In Memoriam

This past sunday I had to put Boo-Boo Kitty to sleep (we was 19!!) as his kidneys were failing and it was just an all around sorry state of affairs with the poor little guy. He had pretty much lost use of his back legs and was losing use of his front paws rapidly (by the time Sunday morning rolled around he wasn't even dragging himself around anymore, he was just very limp and prostrate on the couch). This all started early last week with a sort of steady decline over a short few days. On Friday last, he refused food (I think the last time I actually saw him eat anything was Wednesday or Thursday) and I knew there was nothing more to be done when on Sunday, he refused to drink water. Starting Friday night, I had to bring water to him in a small dish, and though he had received a subcutaneous fluid injection at the vet on Friday, he was still thirsty as ever (a result of renal failure, I imagine). So this will serve as a little memorial testament to my favorite cat in the whole world ever (alright well, Magee was pretty damn good too, not to mention Boonday and Bad Kitty). Despite the fact that he was LOUD (apparently the cat doesn't fall far from the staff he keeps *ahem* that would be me) and sometimes annoying (again, apparently not falling far from the company he keeps) I will certainly miss him very much.
Thanks to Popi (my dad) who came with me and supported me during this sad time. He stayed right there through the whole thing and was ready really quickly when I called him on Sunday to say that I needed to take him up on the offer to accompany me to Aminal Medical Center. Initially, I was really trying to be a big girl and all, thinking that I could "handle it" on my own , but I rapidly realized thst I needed to just throw that idea right out the window as I was just a giant, teary, sniffling mess and really did need support. So, Thanks, Popi!!
And I must say that the people and Animal Medical were pretty great. They took me right away and I didn't have to wait around in the waiting area. Pretty much as soon as I walked in, when I informed them that I had to euthanize, they put us right in an exam room and we were seen by a doctor within ten minutes. They also are willing to send a bill, instead of adding insult to injury by making you pay right then and there. Considering how bad it could have gone and what a debacle it could have been, it was all very smooth. Except for the freaking out and crying a lot between Saturday and Sunday, the whole thing went off without a hitch.

So, bye-bye Boo-Boo Kitty!!! We'll miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on birthing

As I am not a mother, nor have I ever had a baby (which would actually relegate me to the category of motherhood by default, no?) the title might seem a bit strange to those of you who know me. You might well be considering now (at this very moment even) if that actually IS a cat you hear in the background while we're on the telelphone and not a screaming child as you had originally supposed. Side Note: it's really scary how much like a baby the cat can sound at times. End Side Note. However, though I am not a "traditional" mother in the strictest sense of the word (as already mentioned, I have no human babies), I am of the opinion that one can birth ideas, creative endeavors and other such sorts of things. Even paintings, sculptures, collages, guache <---- (one of my personal favorites) and/or books if you are so inclined. I think that this is part of the reason why men are so interested in creating things: they will never have the opportunity to have life come forth from their bodies, and are thusly forced to come up with some surrogate method of metaphorically giving life to something. They are rampantly (and at times indiscriminately) involved in invention, creation, innovation, and art.

Murphy's law in action

the highlights of my day:

1. I was late to my morning class as I had to dig my car out this morning (ask me again how much I LOVE the snow) and so I took the shovel with me to school (just in case I found myself in any other such situations that would be requiring me to dig out) but on the upside, I got a good workout at 8.30 in below freezing temperatures (ask me again how much I LOVE the snow)
2. My prof cancelled his classes today (even though he was in fact on campus...go figure) so I had a huge lapse of time staring me in the face (think six hours or better) however, I had to stick around to tutor at 12....
3. Now I'm in a quandry: it's 11 am.....Do I: a) Go home now and blow off tutoring only to return to school at 5 for my late class? (cause I'm thinking seriously, who's going to show up for tutoring in the freezing ugly weather especially if profs are cancelling classes at their discretion and whatnot) b) Do I stay on campus all day and find something to do in my off moments? c) Do stay for tutoring and go home for a bit afterwards, having to return for my late class? d) Is my late class even going to happen?

