eyes induces blinking -- while Remy and Orsillo try to provide insightful commentary. It eventually got back in there.) I've been curious about what kind of glasses Jacoby wears when not in contacts. Despite the many, many pictures of the man, there are no pictures of him in his specs. Now Amalie holds this tantalizing information out there, and still no photographic evidence.

I will track it down and keep everyone (umm, myself?) posted.

bad day/good day

2008-09-09T20:23:00.002-05:00

today has been a mixed bag.

highlights of the bad:
MEALWORMS IN MY FOOD!

this is so gross! it turns out the moths we found in the pantry upon returning from christmas vacation last year have cycled back into mealworms, despite the fact that we cleaned the pantry out fully last time. i was sitting down to a chill, post-work snack when upon opening the bag of black bean chips, out popped a mealworm.

two plus trash bags of once perfectly good food later, i'm depressed and feeling wasteful and sad that it all had to go... yet not interested in consuming mealworms!

also, my iphone's headphones are no longer functioning in the left ear. WTF. this iphone is turning out to be a hassle and a half. i accidentally called my mother by sitting on my phone this morning.

highlights of the good:

well, earlier in the day it was pretty darn fun shopping at joann fabrics with deb, picking up stuff for the gocks (goth sock puppets) we're going to make with the teens on monday, and also picking out stuff for the dustin pedroia and kevin youkilis dolls (with a beard you can pet!) stephanie and i are going to make.

of course, when we got back to the library, we realized we forgot to buy the socks. d'oh!

but the real good part:

colin and i will be staying in the ritz carlton in denver when in town for the ala midwinter conference in january! wooooot! it was ALA requested housing, so up in the air until i got the confirmation. as a true librarian, i should probably not have requested the most expensive hotel, but come on, $199 a night for the ritz carlton? i could not resist.

in the meantime, i'm hoping my sox can come from behind to win this one. it would make my day a lot better.

I forgot

2008-09-04T18:33:00.002-05:00

Right before I jetted out of town for Labor Day weekend (because I'm such a jetsetter), I heard back from Agency #4. Quick response (less than 24 hours): request for full manuscript. I emailed it off Thursday night and now, waiting once more.

Would looooove to hear something good in return as this is one agent I'd really love to have represent me/my work. We'll see.

gob on sesame

2008-09-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

I waited a very long time for this! Like, two weeks!

weird morning

2008-08-27T11:47:00.002-05:00

Man, someone is in a glass case of emotion this morning, and that someone is me. I don't know what is making me so emotional this morning. Could it be the f'ed up dream I had in the wee hours of the morning between when Colin left for radio and when I woke up, that featured Salvatore from Mad Men murdering people....and also me hitting up estate sales? Or is it just my period. I trolled around on John Green's site, heading there to watch some YouTube videos, and then realizing I'd never looked at the early entries. This is not what I should have been doing at 8 AM this morning, when I was supposed to be out running. Regardless, I stumbled upon the entry wherein he found out his book was being published and that Dutton wanted to sign a multi-book deal. What did John do when he found this out? Evidently, vomited up salmon. I'm pretty sure that if I get a book deal (multi or not), I will probably just cry. Because whether I am stressed or really, really happy, or really frustrated, that is what I do. I may also pee my pants, just because I've never done that and always kind of wanted to. Or maybe just pee them in theory. Either way, it's going to involve a lot of fluids.

I spent way to much time this morning sending out a query that should not have taken so long. I was already getting all emotional watching Hillary Clinton's speech. One, because photo montages set to music always get to me, and then I just got all inspired about electing Obama and then there were just some tears, let's leave it at that. Drowned in nutella and waffles. And then I buckled down to send out this query and they want a sample chapter, not requiring that it be the first, which led me to poke around my book for ideas (ended up sending the Halloween party chapter) and then feeling not worthy, alternating with feelings of worthiness, and then remembering that I really need to start to read that ARC whose review is due, oh, Saturday, but for me, really tomorrow. But then Word, because it is a firemonster, kept going all kooky on me, and I needed to do all those hard things, like resetting tabs and having different headers and pagination in different sections and then, oh look, I am crying again.

GLASS.
CASE.
OF.
EMOTION.

Needless to say, the query is out there, and I hope he is okay with the tabs all being the same because I could not get them to be any different.

I hope that one day I am writing here about peeing my pants/crying when an agent calls and offers representation, because there is a lot of emotion that goes into just sending the dang thing out, every time.

Maybe there's something about, how very rarely in my life these days, I have to put something out there that is going to be critiqued, responded to, by someone else. This is something I, everyone really, did constantly throughout our childhood, taking tests, turning in papers, etc., etc., and then it completely goes away. At least for me, with my job. I'm no longer being judged, at least not in the very item-specific way I once was. And so it becomes a little more intense, I think, sending out that email number 4 to prospective agent number 4.

Another thing that made me almost cry -- okay not really, but it did tick me off -- is that the Red Sox are playing a DAY GAME against the Yankees tomorrow. This is unacceptable. This means I will miss the entire last series at Yankee Stadium for the Red Sox! Unless I tape it and avoid reading my Sox sources on Thursday... I had so planned on watching the game while packing for Labor Day weekend wedding and Baby Kai extravaganza. Oh well.

That reminds me... I also dreamt about having two of my own babies that I was taking a bath with last night. Except I realized I was maybe scalding them with hot water. I also don't know how I was holding them both at the same time.

Conclusion: I may have had four arms in one of my dreams last night.

Well, now it's noon and I haven't started to read the ARC yet. Poopies!

Where we stand

2008-08-24T10:23:00.002-05:00

As of today, three agencies queried.

Agency #1: After sitting on it for 3 months, asked for a full manuscript, then form rejection (ouch!). But it came from the head agent, so maybe she is just mega busy and can't personally respond. (July)
Agency #2: After a month, rejection, but at least personalized! (August)
Agency #3: Rejected in a little over 48 hours. (this past Friday)

It's early yet, but I feel like I got a good sign with Agency #1. Sending query out to Agency #4 sometime this week. Nisha suggested I send a bootleg copy around the lab school to create buzz... Umm maybe not yet. Overall, I'm very optimistic and so thankful I became a member of SCBWI. Their message boards are so informative and surprising. I love reading about authors sending out queries, only to now be names I recognize.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 today! Eeeep! I can't wait. I'm ashamed to admit I can't remember the last movie I saw in the theaters, it's been that long!

Also, less than a week until my little brother gets married. How crazy is that?!

not the best timing

2008-08-09T12:24:00.004-05:00

Well, I never thought when I went for a two mile easy run yesterday, two hours before a friend was coming into town, and three hours before the start of the Red Sox - White Sox game that I would trip on the same piece of sidewalk I'd surely tripped on before and become very airborne. Yeah, I usually catch myself there, but not yesterday.

The results:

one sprained wrist
a lot of scrapes and bruises
one hour late to the game
possible inability to run Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon tomorrow

The grisly visual evidence:

The bright side of everything:

Jason Bay's butt.

Yes, I watched yesterday's game with my Beaker doll by my side

2008-08-03T19:03:00.002-05:00

The Manny era in Boston is over, and if this weekend's games were any indication, this is a good thing. I very much enjoyed watching our new acquisition, Jason Bay, who in addition to having adorably messy hair and being Canadian, also looks kind of like Beaker the Muppet.

Things that have appeared in my dreams in the last two nights

2008-07-25T10:59:00.002-05:00

Officer James McNulty. He was in my dream last night. This makes sense because we finished watching season one of the The Wire last night.

Rivers Cuomo. In my dream, he was propositioning me for sex, and was sporting his creepy mustache and was generally rather sketchy.

Last but not least, this happened later in the night/early morning of my Rivers Cuomo dream. I was watching a poop go down the drain of a bathtub. Don't ask me why!!!!!

What will I dream of tonight? God knows, but I hope not the poop in the bathtub again.

The most ridiculous thing I've read in a while

2008-07-24T19:09:00.003-05:00

She says, right after reading her Zane short story book.

How about the bride requesting her bridesmaids to get their BOOBS ENLARGED?! Read on.

It has arrived

2008-07-23T10:40:00.001-05:00

Manuscript made it to Brooklyn. Eeeeep!

Someone needs to teach this girl patience

2008-07-20T17:02:00.002-05:00

Last night, Colin and I sat down to watch the last disc of The Wire season one. I'm digging the first episode when suddenly, these little green pixels start dancing around the screen. The disc isn't skipping [sorry did Peter Gammons just say "Dustin Pedroia looks like a little stuffed toy from FAO Schwartz"?!], the episode ends just as the police break into Orlando's and open a door into the room with Avon Barksdale. I excitedly select the next episode and...nothing. It's stuck there, then it gets skippy. Sadly, no amount of Colin's nose grease fixes the disc and we're stuck watching Venture Brothers episodes while I mutter under my breath about Netflix. Le sigh.

It's about time I learn how to be patient. You would think distance running in the summer would help one learn these essential life skills, but it turns out that running at a steady pace when it's humid and getting closer to 80 degrees with every step is actually quite a challenge. There's this urge to run faster or to stop altogether, right after that drink of water from the bubbler but nope, I still have miles to go.

Still, the thing I most need to be patient about now is... my book. Friday morning, I mailed out the manuscript, so it should arrive at the agency in Brooklyn, NY no later than Tuesday. I spent all morning, post-run, scouring SCBWI message boards to get a sense of what happens next, and I still don't know what to expect. One thing that is certain is that the waiting game has begun...again... and with no clear timeline. Neat!

In the meantime, I guess I can keep myself busy with baseball. This past week was just surreal, between getting two emails from agencies in a row on Tuesday morning (amazing, given the volume of mail in my inbox, and the fact that I queried them months apart), not having any real baseball to follow, and probably something else surreal that I'm forgetting. I guess it was just such a weird week that I couldn't stop myself from buying yellow pants from JCrew.

What was I thinking?

Oh happy day!

2008-07-13T08:29:00.001-05:00

All my hoping and praying has come through!

Yeah. I just got so excited I knocked over my water and spilled all over the floor. Time to run 8 miles before it gets too hot out.

Blame it on the rain

2008-06-21T12:30:00.002-05:00

Even after a rain-delayed loss, there is something just magical and ridiculous about my team. Right?

