Loving Nerds, Still

I was back, but now I'm gone again

2009-07-17T12:47:00.002-05:00

Hey! I've moved to wordpress, come find me!

heartsdorks.wordpress.com

Happy-Go-Lucky

2009-07-16T12:21:00.003-05:00

Maybe it was three weeks in paradise, or the sleep deprivation, or the overpriced bottle of inflight red wine I'd guzzled, or perhaps it was the sleeping man in the seat next to me, wearing my ring...whatever the cause, miles above the Pacific, I was in the perfect place to absolutely love Happy-Go-Lucky. And I did.

I'll be upfront...to many people, this will be one of those movies where “nothing happens” - and sometimes that can be really annoying, at least for me. I hate it when a film is trying to make some statement about how shitty life is and that flowers wilt and you turn 40 and realize you hate yourself...and so forth. So, in Happy-Go-Lucky there is no strict adherence to screenplay formulas and yet there is a lovely little plot with a beginning and an end and the promise that the lives of these characters goes on in the same subtle magical way.

Poppy, the impossibly optimistic and delightful central character, lives on the fringes of being too nice, too outgoing, too happy. And I began to see her a philosophical character – hey, if I was still in film school I'd call her a Christ figure and just maybe that oft-sought approving nod from Prof. Begley. No matter how irritating you may find such a bubbly happy person in real life, in this film world you cannot help but being moved by her adherence to the simple belief that putting goodness out in the world will make it better.

Sometime I can be like Poppy, joyous and eager to spread my goodwill to all. I love those times. I feel like the public education system is often conspiring against this, seeking to beat me into bitter submission and then I, likewise, beat my hundred-some pupils into similar meekness. Let's me honest, we teachers; we can complain.

Complaining can be so delightfully cathartic...and it is sometimes unquestionably necessary for one's sanity. But, looking on the brighter side of life, believing that one can change the world simply through kindness is, gosh, so empowering. Who among us doesn't harbor secret (or not so secret) aspirations to do just that...move the world towards a better place?

Oh, and by the way...I love you.

New Kind of Tired

2008-11-02T01:26:00.002-05:00

It is 2:26 (even though the clock says 1:26). I am at the Campaign for Change office. I feel like I am asleep, but I'm working sometimes with my eyes closed.

Letter to the Editor

2008-10-10T05:06:00.001-05:00

It's 5:23 am and I am preparing for another long day. I get to school by 6:00 to gear up to teach 7th grade social studies, stay for after school tutoring, then rush to my second job as canvass manager for the Campaign for Change.

I see these two positions as absolutely linked, especially in light of the tone and character of vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin's latest rally, where supporters were worked up into a racially charged frenzy climaxing with a reveler's call to kill Senator Obama; a suggestion that was not condemned by Gov. Palin. The fact that the McCain campaign is stooping this low, playing on the ugliest of human tendencies, shows their desperation and intentions for this country. At a time when the entire country is suffering in so many ways, they attempt distract and divide us with racist innuendo. So that fear of the other rather than hope for the future will inform our decision on November 4th.

I am choosing to believe that we have come farther than that. That the unchecked sentiment chanted at that rally represents a minority of the country. I have to. I teach 100 middle school students who had a very difficult time wrapping their head around racial segregation, perplexed by the idea that there would ever be a time that their co-existence in the classroom would not be possible. This innocence is the future. And it is for them that I am working these long, taxing days – to lose this election is to embrace the ugliness, the hatred and fear that has separated us. It would take us a thousand steps back from the distance this nation has come in dissolving the racial divisions that have plagued our history. We cannot afford that.

Sincerely,
Maura

Weekend Wrap Up

2008-09-28T18:12:00.005-05:00

Friday: Doctor's appt, gym, grocery store. Home for ravioli and the Office with Matt. Off to my aunt's house to watch the debate and drink wine.

Saturday: Up early - hung around house for a few hours then took my car to the shop to repair damage from hit and run. Headed downtown to stand in line for three hours:

Then in the rain for three more:
To see Barack Obama and Joe Biden:

The last time I was on that field, I heard Newt Gingrich speak (it was my grad school graduation). We left the field soaked to the bone and completely exhausted and came home to eat cheap pizza and watch Flight of the Conchords in our bathrobes.

Sunday: Up at 7 to write lesson plans and do laundry. Volunteered at Obama headquarters for several hours (I've been drafted as a volunteer recruiter/organizer), then jetted to the gym. Came home to make potato leek soup and hang out with Matt. More planning, then drove around to find copies of today's local paper.

Poot

2008-09-17T05:13:00.004-05:00

I apparently have the gassy kids this year.

Yesterday, one was covering his nose in the cafeteria. When I asked him what was wrong and he told me someone had farted; I offered him the kind of wisdom only a public school teacher can impart: whoever smelt it, dealt it.

