Friday, April 25, 2008
Pope Fest 2008
Singing along to: Simon & Garfunkel, Blessed
A week ago yesterday, I stood on the lawn outside the student center, waving my tiny white and gold flag in one hand, raising my camera in the other, and cheering Pope Benedict XVI as he entered the building to deliver his address on Catholic education. It was an interesting speech, especially since I am a product of Catholic education from my first day of preschool until now. Almost more exciting than the speech itself, however, was the fact that he was delivering it on our campus, while bishops and university presidents from all over the country sat in the audience, and we watched it simulcast on a huge projection screen on the lawn.
After the address was over, he left the Pryz in the pope mobile and we cheered and snapped pictures and waved our flags and signs some more. They told us that Regina Caeli is one of his favorite songs, so we sang it, off-key, out of sync, and in stumbling Latin, but still: how often do you get the chance to sing anything for the Pope as he rides through your campus?
I mentioned the Westboro Baptists in my last post about the Pope's visit, and I'm happy to say they were a complete non-factor in the day. The Secret Service kept them far away from anywhere they would see the Pope, and while a few of them camped outside Nationals Stadium to helpfully remind us all of our impending damnation, a friend who was at that Mass said that no one gave them a second glance. I believe in peaceful protest and counter-protest, but maybe in this case, peacefully walking right by was the best option of all.
(Although, a point of interest relating to the comments on that post: “God is love” actually comes from the first letter of John (4:16) and that is the phrase with which the Holy Father opened his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, which is Latin for the same.)
A week ago yesterday, I stood on the lawn outside the student center, waving my tiny white and gold flag in one hand, raising my camera in the other, and cheering Pope Benedict XVI as he entered the building to deliver his address on Catholic education. It was an interesting speech, especially since I am a product of Catholic education from my first day of preschool until now. Almost more exciting than the speech itself, however, was the fact that he was delivering it on our campus, while bishops and university presidents from all over the country sat in the audience, and we watched it simulcast on a huge projection screen on the lawn.
After the address was over, he left the Pryz in the pope mobile and we cheered and snapped pictures and waved our flags and signs some more. They told us that Regina Caeli is one of his favorite songs, so we sang it, off-key, out of sync, and in stumbling Latin, but still: how often do you get the chance to sing anything for the Pope as he rides through your campus?
I mentioned the Westboro Baptists in my last post about the Pope's visit, and I'm happy to say they were a complete non-factor in the day. The Secret Service kept them far away from anywhere they would see the Pope, and while a few of them camped outside Nationals Stadium to helpfully remind us all of our impending damnation, a friend who was at that Mass said that no one gave them a second glance. I believe in peaceful protest and counter-protest, but maybe in this case, peacefully walking right by was the best option of all.
(Although, a point of interest relating to the comments on that post: “God is love” actually comes from the first letter of John (4:16) and that is the phrase with which the Holy Father opened his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, which is Latin for the same.)
Friday, March 28, 2008
Photo Friday will rise again!
Singing along to: Paul Simon, You Can Call Me Al
...but only for today, because I'm about to go to West Virginia to (belatedly) celebrate James's 21st birthday, and because nothing has really happened to blog about. I have made incremental progress on my 101 things, ie, I have mailed in that form that tells the State Department I lost my old passport, so if anyone tries to use it, they are probably not me. This was step one of goal fifty-three. I will get the actual new passport when my hair is fully grown out and might look prettier in the photo. Hope springs eternal, right?
Oh, and I've organized a crapload of photos (goal 88), although I haven't tackled the Big Three: Paris, Berlin, and San Antonio. This photo here is from my trip to the National Cathedral in the fall. The photo in the last post, with the Robert Frost poem, is also from the National Cathedral.
...but only for today, because I'm about to go to West Virginia to (belatedly) celebrate James's 21st birthday, and because nothing has really happened to blog about. I have made incremental progress on my 101 things, ie, I have mailed in that form that tells the State Department I lost my old passport, so if anyone tries to use it, they are probably not me. This was step one of goal fifty-three. I will get the actual new passport when my hair is fully grown out and might look prettier in the photo. Hope springs eternal, right?Oh, and I've organized a crapload of photos (goal 88), although I haven't tackled the Big Three: Paris, Berlin, and San Antonio. This photo here is from my trip to the National Cathedral in the fall. The photo in the last post, with the Robert Frost poem, is also from the National Cathedral.
Labels: 101 in 1001, Photos
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Spring has sprung
Singing along to: Belle & Sebastian, Piazza, New York Catcher
"A Prayer In Spring" by Robert Frost
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
"A Prayer In Spring" by Robert FrostOh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
Labels: Photos
Monday, March 17, 2008
In honor of St. Patrick, belatedly
Singing along to: my roommate, watching movies of babies laughing on YouTube
I know that the Church moved St. Patrick's day to Saturday, because this is holy week, but on Saturday I was too busy doing nothing at work to make a St. Patrick's Day post, and today I am in too much pain to do anything other than post pictures.
(Seriously, my neck? It is KILLING ME. I don't know what I did, but all of a sudden it hurts to move my head. I think I have polio.*)
So, have some pictures of Croagh Patrick, from that time I went to Ireland and haven't been able to get it out of my head since.
First, the mountain itself.
According to Wikipedia, which is always right, Croagh Patrick is 764m (or 2,510 feet) tall, and it feels a lot taller when you're doing the climbing. Especially when your teacher, who is carrying a toddler on his back, just so happens to beat you up the mountain, not that I am still bitter about this, oh my heavens no.