Needless to say it went down like this:

I chatted with the lady (Lori, she's really great!) in the European Languages and Literature Department for like a half hour.....we bantered back a forth speculating about the liklihood of Haller actually cancelling his class (will never happen....Hell would actually have to freeze over for that to happen, but it's cool, he's a really interesting and knowledgable professor, so I don't mind hanging around for his class). So after my little chat with Lori, I ran to the student union (but happily I got to leave my heavy bag full of books that I didn't end up needing AT ALL in the closet in the office) to grab a coffee.......came back to the office and picked up my stuff and then went to tutor (tutoring is in the same building as the ELL Dept so at least I didn't have far to go). As it turned out, it was good I hung out and amused myself because two (count them!! two!!) people actually showed up!! one hopeless case (but I mean hopeless) who's taking Ital 111 (we covered basic stuff but I mean really basic: articles, 1 elementary verb conjugation the verb "to be", nouns, adjectives, how to construct a sentence, how to answer a question, blah blah blah) and another girl (with whom I have had class before) who brought me a really interesting piece by Pico della Mirandola on humanism and the nature of god and god's relationship with man. Guess which was more entertaining for me?? HINT: it was not the basic verb conjugation of "essere".........
So I'm here at school (apparently, this is one of my off moments in which I had to amuse myself) waiting for 5 to come so I can go to class, learn, be educated and go home.

Alas,

Poor Yurik (alternately spelt Joreg, depending on what country you're from...not to mention the fact that I'm too lazy to make it over to the bookcase and find out how Shakespeare actually spelt it) I knew him well....
(ok well, maybe not so well, but it's always fun to quote Shakespeare and I try to whenever I can....he appreciates it, I'm sure)

I have reached a very important conclusion: Life is too short _____________________ <------ fill this in like a mad lib (you remember mad libs, right?). Alternately, there really could just be a period at the end of that sentence (fragment) and it can stand all by its little old self just fine.

Life is too short to bumble through it with no direction. In the rare case that you are under the mistaken impression that in fact, you have no direction, you inevitably find something that you so completely and utterly did not count on, which then leads you into doing something else (thus you are now not on your same directionless path as before) and **POOF** there, now you have direction! TA DA!!! wasn't that cool? ok ok it wasn't really, but humor me will you?
anyway......I have been so miserable lately and I wonder if it wasn't something in the water (the horrendous, slightly green, probably radioactive, certainly chlorinated, delicious, upstate mountianly purified (is that anything to do with computerly generated?), lead-ridden, toxic waste laden, sparklingly polluted New York City water) but alas, it isn't something in the water; rather, it was something in my heart (blackened like chicken<-----what's with the recurrent theme of chickens recently??) that was pulling me under. I have managed to figure out an excellent way to relieve myself of a psychically oppressive situation recently: I have been released (thankfully) from my services at my former "job" (though admittedly, it was more like a year-round day-camp for idiots).
This is simultaneously liberating and terrifying. I will be able to get SO much done now! I will be able to concentrate on school (from which I am on holiday Monday coming), I will be able to concentrate on making things (like I did today), I will be able to look for a job that will potentially further my actual career (which had nothing to do with what I was doing), I will be able to not develop any further weird allergic reactions or other health issues (I've discovered that exposure to toxic chemicals on a daily basis is not healthy, did anyone else know about this?), I will also be able to dedicate my energy to the things that really matter......
One of my famous quips about work (after actually having worked in an emergency room I felt completely justified in saying this) was that no one is waiting for a vital organ, a pint of blood, or the operation that will save their life: whatever it is, no one will die if it doesn't happen right at this instant. My job was famous for "catastrophes". Everything was tragic; a calamity; and wrong. Happily, I have a relatively thick skin, and thus was able to tolerate a lot (but I mean a lot) and upon reflection, I really wonder why I stayed there so long. I mean, I really wonder......
But, the nightmare is well behind me and the only two thoughts I have about this are:
Onward...........and UPWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's to new beginnings, folks...........................................

in the mind of the mind....

I have heard it said that the blogs are not interesting in the absence of accompanying imagery. I do believe that this is not always the case. I have read many a blog that is word-heavy and image-light which I have found interesting/funny/inspiring (and no, I don't just say that because I am heavy on words and light on images). While I can appreciate a fantastic photo or an inspiring image, I must confess that there is something cathartic in the act of writing, and of course then there is reading others' catharsis that too can be inspiring. Maybe I should take a lesson from Susan and focus my attention on the richness of images around me.......she recently completed a thirty-day project that I found particularly inspiring.........
Creativity is often elusive; creativity is often staring you in the face from behind your own eyes; creativity is all around, everywhere, all the time; sometimes to find it you have to look out, and sometimes you have to look in. I think it takes a special sort to delve into the realm of the unexplored, to be daring, to try something new (even it has been done by others a million times over, if it's your first go at it, it's new to you), to try something old again as thought it was something new, to challenge yourself and stretch your own limits....
I have a professor who has said that it is poetry that stretches the limits of language: poetry's responsibilty is to take the language to a place it has never been before (this is my interpretation/extrapolation of what this prof has had to say). In word: experimentation. Life is art is life is art. And life, like art, like poetry, like all its creative expressions, is about experimenting and pushing the limits......

