Thursday, March 30, 2006
Knowing all there is to know about you
I'm going to have a green birthday this year! Trees are budding! Tulips are blooming! There are flowers! I never get green birthdays!
We went to the playground today, and the ice cream trucks are out in full force, and then we walked to Dunkin' Donuts, and it was beautiful. I wore flip flops. I suppose this means I have to start painting my toenails and shaving my toes again. Hmmm. I seem to remember quoting someone about shaving big toes. It might (just maybe might) have been the same person who was quoted in reference to bum bugs (they jump! they bite! eek!).
The BBC The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (actually, the entire BBC Narnia serices) still freaks me out to no end. It should not be allowed to be viewed by anyone, ever.
You know the laundry rant that I posted on Monday? Well, I just finished it (the laundry, not the rant) today. When I don't get it all done in one sitting, it takes me forever. Strangely, I'm worse at actually folding the clean stuff than I am at washing the dirty stuff. It's a good thing I avoid clothes that need to be ironed.
I like new friends, especially ones that you can share silly passions with, and not feel so silly about it. The internet is a wonderful thing. One of my favorite things is meeting people in real life that I've met online. Risky? That's half the fun.
Five more days! Twelve more days!
Monday, March 27, 2006
Laundry Day on Avenue A
Seriously. Four adults in a house with one washer and dryer? Inevitably, everyone will always need to do laundry on the exact same day. Always.
And have we learned nothing in years and years and years of living with roommates?
Never touch a roommate's laundry. Ever. Ever. Ever. Especially to put it in the dryer. It's just one of those things that's far too picky and personal to trust to anyone else. Ever.
And yes, my laundry methods have become much more specific and detailed and particular with every set of roommates I've had. Something from everyone has rubbed off on me, and after 20-some-odd roommates, that's a lot of nit-picky details (P.S. Janna, Kat, and Logan, I blame you three entirely for that. Really. It's all your fault).
And on a completely different note... I'm so glad that Everwood is back. I missed that show. Two hours of new episodes tonight... it's all good. And there were scenes that had me literally bouncing and squealing. And that's why I watch TV alone. But seriously. As much as I love Gilmore Girls (and you know that my fanaticism knows no bounds), Everwood is one of the most well-written and well-acted shows out there today. Let's all hope that CW picks it up for another season next year. Oh, the drama of creating a new network and waiting for the lineup to be announced...
Bang you over the head with a mallet
So, about those Hanons. I didn't think that there was another person alive who could both ignore the metronome and play each hand in a different key at the same time.
Lourenzo proved me wrong.
And here I always thought that was one of Esther's unique talents.
To days of inspiration
Wanna know what my day looks like so far?
I'm the only one in the office. Mondays are usually slower, but Chris is usually here, so he can give me projects to do. Today, he's out of town. Which means, I have the usual daily jobs, and a few projects that he left for me, but nothing is being put on my desk throughout the day.
So, when I'm finished that, I have nothing else to do but sit here and wait for the phone to ring. And answer emails, taking house seat orders for Tony Award voters.
It's 11:45, and everything else is finished. So, I get to sit online all day, just doing whatever random little things pop up via phone or email.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the exciting, fast-paced world of the Broadway production office.
But that's okay, because that means that I won't feel the need to go online tonight, which is fine by me because (finally!) after 4 months, there are new episodes of Everwood. Two of them. Back to back. We know what I'll be doing after Lourenzo goes to bed...
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Trix are for kids!
Pictures! Because I have nothing better to write about.
Lourenzo takes the camera...
Just a silly day at the MoMA.
Rosa and Kim walking to church before Rosa's baptism.
Allison and Camilo leading worship at the Forefront baptism service.
Enough for now. I uploaded a bunch of pictures to the photo album, though, so if you want to see more baptism pics, or the results of giving Lourenzo the camera at the MoMA sculpture garden, go check it out.
Friday, March 24, 2006
If I had a giant cooler of Gatorade, I'd pour it over your head
So Alexandra leaves for Mozambique tomorrow morning. Ish. Her flight leaves at 6, so she's actually leaving the house at 3 or so. So... is that tonight or tomorrow? I don't know. Anyways, that means that Lourenzo and I are on our own for the next week. Which will actually be just fine. Fun, even. I have him all weekend this week (he's coming to church with me on Sunday), and then he's spending next weekend with his godparents, so I get the entire weekend off.
I think that's just about the most interesting thing that's happening, really. Other than the fact that I'm working on a new fic, so I'm watching the same episode, reading the transcript, and checking out screencaps over and over again, to get my details and sequencing straight.