GOP Fan Club President

2008-09-15T19:39:00.005-05:00

Today we started our elections unit. I told each class how I volunteered this weekend for one of the candidates, but I refused to reveal who. In my last class of the day the consensus was that I had volunteered and was planning to vote for McCain.

Their suspicious, they claimed, were confirmed when I allegedly "blushed" every time John McCain's name was mentioned.

I offered that I was either utterly embarrassed that they would assume I was a Republican or totally in love with John McCain. YOU BE THE JUDGE.

Weekend Wrap Up

2008-09-14T19:48:00.003-05:00

Friday: Gym, home for stir-fry and candlelight then In the Name of the Father and early-ish bedtime.

Saturday: Up early to shower and prepare for canvassing for Obama. 9:30 - 1:30 walked around Fredericksburg knocking on doors and being overly nice to shirtless McCain supporters. Iced coffee on Matt - home in lie down and be airconditioned before driving up to Arlington. Dinner with my fam, including FOB from China brother.

Went out with Matt and Jim to meet Amanda downtown. LOVELY time. Stayed out later than I have in ages.

Sunday: Hung with my mom all morning for some heart to hearting. Back to Fredericksburg by lunch time. Wrote lesson plans all day with a sprinkling of Office episodes here and there.

An-Ree

2008-08-12T10:21:00.003-05:00

My mom and I visited my sister in MA this weekend and this video pretty much captured my activities for the last three days. There's nothing like hearing your 19 month old nephew say your name - seriously he knows like 30 some words so that makes me pretty important. Also, judging by the way he says his own name, he might be French.

Guess What...

2008-08-05T12:51:00.003-05:00

We're engaged.

No!

2008-07-14T11:13:00.002-05:00

NPR is cutting the Bryant Park Project. I was ticked when the show first started airing as it knocked out the previous day's Diane Rehm from the 7-9 am time slot. But then I grew to love the show that always seemed nearly in step with pop-culture and pretty decent about delivering on news and kooky stories.

I will really miss it.

To Kill a Mockingbird

2008-07-11T08:32:00.002-05:00

Miso did it this morning. She's the most freaked out skiddish cat inside the house, but outside she is a crazy bird slaying huntress.

I love the novel with which this post shares its name. However, I must respectfully disagree with Atticus Finch. Don't get me wrong it was a horrible sight to see Miso traipse around our side yard with a still twitching bird tucked in her jaws, I don't condone the hunt and it makes me sad even though I tried to remind myself that its just nature out there. These mockingbirds around our house aren't the selfless, innocent creatures the papa of all papas so sweetly spoke of. Ours are the ones that cry through the night and dive bomb all moving things.

I thought, and I know this sounds cruel, but I thought that the mockingbirds might give our area a wider breadth and maybe stop waking me up at 6 am. Instead they saw the attack as an act of war and have spent the entire day squawking and swooping. I'm a little afraid to go outside.

Travel Reading

2008-07-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

Yay, hooray, we'll be in Ireland this time next week - we're traveling light, as in, everything we bring has to fit on our backs. I have already packed most everything and am up to about 12 pounds. I want to bring a good book, but just one.

I want to tote something engaging but not intense, taxing, or practical. I have a habit of lugging around theoretical books on education or meaty political biographies with lofty reading goals and then end up pining for a copy of US Weekly at the airport newsstand.

After reading Sarah Says... I am considering Twilight. It was quite a hit last year with my 12 year olds - that's about the reading level I'm up for for this journey. Any other suggestions (Rachel?)

A Healthy Home

2008-06-20T21:47:00.005-05:00

Today completes the last full work week of my Summer of Well and it was lovely. I did lots of yoga, tried several new classes at the gym and cleaned the hell out of my house. Guys, it is so clean, I don't think you appreciate what a big deal this is - anyone who's ever lived with me can attest to the fact that "tidy" is a modifier they'd never use on me.

But I worked my butt of and this house is gloriously clean. I mean no dust clean - food drops on the floor and you can still eat it clean, people wouldn't know we have two shedding cats (and two shedding humans) clean. And, not surprisingly, this clean clutter-free adobe makes me feel cleaner and lighter and happier.

Yesterday, Matt's generous parents drove up here and the three of us spent the day tearing apart the mess of a yard we've got. Here is what we've been living like for the past couple years (eee!):

I can explain, I can explain. I'm a bit of a city girl - before I moved here, I'd never had an actual mailbox (I thought the mailman put the flag up to announce, "Friend! You have mail!"), we had a sidewalk, not a yard. So while I've always had high hopes for our plot, I've done little to improve or even maintain our landscape. And Matt grew up doing tons of yard work (ask him about the time he ran way from home mid leaf raking), and does not care for it. Also, he has an unreasonable, yet endearing compassion for green things. And often refuses to weed because of the pain it will inflict on his botanical friends.