There are a number of reasons why the mountain is worth climbing. First of all, it's a major Irish pilgrimage site, since according to legend St. Patrick himself spent forty days fasting at the summit, after which he banished the snakes from Ireland. It's also pretty cool to say you've climbed a mountain, even a relatively small one. And then, of course, there's the view:
That's worth the climb, too. Now, somebody want to buy me plane tickets back to Ireland?
*Yeah, I know, I don't really have polio, since I still have vivid memories of screaming through that oral vaccine when I was very small, even though there were no needles involved. Then the doctor asked me if I wanted to keep the plastic syringe, like, seriously? Why would I want to keep a used plastic syringe?
I know that the Church moved St. Patrick's day to Saturday, because this is holy week, but on Saturday I was too busy doing nothing at work to make a St. Patrick's Day post, and today I am in too much pain to do anything other than post pictures.
(Seriously, my neck? It is KILLING ME. I don't know what I did, but all of a sudden it hurts to move my head. I think I have polio.*)
So, have some pictures of Croagh Patrick, from that time I went to Ireland and haven't been able to get it out of my head since.
First, the mountain itself.
According to Wikipedia, which is always right, Croagh Patrick is 764m (or 2,510 feet) tall, and it feels a lot taller when you're doing the climbing. Especially when your teacher, who is carrying a toddler on his back, just so happens to beat you up the mountain, not that I am still bitter about this, oh my heavens no.
There are a number of reasons why the mountain is worth climbing. First of all, it's a major Irish pilgrimage site, since according to legend St. Patrick himself spent forty days fasting at the summit, after which he banished the snakes from Ireland. It's also pretty cool to say you've climbed a mountain, even a relatively small one. And then, of course, there's the view:
That's worth the climb, too. Now, somebody want to buy me plane tickets back to Ireland?
*Yeah, I know, I don't really have polio, since I still have vivid memories of screaming through that oral vaccine when I was very small, even though there were no needles involved. Then the doctor asked me if I wanted to keep the plastic syringe, like, seriously? Why would I want to keep a used plastic syringe?
Labels: Photos
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Washington National Cathedral
Singing along to: Simon & Garfunkel, El Condor Pasa (If I Could)
Today I made the long, long trek to the Washington National Cathedral. It was a nice day for a walk, which is nice, because I ended up walking about three miles, round trip, from the Metro to the Cathedral and back. (I could have taken the bus, but I don't like the bus. And then when I decided, fine, I'll gather my wits about me and take the bus back, the bus never came. Figures.) I've been meaning to visit the Cathedral for a couple years now, but I finally did it this afternoon, instead of taking that nap I was really excited about.
It's a beautiful church, and I like its Gothic-esque architecture, although, of course, they did it better in 1200. I was particularly impressed by the exterior, which I was able to walk all the way around. The limestone masonry glowed against the blue sky. Gorgeous. The interior was more disappointing, for two main reasons. One, because they were setting up for something, so everything from the transept forward was inaccessible. Two, because of the stained glass windows. I don't know what it is, but stained glass windows in modern churches always fail and nothing kills that soaring Gothic exultation like bad stained glass. (The lame-o abstract banners didn't help, either.)
Anyway, the whole reason I actually skipped a nap in order to make this little pilgrimage is because I have to write a paper on it for my art history class. I'm a little baffled by the assignment, frankly, because it's a prehistoric-to-medieval survey class, and the Cathedral was completed in... wait for it... 1990.
Nevertheless, we are supposed to put ourselves in the shoes of medieval pilgrims and pretend that this twentieth-century Episcopal cathedral is actually a thirteenth-century Roman Catholic cathedral and write a scholarly paper based on our fake pilgrim experiences. Setting aside my objections to "creative" assignments like this (the objections can be summed up in one word: HATE), I'm just having trouble with the mental gymnastics involved.
Or, possibly, there aren't any mental gymnastics and I'm just over-thinking the entire thing.
Regardless, I think I might just make a quick outline, go to bed, and do the real work in the morning.
(The photo isn't the best of the ninety-odd pictures I took, but I think it shows off the Gothic inspiration well enough.)
Today I made the long, long trek to the Washington National Cathedral. It was a nice day for a walk, which is nice, because I ended up walking about three miles, round trip, from the Metro to the Cathedral and back. (I could have taken the bus, but I don't like the bus. And then when I decided, fine, I'll gather my wits about me and take the bus back, the bus never came. Figures.) I've been meaning to visit the Cathedral for a couple years now, but I finally did it this afternoon, instead of taking that nap I was really excited about.It's a beautiful church, and I like its Gothic-esque architecture, although, of course, they did it better in 1200. I was particularly impressed by the exterior, which I was able to walk all the way around. The limestone masonry glowed against the blue sky. Gorgeous. The interior was more disappointing, for two main reasons. One, because they were setting up for something, so everything from the transept forward was inaccessible. Two, because of the stained glass windows. I don't know what it is, but stained glass windows in modern churches always fail and nothing kills that soaring Gothic exultation like bad stained glass. (The lame-o abstract banners didn't help, either.)
Anyway, the whole reason I actually skipped a nap in order to make this little pilgrimage is because I have to write a paper on it for my art history class. I'm a little baffled by the assignment, frankly, because it's a prehistoric-to-medieval survey class, and the Cathedral was completed in... wait for it... 1990.
Nevertheless, we are supposed to put ourselves in the shoes of medieval pilgrims and pretend that this twentieth-century Episcopal cathedral is actually a thirteenth-century Roman Catholic cathedral and write a scholarly paper based on our fake pilgrim experiences. Setting aside my objections to "creative" assignments like this (the objections can be summed up in one word: HATE), I'm just having trouble with the mental gymnastics involved.
Or, possibly, there aren't any mental gymnastics and I'm just over-thinking the entire thing.