And I found part of Jakob's birthday present while I was in New Haven, but it has nothing to do with Yale. It's just cute.
I want to go see Children of a Lesser God while it's playing--maybe I'll go next weekend, when I don't have the L. I got an email with an offer for discounted tickets, so $12 is definitely not a bad price at all. I should really book a ticket now, shouldn't I?
Man, I've got a lot of birthday/wedding/shower gifts to buy in the next few months. But no worries... I've got ideas coming out the yin yang. For some of them. Others... not so much. We're still a little sketchy on the details.
On Tuesday night, when I was at the show, I was sitting in the lobby before it started, and I got so homesick. Not for Calgary, but for backstage. Especially since students were acting as ushers (the show wasn't a school show--it was the professional theatre that's run under the Yale umbrella, but the grad students are involved in certain aspects), and it just reminded me so much of all my Rocky shows. Probably with slightly rose-tinted glasses, but still. Going to Broadway shows, or some of the bigger shows, is amazing, but it hasn't (so far) gotten me as homesick as this did--even though it was a professional show, it was in a smaller, black-box theatre, and the atmosphere was more casual than Broadway. I wanted to do something--usher, whatever. Just to do something besides watch.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
And I'm still awake, writing this song
Mmmm. I went and saw dance of the holy ghosts at the Yale Repertory Theater tonight. It was amazing. In some ways, so very different than much of the theatre I watch, but in other ways, it has the makings of a classic.
And now it's 3:30 a.m., and I'm still up, and I love it. And I need to go to sleep--I know that--but for as much as I'm getting used to getting up at 6 (and even enjoying the feeling of being the first one up), it still doesn't compare to being the last one up.
Only a few hours separate them, but somehow, being the last one up--being up all night and watching morning come from the other side--is much more magical than being the first one up and watching the morning come from that side.
You know?
Sunday, March 19, 2006
On the good ship Lollipop
One of the things I love most about living in New York is the fact that everything you need is always within walking distance from where you are, even in a neighborhood like mine. I don't have to go further than 3 blocks to get 4 different nationalities of take-out, milk, an ATM, or a drycleaner.
One of the things I miss most about living in Calgary is driving--singing along to the radio, navigating traffic, driving around randomly in the middle of the night, giving people rides...
I'm a woman. I'm allowed to be self-contradictory like that.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Oh, you're, like, so freaked out right now
Please, by all means, continue the discussion going on in the comments of the post below.
So, St. Patrick's Day is definitely a bigger deal here than it is in Calgary. I think that almost the entire of-age population in NYC is drinking green beer right now--there were already crowds outside of most of the pubs that I walked past by 2:00 this afternoon.
Mom and I caught the very tail end of the St. Paddy's Day parade, on Fifth, at around 41st at around 11:00 this morning. Just a bagpipe band and a war vets' regiment. Still, it was pretty cool.
Garden State is one of those rare movies that's far better with the deleted scenes left in. The extended bathtub scene and the extended scene with his dad are both amazing.
Oy, I'm tired. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not out drinking green beer. Yeah, I think so.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Sing it loud, sing it strong
I think I've been subconsciously preparing for St. Patrick's Day all week. I've worn green every day so far. Then again, my timeline is all shot to pieces, so maybe I've thought it was the 17th every day. Alexandra and I traded days early on in the week, so my Tuesday felt like Wednesday, Wednesday felt like Thursday, and so on, and now, it should be Friday--not Thursday--night. Alas and alack, the calender doth not agree with me.
Calgary's beating Edmonton, 2-1. Just thought I'd share. I've been in an ongoing discussion with some fellow Albertans over on the TWoP forums about the game, and Stampede, and the Flames in general, and being White Hatted, and it's been spectacular. And, I'm even wearing the Flames shirt that Doug and the kids got me for Christmas. (but that's because it's what I wear for pyjamas, not because it's a game night)
Random question. Is it just my own personal experience that finds almost-6 really late to be starting to read? Lourenzo is just now starting to identify words, and he still mixes up some of his letters, and I'm not sure if that feels "off" to me because of a different educational system, or because I read freakishly early, or because he may be delayed in reading, or what.
It's normal to be able to read a simple book before starting kindergarten, right? I mean, to me, that's normal. I realize that reading Little House in kindergarten and Nancy Drew in grade 1 may not be, but not being able to read anything until 3/4 of the way through kindergarten is late, right?