But his parents were heroes and radically deconstructed, repaired, and seriously improved our lot in life. Take a look.

So lovely! I can walk on the sidewalk again! And, inspired, I spent the today digging up a huge network of viney plants in the backyard in preparation for the patio my dad and I are going to install. Everyone's invited to the (vegetarian) BBQ!

The Summer of Well

2008-06-15T20:47:00.003-05:00

Friday was my last day of my first year of teaching. I walked out of that building clutching my lucky bamboo plant, a New Teacher of the Year plaque, a nasty red delicious apple (a parting gift from my departing principal), and a staggering (newfound) ability to let things roll off my back.

I-AM-DONE! (And...shhh...thrilled to be returning in the fall!)

I've debated how to spend the next two months, seriously considering a return to my mind-numbing, occasionally inappropriately awkward office job that would generously pad my savings account and finance our trip to Ireland. But I think I owe it to myself and all my wonderful friends and family members who don't have two months of freedom ahead of them, to seize the heck out of this vacation.

So I am proudly kicking off the Summer of Well - which will consist of all manner of good for my mind and body activities, which you my dear readers who accidentally stumbled upon this rarely updated blog will be privy to.

Tomorrow is major cleaning day and several hours at the gym - HOORAY!

Every Morning

2008-04-24T05:50:00.003-05:00

I've been eating a bowl of homemade granola with yogurt and fresh strawberries each morning. It. is. awesome. I feel like I can kick ass all day. The only drawback is I really have to poop about 5 minutes before the kids get to school.

A boy gave me roses today

2008-04-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

Because I have loved him for five years.

Whatever the Mess You Are, You're Mine, Okay

2008-04-16T05:52:00.003-05:00

We're heading down to Richmond tonight to see the New Pornographers. It was a shock to see that they were playing there, the former no-mans land of out of town music. Things are changing!

We were hoping to take our newly-public parents to-be friends out to dinner, but apparently they have better things to do than eat free food. We will be able to catch up with Matt's recently engaged sister and her fiance though, so Matt will inevitably endure a "big the damn cow" conversation on our sleepy midnight ride home.

I realize I never finished the daily recap of my trip to Chicago. The last too days were way more fun and did not leave anytime for blogging. There was much eating of delicious foods like SKILLET COOKIES and Belgium beer - only not at the same time.

Trip to Chicago: Day Two

2008-03-28T09:24:00.003-05:00

Yep, its windy here.

So Chris, it turns out, did get really sick. We spent the morning on her couch both pounding green tea and watching a slue of episodes of Season 5 of Friends. Since my language of love is acts of service, I wanted to spring into action and make homemade soup and fluff pillows and steep tea until her grossness vacated. But Chris is one of the most accommodating people ever and would not allow me to do anything for her.

Around three or four I got myself together and went downtown solo to see the Hopper Exhibit at the Art Institute. The museum is free on Thursdays after five. I got down there a little early and walked around in the pouring snow and managed to get myself turned around and headed MANY BLOCKS in the wrong direction.

I am totally a Pollyanna when I travel. I smile incessantly - even if it is just on the inside. Friends, it was pouring snow and rain yesterday but that didn't get me down...I was freezing but I kept moving, reminding myself, "Man! isn't great to be independent and see a new place and screw it if you get lost you can -" a taxi drove by a splashed a giant puddle of muddy ice cold water all over my shins...the seemingly only dry part of my lower half. Without thinking I entered the Starbucks, spent $4 on coffee and mustered up the positivity to face the street full of vengeful taxi drivers.

I got to AI, poked around saw lots of impressive "Caravaggesque" epic paintings (but not one Caravaggio) and didn't see the Hoppers because they'd cost me $20. Sorry art, I guess I don't love you that much.

My oldest and dearest friend (22 years of love) picked me up around 7:30 and we drank wine and ate hummus while we packed up her old kitchen and then spent the night in her new apartment talking in the dark for hours before we finally nodded off. I really pick the best times to visit my friends - one is laid up sick and the other is in the middle of a move.

Today it's the planetarium with my cousin and her kids then yoga and Ethiopian with Mari and hopefully no snow.

Trip to Chicago: Day One

2008-03-27T09:40:00.003-05:00

As you may or may not be aware, I am on SPRING BREAK (exclamation point!) and have carted myself off to brisk Chicago to visit two of my very favorite women in the world. But, so far it turns out Chicago has MORE to offer than two hot ladies down for pillow fights in their nighties.