In other news, I am a reading machine - finished two books in the last 24 hours! - and now afraid to pet Clementine. Even when she is snuggling up to me, I am still not safe from her CLAWS OF DOOM.

Sometimes we have to part with things because it's so freakin' hot out!

2008-06-13T18:41:00.003-05:00

I think that's the last time I'll ever get my hair cut in the HP. I was cheap and lazy today, but it turned out that the stylist was bitchy and cranky. I like not wanting to cry when someone cuts my hair, thank you. Afterwards, I hit up State St., looking for bargains, constantly touching my very short hair and looking at my reflection in windows to decide if I liked it. Nordstrom Rack was such a disappointment. They now have way less true designer stuff, and a lot of mediocre crap. Filene's Basement had some great stuff, but things weren't fitting right. I did find a special present for a special guy. No, not Colin, but baby Kai! A welcome to the USA present. At three, I had to break for lunch, and went to Au Bon Pain for soup, then continued on my shopping journey to TJ Maxx, where I think I found a dress for Bryan's wedding. I told Lynnie she was not allowed to buy her mother of the groom dress from TJ Maxx or Marshall's, but then I go ahead and break my own rules! I'm not certain about it, but it was a $285 Laundry dress for $50, so even if I don't use it for that occasion, it didn't break the bank.

It was a good thing I didn't waste my tears at the salon because I returned home to find out, via Facebook, that Tim Russert died today. I've been watching "Meet the Press" since high school, and always had a fondness for Russert, my family being an NBC family, we watched mostly NBC Nightly News, and their coverage of elections and such. He was the same age as my dad, and I kind of can't believe he won't be on "Meet the Press" this Sunday. More than that, I found myself watching the NBC Nightly News broadcast, as I do most evenings, crying (no, I don't do that most evenings!) at the realization that he won't be around for the 2008 presidential election, that he won't find out who will be our next president.

YES!

2008-06-11T11:00:00.003-05:00

It's all finally happening. Ai got her visa in the mail yesterday, Bryan has been officially accepted at UMASS and into the Computer Science program, and they are flying into Boston at the end of June.

Baby Kai's coming to America!

I'm goin' mainstream

2008-05-23T13:33:00.000-05:00

I don't know what I "should" be more embarrassed about, the number of times I've watched this video, or the fact that I'm pretty sure my mom is one of the Cougars 4 Cook.

Love it

2008-05-03T23:12:00.003-05:00

Apparently, Mr. Brandon Moss, adorable outfielder prospect for the Red Sox who started in right field for J. D. Drew last night and who was 2-4 with a solo home run, was feeling ill. He had appendicitis! Today, he had an appendectomy.

I marvel at this, and while sharing it with Colin, he notes how quickly "those things come on."

"Yeah, like with Jack [of Lost]," I said.

"Or, you know, real people."

Right. That too.

jealous!

2008-04-26T13:39:00.001-05:00

i can't believe my parents saw my boyfriend last night.

they supposedly got some good pictures on their cellphone, though it's really unclear whether or not they will be able to put them online.

Idol and other stuff

2008-04-23T11:21:00.002-05:00

I have a new Wednesday morning routine. I get up at 7:20, go over to the Med Bakery on the way into the radio, flip through the Maroon then the Red Eye while drinking my decaf latte and eating my chocolate croissant, work at the helms of the last hour of the radio show, hit up the ATM, return to the apartment and... read reactions to the previous night's "American Idol." Colin and probably other friends of mine cannot understand why I, a sentient person, like American Idol. But I really, really, really do like it, even this season, which is supposedly a weak season. What sucked me in this year was the little David, Mr. Archuleta, but I'm amazed to see that as the season goes on, my favorites really change. I love being impressed by someone I had discounted (Syesha) and seeing people find themselves, somehow, on stage and in front of judges and, well, an enormous viewing audience. I like trying to figure out how "America" (primarily teen girls who send in hundreds of text messages) will vote, and watching truly great performers and composers, work with these people that have come from nowhere, or, you know, a broken recording contract. Early in the season, my impression of David Cook was that he was a cocky poseur from the middle of nowhere (Tulsa, OK - get my reference) who liked to sing what I think of as "butt rock." and who had a terrible goatee-ish thing, and bad hair. And now he's totally my favorite. So much happens along the process, it's just fascinating from all sorts of viewpoints. I'm really surprised by how Brooke has absolutely cracked under the pressure, appearing more nervy with each performance. I'm also stunned by the how many times singers have flubbed the lyrics. In the season Fantasio won, I don't think anyone ever did that. and hell, Fantasia turned out to be illiterate! In this season, so far, Brooke has had two re-starts, and at least twice, little David has flubbed his lyrics. Last night, it wasn't so noticeable, but still, at this level, I find it disappointing. Which is why I think David Cook should win, or at least part of it. He's brought a level of professionalism to the show that's impressive because he wasn't the one who came on the show with certain advantages -having already been offered a contract (Michael Johns, Carly Smithson, Kristy Lee Cook). He is the one that came from Oklahoma! Anyway, those are my thoughts on that.

What else. So, today on Facebook I was finally friended by an old acquaintance from high school. I've been sort of bracing myself for this since they introduced "Friend Finder" to Facebook a month or so ago, and I feel sort of guilty for the reasoning behind it. This high school friend of mine, I saw through MySpace basically almost died from an eating disorder. I am so happy to see that she is recovering, but her photo albums are absolutely heartbreaking. I can't bear to look at them, they are so sad to see. She was really just skin and bones, she looked like a 12 year old dying of cancer, and my heart starts pounding just to see them because I think, oh my god, she was almost not with us anymore. In high school she was always kind of a loner, and friends with one of my close friend's older sister. The only reason I knew her - she was a year above me - was because we were in band together. We all really liked Hanson, at one point in our life! Precious, I know. Anyway, I am so glad to hear she is doing alright because when she first friended me on MySpace and I saw her picture, I really didn't know what to think, besides hoping that she was getting help and someone out there in Massachusetts was there for her.

lust

2008-04-20T23:03:00.003-05:00

Only Sunday night and I am already dreaming about my trip to Loehmann's on Friday. Creeeepy! Okay, gotta get the images of "Eastern Promises" out of my head. Well, the blurry ideas of images I caught from outside the frame of my glasses. Time to crawl into bed with Benazir Bhutto. Her new/last book, I mean!

Wine, Red Sox on NESN on MLB Extra Innings, Korean food on the way, what more do I need?

2008-04-19T19:13:00.002-05:00

Well, here goes another weekend of work! Man, I am whiney. I only have to work one weekend a month but still it is something I approach with a sense of dread, when in fact every time, it seems that Saturdays fly by compared to other days of the week. Maybe there is just something I don't like about having to work on a weekend, while everyone I am helping at the library does not! Yeah, life is hard, Jenn.

I have to say, buying MLB Extra Innings was the best decision ever. Maybe not for productivity or getting out of the apartment, but there is no better way to unwind, by oneself as one's boyfriend makes his way back from Schiller Park, than listening to Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo comment on a home Sox game. It totally brings me back to my one crazy year in Boston, watching the sun set from atop our hill, my laptop on my lap while I chug away at GSLIS homework, listening to the game. I know Erin is not going to like this, but I have absolutely fallen in love with baseball all over again. Is it wrong that I expect certain baseball things to coincide with landmarks in my life? Maybe "expect" is the wrong word. It's a recently realized goal of mine to be a season ticket holder for basically any MLB team, it need not and probably could no way in hell be the Red Sox, and then later in life, to live out in some small town that has a minor league team, and host the players in my house, after my (future) children have grown up and left the home. Going to the White Sox game the other week sucked me in, completely, even though I wasn't rooting for my team. There's something about the community that you get at baseball games, or at least, that I've found. I feel like maybe it is a substitute for that sense of community I felt at shows in high school, which I no longer feel at concerts. Maybe I am just too old for them, or have at least out-aged a significant portion of the community. I love chatting up my neighbors, talking to little kids who are wondering if their favorite player might sign their glove. I love sitting outside and for one, stopping the endless stream of multi-tasking that seems to be the rest of my day. I am totally focused on the game and whatever is happening around me, and okay, sometimes the food. I love getting excited for the lemon guy, cracking up at the way the traveling vendor yells "Beer Man." And I love rooting. Screaming and yelling and cheering on and singing "Take me out to the ballgame" with thousands of other people.

I guess it wasn't just me

2008-04-18T15:21:00.002-05:00

Checking the Tribune website, I just learned that there were aftershocks from the earthquake downstate at 10:15, which is about when I felt myself doing shake-y on the couch. No one was around to ask about it, so I thought, okay, maybe that's just a truck, but now I am glad to see it verified! I have survived my second Illinois earthquake! There was one around 10-11 at night the summer before my senior year. I remember being in my friend's room trying on outfits when we felt the shaking, attributed it to a truck nearby, but then realized, okay, it's 11 PM and there are no trucks nearby.

Neat!

I just finished reading a really great YA book: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart. I'd never read any of Lockhart's books before, but now I'm thinking I might check some out tomorrow. It's a great boarding school story that's more about pranks and girlpower than, you know, a troubled girl and nerdy losers (John Green! just kidding!). It was delightful in the way that Marisha Pessl's debut novel was all witty and interesting, but this one only took a few hours to read.

Okay, time to watch 30 Rock and go for a run on a surprisingly pleasant Friday afternoon.

i'm sorry colin, but i'm totally obsessed

2008-04-17T09:49:00.002-05:00

with american idol. particularly david cook!

I have an addiction

2008-04-11T14:20:00.003-05:00

to Friends of the Library booksales!

Today's loot:

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
On Writing by Stephen King
The Toughest Little Indian in the World by Sherman Alexie
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fate of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
a Carl Sagan book for the Colin guy
Instant Japan
& Instant Japanese

My arms are hurty now!

Okay, time to watch "Atonement"!

I'm kind of loving SNL again!

2008-04-09T22:08:00.001-05:00

Big Baby

2008-04-06T13:51:00.001-05:00

CA390231
Originally uploaded by hooby3d

I think Bryan blew up his kid. Baby Kai is HUGE in this picture. Perhaps he ate the whole pizza, leaving only one slice for his momma.

coincidence?

2008-04-06T13:36:00.003-05:00

Colin and I make Navajo fry bread, just the way Jacoby likes it (according to the Boston Globe) for dinner last night. This afternoon, Jacoby gets his first home run of the season.