being alive is a challenge sometimes

but thankfully, now is not one of those times.......................
I present my list of good things that are right now:
1. I am back online at home (for five minutes) thanks to someones connection named, appropriately, "home"
2. I have finally figured out the correct use of the apostrophe <----------that is not an English word, though it has been corrupted sufficiently to make it pronouncable in English 3. This Stygian day is drawing rapidly (and perhaps vapidly) to a close, though today actually wasn't so hellish as days in the recent past have been 4. The house is warm and cozy......I really love it when the house is warm and cozy 5. I resume classes on Monday and I am really looking forward to this semester: not only will I be attending a class on the history of the Italian language, and a class in discovery and invention (for which I am required to read the travels of one very shiny Marco Polo) but I will also be tutoring level I and II Italian students 6. I can go back to the gym come Jan 29th!! WOO HOO!! 7. I got a chance to read up on all the fugly messes at Go Fug Yourself this afternoon
8. I have resolved with myself that I am not going to have any cookies until my birthday (which is looming in the not to distant future and this birthday is the big bad 30 I want to run screaming out of my life now) that way they will taste better and be more deserved. (we'll just see how long this lasts)
9. My dental work is nearing completion........one more (okay, maybe two) appointment and it's finished
10. I am learning to relax (and hoping that come one day, I'll be so relaxed as to be approaching a waking coma)
there, that's it from here for now

since Frank, truer words have not been spoken...

"Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others."
- Edward Abbey

Thanks, Frank for speaking the truth

The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.
- Frank Zappa

me-me oh my

Well, thank you Maritza for allowing me this opportunity to give you six new (and possibly interesting) tidbits about me.....strange? not so sure about strange.....you know what someone said: one man's strange is another man's perfectly normal psychotic behavior.
so here goes:
6 strange things about me...
1. I used to eat yellow onions as though they were apples when I was a little kid. This habit didn't last very long (thankfully!); when I was a little girl my parents used to keep onions and potatoes in a bin at the bottom of the food pantry. The pantry faced an outside wall and so was cool....I guess it was sort of like a root cellar if you will. Well, maybe it was because I tried the potatoes and was disillusioned with those (have you ever tried a piece of raw potato?? EW!! is all I can say), or maybe because they were pretty much the only food I could reach on my own (I don't think I was yet tall or heavy enough to open the fridge by myself), but apparently I picked up the habit of eating onions. I'd peel off the brown papery skin and eat the onion. Wacky, isn't it?
2. I loathe ugly feet. I think the condition of a persons feet says a lot about them. The really long index toe always remindes me of aye-ayes middle fingers.....and I always have these visions of people with that toe really long digging in rotting tree trunks for bugs....much like the aye-ayes do with their one long and bony middle finger. The aye-aye lives in Madagascar and is the only creature of its kind (in Madagascar, anyway) that digs into tree trunks (they don't have to be rotting) for bugs to eat. I think people with ugly feet should never wear open-toed shoes.
3. I have the soundtrack to my life playing in my head all the time and often am more than willing to share it with others. While this may not be so strange, as others may have this very same thing happening, I am the only one I know who spontaneously bursts into song (in the most inopportune places). Sometimes, I just can't help it. The situation, the person I'm with, or something they say will remind me of a song, and I will just start singing or humming the tunes that pop into my head......now that's like hypnotizing chickens...
4. I am a sort of exhibitionist....I don't really care who sees me naked. Naked is natural and I have no shame about my body (a body-image complex, maybe.... but shame? no way)
5. I find repetitive noises annoying to the point of having to make them stop. I HATE my alarm clock and would like nothing more than to throw it out the window. I cannot abide the repetition of it and the loud, jarring sound it makes. I find it impossible to concentrate with repetitve noises going on in the background. I know that the brain is supposed to habituate to background noise, but mine won't do it. If the noise is really low or off in the distance someplace I have to get away from it because I know I can't make it stop. I have more of an issue with high frequencies that with low frequencies, but still....repetitive noises make my skin crawl.
6. I am insane about keeping my fingernails short. I hate long fingernails and think they make my hands look like meathooks. Long nails look very nice on others, but somehow they make my hands look like giant paws. Not that having paws is a bad thing in and of itself, but I object to looking at my arms and seeing them terminate in paws...............VERY disturbing......
and here's something else, just for good measure...............
7. I miss my tail.

