June 28, 2004
Long-lost
So we spoke with my former coworker today, after her week-long conference out of the country...she was running the meetings, as well as planning to meet her real father for the first time. After 30 years.
What an emotional trip this has been, starting a year ago and ending in a celebration. She tracked her father down and spoke on the phone to him for the first time last month, not knowing what to expect - not even knowing that he was her real father until last year. Apparently he had always kept her baby pictures in the living room and her half-sisters knew that she existed. It was a completely positive reunion - and I thought that only happened in movies.
Heh, now I've got the picture in my mind from that ridiculous commercial by one of those search firms - people opening the door, running to open arms, as if someone had just won Publishers Clearinghouse.
****
Beautiful line received today -
'I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like
the company you keep in the empty moments.'
June 24, 2004
It's time!
Time to pick raspberries. Let's go and gorge ourselves until we get sick and can't move! FUN!
June 23, 2004
A bit wistful today...
Which made me go through my stockpile of quotes and remarks...these made me smile.
----------------------
According to Bukowski,
to write a good poem,
you must have:
1-Several bad affairs.
2-Been in love with a red haired girl.
And some other things not worth mentioning.
-----------------------
Hippies, hippies...they want to save the world but all they do is smoke
pot and play frisbee! - Cartman
-----------------------
I think I'll go home and lie very
still
feigning terminal illness.
Then the neighbors will all troop
over to stare,
my love, perhaps, among them.
How she'll smile while the
specialists snarl in their teeth!
She perfectly well knows what ails me.
-written in the Ramessid period of ancient Egypt (ca. 1292-1070 BC)
-----------------------
how you whispered over and manned me
assauged by fresh air and glacier-awe, only yesterday,
little-changed black peaks and gravity-struck ice water,
free falling
like me.
14-Sept-03
June 17, 2004
Peace & Quiet
David mentioned an interesting observation his NYC buddies made while once visiting DC - he said that they were completely freaked out by the Metro, due to the complete silence on the packed train. I thought about that on my ride to work this morning, thinking how we all had a day full of distraction and chaos in front of us. Although the 'code' is to avoid looking or speaking to people, it's much nicer to think of it as a collective gift - everyone giving their fellow riders some peace & quiet before we are inundated by the clamorous workplace.
bad Michael Jackson jokes/Silly Quiz
How can you tell when it's bedtime at Michael Jackson's house?
The big hand touches the little hand.
----
What's the difference between Michael Jackson and a plastic bag?
One is made of plastic and is harmful for children to play with, and the
other you put groceries in.
| How to make a Zippy |
| Ingredients: 1 part jealousy 5 parts self-sufficiency 1 part instinct |
| Method: Add to a cocktail shaker and mix vigorously. Add emotion to taste! Do not overindulge! |
June 14, 2004
Bells o' luv
My friends Kristina & Michael got married this weekend, and it was a great time. By the standards of Bridezillas everywhere, the planning was done on the fly (i.e., 2 months), but I thought it was everything a wedding should be. Classy, relaxed, intimate, open bar, great dinner, fun afterparty. And goofy hats everywhere. Apparently Michael's dad collects them. Everyone was dressed in their finest, with beanies, flower pots, road kill, and other things atop their heads. I even danced the Chicken Dance next to Dana, who was wearing a chicken head and a makeshift cape. Three cheers for you guys, I know you'll be happy in Austin. And I'll be happy to finally have a place to crash there, hah.
Today I discovered DC-area resident/hater James F., who publicized my comment on my friends' crazy weekend experience w/ a burglar & the cops. Not that I can say much more for the Arlington cops, who showed up at my old apt. in repsonse to my nonexistent burglar alarm - until I eventually realized they wanted to be at 9th St. NORTH, not South. Ah well, you can't win them all.
In spite of this I have quickly become addicted to living in the city, which probably stems from my winter of S.A.D.. Then, I dreamt about being able to go outside and walk my black thoughts off; now, I don't have a choice! I must walk everywhere! Sitting on the couch and feeling gross is no longer an option (most of the time). I am hoping my constant regimen of the Rosslyn & Dupont escalators will enhance the look of my gluteus maximus (glutei maximi? Gotta check out Life of Brian before it leaves & confirm that).
June 11, 2004
Ray's Music Exchange
Friday, certainly a reason to take a deep breath and relax and look forward to friends & music & some good beer tonight.
I don't know about the news coverage around the rest of the country, but Reagan's death took up so much airtime that when I was in the hospital waiting room yesterday, Channel 8 News was looping a segment of coverage over & over. Instead of waiting for my friend to get out of surgery, it caused me to actually go back to work & wait.
When I heard on the radio that Ray Charles had died, I got tearful for the first time all week. You want to talk about someone with a soul...
At work we watched the Nat'l Cathedral funeral on our new replacing-the-stolen TV this morning, and it was an impressive event to watch. I feel the worst for Nancy, who has had to go through a week-long funeral, with event after ceremony after tribute.
I told Amy after she got wheeled back in to recovery yesterday about Ray Charles - she immediately asked what was next. "Things always happen in threes", she said. She and my mom got through their procedures this week, so whatever else pops up I can handle.
P.S. Why do I have the 'Shape of Things to Come' by The Bee Gees in my head? It's from the 1988 Olympics soundtrack. That is frightening. More frightening is the thought that it won't go away unless I listen to it...a somewhat difficult feat to achieve, I'm thinking.
June 8, 2004
Too cloudy
I was actually up at the right time to watch Venus traverse the Sun, but as is ever the case in DC, it was too cloudy.
Like the time we tried to watch the meteor shower two years ago, and the thickest fog descended over the trees and roads.
In other, much wackier news, I had a guy with a foot fetish try to lure me away to the fetish film industry at the Smart Bar in Chicago on Sat. I agree w/ my buddy Monty that foot fetishes are old news, especially if you read a lot of Dan Savage. Still, I found it pretty hilarious as 1) I don't like feet, and 2) I have two blisters on the foot he asked to massage. At least I had good help in scaring him away.
What a great trip back home. And props to Bridget, for kicking junior high's ass and letting me smell the library (o;
June 4, 2004
I may be a wuss but...
these are stresses I will not be challenging myself to go through in this lifetime, or will not regret having missed:
Hiker dies on Mt. Rainier ridge, where another hiker died last month. I love hiking, and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Mt. Rainier last year, but my seratonin levels are just too low to push that human boundary. I'm thinking more about how I'd like to tackle part of the Appalachian trail.
Autochthonous wins the Nat'l Spelling Bee competition. And the boy who collapsed wins 2nd place. Anyone who watched Spellbound will perhaps wonder, as I do, exactly what the difference is between having your kid compete in this spelling bee and making them into a Jonbenet princess beauty queen. Ok, I know, one means you will be a walking dictionary and the other, a fantasy for internet perverts, but those are some STRESSED OUT kids. Except for that one ADD New Jersey kid in the movie. His mom must be way more stressed out than he is.
Become a participant on The Swan. Where do I start? As someone who partially watched it (thank you for fast forward, TiVo), I am allowed an opinion, and that opinion is MY LORD, PEOPLE. To think there was a time I was shocked by 'Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire'...
Work as Director of the CIA. Even more stressful, his future plans are to "...be a senior with [my son] in high school," Tenet said. "We're going to go to class together. We're going to party together. I'm going to learn how to instant message his friends -- that would be an achievement." Wait, scratch that. I think his son has the more stressful job now.
Next up, challenges I actually want to take on!