It just feels odd to me. But then again, they're not learning phonics--they learn some "whole word" method, where they learn to spell by sounding words out, rather than learning actual phonics. And this, in my opinion, is why the world in general is nothing but deficient when it comes to spelling and grammar. Any of my teacher friends... do/did you learn to teach in this method? What are your thoughts? What does your school system use?
And shouldn't I be at least somewhat concerned that he's not reading yet?
Monday, March 13, 2006
And I owe it all to you
Someday, for old times' sake, Kat and I need to watch the second disc of Dirty Dancing with all the bonus features. There was a period during our second year of college where I think we watched that movie every week for an entire semester.
And I think that this (right now) is the first time since then that I've watched it. Seriously. I'd forgotten how hot this movie is. And since my mother reads this, I'm not going to tell you all about the first time I watched this movie. Let's just say that the least likely person (okay, maybe not quite the least likely, but pretty close) introduced me to it well before I could appreciate it.
Kelly Bishop and Jerry Orbach are amazing. And, in another Gilmore Girls connection (Kelly Bishop being the first one), did you know that Kenny Ortega, the choreographer for Dirty Dancing has directed several (8, actually) episodes of Gilmore Girls? Well, he has.
Has anyone seen High School Musical (speaking of Kenny Ortega... he also directed that)? Apparently it's the latest kids/tween craze. Allison and Brian's kids love it, and have memorized the entire thing--it's like the kids' version of Grease. All the fun numbers and putting school life to music, minus all the parts that make Grease wildly inappropriate for an elementary-school audience. Apparently, it's very good, and Brian and Ryan keep teasing me that I need to see it. Maybe I should netflix it. But back to my original question--has anyone seen it? Is it any good?
Finding Neverland came in the mail today. Man, I love that movie.
Patrick Swayze circa 1987 reminds me of Patrick Wilson circa 2006. Just thought I'd share.
I really wasn't planning to write an entire media-based entry today, but I got inspired earlier, and out came 2 1/2 chapters of my latest story, so I'm tapped out right now.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
My only hope is just to be
Random thoughts.
I just yelled Va t'on savoir d'ou il vient?! into a microphone about seven times.
The Curious George soundtrack is surprisingly good, and not only for preschoolers.
Lourenzo and I went to the MoMA today. When we walked into a particular gallery, I asked him what his favorite piece in there was, and he pointed to a huge Jackson Pollock. I asked him why he liked it so much, and he said, "Because it looks like life."
I gave him my camera in the sculpture garden, and he had a blast. I think I've discovered another activity for a sunny afternoon. Go outside, give the kid the camera, and see what he comes up with. Best idea with a digital camera, ever, because he can't waste film, and he actually came up with some good stuff.
However, he did stick the camera between a sculpture's legs and try to take a picture of its crotch. We're not sure why he did it, but everyone in that section of the garden burst out laughing.
Question of the day? "When the baby is in the mommy's tummy, how does it come out?" Yeah. I get those questions.
Observation of the day? "Because I'm the boy, you're not supposed to do anything, and I'm supposed to do everything." "Like what?" "Like opening the door, and pushing out the table when you want to get up."
Everyone should have a blog that they update at least thrice weekly. That way, I know what's going in other people's lives, instead of just updating people on mine.
That's all.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Miss your old familiar friends
Today was that perfect day that feels like the first day of spring--the kind of day with warm weather, the chance to leave the heavy jacket at home, the streets full of people outside on their lunch breaks... it was beautiful. And Friday, to boot. Does it get any better than that? (it would if the wireless internet at home was working)
I ate breakfast and lunch outside; I didn't need a jacket at all for most of the day. I walked for blocks, and it was gorgeous.
Spring fever, baby!
By the way, can anyone tell me what TV theme song my entry title is from? And, in answering that, you'll figure out which blast from the past I watched a few episodes of at Ryan and Jeana's...
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Waiting on pins and needles
So I've decided that someone needs to try to figure out which blood donation centres give the best first-time-donation swag. I gave blood today at the Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Hospital, which is just across the street from Lourenzo's school, and their first-time gift is a nice tote bag.
Canadian Blood Services gives a pin; New York Blood Services gives nothing.
I should totally go around donating everywhere I can find, and see where I can get the best gifts. Besides, of course, the free Oreos and orange juice. Because, really, why else would you want to give blood? It's all about the cookies...