After a really long train ride from the airport, Chris and I had tea while I scarfed any and all snack foods I could get my hands on. We caught up - chatting about bfs, marriage, self-doubt, taxes, and her life in the city. Then we met up with Tyler, who until yesterday was just "my internet friend," whose blog I read a lot when I worked my office job last year. Meeting people you've only ever interacted with through blog comments is sort of strange. You know so much more about them than you should at a first meeting. I found myself interrupting as he started stories to say, "oh yeah, I remember that..." which is totally strange. But I thought it was pretty cool, unless I read his blog later today and he mentions getting drinks with some asshole last night.

Then we ate FREE! burritos with a bunch of Chris's friends and prepared to go see those guys from the Sonic commercials do improv, but it was canceled so we went to a coffee shop and watched a handful of painful open-mic night performances before playing a rousing game of Scategories (which I won) at Gutherie's.

We headed for the L at midnight and waited forever for the train while an ex-theatre kid made everyone nervous by dancing along the beveled blue edge of the platform singing "The blue thing is your friend!!" - I woke up singing his taunting tune myself.

Chris is still asleep. I am afraid to wake her up because she was feeling ill last night and the last time we hung out she felt a little sick before she went to bed and woke up with the plague.

Today the plan is Hopper Exhibit, massages, yummy food, more chats, tea and then...???....it is SPRING BREAK after all.

Belated Weekend Wrap Up

2008-03-25T08:29:00.003-05:00

Friday: First day of SPRING BREAK. Lounged watching Project Runway and folding laundry and chatting online. Went to BodyPump class and had a fantastic time. Popped by Matt's work with a coffee treat and a great attitude having just been blasted through with endorphins. Home for house cleaning and pizza making. Dinner with Matt - then ice cream at Friendly's! Home to be disappointed by Lost, again.

Saturday: Up and achy from the gym. Lounged around the house while Matt studied for his midterm. Watched the Season Two finale of The Wire - considered sending a copy to J.J. Abrams. Drove up to my parents house for dinner with them and my finally home from China brother and his girlfriend. Dyed eggs with brother, his girlfriend, and Matt. Laughed an caught up with them. Finally, ate ice cream in bed with Matt while we watched Gone Baby Gone - impressed by Ben Affleck.

Sunday: Easter! Up for special breakfast and chocolate then to Mass with amazing music from the choir (which included my mom!). Home to prepare for dinner and guests. Played tangrams
and had a typical loud, laughter-rich Wilson family get-together with my cousins and aunt. Said goodbye to Matt before being apart for a week. Hung out with my brother, then went to bed.

Doing Something Right

2008-03-21T08:35:00.003-05:00

Thursday was the last day of school before a 10-day spring break (but, ha! we've given our little stinkers three projects to busy themselves with over the vacation). The last class at the end of the week is always a real challenge - one I liken to herding cats (it is surprising how much I relate to those fictional catboys). The last class before a long break is infinitely more maddening and just before it we had a pizza party (remember how thrilling those were?) to celebreate the fact that my math remediation class had raised over $1000 for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. There they were served caffeinated beverages and a hardy dose of unconditional praise.

With dilated blood vessels and inflated egos, those kids clamored into my classroom for 84 sweet minutes, in which I did my best to totally pump them up about graphing supply and demand and determining the equilibrium price, which, excuse me, please, is totally thrilling. They were more with me than I would expect given then circumstances when my principal came in to observe for a few minutes. When she scooted towards the door and whispered on the way out, "You've been selected as our New Teacher of the Year."

It's been one of those reflective weeks where I've looked at some of the on the spot decisions that I've made and have been disappointed by them. But I feel like teaching is about learning way more than it is about disseminating content. I am a better teacher than I was when I started in August and perhaps the fact that I do not feel like there is still so much to learn is a sign that I am doing something right.

Thanks for the nod, it feels pretty great.

Weekend Wrap Up

2008-03-09T11:25:00.004-05:00

Friday: Happy hour farewell for a colleague, to Matt's office to play with baby kitties, downtown to see cousin's art opening, quick bite, then off to Guitar Hero party to show off Matt who completely pwnd everyone there. Hope for lat night Friday Lost viewing ritual.

Saturday: Up for waffles and snuggling, gym with Matt and grocery run in a deluge. Watched the Wire then went into a cleaning frenzy. Fancy dinner of risotto and salmon and more Wire. Late night hot tub/water slide rendezvous at the gym then home for a pomegranate martini and making out.

Sunday: Up for whole wheat and oat french toast, floppy laying around - cursed losing an hour, gym for Pitaiyo, home for spinach/tomato/zucchini black bean burritos and plantains. Sunset tea/chai on the front porch. Then maybe a movie?

xom

My New Life

2008-03-09T10:33:00.003-05:00

I rolled over this Sunday morning to read 8:30 on my alarm clock - this is a full three hours of decadent sleeping in as I usually rise at 5:30 to mopishly scramble to my outstretch yoga mat before I shower, eat, and drive to school.