Coincidence? I think not.

Mmmm... fry bread.

i had no idea kenneth was in the new mariah carey music video

2008-04-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

yeah, i'm not not watching VH1 top 20 video countdown on a saturday morning, while eating my organic version of a pop tart...

i miss suki!

2008-03-31T10:40:00.001-05:00

so... i made a friskies thingy in honor of her:

a dream come true!

2008-03-26T22:53:00.002-05:00

Lynnie informs me tonight, while I'm waiting for the train and she's watching (and spoiling, for me) American Idol, that Jeff Bel0tti's house is up for sale. Jeff was easily one of my longest running crushes, from late elementary school to junior high. I, along with my best friend Heather, mailed him letters from Camp Squanto asking him out. Yep, both of us. I guess the crush may have even extended until high school. Anyway, the point is, he lived right down the street from us and now his house is for sale, and as I told Lynnie, I could live out a lifelong dream of sleeping in Jeff Bel0tti's room!

Then I had to spend the next 5 minutes explaining that I actually was not obsessed with the idea of sleeping with when I was 13. I hadn't even thought beyond, I don't know, hand-holding and kissing.

Okay, now to scope it out via Realtor.com! Hey, I haven't been inside that place in years... Riiight....

so disappointing

2008-03-26T11:02:00.002-05:00

I guess I knew it could never be as good as "Gilmore Girls," but I never thought "The Return of Jezebel James" would quite as terrible as it was. I missed the premiere, which I guess was 2-episodes back to back, but I taped the third episode. All I can say is, wow. It was maybe one of the worst TV shows I've ever seen. Amy Sherman-Palladino, what were you thinking. I was concerned about the premise going into it, and I didn't have high expectations, and still, I could barely get through the 30 minute episode. Between the laugh track, Parkey Posey saying her on screen sister Coco's name in the most annoying way ever "Cow-cow," I seriously couldn't bear to watch another episode of the show! Luckily, no one will have to, as it received the worst ratings ever for a new show premiering on Fox, and it has already been cancelled. I guess at this point, it's not even worth sharing my critique, since the show has been axed but man, why did Amy Sherman-Palladino leave Gilmore for projects like this? I am still sad, almost a year later, that GG is over, and I really hope that sometime in the future, there is a GG made for TV movie.

Well, I'm watching game 2 of the A's-Red Sox series in Japan. I don't know how it ends, but I have my inclinations. I think we're gonna split the first two games. It's so great to have my Red Sox back! Now if only they can all get healthy...

baby kai

2008-03-17T19:57:00.003-05:00

Oh my god Baby Kai is so cute!

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lazy thursday afternoon

2008-03-13T15:44:00.002-05:00

i have to say. i am better at being lazy than just about anyone i know! colin and i slept in until 9 am. then i couldn't even get myself off the couch to have breakfast until almost 11. i got caught up watching a gilmore girls episode that i've seen at least five times, you know! after meeting up with colin for a crappy div school lunch (i really wanted samosas, but at one they were all gone!) i decided to check out the new treasure island foods, since we are in need of some toothpaste. well, i was let down. they had no tom's of maine! and it wasn't all so different from the co-op. i guess i expected there to be new fixtures or non-1980's signs, but basically it looked the same. i didn't check out all the new foods they have, but it didn't seem that much cheaper than the co-op, and they had a lot of pricey items. afterwards, i went over to walgreens, with only toothpaste in mind. somehow, i spent $40 there. umm, that is not good for someone who is supposed to be saving for her trip to japan! i found some bumble & bumble conditioner, easter bunny treats, oh, and a disc of old school sesame street for only $7.99, which i'm watching right now. the very first episode! it is kind of awesome but not at all what i should be doing (packing, making the bed, working on my book). oh well!

also, i got invited to serve an appointment on a YALSA committee! which means i would get to go to the mid-winter meeting next january in denver, and the annual conference, which is not quite as exciting since it is in chicago, but it will be cheaper! also, it will mean there were be buttloads of authors in chicago next summer!

okay, back to sesame.

finally, blogger is working and i can share my thoughts on last night's american idol

2008-03-12T12:23:00.002-05:00

so, i've been watching american idol this year. i only watched one season before, the one fantasia won, but this time i think i'm watching it more critically, trying to figure out the way the show works, and how some performers seem to have huge advantages over others. one thing i'm really confused about is how the singers select their songs and arrangements. it never occurred to me before that the singers can arrange the song however they like. last night, for example, i had to wonder if chikeze is just utterly brilliant, or if he had someone help him arrange the song the way he did. just yesterday, i had told someone that i highly doubted chikeze making it into the top ten, but after that performance, i'm thinking, holy shit, that guy is not only a great singer but a terrific performer. kudos to chikeze! i felt similarly about brooke white's neat arrangements in week's past. and on the flip side, there's ramiele, who i really like, but who isn't doing anything interesting with regards to the arrangements. could the interference, if you will, with the arrangements and song choices (why is it that the singers the judges love from week to week also get the most recognizable songs, i ask) be the way the show's bigwigs have some say. surely, they can't make performers screw up from week to week in the performance itself, but they can affect the outcome of the show, week to week, by limiting song choices or aiding some singers in terrific arrangements, and others into shitty ones (sorry, horse rider from oregon, but that was unbelievably bad last night!). i guess i'm not the first to doubt whether reality TV has any essence of reality, or in this case, fair competition, but i am becoming awfully suspicious.

the other thing i want to comment on is david archuleta's horrifying performance last night. how do you miss the lyrics three times?! it bothered me when simon, because he didn't know the song, suggested that amanda overmyer, whose way of singing can obscure the lyrics a bit, actually made some up. (she did not!) but archuleta was fumbling all over the place. i'd have a hard time it's some sort of act, to remove him from front-runner status only so he can steal the show towards the end, but i don't know. what i do know was that it was utterly painful to watch him. very akin to watching your favorite figure skater in the olympics, fudge every jump. it was just all kinds of bad. but most baffling for me was the way at the end, he said he didn't feel like he knew the song well. WHAAA???? how can you practice the song all week and not know it?! honestly, as a usual voter (i got home too late for vote for the show last night) i thought his performance insulted that of everyone else on the stage. he came across as unrehearsed and unpolished, while everyone else, even in the cases where it just didn't work (david hernandez and horse rider girl whose name is escaping me), at least gave it their professional all. we are way past the, i can do a really shoddy job and get away with it, place, and i hope that no one deserving gets axed this week. my hunch is that it might be ramiele or syesha since they were kind of forgettable, or horse rider girl. david hernandez is too much in the news and has had great performances before, so i doubt it will be him.

who am i most excited about? well, i kind of have a girl crush on brooke white! she is really precious and i love her style of performing. i would buy her CD. i also really like david cooke, who grated on me at first. i think he's done interesting stuff with his songs. and carly smithson. wow. she is talented and i love her accent. also, she has sweet tats.

okay, time to hop in the shower.

I miss NESN

2008-03-02T20:13:00.004-06:00

There's sadly no way to embed this video here, but please click here to watch it.

Papelbon, Pedroia, Cora, and Mikey Lowell, all in a charity event thrown by Lowell. There are no words to describe Papelbon's shirt. Oh, except for lace, see-through, and plunging neckline. And then there's Pedroia's lack of shirt, along with the fact that he has "Daddy" written on his chest in Sharpie marker, accompanied by maybe some hand-drawn stars. Hot!

It was so magical, I don't even know what I liked about it best of all. Except that I do. Don Orsillo cracking up and dissolving into man giggles. I always enjoy that.

Obsessed!

2008-03-01T11:43:00.002-06:00

I am obsessed with the new Loehmann's on State Street! Yesterday was my second time there and I have to say, for someone who really likes spending a lot of time looking for treasures (and deals!) when shopping, this was definitely better than T.J. Maxx! I am sure it is hit or miss, like all discount retailers, but man, yesterday was a Hit day. I can't write more about it because it would spoil things, but I found a Diane von Furstenberg dress for $80. And not just one, a whole rack of them! I feel like anywhere else, I would be excited about this, only to find no mediums, but they had an 8 in so many of the dresses that I had to choose which one to buy! Not only that, but these dresses are still on Intermix and other sites, on sale, yes, but not this much.

Of course, like in most of my exciting shopping trips, I managed to lose my hat. It fell out of my pocket. BUT! This time I found it! This is because unlike TJ Maxx, at least yesterday, Loehmann's was in fairly good order. Luckily I realized it had gone missing when I was in the dressing room, and I tracked it down in the bathing suit section. Score one! Afterwards, I pushed my luck by heading over to Nordstrom rack. They must have just had a delivery because the store was packed - with clothes and ladies - and I gave up waiting in line to try on the Stella McCartney pants that I probably wasn't going to buy, with the Tory Burch sequined top that I definitely wasn't going to buy, but just try on for the heck of it. Still, I got to try on the pants in my dream! My crazy, crazy dream last night that was about American Idol, falling into the ocean, looking for seashells, and hanging out with old high school and college friends and acquaintances.

Despite watching 5 hours of Baby Sitters Club videos right before going to bed, I had no BSC dreams! Oh well! Time to rewind all those tapes!

i

2008-02-28T10:47:00.002-06:00

have a "sleeve" (tattoos) of kitties on my arm. which makes me feel like sweet p from project runway. or in the eyes of brian from the library, makes me "crazy."

wonder if it is weird to spend my bonus points from the credit card on a $100 gift card to legal seafoods. chowder!!!!

need to do my taxes.

need to get my run on again.

can't wait for spring.

forgot "dreams from my father" at work so i guess i have to start another book.

am THIS close to sending my stuff out to agents. which is exciting/terrifying/neat.

still need to get erin a birthday present.

may have just done a real pushup. which, as far as i can remember, will be my first pushup ever! (and i don't mean the girl kind).

need to clean.

need to get better at watering plants. (i.e. i think the cactus may have died... which is just pathetic.)

almost beat stephanie at tennis last night. with my favorite mii, franklinco. he is supposed to be franklin from "arrested development" but also reminds me of abe lincoln.

can't believe the red sox are playing their first spring training game TODAY!