Regardless, I think I might just make a quick outline, go to bed, and do the real work in the morning.
(The photo isn't the best of the ninety-odd pictures I took, but I think it shows off the Gothic inspiration well enough.)
Labels: Photos
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Gratuitous puppy picture
Singing along to: the Beatles, I Need You
It occurs to me that I have not posted any puppy pictures in awhile. My puppy is still an adorable little psychotic, and it would just be wrong not to share it with the world. Also, it conveniently reinforces everyone's stereotypes about bloggers and their obsession with pet pictures. Multi-tasking! Here, have a lolpuppy:
I don't know about you, but all of a sudden my day is a little better.
It occurs to me that I have not posted any puppy pictures in awhile. My puppy is still an adorable little psychotic, and it would just be wrong not to share it with the world. Also, it conveniently reinforces everyone's stereotypes about bloggers and their obsession with pet pictures. Multi-tasking! Here, have a lolpuppy:
I don't know about you, but all of a sudden my day is a little better.
Labels: Photos
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Maple Leaf
Singing along to: Coldplay, Green Eyes
A tree's leaves may be ever so good,
So may its bark, so may its wood;
But unless you put the right thing to its root
It never will show much flower or fruit.
But I may be one who does not care
Ever to have tree bloom or bear.
Leaves for smooth and bark for rough,
Leaves and bark may be tree enough.
Some giant trees have bloom so small
They might as well have none at all.
Late in life I have come on fern.
Now lichens are due to have their turn.
I bade men tell me which in brief,
Which is fairer, flower or leaf.
They did not have the wit to say,
Leaves by night and flowers by day.
Leaves and bark, leaves and bark,
To lean against and hear in the dark.
Petals I may have once pursued.
Leaves are all my darker mood.
("Leaves Compared with Flowers" by Robert Frost)
Robert Frost is by no means my favorite poet like, ever, omigawd, but if you're looking for a poem to go nicely with your photograph of a maple leaf, because you're too lazy to write an actual post? Well then, Robert Frost is your man. I blame my indifference to Frost on some serious overexposure to "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening" and, even more, "The Road Not Taken." I also had to spend a super-duper fun English class freshman year analyzing "Mending Wall" and being told, sorry, my (textually-based) interpretation was wrong, wrong, wrong. No, I'm not still bitter. (Although, while we're on the subject, a note to all those journalists who like to reference that poem in articles about anything fence- or neighbor-related: No, Robert Frost did not say that "Good fences make good neighbors." He wrote it, but actually read the poem and it seems clear that's not really his point.)
A tree's leaves may be ever so good,So may its bark, so may its wood;
But unless you put the right thing to its root
It never will show much flower or fruit.
But I may be one who does not care
Ever to have tree bloom or bear.
Leaves for smooth and bark for rough,
Leaves and bark may be tree enough.
Some giant trees have bloom so small
They might as well have none at all.
Late in life I have come on fern.
Now lichens are due to have their turn.
I bade men tell me which in brief,
Which is fairer, flower or leaf.
They did not have the wit to say,
Leaves by night and flowers by day.
Leaves and bark, leaves and bark,
To lean against and hear in the dark.
Petals I may have once pursued.
Leaves are all my darker mood.
("Leaves Compared with Flowers" by Robert Frost)
Robert Frost is by no means my favorite poet like, ever, omigawd, but if you're looking for a poem to go nicely with your photograph of a maple leaf, because you're too lazy to write an actual post? Well then, Robert Frost is your man. I blame my indifference to Frost on some serious overexposure to "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening" and, even more, "The Road Not Taken." I also had to spend a super-duper fun English class freshman year analyzing "Mending Wall" and being told, sorry, my (textually-based) interpretation was wrong, wrong, wrong. No, I'm not still bitter. (Although, while we're on the subject, a note to all those journalists who like to reference that poem in articles about anything fence- or neighbor-related: No, Robert Frost did not say that "Good fences make good neighbors." He wrote it, but actually read the poem and it seems clear that's not really his point.)
Labels: Photos
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
--e. e. cummings
Labels: Photos
Monday, May 28, 2007
I couldn't do what they've done
"The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the wars of elements,
The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds."
(Joseph Addison)
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the wars of elements,
The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds."
(Joseph Addison)
Labels: Photos
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The menagerie
Singing along to: Dave Matthews Band, Steady As We Go
At my house, we have a lot of pets. At the moment, we have: a dog, a parakeet, a lizard, and a couple of fish. Over the years, we have also had two hamsters (one replaced the other, who was regrettably short-lived), a guinea pig, a different dog, a LOT more fish, and the occasionally foster-turtle. Allow me to give a tour.
That is the parakeet, Budgie (or "Buzzard," if he's being really obnoxious), sitting on my brother's head. As you can see, he is a very pretty bird, and he knows it. His best friend in the whole wide world lives inside his mirror perch, but their relationship is dramatic and punctuated by semi-frequent (one-sided) screaming matches. Then they kiss and snuggle and coo and make up. It's very sweet. Budgie also likes to talk. His favorite thing to say is his name, repeated over and over, often while he bobs his head in rhythm, but he also says "What's up, Doc?" and "Here, kitty, kitty" and "Ain't I a stinker?" His other hobbies include flapping his wings so as to spread feathers around the whole kitchen and refusing to acknowledge the existence of the cool perch we bought him last year.