the realm of the humdinger

I'm a mucky pup, I'm a mucky pup, I'm a real humdinger of a Mucky Pup.....................WHAT??

can you hear the needle scratching on the record now? rewind.................

Hello Gentle Reader,

I am writing to you to let you know that I miss you so and that things are fine here. Your brother says "Hi" and he loves you.

What is she talking about??!?! --I have no idea, but it doesn't make any sense whatsoever

can you hear the needle scratching on the record again?? fast forward this time...........

P.S. I am wearing the Endpaper Mitts as we speak (because the cafe is freezing) and no, I didn't quit my job....there's a really quaint cafe near where I work that has wifi (unlike my house O curse you you unsharing network havers!!) so I get to play for a bit without the annoyance of people looking over my shoulder at work while I type and post things and check my e.mail and proofread Boccaccio (you remember Giovanni, right?)

With all my love and kisses,

Mucky Pup

and the best line I came up with this week was by far: "Curse you, o depth! Why could I have not just been a sex kitten??" H wanted to know if this was from a movie.....sadly, not Dietmar....I made that up all by myself! I could go and write screenplays for a living, no?

well clearly I have lost my mind...but one more thing before I go.....

Dana,

For crunchy's sake woman, what did you say???

Maritza,

Thanks I will certainly tell him (and his hair) just as soon as I can....

Susan,

Allora, siediti e aspettare perche' Alitalia non puo' aiutarti per anni. I tuoi valiggi sono persi! ;-)

Tanti Bacini a tutti voi!!

I could have

spent the afternoon at home today........REALLY I could have. But sadly, I do not have such luxurious opportunities. Rather, I am stuck in the hell that is my job.though upon reflection I suppose it could be worse. WAIT!! I'm wracking my brain for a way in which it could be worse, and well, I got nuthin. I'm coming up empty....with niente, nada, zero, zip, gatz.....somehow, except for the I-can't-pay-my-bills part, unemployment is not looking so unattractive at the moment. Ah, to be young again (this said by the girl who is actually younger than methusela's grandmother). And since I clearly have nothing interesting to say, I'll just shut up for the time being and be back later (perhaps in another language next time as I KNOW how everyone adores that HAHAHA)

Endpaper Mitts

Endpaper Mitts
Originally uploaded by tresjoli.

Look at how perfect these fingerless gloves are!!! and LOOK HOW EVEN AND NOT UNEVEN THEY ARE as well!!! (now that's a bit redundant is it not?) Seriously though, a BIG, LOVING, NAD MOST HEARTFELT THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! goes to Maritza for these she is a friend above and beyond the call of friendship. And clearly, she thinks quite highly of me as well since these were a Christmas gift from her. They are 100% Pure delicious Alpaca (who doesn't love Alpaca?? Okay, maybe those of you who are allergic to Alpaca coughcoughMaritzacoughcough) and happily, with the discovery of Maritza's recently developed alpaca aversion, I inherited a bunch of alpaca yarn!! Apparently, 'tis the season of the allergy as I have a peanut problem that I never had before.....but the last two times that I've eaten peanut butter, I swelled up like a balloon (Maritza says that the alpaca thing is sneezing runny nose itchy and watery eyes, the standard fiber allergy reaction) of course, leave it to me to eat peanuut butter and get cankles......
oh the injustice!! but It's totally ok..........
why? you might be asking o gentle reader............
here is why: THE FABULOUS FINGERLESS GLOVES!!!!!!!!!!