On a slightly more socially responisible vein, I'm going to try to get into the habit of going in once or twice a week to donate platelets. It's so close to the school, and I can go in on a morning when I've got some time to kill, especially if I don't have to go into the office right away. And since you can give platelets every three days, but you have to wait 56 to give blood again, that seems like the way to go that will be the most help to the most people.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Well, Alec made his appearance at 5:00 this morning. 5 lb, 14 oz. I don't know his middle name, but apparently everyone's doing well, and it's a good thing--a God-thing--that he came when he did, because apparently his umbilical cord was knotted somehow.
Anyways, I'm still at Ryan and Jeana's. Allison and I both ended up sleeping here, and then she went down to get her own kids off to school this morning. I'm still here--Caden just went down for his nap, and I'll probably leave sometime this afternoon. Originally, last night, I was thinking that I'd probably go home after sleeping here, but I doubt it--I'll probably just pick Lourenzo up from school and then go home from there.
Last night, I channel surfed for the first time in months. Seriously--Alexandra doesn't have cable, and the TV is out of the way, so I don't watch that much actual TV. If I watch anything, it's a dvd, or a show that I've downloaded to my computer, so I haven't just surfed through all the syndicated re-runs for a long time. Since I moved here.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Bad case of lovin' you
Well, my evening just got a whole lot more interesting.
Life Group tonight, but there were only four of us there--Allison (it's at her house), Jeana (Ryan--the Community Life pastor--'s wife who lives just upstairs from Brian and Allison), and Molly (a friend of Jeana's), so we didn't really have a book discussion, per se. Instead, it was a birth conversation, particularly because Jeana's expecting, and she's due in about 2 weeks, which I listened to with rapt attention, being the only one who hasn't experienced childbirth.
Anyways, at the end of the study, Jeana started saying that she was having some cramping, but she didn't think it was labor, so we just said goodnight and everyone went home. I usually stick around for a few extra minutes to debrief with Allison (even though there wasn't much to debrief tonight), and just as I was putting on my coat, the phone rang. It was Ryan, telling Allison that Jeana's water had broken and they were going to the hospital.
Now, understand, with Caden, their first, she was only in labor for 4 hours, and she didn't realize that her water had broken, so no one's taking any chances with this one!
Brian wasn't home from his Life Group, Allison needs to put their kids to bed, and Jeana's mom isn't coming for another week and a half, so it turned out to be such a God-thing that everything happened when it did. Right now, I'm at Ryan and Jeana's, staying with Caden, at least until Brian gets home and Ryan calls to let Allison know what's happening. I might stay the night; Caden might go down to Allison and Brian's apartment; Allison may go to the hospital... no one knows.
But it's likely that Baby Alec will make his appearance tonight!
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is
Two things:
- Walking anywhere with a five-year-old is like being the metronome in a piece filled with rubato.
- The court date from my accident has been moved from March 19 to September 25, so it turns out that I'll actually be testifying after all.
That's all.
Monday, March 06, 2006
The mosaic of the head of state
Somehow, when I left work today, I still had the credit card in my pocket from the errands that Chris sent me on this afternoon. Of course, it's only the company account card for Staples, but still--it would be fun to go crazy in there. I could do some damage with that.
When Jen and I were shopping in FAO Schwarz, we saw a brochure or sign or something about their gift cards, which you can get in $100,000 denominations. Dead serious. They have designer toys. And a $15,000 life-sized stuffed elephant.
But you know you're growing up when the thought of spending that much money in a toy store makes you sick, but the thought of spending it in Ikea makes you giddy. Of course, our conclusion was that we would each like a $100,000 "gift card for life." You know, like the Amex or Mastercard gift cards that you can get, that are accepted wherever the credit card is accepted. That would be the cadeau de choix. French? Sure, why not.
Ahhh! New favorite website? playmash.com. Remember elementary school? What am I talking about, elementary school? Remember college? Playing MASH? Wasting time in class? Trying to stay awake during boring sociology lectures... okay, that's probably more the college version than the elementary school version. Still. It's almost as much fun (and just about as addictive) if you do it while you're wasting time at work as it was when you were wasting time at school.
Yes, it has been that uneventful of a day, when discovering online MASH is the highlight. Because I spent most of my day at work cataloguing our 135 blueprints and stage diagrams, and let me tell you; when they're all rolled up, and you're just trying to get the pertinent information, while sitting at a desk, and when you're trying to type around this big roll of paper on your lap that has a mind of its own and that's acting like a psychotic jack-in-the-box, you'd probably rather be doing almost anything else.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Sweet pretty darling, do not cry
My window won't close completely, and my room is freezing. Usually, it's not too bad, but my desk is right under the window, and the wind is coming right in. That's why I have a big duvet to wrap up in.