When I worked any one of my office jobs, I'd hardly dream of coming in early and certainly if I did it was with the intention of leaving early as well. Now getting in on time makes me a bit nervous and leaving at the end of my contract hours has happened a total of one times.

There is a lot to complain about when you are a teacher and the fact that I put in these 10 to 12 hour days could certainly be at the top of the list. But it is remarkable to have a job that makes you want to work that hard. I know that I'll be eating those words in a month or so - when the whole state is test-crazy and I am recramming information into 100 fatigued little brains. When spring has blanketed the 7th grade with a fresh dusting of hormones and attitude and when all I want to do at 3 pm is clad myself in tank tops and sunglasses and be outside for hours. But, right now, with this new life - I am busy and over-extended - but happy.

The Blah

2008-03-03T21:40:00.002-05:00

I had a drink with a friend this evening at a pub downtown and for some ridiculous reason we ordered bruscetta...at an Irish pub...brilliant. It came out on a sub roll and tasted like nothing.

I should have ordered the corn beef.

Weekend Wrap Up

2008-03-02T20:36:00.002-05:00

Friday: Stayed late at school to write up a kid for yelling that he'd "shank" someone. Home to melt on the couch then fancy dinner out with Matt and back to cuddle and watch the latest Lost.

Saturday: Breakfast out and big grocery run - home to read and then off to the gym with Matt. Big impressive dinner of homemade pad thai. Hang out with a handful of friends (and sampling of my "better than sex" Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie) - then a midnight viewing of my beloved Wire (don't click on that unless you don't care about being spoiled).

Sunday: Baked orange poppy seed muffins and noshed on them while we watched a thrilling Wire episode. Worked on various school related things then off to the gym again with Matt. Candle lit dinner of the best homemade pizza and a bottle of Alicante wine. Then we polished off season 1. I am totally enamored.

Hobbling Along

2008-03-02T09:27:00.002-05:00

I have abandoned and reclaimed this blog so many times, it's a pretty sure bet that no one is reading it anymore. I wish I was one of those people who commit to daily posts - but I really do want to have a commitment to writing each (or nearly each) day.

So here it is, promise number 476: I WILL WRITE. I will be happy to take bets on how long this will last.

Here are some highlights from the three and a half months since I last wrote:

Christmas was lovely, thanks for asking - Matt and I continue to split the holiday, which is becoming more of an emotional challenge
My nephew turned one - he continues to be the move talented and delightful baby to ever exist
A student put hand-sanitizer in my tea - I was devastated that this child disliked me that much - but, she's twelve and mean - I'm over it.
I applied to a teaching workshop in South Korea. It's two weeks in the summer, all expenses paid and totally exciting - I won't know until April if I've made the cut.
Like a million people I know are engaged - I am not one of them.
My boyfriend has bought me dozens of flowers.
I've donated to and volunteered to help Barack Obama's campaign
I bought a MacBook
I got new clear plastic rim glasses
I am well aware of the fact that the previous three admissions place me in the smug self-righteous hipster category
I've baked lots of pies

xo! m

Henry for Governor

2007-12-16T10:07:00.000-05:00

My students just completed a week and a half long project on the political process complete with campaign ads for the Virginia governorship steeped in propaganda. With a nod to my former profession as a training video editor, I taught them the basics of video editing and showed them what a pro can do with this sample video of the finest candidate on the ticket.

Today is My Birthday!

2007-12-03T10:16:00.000-05:00

I am 27 years young. I celebrated by getting up at 5:30 and eating a lot of fiber!

Here's a bit of a year in review:

Got a Master's degree
Gained a nephew
Lost my last living grandparent
Survived student teaching
Started (and stuck to) a rigorous workout regiment
Went to Las Vegas (lost $11)
Quit a mind-numbing office job
Gained a sanity-challenging teaching job
Saw a parent through bypass surgery
Had a religious experience at a Weakerthans show
Discovered flax seed

And some other stuff.

Happy day to all of you!

Teaching is Hard

2007-11-29T19:36:00.000-05:00

My birthday is Monday - I am hoping that day doesn't make me feel like I do now.

Weekend Wrap-up

2007-11-05T15:22:00.000-05:00

Friday: Gym. Home for a quick chat with Matt, off to a Mary Kay get together, which was as thrilling as it sounds. Party had the added benefit of bringing Laura Carter to town to stay with us. Drank wine and chatting until it was too late for me.

Saturday: Woke up late, brunch with LC downtown, bought products out of the back of her car then gave her crappy directions out of town. Got flirted at by a 40-something farmer at the market, walked to Kenmore then back home for bumming before heading to the gym with my guy.

Saturday night: Bachlorette party for my friend, Lauren. Protected her from an incredibly aggressive, and kind of bitter friend of her's who apparently had a horribly abusive bacholorette party when she was engaged and was determined to make Lauren's party as scarring. Realized Fredericksburg is a pretty unattractive, sketchy town and that I should really keep my claws in my man.