At the right, we have Norbert ("Norby"), named after the dragon in the first Harry Potter book. Norbert is a leopard gecko and I do not think it is possible for a lizard to have less in common with his namesake than this one does. For one thing, he moves at a speed of approximately three centimeters per minute, because he has to stop and think about every. step. he. takes. But somehow he is still capable of catching crickets, which is his one true passion in life. (He's also very talented at playing dead, and more than once I have poked him with my finger just to make sure that he's not faking it. I understand that animals need to sleep, but half the time this one doesn't even seem to be breathing.)
Finally, we have the incomparable Lucy, whom you've all seen ten zillion times, but whose picture I will post anyway, just because I can. Her name, which may or may not be short for "Lucifer," was inspired by Lucy van Pelt, Lucille Ball, and St. Lucy, on whose feast day we finally sprung her from the Big House (aka, the pound). In this photo, she is wearing her two favorite toys around her neck, held together by her third favorite toy, a strip of fleece leftover from a project I did. Not only does she tolerate that sort of abuse, she even seems to enjoy it. Lucy's hobbies include: eating, sleeping, shedding, sleeping, running around the house like a mad dog, sleeping, chasing squirrels, eating, and being afraid of everything. By "everything," I mean: balloons, suitcases, plastic bags, people, loud noises, noises that are not loud but are unexpected, and the entire contents of the entire world. "Neurotic" doesn't even begin to describe it. (So yes, she fits in well with the rest of us.)
And that's the zoo.
At my house, we have a lot of pets. At the moment, we have: a dog, a parakeet, a lizard, and a couple of fish. Over the years, we have also had two hamsters (one replaced the other, who was regrettably short-lived), a guinea pig, a different dog, a LOT more fish, and the occasionally foster-turtle. Allow me to give a tour.That is the parakeet, Budgie (or "Buzzard," if he's being really obnoxious), sitting on my brother's head. As you can see, he is a very pretty bird, and he knows it. His best friend in the whole wide world lives inside his mirror perch, but their relationship is dramatic and punctuated by semi-frequent (one-sided) screaming matches. Then they kiss and snuggle and coo and make up. It's very sweet. Budgie also likes to talk. His favorite thing to say is his name, repeated over and over, often while he bobs his head in rhythm, but he also says "What's up, Doc?" and "Here, kitty, kitty" and "Ain't I a stinker?" His other hobbies include flapping his wings so as to spread feathers around the whole kitchen and refusing to acknowledge the existence of the cool perch we bought him last year.
At the right, we have Norbert ("Norby"), named after the dragon in the first Harry Potter book. Norbert is a leopard gecko and I do not think it is possible for a lizard to have less in common with his namesake than this one does. For one thing, he moves at a speed of approximately three centimeters per minute, because he has to stop and think about every. step. he. takes. But somehow he is still capable of catching crickets, which is his one true passion in life. (He's also very talented at playing dead, and more than once I have poked him with my finger just to make sure that he's not faking it. I understand that animals need to sleep, but half the time this one doesn't even seem to be breathing.)
Finally, we have the incomparable Lucy, whom you've all seen ten zillion times, but whose picture I will post anyway, just because I can. Her name, which may or may not be short for "Lucifer," was inspired by Lucy van Pelt, Lucille Ball, and St. Lucy, on whose feast day we finally sprung her from the Big House (aka, the pound). In this photo, she is wearing her two favorite toys around her neck, held together by her third favorite toy, a strip of fleece leftover from a project I did. Not only does she tolerate that sort of abuse, she even seems to enjoy it. Lucy's hobbies include: eating, sleeping, shedding, sleeping, running around the house like a mad dog, sleeping, chasing squirrels, eating, and being afraid of everything. By "everything," I mean: balloons, suitcases, plastic bags, people, loud noises, noises that are not loud but are unexpected, and the entire contents of the entire world. "Neurotic" doesn't even begin to describe it. (So yes, she fits in well with the rest of us.)And that's the zoo.
Labels: Photos
Friday, December 22, 2006
Photo Friday!
Singing along to: the parakeet's chattering
I know, you thought Photo Friday was dead, right? So did I. But I have this ridiculously cute photo of Lucy to share, and hey, it just so happens to be Friday. So enjoy Lucy's fuzzy fuzzy puppy paws. I know I do. (Click the photo to see it bigger.)
I haven't done much other than work this week, partially because I've been working a lot and partially because of the usual "get home and get depressed" funk I've been in. I'm feeling a little better right now--it usually wears off after a couple of days--but I still haven't done a damn thing since I got home and I'm starting to tick myself off.
Tomorrow promises to be better though, since James is coming over in the morning and in the evening, he's finally coming with us to the Water St. gift exchange, which has been a yearly tradition for as long as I can remember. Even though we've now been not living on Water St. longer than we lived there, they keep inviting us back (sort of like the Hotel California). And now James finally gets to meet them all, and honestly? I am almost as nervous about that as I was about him meeting almost my entire extended family at my graduation. The Water St. folks have known me almost as long, plus their mind-to-mouth filter is even more non-exisistent than my uncles'. So it should be interesting. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.
I know, you thought Photo Friday was dead, right? So did I. But I have this ridiculously cute photo of Lucy to share, and hey, it just so happens to be Friday. So enjoy Lucy's fuzzy fuzzy puppy paws. I know I do. (Click the photo to see it bigger.)I haven't done much other than work this week, partially because I've been working a lot and partially because of the usual "get home and get depressed" funk I've been in. I'm feeling a little better right now--it usually wears off after a couple of days--but I still haven't done a damn thing since I got home and I'm starting to tick myself off.
Tomorrow promises to be better though, since James is coming over in the morning and in the evening, he's finally coming with us to the Water St. gift exchange, which has been a yearly tradition for as long as I can remember. Even though we've now been not living on Water St. longer than we lived there, they keep inviting us back (sort of like the Hotel California). And now James finally gets to meet them all, and honestly? I am almost as nervous about that as I was about him meeting almost my entire extended family at my graduation. The Water St. folks have known me almost as long, plus their mind-to-mouth filter is even more non-exisistent than my uncles'. So it should be interesting. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.