6 honks

2008-02-22T18:19:00.002-06:00

did i forget to wear pants or something? i have never gotten 6 honks when out running. ever! i wasn't even going slow or wearing just my sports bra. sheesh! maybe people just get bored while driving home from work. anyway, now i am feeling hurty and still a little chilled - there was a cold wind on the way back - and oh yeah, definitely sitting in my favorite place on the couch. i am also getting stoked up for tomorrow's children's literature author breakfast out in glen ellyn, you know, one of the fancy suburbs. i am starting to think of the north and west burbs like my coworkers, ashamed of their south burb roots...homes... library...you name it! dee, matt, and i will get to meet ann m. martin, kevin henkes, richard peck (who it sounds like dee has a bit of a thing for), and the spatulatta sisters. okay.... we also get breakfast and probably free goodies. i also get to wake up VERY EARLY. okay, 6 AM.

on the phone with matt a few minutes ago i had an "oh no!" moment. at the tinley park library, where i went to a workshop about gaming and the library earlier today, i spotted a favorite ann m. martin book from my childhood. yep, "missing since monday."

remember? anyway, i totally forgot about it when i saw "the world is flat" by thomas friedman, hardcover, and in perfect condition. only $2! so i had to get that, and a bill bryson book, and really we are getting overloaded with books now in our apartment, so we need to order another bookcase.

okay, time to learn why the danish are so happy.

it feels like spring

2008-02-18T11:19:00.003-06:00

i can only say this because i haven't yet gone outside. yesterday was so spring-like, and i've been reading about baseball, and i've been looking at so many picture of fort myers, it's just hard to convince myself that it is indeed the middle of february still.

anyway, some things to look forward to:

yeah, that would be jacoby, taken from an upcoming issue of men's vogue. (image from the boston glove) friday morning, i was on the whitesox site at promptly 10 AM hoping to get some good tickets to the red sox -white sox games in august. sadly, i learned that one cannot buy lower reserved seats (i wanted to sit right behind the red sox dugout, like we did last august at the rain out game) on ticketbastard, so we got some bleachers... for some prime jacoby viewing!

update: just finished "god save the fan." and was in such a good mood, thinking about baseball season right around the corner, that i may have been throwing my hands about a little too wildly, a little too like buster, and smacked my fist into the bathroom door. d'oh!

BSC party - delayed until further notice!

2008-02-18T09:52:00.002-06:00

thank god SOME people flaked out on us last night. well, me, i guess. truthfully, the babysitter's club. and yes, it is flaking out because there was no bad weather! there was maybe a little bit of sprinkly rain out here. i'll find out later if there was any bad weather in homewood. ANYWAY, as a result, i worked like a mofo and edited my book non-stop for 5 hours. that was way longer than i planned, but i went through the whole thing, making little changes, some slightly bigger changes, but most importantly, feeling pretty happy with things as they are. there's nothing more that i want to change, at this point, unless someone points out a real flaw.

i also spent an hour or so working on a query letter. i definitely wasn't sure what i was doing on that front, so i'll have to do some more research, but i like parts of the one i wrote. i don't know if it was corresponding with a certain author over the weekend, or seeing john green last weekend, or a general itchy feeling, but i am ready for it. i am totally ready, mind-wise, to start sending out query letters. it's scary, two-fold. one, because i'm putting myself out there to be rejected. there is no way that the first letter i send out is going to be responded to with, oh, we'd love to take you on. yeah right! rejection is a process that eventually leads to someone nibbling on it. I HOPE! the other side of things it the scariness that comes along with someone actually taking it on, which is really the scariness of the UNKNOWN. the great perhaps?!

okay, time to finish "god save the fan" and catch up on my nations...

halfway there

2008-02-16T15:15:00.002-06:00

thank god we're halfway through february! seriously, this is the worst month of the year, the one that just drags, where the weather is crap every day and everyone and their mom is getting sick and it's still not light out when you get back from work. i am so glad it's half over!

in the meantime, i'm finding ways to help it go by faster. colin and i started watching "undeclared" on dvd, plus there's a bit of live television to enjoy, namely "lost" and "american idol." i have to say, i've been wanting to watch "american idol" again for awhile, but it was so hard pre-DVR to keep up with it, since i always work at least one evening a week. thankfully, we have a new DVR that is so far working flawlessly, so i can record, and record i did. shameful truth: colin and i watched 3 hours work (okay, less with commercials) of "american idol" on valentine's day. we had a backlog! i am truly not interested in wading through the crap of the early auditions, so once the show moved to hollywood, i was happy to start watching again. i have to say that for me, so far, there aren't any female singers that really stood apart from the others. i'm curious to watch the upcoming weeks and months, but for now, i don't have a favorite. however, i do totally have a favorite amongst the males. david archuleta is possibly the most precious 16 year old ever. i'm around the teens a lot at work, and most of them, especially the guys, at 16 are mumbly and awkward, but this kid is so confident without being overconfident, and clearly a talented singer.

i was sad to see the 18 year old kid, josiah leming, who lives in his car, not make the top 24, mostly because i really liked his version of "grace kelly" by mika. it should come as no surprise that i also liked his "story." so many of the other competitors on the show, have had their parents put so much money into voice lessons and all kinds of preening and preparation. this kid did not have it. he left home, perhaps foolishly, and went out in search of the great perhaps, and it was sort of heartbreaking to watch him break down, and moreover, to watch him spend so much time alone, when the other competitors had mom and dad, a vocal coach, or entire families right there with them in hollywood, ready to catch them when they fall. i found josiah's story just kind of heartbreaking, if all of it is true. on the flip side, i think in terms of "making it," there are so many other venues for someone who performs the way that he does, and i'm pretty sure "idol" isn't exactly what he wants. his talent is much better suited for being in a band or solo performance, but definitely something with an instrument. i could really see him in something like ben folds five. who knows, but even these early episodes of idol exposed him to such a large audience of teenage girls who will probably find a way to support his musical ambition.

okay, it is totally time to pee and shower and get going with my day. unlike many days this week, i haven't broken anything yet. the sun is shining, i ran 4.25 (my first run in a month) and our cabinets and fridge are fully stocked with delicious goodies from whole foods and dominicks. still, i think the highlight of the day so far was singing "low" by flo rida with sarge on the ride back from grocery shopping.

I can't even break them because they're not plastic!

2008-02-11T19:09:00.000-06:00

New glasses! Also, Colin got to see how loopy the lady is at the eyeglass store. Priceless!

It is -2 outside

2008-02-10T11:45:00.000-06:00

So I'm pretty much not planning to leave the apartment again. I ventured out this morning to the Med Bakery to get me and Colin some almond croissants and a mocha... and then I saw that University Market's soup of the day was butternut squash, so I had to get some of that, but I think it's pretty safe to say that it's nice and warm in here... and I don't want to leave it.

Despite the weather, it's shaping up to be a rather productive weekend. Also, a rather antisocial weekend, as our plans to hang out with people besides each other have been thwarted by illness and the other people being busy! Oh well.

On Friday, I achieved a lifelong goal of watching "Beaches." I came out of it crying, because that's the kind of movie it is, but also realizing how fucking brilliant "Terms of Endearment" is for a commercial 1980s picture. "Beaches" was so overacted and melodramatic, and TOE was so touching and good and different, but still a mainstream movie. Then again, Shirley Maclaine and Jack Nicholson are brilliant... and it was James L. Brooks project. I had to wipe the tears away pretty quickly because then Colin and I headed up the Hideout to see John Green! And other people that are not as exciting as John Green, but still very entertaining/funny. It the first installment of the Interview Show, which is pretty much just what it sounds. It's like being at Letterman or Leno live, except it didn't suck and the host actually really talked with the people they interviewed at length. The first dude that was interviewed was a local comedian named Hannibal who was really hilarious. The John Green! At one point, he mentioned how librarians send him dirty emails and then was about to tell an example but got interrupted. I'm not going to lie, I was a little concerned he was going to say, and one time a creepy librarian sent me a video of a "Buffy Parade," which I did, but he wrote back saying he couldn't view it, and I didn't have the gumption to re-send it. On the way back to Hyde Park, we stopped at Oy Sy for some just delicious sushi. I got the yummiest dragon roll ever and couldn't help myself from taking a picture of it. Colin and I were far and away the most underdressed people there, so it's good we sat at the bar!

Yesterday, we kicked off the day by bringing ginger ale and saltines over to a very sick Erin, and then walking the boogahs. We took them south, over by the mega church, and that was pretty cool. I hadn't really walked any further south in Woodlawn before, but with Colin and two ferocious beasts and daylight, I felt pretty safe doing so. There are some huge houses along 63rd street. Sadly, that area of 63rd street could also really use some commercial buildings. Then I came back and read "Sweethearts" by Sara Zarr. She has quickly become one of my favorite YA novelists. Last year around this time I read "Story of a Girl" and was completely blown away by the realism in her books. So much YA literature today is about the very wealthy, or at least very fabulous, in one way or another, but Zarr's two books take you into the working class. I feel like there's a real dearth of YA books about your average, hard-working poor white people. Anyway, I really liked "Sweethearts" and can't wait to hear what other librarians and teen readers think of it. I printed out her agent's info at work Friday, as I'm starting to put together somewhat of a file on promising possible agents.

After many planned attempts that were thwarted by God and the weather, I finally trekked downtown for some shoppy. I've been holding onto my $50 TJ Maxx card, part of my Christmas bonus this year, for what seems like ages but is probably more like a month. Sadly, TJ Maxx was not as full of Maxx moments as some other times, but I still had no problem spending the $50 and going over a bit. The exciting part of the trip was when I ventured below to Filene's Basement. I am finally the proud owner of a Theory blazer, greatly discounted. A $375 navy blue suit jacket... for $38! I also found a cute Theory tank top for $15. Bargains indeed. I'll have to remember to stop by when they are having their big sales, because they still had a lot of nice stuff, and for ridiculously cheap prices. Not much else exciting from yesterday, but we finally watched "Syriana," which had been sitting around our place for over 2 weeks. "Syriana," you might remember starred my dad. Well, okay, George Clooney's character's name is Bob Barnes.

I have great ambition for today, even though it's noon, and I still haven't changed out of my pajamas... plus I haven't showered since Thursday night. I am going to resume editing! Clean the apartment! Rock out to the Mandy Moore CD (if that is possible) while Colin is at the gym! Watch either "Metropolis" or "La Strada"! Finish either "The Luxe" or "The Dead of Summer"! Eat butternut squash soup! Poop! Finish reading Danael's book!