Once upon a midnight dreary

while I pondered weak and weary..........I thought to myself.....DAMN! the Weather is UG-LEE today!! (and by the way, Ug Lee bears no relation or resemblance to General-lee, Spike Lee, Happil-lee, or Snugg-lee....) PUN PUN PUN PUN PUN! oh the horrors!! wow..........I'm surprised anything that hideous could issue forth from my head.......slightly scary isn't it?
As a result of my negligence in posting, I present you with some links to what I have actually been doing with myself since school has been out
First, there's Project Gutenberg a subdivision of Distributed Proofreaders
Then, there's my recreational reading
and then there's my big career change ........(who knows how that will work out)
and I've actually been knitting!! I even made an appearance at the tuesday night group! no one recognized me!!!!!!!!!! (kidding)
I promise to post photos as soon as I can.........maybe I will even have internet at home again........wifi is down..........I think the persons who were graciously letting me pirate their connection have caught on to the fact that others were accessing the internet as a result of their hospitality and decided it was high time that the free ride be so much water under the bridge and we can now only make obscure references to it in a loving and lamenting manner
Not to mention the lovely photos of my NEW FINGERLESS GLOVES THANK YOU MARITZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She really is the bestest friend ever..........

Antidiluvian, Antebellum, Ante victoriam ne canas triumphum

Before the flood, Before the war and well, as for the last "Ante" I've seen this translated in a few ways........the closest literal translation I could come up with is: Before victory, do not count on triumph....and the award for least literal translation goes to......(drumroll please.....): Give every man thine ear but few thy voice. Do not ask me how they came up with this one, for I haven't a clue...........
In other news.....I got straight A's this semester...and I must say, that I will really miss Giovanni .........even though I think he may still be lurking under my bed betwixt and between the many dustbunnies........(hey, he's not judging though) ah well, they'll provide padding and insulation so he won't get a chill (never mind the fact that he's been dead for oh, 650 years or so and probably isn't terribly concerned with catching a draft)
I am quite excited about next semster's classes.......discovery and invention, history of the italian language, italian poetry, and advanced composition. I forsee much writing in the near future......having nothing to do with my psychic abilies but rather the profs I know I'm going to have and the classes......I mean composition? what else is there besides writing? But I am sure I will have fun (who wouldn't have fun with discovery and invention?)

tutti in sciopero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

le mie parole piu preferite nel mondo HAHAHAHAHHA
scherzo scherzo!!

Allora, sto leggendo un buon libro che si chiama La Leggenda della Redenda Tiria. mi sono dimenticata il nome del autore....ma dammi qualche secondo....sono sicura che mi viene in mente........se no mi viene in mente, significa che sono invecchiata ogni giorno in piu'!!

I actually need to get my hands on the book as it isn't in my possession at the moment...................

VII.2

Riassunto della seconda novella della settima giornata

Ci sono quattro personaggi importanti in questa novella: Madonna Filippa, suo marito Rinaldo dei Pugliese, il suo amante Lazzarino de Guazzagliotri, e il giudice il nome del quale non sappiamo. Madonna Filippa è stata scoperta nelle braccia del suo amante da suo marito. Il marito diventò arrabiato e lui vuole ucciderli, ma quando pensava alla punizione che gli potrá succedere a se stesso se lui uccidesse loro, lui si è fermato. Durante questo tempo, nel paese di Prato, c’è il statuto che dice che se una donna tradisce suo marito, o se lei è una prostituta, la punizione è bruciare. Poi, quando Rinaldo ha scoperto che sua moglie lo ha tradito, loro vengono davanti a un giudice. Perché Madonna Filippa è così bella, il giudice non vuole punirla, e le dice che deve scegliere le sue risposte attentamente. La donna ripose al giudice di chiedere a suo marito se lei non gli aveva dato il piacere ogni volta che ha chiesto. Il marito ripose che si, infatti, lei gli ha dato il piacere ogni volta e completamente. Allora, lei chiede al giudice che lei doveva fare con il piacere che rimane, buttarlo ai cani? E madonna Filippa dice che questa è la sua ragione per avere un’amante. Tutta la gente da Prato è stata al tribunale durante la causa e alla fine, tutti loro sono felici perché la donna ha vinto con la sua furbezza. Così, la legge è cambiata e ora, e solo la prostituzione può essere punita dal bruciare dal morte.