Labels: Photos
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Home
Singing along to: Swell Season, This Low
I got home Thursday evening and spent all of Friday hanging out with Heather, which was a blast, especially the parts where I took pictures of her kissing Lucy. Fun!
Then yesterday was the long-awaited Damien Rice concert, which was flipping fantastic. It was at the Lincoln Theater on U St, which is a really cool restored theater from the 1920s. I really don't think our seats could have been better--we were about 10 rows back from the stage, slightly off to the side, and in the first row after an aisle, so we had tons of legroom to boot. I sort of wanted to hit the guy sitting next to me (not James; the guy on my other side), who A) wanted to make conversation and possibly make sure we knew exactly how much cooler his musical taste was than ours, and also B) wanted to sort of dance in his seat, mouthing the words with his eyes squinched shut, and ok, he was probably a little drunk. But other than him, our seats were great.
The band that opened for Damien Rice, Swell Season, was also fantastic--in fact, we ended up buying their CD after they finished their set. (Us and half of the theater, I think.) The lead singer (from Ireland, and what a gorgeous accent) is apparently also the leader singer of a band called the Frames, or at least that's what Mr. Into the Music next to me said. So I may have to check them out as well.
I have to confess, I haven't listened to Damien Rice's new CD yet (I'm waiting to borrow it from James if he gets it for Christmas), but I was impressed by the songs from it that he did at the concert. I'm a little afraid, though, that he's beginning to fancy himself a bit of a rock star and may be drifting away from the simple and elegant guitar-and-cello cry-in-a-corner songs that we fell in love with him for. But I'll withhold judgement until I hear the new CD.
Either way, the concert was amazing, and---miracle of miracles--we did not run into any unfortunate traffic on the way there or back. The trip actually took the amount of time it was supposed to. Perhaps we've broken our curse?
And this evening, my family finally put up and decorated our Christmas tree, so I had to take a picture of Lucy wearing the tree skirt.
What?
I got home Thursday evening and spent all of Friday hanging out with Heather, which was a blast, especially the parts where I took pictures of her kissing Lucy. Fun!
Then yesterday was the long-awaited Damien Rice concert, which was flipping fantastic. It was at the Lincoln Theater on U St, which is a really cool restored theater from the 1920s. I really don't think our seats could have been better--we were about 10 rows back from the stage, slightly off to the side, and in the first row after an aisle, so we had tons of legroom to boot. I sort of wanted to hit the guy sitting next to me (not James; the guy on my other side), who A) wanted to make conversation and possibly make sure we knew exactly how much cooler his musical taste was than ours, and also B) wanted to sort of dance in his seat, mouthing the words with his eyes squinched shut, and ok, he was probably a little drunk. But other than him, our seats were great.The band that opened for Damien Rice, Swell Season, was also fantastic--in fact, we ended up buying their CD after they finished their set. (Us and half of the theater, I think.) The lead singer (from Ireland, and what a gorgeous accent) is apparently also the leader singer of a band called the Frames, or at least that's what Mr. Into the Music next to me said. So I may have to check them out as well.
I have to confess, I haven't listened to Damien Rice's new CD yet (I'm waiting to borrow it from James if he gets it for Christmas), but I was impressed by the songs from it that he did at the concert. I'm a little afraid, though, that he's beginning to fancy himself a bit of a rock star and may be drifting away from the simple and elegant guitar-and-cello cry-in-a-corner songs that we fell in love with him for. But I'll withhold judgement until I hear the new CD.Either way, the concert was amazing, and---miracle of miracles--we did not run into any unfortunate traffic on the way there or back. The trip actually took the amount of time it was supposed to. Perhaps we've broken our curse?
And this evening, my family finally put up and decorated our Christmas tree, so I had to take a picture of Lucy wearing the tree skirt.
What?
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Cute
Singing along to: David Gray, Please Forgive Me
My dad sent me this picture of Lucy from his cell phone the other day. I opened my email and my head exploded and my heart melted, because there was a gigantic and cute Lucy face staring at me. Awwwwww! She looks a little crazed in the picture because my dad was eating peanuts and Lucy really, really, really likes peanuts. A lot.
I am sorry I have not been writing anything here, but between the end of the semester and some angry battles with Wordpress over various small details of Pop Goes the Artist, I have been feeling stressed and also murderous. But at least one of the problems has been (mostly) solved, so I'm happy about that. I still have three or four more things I want to fix/change, but those can probably wait till after Christmas break.
(Click the picture of Lucy to make it bigger.)
My dad sent me this picture of Lucy from his cell phone the other day. I opened my email and my head exploded and my heart melted, because there was a gigantic and cute Lucy face staring at me. Awwwwww! She looks a little crazed in the picture because my dad was eating peanuts and Lucy really, really, really likes peanuts. A lot.I am sorry I have not been writing anything here, but between the end of the semester and some angry battles with Wordpress over various small details of Pop Goes the Artist, I have been feeling stressed and also murderous. But at least one of the problems has been (mostly) solved, so I'm happy about that. I still have three or four more things I want to fix/change, but those can probably wait till after Christmas break.
(Click the picture of Lucy to make it bigger.)
Labels: Photos
Friday, November 17, 2006
Photo Friday--it's been awhile
Singing along to: nothing
Odd shot, not very well composed and certainly not taken from a good location, but I could not resist that sky--sunset after a rainstorm--or the trees and buildings silhouetted against it.