The only bummer about this weekend was that my glasses broke. Down the middle. Yesterday, while I was cleaning them. Oh well, I do like glasses shoppy!

Pub Trivia

2008-01-30T10:56:00.000-06:00

Team Suki Makes Me Wet Myself In Delight was victorious last night, and by victorius, I mean we came in sixth out of at least eleven teams in Pub Trivia. Woot! Colin and I didn't even head down there planning to play trivia, but mostly to hang out with Erin and drink and eat greasy pub food, but then we ran into Emilie and she wanted to play, so all three of us joined her, and then Rob's friend whose name Colin and I can't remember, and then finally Rob, and then we had a real team! It should be noted that I contributed no correct answers, and that I generally suck at trivia despite being a librarian. Still, it was way fun. Plus, Suki Makes Me Wet Myself In Delight won a free appetizer gift certificate, which we will certainly turn in next week, when Suki Makes Me Wet Myself In Delight plans to be more victorious than ever before!

read in 2007

2008-01-02T10:33:00.000-06:00

one thing i am pretty proud about from 2007 is how many books i read.... 113! it breaks down to 13 non-fiction, 90 fiction, and 10 graphic novels. alternately, my reading list can be broken down to 32 adult books, 64 young adult books, and 17 youth books. picture books were NOT included in the tally. i've also been reading the nation since that subscription started, and it is one that i will definitely renew... unlike domino and lucky, which are magazines that will only make this librarian depressed because she cannot afford all the $700 recommended purchases! nevermind the "reasonable" $200 ones.

one thing i really want to do in '08 is finish decorating this apartment. while we have all the furniture we need (though i see more bookshelf purchasing in the future, gosh am i clairvoyant), our walls are still mostly bare. i'd really like to get more photographs displayed, and finally get my daniel danger print framed. and more framed pictures of deleted picture book art!

back to the reading. here are my favorite ten books read in 2007. not all of them came out this year, but some of them did. they include childrens to adult books.

1. Life as We Knew it, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

2. The Green Glass Sea, by Ellen Klages

3. The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron

4. Watching Baseball Smarter, by Zack Hample

5. Anatomy of a Boyfriend, by Daria Snadowsky

6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

8. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

9. Into the Wild, by John Krakauer

10. The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer

11. Catch, by Will Leitch

12. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

13. Breathe My Name, by R.A. Nelson

14. The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt

15. Dairy Queen, by Catherine Murdock

2007: man, am i happy to put this year to rest

2007-12-31T12:46:00.000-06:00

2007 was probably the craziest year of my life thus far. it was filled with a lot of drama and heartache, but also some really fun shit... too bad i was worrying so much i almost didn't get around to enjoying it!

here are the highlights:

1. running and finishing the chicago distance classic half-marathon, in just under 2 hours.

2. seeing bruce springsteen in chicago, with my mom, from general admission floor.

3. catching a gazillion baseball games, but most importantly, game 5 of the ALCS, which might go down as one of the coolest things i have ever done...by myself!

4. becoming an aunt(ie).

5. finishing my YA novel and making a lot of progress editing it (with the help of many friends and family).

6. writing another book, albeit very much in rough draft form, but at least i have something to work on.

7. colin and i moving in together, to our very own apartment (no roommates!) in hyde park.

8. meeting a ton of authors (and librarians) in DC at ALA's annual conference.

9. running a very successful summer reading for the teens & the harry potter lock-in. 12 hours, 15 teens, an elevator door that opened with no one in it, what a night!

10. traveling to santa monica, miami, cape cod, and NYC.

11. i almost forgot this one - the red sox winning the world series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

one last thing

2007-12-25T12:53:00.001-06:00

my christmas card to stephanie. it's just amazing how easy it is to put your head over someone else's when your head is encased in a space helmet!

kai andrew, three weeks old, pooping

2007-12-25T12:52:00.000-06:00

white christmas

2007-12-25T12:39:00.000-06:00

pre-christmas run-down:

1. lynnie and i went to see the boston ballet's nutcracker. it turns out i don't remember that much about the nutcracker... i did not understand it was the end (or why everyone was clapping that much) until the conductor came out.

2. legal seafoods clam chowder. oh my god. it is wrong to spend your first 8,000 credit card rewards points on a gallon of clam chowder. right?

3. so...on my bed when i come home is a check for me. for $500. from a 2001. lynnie found it in a folder when she was shredding no longer important papers from chicago that have a lot of important information on them. how i never cashed that check is beyond me. i wonder if it is still possible. in that case, a very merry christmas to me!

4. it turns out the cute picture of kai that i had printed and framed for both sets of grandparents as part of their holiday baskets is...a picture of kai pooping. no wonder he looks so happy! i held off writing on the back "kai andrew, 3 weeks, making a poop." but it might go on the back of the one i'm bringing back to the apartment.

5. my relationship with flash cab is OVER. DONE! at 6:30 i'm waiting in the alley for my cab to come, the cab i called last night. at 6:35 i am still waiting and starting to think the cab did not go around to the alley as directed and instead is waiting in front of the main house. so i call the cab company. they tell me there is no cab. they don't even know when one will become available. WTF, right? only on the south side of chicago. i am completely packed and in ballet flats, looking at the slushy white and brown mess that still covers the alley. fuck. i call lynnie. she turns on the computer to look up cab companies. i call another, but the clock is ticking and they have cabs available (because they run a real business, evidently unlike flash cab) but they aren't sure how long it will take. i tell them i want one, and to call me when they have a time guestimate. in the meantime, i manage to drag two large suitcases through the alley, completely soak my cute zebra ballet flats, stop crying and spazzing out, and just catch a 55. i have never loved CTA so much!

christmas:

1. christmas is beyond strange without my brother. no boo boo playing video games on the ride to rhode island christmas eve. no boo boo to snicker with during the christmas eve mass, when the weird organist sings the creepiest song ever about little baby jesus. (oh if only we had a recording device!). no booboo to keep us from opening presents in the early morning... because he's so lazy and won't get his ass out of bed.

2. it's strange to think that there won't be another christmas morning with just the four of us, right?

3. evidently we are changing up traditions with the johnson's. this year, there were no scratch tickets in our stockings... and almost no swedish coffee bread! what was joanie thinking? thankfully she did come through on the swedish coffee bread. we also didn't watch national lampoon's christmas vacation, going with the football game and pixar's "robots" on TV.

4. the package my mom mailed to japan with everyone's presents did not arrive in time. she is very whiny about this, which is starting to drive me crazy, but i understand where she's coming from. she just wants her son to get his stocking! also, kai's first stocking is in there!

5. i'm almost done watching game 5 of the ALCS on dvd. thanks grammy and grampy! also, thanks grammy for letting me and erica take home a bunch of jewelry she doesn't wear. my grandmother seriously has half a bureau full of jewelry. i got some very retro flower earrings with changeable flower colors, a ring, more earrings, a pin, and a gold-plated leaf to put on a necklace. oh, and i got to hear lynnie gripe about how her mother never gave her this much jewelry. what a prize!

6. time to go pick up grandma. christmas with only four people is really not christmas, is it?

who is this man?

2007-11-13T23:04:00.000-06:00

and what did he do with kevin youkilis?

in love

2007-10-19T23:18:00.001-05:00

i am in love. with the red sox. no, seriously, i am totally obsessed with them! it is killing me that i won't be able to watch tomorrow's game because i'll be rockin' out at the fall out boy concert with erin. FOB will rock, but a little part of me will be just DYING to know how the game is going. the flip side is, i will be absolutely heartbroken if they lose. a few days ago, when they played game four, i was entirely at the point of losing hope. all of the problems the team had over the course of a very good season came back at the exact same time. bullpen underperforming, starting pitching not going long enough, and then the absolute silence of the bats in the second half of the lineup. nevermind my absolute frustration that francona would not start ellsbury for coco or drew.

then things changed. amby and i drove 6 hours to cleveland, and i had the most magical experience at the game. that sounds corny, and it's too late for me to think of how to put it eloquently, but it was maybe one of the coolest things i have ever done. this has absolutely been my summer of baseball, and to have it continue into the fall, by traveling to a postseason game, totally on a whim, last minute, and getting the days off of work. it was so badass! and very obsessive. but the truth of the matter is that now, my faith is restored in this team. i saw them do something last night. it could have been just beckett carrying them - they only needed 2 runs to win the game, but they did more. they were patient at the plate. they played well in the field. they were confident again and playing like they really wanted to be here. even j.d. drew! sure, they left a lot of men on base, but they totally took advantage of cleveland's problems and came out on top. which leaves us with potentially two games left to win, to make it to colorado. i have watched nearly all of these postseason games and followed everything closely. it will take a lot to win these next two games. our starting pitching has to be on and there is no room for error. dustin has got to hit like he did yesterday - patient at bats, getting on base, making solid contact with the ball. it made such a huge difference last night. francona can not use gagne. under any circumstances. likewise, i think he needs to be willing to start ellsbury for coco. the worst that can happen is ellsbury goes 0-4, which is what coco might do anyway, and which i think is highly unlikely. i am not ready for this season to end yet, so they've got to find a way. i am hoping that the shift to fenway will be good for the boys. they can put cleveland behind them. also, i don't think it's fair to keep it a secret that i would love it if cleveland could play a bit more like last night. they were sloppy, and the pitching was really abysmal. the score did not reflect how bad it was, because we left so many men on base, but trust me, it was bad.

which of course means that for a red sox fan, last night was a wonderful night. beckett out on the mound calmed all my nerves about the team. he never let us get behind. i also have to say that manny's brutal honesty with the press, manny being manny, whatever, really helped. it took the attention off the fact that we were 1-3 going into the game, and put it back on manny, which i'm sorry, is always going to be amusing. i really can't fault the man. he and ortiz have carried the team at points during this postseason, and in the ALCS, manny, more than anyone. he can throw his arms up in the air and watch his homeruns all he wants. if it infuriates the other team, so what. they just wish they had this postseason manny on their roster.

till tomorrow.