Sunday: Woke up early and "tired". Graded notebooks and laid in my bathrobe for most of the morning (read: day). Scrambled to the gym with Matt for a short workout. Home to grill beets and sweet potatoes and watch the Office on DVD. To bed very early.

I Live and Am Alive

2007-11-03T13:54:00.000-05:00

Teaching's been kind of hard lately - mostly because I don't feel much like putting more than ten hours in each day. And while I feel entirely confident about my teaching abilities, I recognize that my lessons could be a whole lot more exciting and engaging if I could just work really hard for a couple more hours everyday. But, I might go crazy then, so semi-boring it is!

It breaks my heart a little because when this unit started ("The Campaign Trail") I was full of project-based ideas that would require tons of work on my part, but an undoubtedly more meaningful unit for my daringly little 13 year olds. But, then my dad had major surgery and I drove back and forth to D.C. five times in a week and a half and I just couldn't stomach all those extra hours anymore. I just wanted to drink wine in the evening and feel soft while watching comedies and being cuddled.

Oh, and the chiller broke at school last week. I teach in a windowless second floor stale-aired box - the air of which maintain a balmy 85+ degrees for the majority of last week. Uh,you might not know this about me but I am a real bitch when I get hot. I slammed my first door on Thursday. I felt kind of bad about that. Trying to teach cranky, toasty 7th graders is like trying to cram toothpaste back into the tube - made even more impossible by a crushing sense of "who the hell cares! I am hot" overriding everything. I gave up that afternoon and read them a children's book. They curled up at my feet and almost looked cute.

We're in the throws of one of our toughest years together - there is just so much heaped onto our collective plate and we are constantly talking the other through one crisis or another. But, we've committed ourselves to having a life - to living and being alive...and that is what will keep us sane.

Meals: Day 3

2007-10-24T05:44:00.000-05:00

Breakfast: More twigs and flakes. MMM.

Lunch: AWESOME, left over Eggplant Bharta with lots of zucchini added in and some carrots, forgot to eat the cookies.

Dinner: Baked pasta with spinach-pesto cottage cheese. Made by Matt while I was at yoga class. Also, homemade wholewheat flax bread with toasted sesame seeds...made by me.

Meals: Day 2

2007-10-22T21:39:00.000-05:00

Breakfast: Kashi Good Friend, which is a delightful trio of flakes, granola and twigs. It has about 49% of you daily requirement of fiber and now has tastier twigs, but it should be consumed for their awesome branding alone. Matt has a crush on the Good Friends' lady.

Lunch: Leftover wasabi mashed potatoes, fresh tomatoes and green beans + carrots and those yummy cookies. I brought them in to lunch today to thunderous applause except for the secretary who wouldn't eat them because of the zucchini. (More for me!)

Dinner: Vegetable samosa and Baigan Bharta with a dear long lost friend, found. We spent too much of our time talking about teaching and school (she's about to enter her last semester of an Med program at Vanderbilt) and only got to the juicy stuff when I was minutes away from dropping her off.

On the way home I chatted with my best friend and made some revelations about my life and goals...they have to do with food.

Meals: Day 1

2007-10-21T19:15:00.000-05:00

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Breakfast: Oatmeal with pumpkin and toasted pecans.

Lunch: Green salad with toasted pecans (they are really good) - made with late tomatoes from our garden.

Dinner: Asian broiled salmon, wasabi mashed potatoes and steamed green beans.

Dessert: too many delicious homemade oatmeal cookies made with zucchini and banana.

Oh, Thanks

2007-10-03T20:26:00.000-05:00

Matt and I are dating again. We plan simple to elaborate outing and inings that, as we approach the end of our fifth year together (holy crap?!), keep us wanting to be with one another. I call it efforting. It involves lots of doting and smooching.

Last weekend we had a picnic on a beach and killed a million flies. On the drive out we listened to the brand new Weakerthans CD (which was doted on me) and attended to the multi-layered lyrics.

There is another song on there about his cat and hell if I can sing along without crying. I just trudge on through, feeling like Sinead O'Connor a la Nothing Compares video all the while. Seriously, if you can listen to this song without emoting you have no soul.

xo!
m

Prepare for Joy

2007-10-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

On Friday, I get to snuggle this:

Dear Potential Giver of Gifts to Teachers,

2007-10-02T19:22:00.000-05:00

We don't need anymore tote bags. (Except maybe this one.)

Thank you for your cooperation.

Scenes from New York

2007-10-01T20:39:00.000-05:00

~~A million years~~ Two months ago I spent an action packed weekend with my girl Rachel in New York. She and her boyfriend had just settled into a spacious up up uptown apartment, which spared me the quaint charm of their old place. A place so quaint an angry Rachel's only choice of refuge was to turn her back from Eric.