Odd shot, not very well composed and certainly not taken from a good location, but I could not resist that sky--sunset after a rainstorm--or the trees and buildings silhouetted against it.Labels: Photos
Saturday, November 11, 2006
In which I pretend I am avant garde. (I am not.)
Singing along to: the Cary Brothers, Blue Eyes
So sometimes funny things happen or I think of a funny sentence and I write it down, so that I'll forget to blog about it later. Last night after I finished blogging, I did that--and then, because it was past midnight and I was hopped up on Ramen, Disney movies from 1973, and nail polish fumes, I thought, "Wait! What if, instead of eventually typing up what I just wrote down, I take a picture of it? And then, like, post the picture on my blog? And it would be all, like, edgy and crap. Like."
(Normally my Inner Self's Voice is not quite so stoner-valley-girl, but as I said, I was hopped up on a variety of substances, all of them legal, and the combination proved to be deadly as far as verbal skills are concerned.)
This seemed like a really clever idea at the time. Then I took the picture and put it on my computer. By that point (about five minutes later), it wasn't a good idea anymore.
So I was all ready to just pretend it never happened, except that I told James about it and thought maybe I should post it on my blog, except with less edgy seriousness and more making fun of myself.
So, um, here is my "great idea" as well as my "funny sentence":
Ha ha ha, right?
So sometimes funny things happen or I think of a funny sentence and I write it down, so that I'll forget to blog about it later. Last night after I finished blogging, I did that--and then, because it was past midnight and I was hopped up on Ramen, Disney movies from 1973, and nail polish fumes, I thought, "Wait! What if, instead of eventually typing up what I just wrote down, I take a picture of it? And then, like, post the picture on my blog? And it would be all, like, edgy and crap. Like."
(Normally my Inner Self's Voice is not quite so stoner-valley-girl, but as I said, I was hopped up on a variety of substances, all of them legal, and the combination proved to be deadly as far as verbal skills are concerned.)
This seemed like a really clever idea at the time. Then I took the picture and put it on my computer. By that point (about five minutes later), it wasn't a good idea anymore.
So I was all ready to just pretend it never happened, except that I told James about it and thought maybe I should post it on my blog, except with less edgy seriousness and more making fun of myself.
So, um, here is my "great idea" as well as my "funny sentence":
Ha ha ha, right?
Labels: Photos
Friday, November 10, 2006
My wild and crazy college life
Singing along to: Cake, Let Me Go
Warning for the easily offended: If you are easily offended by Disney movies from 1973, nail polish, sweatpants, or Ramen noodles, avert your eyes now!
The rest of you can keep reading about the Fascinating Events Of My Evening. It will be intense.
1) Got home from work. Collapsed on bed; called boyfriend.
2) Boyfriend went to eat dinner.
3) Fell asleep on bed.
3a) Drooled.
4) More talk with boyfriend.
5) Boyfriend went to hang out with friends.
6) Decided it was time for another Movie Night Extravaganza (now with Extra Capitalization), featuring Robin Hood, aka, "My Favorite Disney Movie, Like, Ever", aka, "The Best Gift I Got For My Eighteenth Birthday", plus a few semi-trashy magazines, sweatpants, and hot cocoa.
(I told you this would be intense.)
7) Painted toenails (badly).
7a) Painted fingernails (even more badly).
8) Drank cocoa, watched movie, enjoyed sweatpants, and generally revelled in the debauchery.
9) Finished movie.
9a) Got hungry.
10) RAMEN
10a) Nibbled on a little bit of dry Ramen while waiting for water to boil and very nearly abandoned the whole "soup" idea in favor of the "crunchy" idea.
10b) Decided that fingernail manicure, as usual, looks like horse poo and must go away.
11) Realized how very desperately the Internet needed to know the details of my evening.
11a) Ate Ramen. Blogged. Got rid of horse poo fingernail manicure.
I love my life, and for the first time in awhile, I am not saying that sarcastically.
UPDATE: New! Photographic evidence of the rampant debauchery that takes place in my room on a daily basis! I've affectionately dubbed this photo "The Coffee Graveyard" and I swear that it is 75% not staged:
(I admit that I noticed the impressive line-up and added the coffee mug myself, but the other three items found their way there all by themselves. Or rather, I did not consciously arrange them.)
(And actually, this photo should more properly be called "the Hot Chocolate Graveyard" since only the Starbucks bottle once contained coffee. I did not lie when I said I had a hot chocolate addiction.)
Warning for the easily offended: If you are easily offended by Disney movies from 1973, nail polish, sweatpants, or Ramen noodles, avert your eyes now!
The rest of you can keep reading about the Fascinating Events Of My Evening. It will be intense.
1) Got home from work. Collapsed on bed; called boyfriend.
2) Boyfriend went to eat dinner.
3) Fell asleep on bed.
3a) Drooled.
4) More talk with boyfriend.
5) Boyfriend went to hang out with friends.
6) Decided it was time for another Movie Night Extravaganza (now with Extra Capitalization), featuring Robin Hood, aka, "My Favorite Disney Movie, Like, Ever", aka, "The Best Gift I Got For My Eighteenth Birthday", plus a few semi-trashy magazines, sweatpants, and hot cocoa.
(I told you this would be intense.)
7) Painted toenails (badly).
7a) Painted fingernails (even more badly).
8) Drank cocoa, watched movie, enjoyed sweatpants, and generally revelled in the debauchery.
9) Finished movie.
9a) Got hungry.
10) RAMEN
10a) Nibbled on a little bit of dry Ramen while waiting for water to boil and very nearly abandoned the whole "soup" idea in favor of the "crunchy" idea.
10b) Decided that fingernail manicure, as usual, looks like horse poo and must go away.