Really, there's nothing to write about. It's been quite an uneventful week, especially after last week's fun and frivolity. I think Naomi and I are going to try and hang out tomorrow night, but other than that, it should be a fairly "normal" weekend, too, unless something exciting and spectacular happens on Sunday.
Seriously, I have nothing else to say. I'm that boring. I was going to write up this week's GG review, which is mostly composed in my head, but which I just need to write out, and then I was going to write a big long entry on random thoughts, and then I was going to curl up with a good book, and then I was going to take a gander at the GRE book that I picked up at the library today, and then I was going to get ahead on my reading for my life group... all in the big plans for this evening... and then I stuck my season 5 dvd's in, and, three episodes later, there went the night.
Oh, yes. The biggest excitement of the week? I've discovered netflix. Yeah, yeah, I know... I'm so far behind the rest of civilization, it isn't even funny, but at least it keeps me amused, right? Right. So if you've got any good movie recommendations, let me know. This is definitely the way to crack away at that (still nonexistant) list of movies that I "just have to" watch before I die. Maybe I should start with the list that Cindy gave us in the theatre handbook. Does anyone happen to have that kicking around anywhere? Kim? Janna? Jen? Laurel? Anyone?
Oh! I've been meaning to post this forever. There's an ad on the subway for a business college that offers courses like Court Reporting and Medical Assistant and things like that--business classes, but not a degree--and it's also the kind of school where you can finish your GED while you start the program. These ads are nice, sweet family snapshots--a mother and a little girl or a father and son, or something like that, and the headline reads: "I'm going to be just like you Mom." "No baby, you're going to be better."
Seriously. SERIOUSLY. If you're going to be a business school, and if you're going to advertise that you're supposedly an educational institution, please, please use your commas correctly. "I'm going to be just like you, Mom." "No, baby, you're going to be better." For the sake of every grammar nazi out there, get it right. That's not asking too much, is it? If I was school-shopping, those ads alone would strike that particular school off my list, no matter how good the programs are. If you can't even bother to proof your marketing, you shouldn't be offering anyone any certificates of any kind.
And it probably reflects badly on me, but I saw that and thought, "Well, it's no surprise that they're not trying to attract the same demographic as the NYU ads are, because they definitely wouldn't succeed if that was the goal." And I'm not trying to be racist, or classist, or elitist, or whatever-ist, but it just seems that if they're promoting a program that offers a GED in conjunction with a certificate (which, in and of itself, is a great solution, especially for young single parents, or people who are trying to get their feet back under them, or something like that), they're not going to be reaching the same demographic as NYU's Continuing Ed programs, which tend to target professionals and people who already have some university-level training.
Why, though, would they dumb down their ads, just because the people they're trying to attract will more likely not notice the blunder? That, to me, is just insulting. And rude. More rude than my assumption that they're aiming for a less educated, lower-class demographic. Those ads, in my opinion, assume that because they're aiming for a "lower" demographic, they can hold themselves to a lower standard.
See what happens when you don't punctuate properly? People don't take you seriously, and you lose business and credibility. Commas are important. And now, I'd better proof this entry to make sure (after that particular rant!) that all my punctuation and grammar is in order.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Worth a thousand words
Yes, I know it's been a while since I updated. My (rather feeble) excuse is that our internet is down at home. Of course, Monday and Tuesday were fairly slow at work, so I got caught up on my emails and emptied out my inbox, so maybe that's my other excuse. I was too busy writing to individual people, rather than writing blog entries.
Jen got home, for everyone who was wondering if she ended up stranded in LaGuardia for 3 days. :o) Fortunately, she wasn't quite that unlucky with her travels! I think that if that was the case, she would never talk to me again, let alone visit!
I got up at 6 on Monday morning, and thus begins the grind again. But it's good. Despite my early mornings.
Today is Ash Wednesday--Easter comes so late this year that I felt like I had missed it when it hadn't come by this point.
And, the big news of the day (which just goes to show how uneventful the day has been thus far)... I've finally gotten many of my pictures into some albums. It's still not all of them, and I still need to attack the house pictures (and Jen took lots, which she ever-so-kindly uploaded to my computer, so I think I've got most of the house covered by now), but there are albums for the goodbye party at Joey Tomato's in August, some miscellaneous pictures from before Christmas, pictures of family and friends at Christmas, some winter pictures, and pictures from Jen's visit. That should keep you occupied for a few minutes!