friday night lights

2007-09-26T10:51:00.000-05:00

it's been awhile since i discovered a new (or old) television show that i just loved. not where i was amused or drawn in by the wittiness, but where i just loved the characters, for their flaws and humanity and everything else. yeah, i am totally obsessed with "friday night lights." after reading sarah dessen rave about this show for much of the past year, i finally got it from netflix and it could not have come sooner! i've been experiencing a drought of truly great shows on television. okay, so i love the office and i enjoy a good "how i met your mother" but neither of these satiate my thirst for an hour long realistic drama. friday night lights is exactly what i've been looking for. i mean, it actually makes me want to live in a small town in texas! so far, i am halfway through the series, and just counting the hours till the next disc comes in the mail. did i watch ten episodes of the show this three-day weekend? umm.... (shamefully) yes! also, i had a dream with lyla garrity and tim riggins in it last night. we were on a bus going to a game, i think.

what i love most about this show is the sense of community, the examination of a small town life viewed from the outsiders - the new football coach, coach taylor, his wife and his daughter. i love the honest portrayal of middle class america, the realistic struggles of a football player turned cripple, a show that admits how tough it is to be a teenager trying to balance school, a social life, and a very successful sports program. the athletic component of the show is just downright inspiring. i never liked football before, but now, i'm intrigued by the game, having viewed it from the perspective of the coach, players, and fans. and i haven't even gotten to my favorite aspects of the show. i love the relationship between matt saracen, the new QB 1, and the coach's daughter. a football player who likes indie film and sings to his grandma - it's just beyond precious. i'm also very intrigued by the taylor family. i love their dynamic. julie's not a typical only child, perhaps because the whole football team is her dad's other child. and i love mrs. taylor, who's struggling to fit into the new community and watch out for the football players, in her role as the school counselor. i think there is always a part of me that misses living in a small town, knowing people everywhere i go. i'm sure that factors into why i chose my current job, but at the same time, i don't actually live in the community i serve. nevertheless, i still really want to go to one of their football games! anyway, what i was saying is that, somehow, watching small town shows helps me compensate for the fact that i may live in a city, but i've been a small town girl for most of my life.

sometimes

2007-09-16T12:16:00.000-05:00

you just have to spend your sunday morning being a little bit creepy. since my friend request to jacoby ellsbury is still pending, i guess i'll have to tide myself over with searching for pictures on flickr. i seem to have hit the jackpot. now, i'm not going to lie, i am stoked about ellsbury's smoking performance since being called up in the beginning of september. but also, um, hello. how hot is he?! and again, i am reminded of my HUGE interest in johnny damon back in 2004. does ellsbury look much like a young johnny damon? no question.

it's back

2007-09-12T10:33:00.000-05:00

i love how one week its in the nineties and the next week, you wake up and it is 46 degrees outside! oh, chicago. last night, colin and i went to what was probably our last baseball game of the season. unless the cubs play the red sox in the world series, in which case i will sell all my worldly belongings to get tickets for the game. or, you know, blow a chunk of my savings and get a cold from staying out there all night to get tickets. one of those options. i just finished "nineteen minutes" by jodi picoult and while this puts my friendship with stephanie on the line, i have to say, it really sucked me in. at first, i had a hard time getting past some of the stereotypes and sentences chocked full of redundant lines, but once the storyline got compelling, man, i was addicted! i am pleased to say that i totally predicted the surprise at the end. go me! maybe that's a sign of the book not being as good as i thought, but then again, i can also chalk it up to..um... my genius. yeah. i like that!

okay, time to go watch "friday night lights" - the movie. since they only reran the end of the show's first season, i'm going to try getting into it via the movie. i'm determined for it to be one of my "new shows." i can hear colin groaning in my head. according to him, when all my shows ended last season, that was a sign to move on and stop watching so many shows. yeah right! over the summer, i've gotten into my new sitcoms "the office" and "how i met your mother," and now i am determined to add "friday night lights" and "gossip girl" to the mix. did i intentionally leave out the fact that i also DVR "the hills"?

possibly.

everyone's having a baby!

2007-08-26T12:10:00.001-05:00

maybe not everyone, but a lot of people i know or "know" are pregnant or have recently given birth:

marne, a fellow NDA-er from the class of 2001
tina, from NDA '01
sarah dessen
my brother
erin, from the wag days in beantown
and now, my writing prof from the u of c, megan, is preggie!

now, this list may not look long, but a year ago, i knew NOBODY that had a little one, or would soon have a little one.

when all you ever wanted was everything, and everything

2007-08-12T20:49:00.000-05:00

today was pretty exciting. i awoke at the butt crack of dawn - 4:50 AM - for the chicago distance classic. after scarfing down a bagel, praying that i get my morning poop out before the race, and being crabby at colin, we were off! in a car! borrowed, of course, and heading down lake shore drive over to grant park, where the race was to begin at 6:30. it is very strange to go from running by yourself four times a week, to running with 12,000 people in downtown chicago. nevertheless, it was pretty exhilarating and never got as bad as i worried it might in the last few miles. i drank my waters, my gatorade, and made it across the finish line in just under 2:00 hours, very respectable for my first half-marathon.

the best part was afterwards.
in so many ways.
first: waiting to get our car from the parking garage, to frat-ish buff guys are always waiting for their vehicle and one asks me how i did. "pretty good," i said, then realized, "oh, you mean time-wise?" i told them, and then they said that was good, and then it dawned on me to return the question. "2:05." BOOYAH! being faster than buff frat boys: totally as awesome as the medal.
second: lying down on the couch and having colin get my everything i want. being totally stinky in my sports bra with my number still attached to the front and wearing the medal around my neck, and the now only damp (free! race!) towel around the back of my neck.
third: an hour and a half long nap at noon, after watching a DVR-ed "orange county" skipping to my favorite parts. god, that movie is really, really funny.

i'm not going to lie, right now i don't even want to think about running the real deal (a full marathon) anytime soon, but i got a taste of the running bug this weekend, and i'm not going to lie, i'll be maybe giving it more thought when 2008 rolls around.

thoughts on the debate/the last several days

2007-07-24T21:55:00.000-05:00

first:
1. hillary looked pretty damn good and on her toes and presidential
2. i still like kucinich the best, but he does not have a real chance, so, so far my money has gone elsewhere
3. barack obama mentioned the lab schools. woo!
4. dvr cut off the end. damn you, dvr! i never got to watch the obama youtube video.
5. i am really glad i just subscribed to the nation the other day.
6. when the showed the picture of citadel alum who have died in iraq, joshua booth, who i attended elementary school with, was in the upper left hand corner

second:
1. the harry potter mania has been terribly exciting! i have never had so much fun with 11-13 year olds as i did this friday night/saturday morning. over 12 hours, you really start to get to know the kids, and let me tell you, they are precious! more than that, they are all precious in their own way. it was so much fun to see them get cranky and sleepy but also totally excited and quiet and contemplative at other times. i just loved it. i was so sad to hear that one of my favorite kids is moving to northwestern suburb at the end of this week, and i probably won't get to see him again! sadness! he had come to everything this summer and was such a smart, interesting, "precious" 7th grader.
2. i will probably find a new favorite in the upcoming months.
3. just three days until i am petting suki! gaaah!
4. colin and i made a delicious three green pasta dinner, featuring scallops, linguine, green beans, asparagus, and peas. num num!
5. i am a few hundred pages away from finishing "harry potter and the order of the phoenix" and the last couple hundred of pages have been so good! i can't wait to finish this and procure the next one. i do have a (soon-to-be library) copy of the final book, but i won't get around to that for a little while.
6. am i a huge nerd if i am looking forward to having more reading time on cape cod, given that i read for a minimum of an hou and a half EVERY DAY?
7. yes. i am!
8. jon lester!
9. dice-k!
10. the red sox seemed to have remembered how to hit and pitch!

2007-07-18T10:52:00.001-05:00

i never knew there was such a thing as butt sweat.
and now i do.
my feet hurt! my soles were just aching as i did the last mile of today's 7 mile workout.
lying down and watching old gilmore girls though: awesome.

the highs, the woes of long distance running

2007-07-11T11:42:00.000-05:00

this morning begins my fifth week (of nine) of half-marathon training. i started it off with a 7 mile run, including three 2:00 and 2:30 pickups. i'm starting to feel the toll the longer runs are taking on my body. the fat blister on the side of my big toe. the gastrointestinal discomfort. the dull soreness at the start of a morning run. but, i love it. i love having a goal and working towards it, chopping away at it in pieces. most of the time, i love how i feel at the end of a run. relaxed, a little tired, hungry for a snack. how amazing water can taste, and how alluring it is, for the last few miles. so delicious, too, when i finally get back to the apartment and stretch out on the floor. the guilt-free consumption of chips ahoy cookies, where the suggested serving size is one cookie! (definitely eating more than one cookie.) feeling like i've already accomplished something, at the beginning of the day.

num num

2007-07-08T09:49:00.000-05:00

well, my weekend has gone a little differently than expected, but now i'm getting back on track. i had so many goals going into yesterday, having my first real weekend in a month, but when i had a sore throat, stuffy head, and fever, that all went down the drain. still, i managed to get the burt's bees stains out of my clothes (thank you, WD-40), i made banana chocolate chip muffins (uhh yum!), and i watched the last six or so episodes of season 3 of the o.c. i don't even know how to begin regarding how pathetic that season was, in comparison with the excellent debut season. actually, i do. for starters, there were way too many characters/love interests with only a few episode run. and none of them were interesting! plus, the way the main characters met them were so random, it just made no sense. such poor writing/plot construction all along, really, regarding marissa and ryan. the seth/summer stuff remained pretty interesting and in tune with the two characters' insecurities, and i did enjoy the addition of taylor townsend. she made the show bearable. but as for marissa, oh god, at the end you just wanted her pathetic friend johnny to die, and by the time her death rolled around, there was little so sympathize with. her behavior stopped making sense! truly, the biggest problem was johnny. johnny, johnny, johnny! you are SO LAME! why would anyone want to be your friend! you and your floppy head and pathetic existence, why would marissa want to help you. yeah, as you can see, i didn't so much care for johnny, and i can't imagine that many teenagers would either. and don't get me started on VOLCHOK. ughhhh! so, glad that i finished up with that, and i'm pretty sure the orland park public library is glad too, since i'm probably returning it like 2.5 weeks late. oh well!

i did manage to watch a pretty interesting red sox game last night, after filling myself with delicious rajun cajun - the perfect antidote to a cold. i expected it to be a sure, easy loss, considering we had kason gabbard going up against bonderman, but when i checked the score and saw it was 2-2, i figured i should tune in. and tune in i did, for the several extra innings and SO MANY left on bases. of course, it ended with the tigers winning, but it was still an exciting game to watch. especially because at the end of the day, there wasn't much riding on the game, so, though it was close, it wasn't a tense experience.

today is all about tj maxx - oh yes! - for much needed summer work clothes and some home goods, and then it is back to the reading. colin finally picked up the mail from jason's and i have two books waiting for me to review, including the much anticipated gabrielle zevin second novel, memoirs of a teenage amnesiac. sweet! i also need to reread "life as we knew it" for book discussion tomorrow. i think it will be a good discussion - most of the copies i got for the library were checked out, and more than that, several teens already turned in reading logs with the book read! booyah!

so this is what it's like to be writing again

2007-06-29T11:28:00.000-05:00

i'm back from ALA and hunkering down for my first day of editing. so far, i haven't even opened up the word document containing my 198 page novel that is so desperately begging to be edited and played with once more. yeah. about that. instead, i have putzed around brotherhood 2.0, youtube, the new york times, facebook, which is currently not even working but that means it's just one more thing to keep checking in on. my goodness. it is here. finally. okay. going to open it again, spread out all the copies with words on them from danael and colin and stephanie, and get to it. 3...2...1.

four day weekend!