11) Realized how very desperately the Internet needed to know the details of my evening.
11a) Ate Ramen. Blogged. Got rid of horse poo fingernail manicure.
I love my life, and for the first time in awhile, I am not saying that sarcastically.
UPDATE: New! Photographic evidence of the rampant debauchery that takes place in my room on a daily basis! I've affectionately dubbed this photo "The Coffee Graveyard" and I swear that it is 75% not staged:
(I admit that I noticed the impressive line-up and added the coffee mug myself, but the other three items found their way there all by themselves. Or rather, I did not consciously arrange them.)
(And actually, this photo should more properly be called "the Hot Chocolate Graveyard" since only the Starbucks bottle once contained coffee. I did not lie when I said I had a hot chocolate addiction.)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Birthday Weekend
Singing along to: Iron & Wine, Fever Dream
Since Friday was my birthday, I went home for the weekend. James met me at home and stayed till this morning, which was pretty awesome, as well as semi-unprecedented. Friday evening, my parents took us out to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, which was fun and very tasty. Mmmm, cheeeeeeese. And also chocolate. After dinner, we all watched Barbershop, which is a really funny movie, but which I hadn't seen in years.
Saturday, we carved pumpkins. James' pumpkin is pictured above and to the left, barfing out its guts; mine is below and to the right, with an unintentionally creepy leer on its face. I was afraid it was going to rain all day, but it cleared up by noon, so we also went on a bike ride to a small pond a few neighborhoods over, which left us both huffing and puffing for breath. (Note to self: WORK OUT. TOMORROW.)
Then Saturday evening, my parents revealed my final birthday gift: seeing "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)", which is probably the funniest play I've ever seen. The theatre was cool, too: an old Episcopalian church in Baltimore, complete with high vaulted ceilings and pews. (It required actual mental effort not to genuflect, even though there was no altar, etc.) The three actors were excellent, the venue was intimate, and the play itself was, of course, hilarious. Fun times had by all.
All told, it was a pretty spectactular weekend. I was able to get my paints and brushes from home, so as soon as I get a canvas (and free time, hah), I'll be able to to paint anytime I want, because I have an easel now). Like, whoa. I got a box set of all three X-Men movies from my brother, which is awesome, and two notebooks from James: one with a velvety royal blue cover and one with a plain black cover that I can decorate however the spirit moves me. I also got a Starbucks gift card from my aunt and uncle, so now I have a guilt-free excuse to go to Starbucks not on payday and really indulge by getting coffee and a pumpkin scone. Decadent.
(Speaking of pumpkin, the pumpkin cheesecake? Was DELICIOUS.)
Since Friday was my birthday, I went home for the weekend. James met me at home and stayed till this morning, which was pretty awesome, as well as semi-unprecedented. Friday evening, my parents took us out to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, which was fun and very tasty. Mmmm, cheeeeeeese. And also chocolate. After dinner, we all watched Barbershop, which is a really funny movie, but which I hadn't seen in years. 
Saturday, we carved pumpkins. James' pumpkin is pictured above and to the left, barfing out its guts; mine is below and to the right, with an unintentionally creepy leer on its face. I was afraid it was going to rain all day, but it cleared up by noon, so we also went on a bike ride to a small pond a few neighborhoods over, which left us both huffing and puffing for breath. (Note to self: WORK OUT. TOMORROW.)Then Saturday evening, my parents revealed my final birthday gift: seeing "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)", which is probably the funniest play I've ever seen. The theatre was cool, too: an old Episcopalian church in Baltimore, complete with high vaulted ceilings and pews. (It required actual mental effort not to genuflect, even though there was no altar, etc.) The three actors were excellent, the venue was intimate, and the play itself was, of course, hilarious. Fun times had by all.
All told, it was a pretty spectactular weekend. I was able to get my paints and brushes from home, so as soon as I get a canvas (and free time, hah), I'll be able to to paint anytime I want, because I have an easel now). Like, whoa. I got a box set of all three X-Men movies from my brother, which is awesome, and two notebooks from James: one with a velvety royal blue cover and one with a plain black cover that I can decorate however the spirit moves me. I also got a Starbucks gift card from my aunt and uncle, so now I have a guilt-free excuse to go to Starbucks not on payday and really indulge by getting coffee and a pumpkin scone. Decadent.
(Speaking of pumpkin, the pumpkin cheesecake? Was DELICIOUS.)
Labels: Photos
Friday, October 27, 2006
Birthday Photo Friday
Singing along to: Lifehouse, Fool
In honor of the fact that I entered this world nineteen years ago today, and also because I have no other photos to post, this week's Photo Friday is from back in the day, when I had better skin and shinier hair--but the same deep hatred for peaches. Some things change. Others don't.
Have a nice day, all.
In honor of the fact that I entered this world nineteen years ago today, and also because I have no other photos to post, this week's Photo Friday is from back in the day, when I had better skin and shinier hair--but the same deep hatred for peaches. Some things change. Others don't.Have a nice day, all.
Labels: Photos
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Let them eat pie!
Singing along to: U2, When Love Comes to Town
Last night, I finally finished crocheting the scarf I started last winter. Amazingly, I still remembered how to do it--I guess it's like riding a bike or something. Anyway, it is as you see it, complete with long and soft and fluffy fringe. Cozy!