But this place is big and lovely and breezy. I got to know it well when the three of us spent Sunday morning recovering from all the living we'd done but slumped on the plush sofa watching OnDemand episodes of Rock of Love, with falling kind of in love with them.

The following are some pictures from our adventures. We spent Friday night in Rachel's old neighborhood. I ate a free veggie dog at a super hipster bar, just because. Saturday was my favorite, Rachel and I wandered around the city for 12 hours hopping and laughing and talking and exploring all the exotic wares the East Village had to offer. OH! And Rachel got her nose pierced!

Friends, I Am a Teacher

2007-09-02T17:30:00.000-05:00

Pals, I have been totally offline for the last two weeks as I have prepared for and carried out my first week of teaching 7th grade Civics, or as I told my parents' pastor, "earning my place in heaven" (hooray for indulgences).

I've been putting in those creepily long hours, buying my own school supplies, had handfuls of inspirational emails shoved at me when I've asked for administrative support, and gotten a UTI from holding it too much. BUT! For six exciting hours everyday I close the door and teach and it's been thrilling and challenging and awesome.

I'll go again into offline hibrination soon, but one day I will return in earnest (and finish my zombie tale!). Thanks to all of you that emailed or texted or called me with well wishes - I'm doing it!

Confession

2007-08-09T10:28:00.000-05:00

From fourth to seventh grade I had two posters of Michael Jordan hanging in my bedroom. One was door-sized. I bought them myself with my allowance.

My Cat Is In Love With Me

2007-07-28T16:43:00.000-05:00

I returned to Fredericksburg this afternoon after a week in Las Vegas (pictures and words to follow) and I was greeted dramatically by Miso who "didn't act right" in my absence and threw up out of depression.

While I sorted through my suitcases full of sweaty clothing and Miso feverishly rubbed her face against the underarm area of my tank tops to results that resemble the impassioned effect cat nip has on her.

She's in love with me.

Sin City

2007-07-19T15:10:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving for Las Vegas on Monday - its a business trip but I've got some free time there. I probably won't need to leave the few blogs surrounding my hotel as there are ten gentleman's clubs within a 3/4 mile radius (including such nonsense names as "Sin" and "Stripper's Choice"), but in case I tire of the high-brow nightlife, please send your suggestions of places to eat or things to see. Extra points if their budget conscious!

And so it begins...

2007-07-17T07:40:00.001-05:00

Last week I went by school to pick up the text for the Civics classes I'll begin teaching at the end of August and this haul is what I came home with. It's only the beginning - the teacher whom I am replacing has promised closets full of resources from which I may pilfer in the coming weeks.

There is a book in that stack called Exactly What I Need To Know To Pass the Civics Standards of Learning. Awesome.

Cheeky

2007-07-16T14:58:00.001-05:00

Is it appropriate to have a professionally photographed 4x6 glossy of your naked 6 month old son displayed prominently in your cubicle? Especially if you are kind of weird?

Um, I Lied

2007-07-12T14:53:00.000-05:00

Oh four of you that read my blog and noticed that I declared a time of death, I uh, take it back. I was hopelessly neglectful and felt the only option was abandonment, but sometimes I still want to chat with you, is that alright?

Gosh, internets, I love you...I just got frustrated - so please, let me eat my words and take me back into you beeping robot bosom.

Over

2007-07-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

This blog, which I started two years ago, is done.

Please direct your attention to my new project - Z is for Zombie.

C'mon

2007-06-08T10:24:00.001-05:00

She seemed like she was going bananas in jail,'' the friend said. "Paris was homesick and missed her pets.

I think I might be mentally unfit to work - sometimes when at my cubicle I just can't stop crying because I miss my cats.

Fresh Start

2007-05-30T08:14:00.000-05:00

It is entirely possibly that there is nothing else better to wake up to than this. Except maybe this. We've barely been using out Sirius lately but it's worth $25/mo to wake up deliriously dancing.

Life Support

2007-05-25T12:44:00.000-05:00

I think this blog is dying and that I might just pull the plug. I check Justin’s blog pretty frequently and was annoyed that he hasn’t posted since the 2^nd of May until I realized that I’ve only got 5 days on him. Also, I am totally sick of people hearting things, which makes this url somewhat problematic.

In the news…we’ve decided not to move to Richmond for various reasonable reasons - the time wasn’t right and our motivation wasn’t either. So we are staying in the area for at least the next year and throwing ourselves into efforts to get the most out of the community – so far we’re progressing pretty nicely. We’ve been little social butterflies and soon we’ll be butterflies with kickin’ abs as we’ve become gymaholics since joining American Family Fitness – which was necessary because I developed a daily cashew eating habit with practicable results.