Summary of the second story of the seventh day

There are four important characters in the story: Madonna Filippa, her husband Rinaldo dei Pugliese, her lover Lazzarino de Guazzagliotri, and the judge whose name we don't know. Madonna Filippa is discovered in the arms of her lover by her husband. The husband becomes enraged, and wants to kill them both, but when he thinks of the punishment that may befall him, he stops himself. During this time, in the village of Prato, there was a statute that said if a woman betrays her husband or if a woman is a prostitute, the punishment is burning alive. So, when Rinaldo discovers that his wife has betrayed him, they go before a judge. Because Madonna Filippa is so beautiful, the judge doesn't want to punish her, and he tells her that she must choose her answers carefully. The woman responds the judge to ask her husband if she didn't give him full pleasure each and every time he asked for it. The husband responds that of course, she had, in fact, given him pleasure every time he asked her for it. So, Madonna Filippa asks the judge what she was to do with all the love she had left over, was she to throw it to the dogs? And Madonna Filippa claimed that this was her reason for having a lover. All the people of Prato were in the court during her trial, and in the end, they were all happy because the woman had won, thanks to her cunning. So, the law was changed and now, it is only prostitution that can be punished with burning to death.
(Note: As far as I know, this law is still in effect in the town of Prato.)

small miracles

this one would be that I'm still awake........
I have determined that I have only slept something like 11 of the last 36 hours...........can anyone say exhaustion?? But I must forge ahead and write a brief (how come no matter how I spell that it never looks right?) summary of novella seconda dalla settima giornata (VII.2) del Decamerone .........This one was a particularly great one.......when I finish the summary I'll post it with a translation

so I am now officially an anarchist.......I have stolen something from somone who stole it as well........this comes from everyone's favorite Knit Witch
and now, for the theivery.........in the immortal words of Maurice Sendak: Let the wild rumpus begin!!

48 things

1. FIRST NAME? Jolie

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not really.....My aunt had a friend whose name was Jolie, but considering how her life turned out (the friend not the aunt......although.....), I'm thinking that my parents just liked the name

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Last evening I got choked up, but no real tears......the last time there were real tears was last friday

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes, it depends on my mood, speed, ink and writing implement

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? I don't eat meat

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yes

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Unequivocally

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cold: Grape Nuts Hot: Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? If they're my combat boots yes otherwise, no

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Cioccolato e Nocciola

14. SHOE SIZE? 36/6.5

15. RED OR PINK? Crimson

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? The fact that I sometimes hurt those that I love without meaning to

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss everyone who's gone in different ways

18. WHAT FOOD WILL GET YOU OUT OF BED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT? There isn't much that will get me out of bed in the middle of the night, so I would have to say the food that's on fire would be the food to get me out of bed in the middle of the night

19. WHAT COLOUR TROUSERS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
blue jeans red t-shirt no shoes

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? almonds and dried cranberries

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the refrigerator

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Violet
SIDE NOTE: I ate a red crayon once when I was little because I wanted that red to be inside me.............the crayon tasted terrible

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Lavender

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mother

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTCE ABOUT PEOPLE? it depends, what's most apparent usually, their third eye......

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU STOLE THIS FROM? Absolutely....She's great!

27. FAVOURITE DRINK? Water

28. FAVOURITE SPORT? Auto racing or motocross

29. EYE COLOUR? Dark Brown

30. HAT SIZE? Small

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No

32. FAVORITE FOOD? The one that's in my mouth

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scary movies with happy endings......I especially love it when the annoying white girl with the nasal voice gets hacked to bits!! Now that's a happy ending!!

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Both

37. FAVOURITE DESSERT? Chocolate mousse cake

38. WHAT SIDE OF THE BED DO YOU SLEEP ON AND WHY? The outside because I need to be able to fling myself overboard in the middle of the night

39. IF YOU DIDN'T MAKE THE DECISION TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE A FAMILY, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING TODAY? What??? I got married?? DAMN!!!!!! No one told me!!!!!!!! I hate it when this happens!!!

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?
Il Decamerone -- Giovanni Boccaccio
Se una notte d'inverno, un viaggiatore -- Italo Calvino
Fontamara -- Ignazio Silone
Windows -- Harald Franzen
Novelle Rusticane -- Giovanni Verga

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't have a mousepad

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? NOTHING I don't watch TV

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Good music, rain, a beating heart, my lover's voice

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? The Rolling Stones

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Italy (physically) lightyears (mentally)

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? All my talents are special