***
The reason for the title of this post, however, is the ongoing debate between James and myself over what sort of birthday cake I should have. My first thought was German chocolate cake, because mmm mmm is that ever good. But he doesn't like it and neither does my mom (and neither does my brother, I bet), leaving me and my carb-counting dad to eat it. Not so good. Then I thought, "Aha! Pecan pie! My mom still doesn't like it, but everyone else does." And that's where this epic debate between James and me began. He says I am a heretic for suggesting that a pie can possibly take the place of a birthday cake and I say he's just a close-minded troglodyte, unable to accept a modern world in which pies and cakes can be on equal standing. He tells me that cheesecake is acceptable (despite its lack of frosting), as are all kinds of cake, but in his words, "having a pie with birthday candles is like serving Communion wine from a travel mug." I am considering taking a poll, but I am afraid that everyone else is similarly stuck in the birthday cake Dark Ages and lacks the enlightenment to consider the many possibilities of birthday pie. (I am reading this to James as I write it, and he says: "You know what? They used to have a name for people like you: witches!") So um, drop a note in the comments and tell James that he's clearly the one in the wrong here, not me. It's a new era, people. Equal rights for pie!
***
In other news, my hot red shoes arrived from Old Navy today. Never mind that I had intended to wear them with my black dress to the interview on Friday--they're cute enough that I would wear them everyday if only they matched everything. They reveal a little more toe cleavage than I would like, but they are red and shiny, so I think it'll be ok.
While I was on Old Navy's website earlier, browsing for winter clothes, I saw that the Gap, their parent company, is launching an online shoe shop (Piperlime) and I got all excited, because Old Navy and the Gap both have some cute and decently priced shoes. Then I clicked and the excitement died, because the site actually just sells other people's shoes--you know, real and expensive brands. Sorry, but free shipping, while cool, is not enough to make $120 shoes fit my budget.
Last night, I finally finished crocheting the scarf I started last winter. Amazingly, I still remembered how to do it--I guess it's like riding a bike or something. Anyway, it is as you see it, complete with long and soft and fluffy fringe. Cozy!***
The reason for the title of this post, however, is the ongoing debate between James and myself over what sort of birthday cake I should have. My first thought was German chocolate cake, because mmm mmm is that ever good. But he doesn't like it and neither does my mom (and neither does my brother, I bet), leaving me and my carb-counting dad to eat it. Not so good. Then I thought, "Aha! Pecan pie! My mom still doesn't like it, but everyone else does." And that's where this epic debate between James and me began. He says I am a heretic for suggesting that a pie can possibly take the place of a birthday cake and I say he's just a close-minded troglodyte, unable to accept a modern world in which pies and cakes can be on equal standing. He tells me that cheesecake is acceptable (despite its lack of frosting), as are all kinds of cake, but in his words, "having a pie with birthday candles is like serving Communion wine from a travel mug." I am considering taking a poll, but I am afraid that everyone else is similarly stuck in the birthday cake Dark Ages and lacks the enlightenment to consider the many possibilities of birthday pie. (I am reading this to James as I write it, and he says: "You know what? They used to have a name for people like you: witches!") So um, drop a note in the comments and tell James that he's clearly the one in the wrong here, not me. It's a new era, people. Equal rights for pie!
***
In other news, my hot red shoes arrived from Old Navy today. Never mind that I had intended to wear them with my black dress to the interview on Friday--they're cute enough that I would wear them everyday if only they matched everything. They reveal a little more toe cleavage than I would like, but they are red and shiny, so I think it'll be ok.
While I was on Old Navy's website earlier, browsing for winter clothes, I saw that the Gap, their parent company, is launching an online shoe shop (Piperlime) and I got all excited, because Old Navy and the Gap both have some cute and decently priced shoes. Then I clicked and the excitement died, because the site actually just sells other people's shoes--you know, real and expensive brands. Sorry, but free shipping, while cool, is not enough to make $120 shoes fit my budget.
Labels: Photos
Friday, September 29, 2006
Photo Friday
Singing along to: Iron & Wine, Cinder and Smoke
Took this photo in San Antonio. It's the cathedral, whose name escapes me at the moment (but it's a safe bet it involves St. Anthony). I don't feel as though I got many good photos in San Antonio, although some of them are starting to look a little better now that I'm turning them black and white.
***
Today was another busy day at the end of a long and busy week. Tuesday I had an archaeology test, Wednesday was Alpha Phi Omega initiation (national service fraternity, in case you're wondering--so no kegs were harmed in the making of this pledge), yesterday I had to go birthday shopping for my mom, and today was a Latin test (aka, death by Caesar) and Phi Eta Sigma induction (Freshman honor society--this week involved too damn many Greek letters). Tomorrow my parents are coming down for the Family Weekend festivities and maybe on Sunday I can finally scratch "get a haircut" off my to-do list.
Also, I'd really like these sexy boots that I ordered from Target to arrive soon. (And while we're on the subject of shoes, how cute are these shoes from Old Navy? I can't decide which color I like best.)
Took this photo in San Antonio. It's the cathedral, whose name escapes me at the moment (but it's a safe bet it involves St. Anthony). I don't feel as though I got many good photos in San Antonio, although some of them are starting to look a little better now that I'm turning them black and white.***
Today was another busy day at the end of a long and busy week. Tuesday I had an archaeology test, Wednesday was Alpha Phi Omega initiation (national service fraternity, in case you're wondering--so no kegs were harmed in the making of this pledge), yesterday I had to go birthday shopping for my mom, and today was a Latin test (aka, death by Caesar) and Phi Eta Sigma induction (Freshman honor society--this week involved too damn many Greek letters). Tomorrow my parents are coming down for the Family Weekend festivities and maybe on Sunday I can finally scratch "get a haircut" off my to-do list.
Also, I'd really like these sexy boots that I ordered from Target to arrive soon. (And while we're on the subject of shoes, how cute are these shoes from Old Navy? I can't decide which color I like best.)
Labels: Photos
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