Nov14

Two good books to look forward to!

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Two good books to look forward to!

Well, two books that begin their own series …

Gotta read Hunger Games fast, too, because there’s a movie coming out and I have a policy about seeing a movie before reading the book it was based on. Only broke it for LotR (sorry Tolkien, but hey, I did an independent study on your Elvish languages of Quenya and proto-Quenya, so we’re good, right?)
Trailer for Hunger Games:
Apr21

A Sonnet for the Fool

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A Sonnet for the Fool

(I’m cross-posting this from my Tarot blog.)

This card and its description remind me of a poem (a sonnet in iambic pentameter) that I wrote way back in my senior year of high school:

I stand upon the rough edge of the peak,
The rock cuts into my bare feet, fragile.
Above, through lowly clouds, I wish to seek
A thing that, when I see, will make me smile.

The ocean roars, and now my trembling knees
Do threaten to undo themselves, and I
Will fall into the merciless, foul seas,
And that much further I’ll be from the sky.

But what will happen when I leap in faith?
Will wings of angels catch me ere I fall,
Or will the chains of earth be as a wraith
And curse me to a never-ending brawl?

I can’t resist the urge to leap, to try,
So powerfully I hear the call to fly.

Sep14

Being a Productive Adult

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Being a Productive Adult

My sister sent this link to me. I feel it captures my attitude towards responsibilities quite well.

A snippet (minus the author’s masterful illustrations):

But a few times a year, I spontaneously decide that I’m ready to be a real adult.  I don’t know why I decide this; it always ends terribly for me.  But I do it anyway.  I sit myself down and tell myself how I’m going to start cleaning the house every day and paying my bills on time and replying to emails before my inbox reaches quadruple digits.  Schedules are drafted.  Day-planners are purchased.  I stock up on fancy food because I’m also planning on morphing into a master chef and actually cooking instead of just eating nachos for dinner every night.   I prepare for  my new life as an adult like some people prepare for the apocalypse.

Continued here …

Sep12

Something Every Weekend

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Something Every Weekend

I have not always been the type to have tons of social plans and outings. I usually prefer evenings at home with a book (or, as it is more recently, with my guitar), or watching a movie or some TV with B. However, lately I’ve been making concerted efforts to have a life outside of school, despite very short evenings (due to long days) and weekends spent juggling some more work and chores. My plan: I need to have something to do every weekend. Not only is it something to look forward to on rough school days, but this gives me something to think about other than my students when I’m not at work. In addition, I get to socialize with grown-ups by doing grown-up things (sooooo necessary).

This weekend: going out to lunch with a friend.

Next weekend: Renaissance Faire with some of B’s relatives and his parents

Weekend after: Mabon/Autumnal Equinox ceremony and celebration

Weekend after that: 5 year anniversary plans (yay!), including dinner out and classical music concert at the Kennedy Center

Aug14

The Birdman

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The Birdman

While on our recent visit to Western Mass, we went to lunch at a local country market (our favorite place for sandwiches), and happened to sit outside at the same time that a bird show for a kid’s birthday party was being set up. (This man’s license plate very clearly stated the presenter’s title of “BIRDMAN,” which we thought was excellent.)

It was actually a great show, featuring birds who were all injured in some way or another. Had we gone to a zoo and saw a bird presentation, we might have seen more flying but we wouldn’t have seen them nearly so close. Though only a row of people were seated in front of us (not including the front row of children seated on the ground), the birdman kindly brought some birds to us in the “back row” so we could see the birds from a mere foot or two away. Gorgeous!

I’m usually the camera person, but was eating ice cream and so B took these photos.

Birdman with his oldest friend, a golden eagle

Aug12

Visit to Western Mass

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Visit to Western Mass

Last weekend B and I went to Western Massachusetts, where we moved from a year ago. It was great to be back again, and I couldn’t stop ogling the pastoral scenery, complete with a backdrop of little wooded mountains (the ones that I refer to as hills, which they are in comparison to the Rockies back home).

Here are some photos from the trip:

Driving around in Western MA

View from the Quabbin Reservoir

With B at the Quabbin Reservoir -- B looks friendly as ever

With B again at the Quabbin Reservoir

B and our friend J, who was kind enough to host us. Both of them are wearing college orientation shirts (different years of course). Most of our T-shirts seem to be college orientation shirts from attending and working at the college.

With our friend J at the Quabbin Reservoir

I was very sad to realize that my camera was set to a small photo size for these photos, otherwise I’d be making prints of the ones with B & me ASAP. We seem to have under 10 photos of us together in our entire time of dating, sigh.