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? New York NY

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Nobody, I stole it from another blog :-) thanks Colette

roots and tubers

I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up - they have no holidays.
- Henny Youngman
I, too, once wanted to become an atheist, but didn't give up because they had no holidays: I gave up because it gave me no sense of connection (save but to other atheists who are a rather dark and brooding bunch) to something greater. That for me is an important feeling -- the sense of connectedness, of belonging, of knowing.......which is not to say that I know which way is the RIGHT way (all capitals and italics!) but i do know for sure which is the right way for me. I think that is all anyone can ask for: knowing which is the right way for them.
I am feeling less funky by far.........and finally made it to the Hopper show at the Whitney. We tried to go yesterday, but the line was out the door and so we went to the Museum of Natural History instead. We visited the Hall of Biodiversity, Ocean Life (I LOVE squid!! and all the other tasty cefalopods!! YAY cefalopods!! I am also a fan of bracheopods, just for the record) then went to visit Geology. They have some great information on volcanoes, plate tectonics, mountain formation and all the exciting geothermal activities that we know and love.
Then today (which did start out a little funky......damn those clouds and blue hats!!) we made it to the Whitney. Hopper was great!! Also managed to see the Picasso show which was sort of disappointing, Kiki Smith who is a little weird, but some of her stuff is okay (I particularly enjoyed what has come to be affectionately known as the "Circle of Life".......just a bunch of plexiglass sperm arranged in a circle on a platform on the floor) while some of her stuff is just disturbing, and finally to the Josef Albers and László Moholy-Nagy -- Bauhaus exhibit which was really interesting. We also made it to see paintings by Mark Grotjahn which were pretty interesting as well. We discovered that you can tell a lot about a person based on the paintings they like and dislike (and also by their favorite type of volcano)..................

a tree in a world of flowers

So since it's already November (clearly this is not the place to visit for late-breaking news stories) I have realized that I must transplant my rosemary and lavender plants if they are to survive the winter. I also must transplant myself if I am to survive the winter. But I digress............
The internet connection here has been sketchy at best recently and I'm thinking it's the icky weather (I know all these clouds for all these days in a row are sure making me sketchy) but happily, the bad connection forces me to do work and not spend time on the internet (of course, most of the time when I'm browsing, it involves some work project or other). Unfortunately, the bad connection is not conducive to updating here...............
I realized recently that I really miss writing. I mean sure, I always have lots of writing to do for school (especially with all those papers that are due) but it's not the same as writing for yourself. I also realized recently that I really detest bureaucracy. It's just one of those annoying things that makes life more difficult and is prone to constructing all sorts of obstacles and barriers to not only success, but also to general enjoyment of things that would ordinarily be quite fun and exciting.
Well, eventually I'll get out of my funk and be happy again...........
come talk to me after I've gotten some serious knitting done tonight (might I actually finish Hot Lava??) and/or after graduation, after I find a new job, after I stop eating too much chocolate, after I've managed to get a decent night's sleep, after the clouds clear up and the sun shines again.............

successful sleep and other novelties

So I really believe that someday I will be able to sleep again.
Sleep is something that I really miss.....but really........So my big prediction for the weekend is that I will sleep or at least nap once in 48 hours......................I'm not hopeful that my prediction will come to fruition......SIGH
I also predict that I might (might) be able to FINALLY get to the Edward Hopper show at the Whitney Museum which is open late on Friday night (not that that really means anything) and then there's Saturday afternoon.
What I really miss is not having a full time job and going to school and actually having a free afternoon during the week in which to explore my lovely New York City and take full advantage of all the cultural bounties that NYC has to offer.........aaaahhhhhh yes, the noise, the dirt, the nuisance.....home sweet home.....kidding, of course. But not kidding about the free afternoon thing.....
So clearly I haven't had very much time to write or to go and do anything interesting (besides schoolwork and that's not always interesting) though the other night I did manage to make it to a poetry reading of my friend Christine's which was fun.
Boccaccio is fun (fun? did I just say that Boccaccio is fun? clearly I've lost my mind) and always coming up with new and interesting ways to write in Italian. (yes, new and interesting as told by the monster in the Bugs Bunny cartoons........I think the name was Gossamer......you know the big orangey guy with the fur parted at the top of his giant head wearing chuck taylors or some reasonable fascimile thereof). I think he (Boccaccio not Gossamer) really went to town on the whole "watch me construct a sentence where the subject is at the end and doesn't belong there because this IS NOT LATIN" concept......YAY Giovanni!! It makes the sentences really difficult to parse and if the sentences are difficult to parse, imagine how difficult they are to understand. But I admit, I kind of like it: it presents a challenge, and is entertaining (not a combination often found anywhere these days.....though he did write in the 1300's so I guess that doesn't really qualify as "these days" does it?)