2007-05-28T12:50:00.000-05:00

today is the last day of a four-day weekend. :( it has been pretty fun and pretty darn non-productive. booyah! okay, so i just noticed that my cellphone display banner now reads "i am furry." WHAAAA? it used to read "the fraggles!", because i have a picture with the fraggles. when was it changed? who changed it? i do not know! weirdness! only four days until... we move into our new apartment. also, only four days until MIAMI! i am so very excited for miami. one, it will be amazing to hang out with liz and (possibly) finally meet her boyfriend. two, it is miami! i have never been there, but it is one crazy city with a nightlife that i cannot wait to partake in. also, uli. i want an uli dress! alright, it is maybe time to go finish sherman alexie's disturbing YA novel "flight," which i started last night and which wigged me out to the max.

just set 'em up, and let 'em fall

2007-05-25T17:12:00.000-05:00

i am rocking out to better than ezra. oh yeah. i forgot how totally awesome a single "good" is. hot damn! i've spent most of the afternoon lazing about after my five mile run, deciding to blast music to cover the sounds of people installing a shower door on top of the bathtub (it looks pretty ridiculous, but is functional). i realized how much of my CD collection is represented on my computer and ipod (a paltry amount) and decided to focus my energies on importing all these CDs or just favorite tracks from older albums, onto my 'puter. oh, and rock out to the entirety of "london calling.' also, so good. i also went through my draft, writing down all the song names/bands mentioned so i can make nisha a CD of that and maybe another of just plain awesome songs that she's been missing out on.

ooh! just a few minutes till i have to leave for free samosas and pizzas!

one week

2007-05-25T11:01:00.000-05:00

is the name of a really bad barenaked ladies song. then again, aren't they all really bad? it is also the amount of time we have left in this apartment. ::elated scream:: june first cannot come soon enough. every time i trip other people's stuff in this apartment, i think, just one more week, jenn. truly. i think at 24, it really is time to stop living with roommate, and no, colin you are not a roommate, you are a boyfriend. there is a difference! our apartment will not have bags of old clothing become permanent fixtures in the living room! oh boy, we have a lot of shopping for the apartment ahead of us, but it will be exciting. it was so thrilling when libby, erin, and i moved out of the dorms and into our own place, you know, switching the price tags on random things we found at salvation army so we could get cheap artwork. like our very own degas? have you seen "our degas," i imagined myself saying to the boys i would bring back into the apartment. yeah, so there weren't many boys back then, but now i have a different imagined version of our apartment. having friends over for dinner and not having to worry that there will be a cockroach! maybe finally putting the fondue guy to work. cheese! a whole refrigerator filled with OUR FOOD. oh my god, that is so exciting. also, DVR and cable, oh my. clean floors - i.e. not having shards of glass getting stuck in my foot. the more i think about it, the more i want to start packing right now. but i have to wait because there is definitely no place for boxes. oh, next thursday and friday will be crazy crazy crazy and fun. and there will be milkshakes from the med bakery, i've decided. i still haven't been back there since hearing of charles' passing. what else. oh, there is lots of reading that needs to get done, like now. i am probably an hour and a bit from finishing "harry potter and the goblet of fire", so just two books left to read by july 20th!

did i mention i wore a NASA costume yesterday, visiting st. joseph's? yeah, that was awesome.

i really like this commercial..

2007-05-25T09:51:00.000-05:00

luxury

2007-05-23T11:25:00.001-05:00

this morning, after a hot 4 mile run, colin and i set up all our utilities for our new place. after a fun comparison (oh, how comcast tries to trick you with their website) we decided to get digital cable AND dvr! lordy, it is going to be an exciting hear for me and television. i have to find new shows, remember? speaking of new shows, i am just starting the series finale of veronica mars (taped, because last night we were at the white sox- A's game). i love how the CW is so lame that it won't even recognize that this is the SERIES finale! all their ads say "season finale." boo. i have a feeling it will leave me with about as much closure as the last episode of "life as we know it," which you will recall (if you saw it) ended with a massive cliffhanger. neat. well, here it goes...

wednesday mornings just won't be the same

2007-05-22T22:57:00.000-05:00

via facebook today, i learned that charles, the always-smiling guy that works at the med, was killed the other night. it is unclear exactly what happened, but he was shot in the south side of chicago, and pronounced dead at northwestern hospital. nisha's friends at the lab school have united, creating several facebook groups and working to raise money for his family. he was a father of four.

american idol sighting??

2007-05-17T22:34:00.000-05:00

i am pretty sure that i saw camile velasco (from season 3 of "american idol") while walking down state street this evening. i wish i could somehow confirm it!

whirlwind

2007-05-16T15:25:00.000-05:00

well, today has been a whirlwind of emotion. neat! after getting back from running, i promptly broke down sobbing... about... "gilmore girls" and maybe a bunch of other things. so i called my mom, who is not exactly lorelai, but who comforted me nonetheless. it's hard to say goodbye to things that you were inordinately attached too. for me, "gilmore girls" was a pleasant escapism in boston. twice a day, i watched the show. in the morning, after running or while doing homework, and then in the evening, as i made dinner and then darted off to class. due to money, time, and other circumstances, i had a somewhat limited social life in boston, and so i think the show kind of stood in there for me. my roommate were hardly around when i was (days and early evenings), and for the first time in my life, i had cable for a whole year, so of course i had to take advantage of that. and that translated to me basically watching "gilmore girls" all the time. i think there are some episodes that i've seen ike 5+ times now. sick, right?

anyway, i am feeling a lot better now, having eaten lunch and finished off "texas ranch house." these PBS reality shows are just brilliant. they test people in their ability to live out life in another time period, yet there are all these other social experiments going on, many of them not even a part of the show as planned. it's interesting what people will make an issue out of. while "frontier house" was definitely my favorite of the PBS reality shows, i really enjoyed this one - probably on par with "colonial house." i couldn't help myself from siding with the cowboys, so it was a thrill to see them ditch the cooke family two days before the experience ended, and there was nothing like the look on the faces of mr. and mrs. cooke as they read that really, they failed, and the cowboys did a pretty good job. mr. cooke was an asshole, and it was amazing to see his wife so thrilled with the way he behaved, like, right after he did something completely assholic! i guess there is a reason we all don't try to live with the people who work with/for us...

where you lead, i will follow

2007-05-16T11:49:00.000-05:00

just when i was about to stop posting on this blog (in part, because i created a new, subject-oriented blog: http://redsoxlibrarian.blogspot.com) i realized i have to post about this. as the avid lover of a few select television show, i have to mourn the loss of one of my all-time favorite shows, gilmore girls.

i have to admit, going into last night's series finale, i was almost nervous. in 60 minutes, it would be over, and there would never be any more new episodes. as i explained to colin this morning, i didn't know if i'd be able to talk about them as if they were real people. they're kind of gone now. truthfully, it will be hard to leave behind the habits formed by 7 years of gilmore watching. there are too many gilmorisms that i'm not ready to let go of, and i'm sorry, i still really want a hep alien t-shirt (i learned they exist!).

it's weird, the way that television shows work their way into your life. going through high school, the only thing that got me through the massive amount of homework assigned by my nda teachers was looking forward to, at some point, taking an hour-long break to watch one of my shows. each night had a show. monday was seventh heaven (i know, i was in high school, what can i say), tuesday night was dawson's creek, wednesday night was felicity, and thursday night was roswell. okay, some of those nights might not be quite right, but it looked something like that. in college, i kept with this tradition. i could not have survived without my trusty 13'' tv, and i couldn't comprehend how my other BJ friends got by without television sets. there was nothing i looked forward to after spending far too much time reading adam smith, marx, or 18th century european novels, like a good gilmore girls episode, or felicity. i later picked up everwood and the o.c. as shows i regularly (religiously?) watched, but nothing was quite as long-lasting, or intense, an obsession as gilmore girls. to some extent, it was the new england connection. the thing is, i know small connecticut towns not so unlike stars hollow (woodstock, CT comes to mind), and i come from a small massachusetts town. i found myself drawn to the charm of them, but not so much as i was drawn to the relationship between lorelai and rory. initially, i thought the show was about a mother and daughter, but because rory looked sort of young when the show started, i thought she was 12 and had no initial interest in the show. but when i caught the first episode, just flipping through channels one evening, i realized that rory was actually just a few years younger than me, and the interest grew from there.

rory came to college with me. not really, but the gilmore girls watching continued. i remember watching her and jess share a lunch basket on the bridge, sitting on my bed in erin's and my dormroom. third year, when dealing with a hefty reading and paper-writing finals period, i created posters with a picture of rory reading. 'be more like rory," they read. the thing was - and it's easy to forget now, as rory has become a shadow of her former self these last few seasons, i used to admire rory. i too left my local high school, thinking a private school would help me get into the college of my dreams: brown. yet, also like rory, i ended up choosing another college. in fact, for awhile, i was convinced rory should've been a university of chicago student. now that i've seen her go through her four years at yale, i know that was the best decision for the plot. there's now way the show could've survived a larger distance between the lorelai and rory.

even as the show went through its waves of excellent, and low points, i rode them out knowing it would improve. things weren't looking so great when lorelai was dating digger stiles, or when rory out of nowhere became a massive tool for her first two years of college. yet, during those times, where were other developments that kept me hooked. i grew to adore the antics of lane and her bandmates. gill (played by sebastian bach) was hilarious. and the grandparents, even when they frustrated, were always captivating, and with complication intentions. the truth was, i cared about these characters. lorelai helped me understand a mother's perspective, helped me in a way understand my mom. as we both watched the show over the years, it was a sort of bonding experience. while other friends watched gilmore girls sometimes, only my mom gave it the same dedication that i did. also, as the seasons wore on, i found myself gravitating from a primary interest in rory's life, to lorelai's. she was precisely the kind of woman i admired, and one not so susceptible to flightiness as the so-called strong female characters in other shows (like meredith of "grey's anatomy"). she was a hard-worker, she had amazing clothes, was well-admired in the community, etc. and she was/is SO witty. oh, lorelai. she is the one i will miss most of all. it's funny i can feel so, well, sad at the end of this show, when almost all of it has made it to DVD already (which is not true of, say, "everwood"), and when there are rerurns twice a day on ABC family. thank god for abc family!

man, this is one long entry, and i haven't even gotten around to writing about the series finale. i was surprisingly pleased with the series finale. after learning yesterday that it was created as a season finale and not crafted with the knowledge that it was the last episode of ever of GG, i was worried it might not wrap things up. but really, it did everything i hoped it would do. the town came together for a somewhat weird party celebrating rory (i recall a couple shots that were downright creepy), luke and lorelai had this great kiss, rory got a job blogging for an online newspaper following barack obama, and the grandparents were assured that lorelai would not be leaving their lives anytime soon. i think there is a hardcore following that would've liked to have seen luke and lorelai married by the show's end, but if this show is to be viewed (read) as having a feminist agenda, then i think it's totally fitting that rory does not accept logan's premature and self-involved proposal, and that lorelai worked things out with luke in a natural way, considering what they'd been through. in a way, the finale reminded me a lot of the "freaks and geeks" finale, rory headed off for new adventures and the open road, much like lindsay weir, leaving behind a safe choice for the uncharted waters and her dreams. no, we didn't see a ring on lorelai's finger, but the final frame, much like the first scene of the show, was once again luke's. in a way, i think you have to look at the framing of the scene, through the window, backing up just enough to see the coffee mug-shaped sign reading "luke's," as a kind of family portrait. lorelai, rory, and luke, in the background. i don't think he's ever going to play the role in rory's life that lorelai does. they will always have a tight bond, and luke never could have surpassed it, but he's going to be there, a sort of permanent fixture, just slightly in the background. and so, i think it was absolutely a fitting ending for a show about an uber-gifted mother-daughter pair. am i, a day later, still sad it's over? of course. it's kind of like the day after everwood ended, i feel a little empty, but thanks to DVDs and reruns, i don't think those gilmore girls will ever really be gone.

sheesh

2007-05-15T11:13:00.000-05:00

almost a whole month since the last post. i guess that's what not having internet at the apartment will do. lately, i haven't felt that motivated to write in this blog, so it may come to an end over the next couple months, at least until i feel inspired again. reading through some entries from last year in boston, i could see how essential the blog was to my life. there were so many frustrations that needed to be voiced, as well as the discoveries that come with exploring/living in a new place. but now i am back in chicago. maybe, once we move into our new apartment (!!!) a new era will begin, but right now i'm busy enough reading, watching my favorite shows come to an end, and blogging at work to put too much thought into this thing.

i have been blogging basically nonstop since my senior year of high school. that is seven years of blogging! kind of tremendous and scary that so much content of my formative years is available with a google search. neeeaat.

so, i guess i'll settle into some texas ranch house. definitely had a dream last night that involved the cooke family from texas ranch house - or at least the mom - and i think dan and trish (who will be here in less than 2 weeks! exciting!). i can't quite remember. last night was the first steamy night of the spring/summer and i don't mean in terms of action. it was 94 in the south suburbs yesterday! ikey barka.

today is also the end of an era. "gilmore girls", the show that carried me through the end of high school, college, graduate school, and beyond, is about to come to an end. i have a lot of memories surrounding this show, but i think the clearest one is packing for college. me, sitting in my room, surrounded by the stuff of my life, trying on new looks for college (seriously!) and checking myself out in the mirror. the gilmore girls episode when rory takes paris and her other friends to the bangles concert was on in the background - some of the first normal late summer/early fall programming to return after the nonstop 9/11 footage. there was a comfort in watching gilmore girls, in reliving the high school life that for me was over, about to be replaced. what if my college roommate was like paris? hehe. that sure did not come true. if erin resembles anyone from gilmore girls, i guess it would have to be lorelai. except erin doesn't have a daughter. yet! okay, i will take inspiration from sarah dessen and post a gilmore girls video.

the party's not over till somebody throws a pizza

2007-04-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

yes, my birthday has once again come and gone. i am now not 23, but for shizzle, 24. liz made a scary comment today that we are now both halfway between 18 and 30. gaah! okay, maybe that's not so bad. anyway, highlights from my actual birthday: (highlights from birthday ever are on flickr and facebook.)

1. breakfast at salonica
2. 50 plus degrees out and sunny
3. new mizunos from universal sole, plus a rain jacket and a $9.50 pair of socks
4. finally getting my powercord replaced/fixed at the genius bar
5. running into a scary former co-worker on michigan avenue. he who shall not be named is known to be very protective of his stapler, and to have eaten 4+ bananas in one sitting. that's just not normal, people.
6. new khakis from j.crew (colin probably thought, when ordering my birthday present, at least now i won't have to go to j.crew for awhile. so, sorry colin!)
7. hitting up fox and obel. getting hit on (maybe?) by a drunk rich guy who, after failed attempts to make conversation, told me that if i ate too many cookies, i'd get fat. thanks, pal, i'll try to remember that.
8. listening to the new arcade fire and "deep cut" by the knife.
9. a delicious and uber healthy dinner cooked by the colin guy (because it was my birthday, so i shouldn't have to do anything i don't feel like, heheheh)
10. ghiradelli's sundae
11. finishing "the shining" - learning that the ending is very different from the movie
12. finally watching "shopgirl." oh my god. the beginning of that movie is so fantastic, i had to rewind and watch some of my favorite parts (which all included the adorable jason schwartzman). ::under his breath, turning around::, "i love you, no kiss." YES.
13. petting a fluffy kitty in the backyard.

some neat things from the day after my birthday:
1. watching a morning red sox game in which a fan threw a piece of pizza at another fan, inciting a lot of really funny comments from remy and orsillo. remy says: "he has been ejected and never again allowed to buy pizza." later, "think about how much it costs for a piece of pizza, would you want to throw it at some guy?" needless to say, very comical. good thing i can watch about half the NESN broadscasts via MLB.tv.
2. colin and i signed the lease! as of june 1st, we will have a new abode. of course, that weekend i will be flying to miami, so we won't move until after that. still, VERY EXCITING. no kitties, :(, but i will just have to continue my torrid, long distance affair with suki, my cat sister.
3. following people i know in the marathon. okay, one person. realizing i want to run a marathon.

we're outtah here

2007-04-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

in June! colin and i now have a coach house apartment, and by now i mean on june 1st. eeeep! 1/2 block from the med bakery, here we come!

self-explanatory pictures from easter weekend

2007-04-13T11:28:00.000-05:00

awesome/not awesome

2007-04-13T11:03:00.000-05:00

awesome:
checking out the coach house on 57th and kenwood today at 3
not awesome:
going to the bank to set up online banking so i can start paying back my loans

awesome:
my third three-day weekend in the past three weeks
not awesome:
working next weekend, both saturday and sunday

awesome:
it is finally sunny again
not awesome:
it is also forty. dude, i so did not go shopping for fun spring clothes for it then to snow and be unseasonably cold for the next two weeks.

awesome:
my birthday is on sunday
not awesome:
there is nothing not awesome about that

awesome:
espn fantasy baseball site is back up and running
not awesome:
two seventh graders are ahead of me!

awesome: we watched three episodes of veronica mars last night, including THE BEST ONE EVER with jtt and more importantly, veronica and logan finally MAKING OUT HARD CORE
not awesome: the next and last disc of this season is not here yet because colin sucks massively and hasn't yet returned "say anything," which we watched last SATURDAY

awesome:
reading "the shining" for the next few hours with breaks spent reading "watching baseball smarter: a professional fan's guide for beginners, semi-experts, and deeply serious geeks"
not awesome:
scrounging around for lunch

awesome: the new arcade fire
not awesome: that i don't have it yet!

awesome: downloading red sox songs, like neil diamond's "sweet caroline"
not awesome: having my ipod bite the big one again when i add songs to it

awesome: this week's episode of LOST, which i just watched
not awesome: that i still haven't seen episodes 2-11 of this season, and that colin doesn't want to watch anymore. lame!

awesome: sweet potato latkes
not awesome: no more sweet potato latkes

awesome: having a butt load of easter candy
not awesome: eating so much chocolate near bedtime that i have crazy dreams about creating libraries for very smart hermit crabs

butt nuggets mcgee

2007-03-24T12:25:00.000-05:00

well, this weekend is off to a mixed start. sure, there are good things going on - like hanging out with the libster and eating challah french toast and learning about kyle xy, but there are also poopy things that happened. like, when i waited an hour and forty-five minutes to get smeared yesterday, and missed my train home and had to walk along the highway in chicago heights looking for the pace bus. fun times. but then good times, when my coworkers drove me back to hyde park and we made fun of rosie o'donnell and other fun stuff. then poopy things again, where i forget that modest mouse tickets went onsale at 10 AM, even though i had remembered earlier, and then end up getting 2 second balconey tickets for $100. lame! i still want to see them, but had i gone online at 10, i would've gotten orchestra. oh well. already, the second balconey tickets are reselling for $135 + so perhaps i can find some orchestra tickets somewhere. i just don't want to find myself surrounded by frat boys who only know "float on," y' know. i judge. okay, well, time to enjoy this gorgeous spring weather and hang out with libby and not cry for the second time in two days (maybe you get emotional after someone jams large pieces of plastic up your pachina? clearly, i do). anyhow, toodles, and who wants to see "blades of glory" next weekend?

MEMEMEMMEMEMEMEMMEMEMMEMEMEM
me