I am also immersed in the job search – getting lots of immediate and glowing responses to my portfolio but no real job offers thus far.

In an effort to get more out of life and the area where I am currently living it, I am tentatively starting work on a NEW! blog all about things to do in Fredericksburg, Va – because there’s got to be things and I am going to find them and then, as a public service, share them with the internet.

Preventative Medicine

2007-05-07T12:22:00.000-05:00

Allergies have had me rubbing my eyes like a cranky toddler (or sleepy Ross) for the last half o f the week. I've been taking generic Claritin pills out of Matt's toiletry bag for the past three days. Yesterday, Matt informed me that I have actually ingested generic Imodium A-D each morning.

Bleh

2007-05-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

I am an absolute mess today - allergies are making me want to claw my eyes out, my quarter-life crisis from the days of yore is threatening a heady resurgence, and my return to 9-5 office life has not failed to disappoint in the soul-crushing department.

Listen to my whine!!

I think I'll go read Harry Potter and eat chocolate bars.

Henry Pictures

2007-04-14T10:43:00.000-05:00

I spent a long weekend visiting my sister, her wife, and their new baby, Henry, in Massachusetts. Henry was baptized on Easter Sunday and adored for the rest of the weekend. He's pretty beautiful and laid-back and he smiles and squeaks when you get in his face and make funny sounds. He looks like he's at least six months old - but he's three - and let me tell you, three month olds are kind of boring. I mean, I loved being with him, but I'm looking forward to a time when he can do some tricks and be better at entertaining me.

Here are some pictures of the trip. Bask in the beauty.

Update: I Am Alive

2007-04-13T13:51:00.000-05:00

Despite your potential assumptions, I am still alive. My double life as middle school teacher extraordinaire/pale office drone has seriously limited the amount of time I have to do anything other than make and eat dinner, read about former presidents (oh, Mr. Truman, how I love you), drink beer, and beg my bedfellow for head/neck massages to sooth away headaches induced by drinking too much coffee and talking really loud for 6 hours every day.

While I have indeed disappeared from the world of the intertron - I have been busy attending to my meatspace life and have many exciting new developments in the works. Firstly, I endeared myself to my exceedingly agreeable 3-month-old nephew last weekend. His aunt is so hilarious that he's perpetually plagued with hiccups every time he sees me (pictures to follow).

The trip was half a family thing, half a romantic getaway but it was totally more of the previous. Poor Matt suffered through a really brutal Easter dinner with my sister-in-law's family. They are the kind of people who shock you with their ability to talk for three hours without ever engaging in conversation or saying anything interesting. Also, they are really loud. He got me back by taking me to see 300. I crocheted in the dark and thought about how Xerxes was kind of the poor man's RuPaul.

I am nearing the end of my indentured servitude as a student teacher. It has been awesome and I've wowed supervisors with my amazing abilities to educate. I told the kids I'd be leaving soon and when they whined about it I reminded them that a girl's got to eat! Some of them offered to take up a collection - each of my students would contribute a dollar to keep me there for the rest of the year. I could make 102 sweet dollars if I sign on for 7 additional weeks of work. I've been offered a few jobs and am excitedly looking forward to full time employment as a teacher. No more of this moonlighting crap.

Matt and I are also in the early stages of house hunting. We are tentatively planning a move to Richmond in the summer. I hang on to that word "tentative" because it makes me feel less nervous about making big changes. I am looking forward to a new home in a place where there are more that two things to do on the weekend, where friends abound, and where there are glorious paved sidewalks! But I am still a bit disappointed that we don't have the balls to pack up and move to California. Also, selling a house it probably the least appealing task I've ever encountered.

So, I live on. God knows when I will post again - god knows if anyone is still checking anyway. XO if you are!

Hello, I Love You

2007-02-24T16:37:00.000-05:00

Thank you, friends, for your words of love and comfort in response to my post about my grandmother - your emails, calls and comment are very much appreciated.

I was in Philadelphia for a chunk of the week for funeral business. My mother's side of the family rivals my father's in terms of robustness and it is a group of people I see a little less. It was wonderful to reconnect with cousins and aunts and uncles - it is nice to be reminded that among them are some of the coolest people that I know. We all seemed aware of that losing our matriarch threatens the strength of our connections - we'll have to work harder to keep in touch.

In the wake of the funeral was a special, special meeting - Henry finally united with his grandparents, favorite aunt and only uncle. He is perfect and beautiful and lovely.

If you didn't pick up on the resemblance, the second picture is of my sister and brother, and the last is my brother (Uncle Jimmy) with sweet little Henry.

Betty Doran: Sassin' it Up In Heaven

2007-02-19T11:01:00.000-05:00

My grandmother died on Saturday. She had been ill for a while but it was still a bit of a shock. She outlived every one of her siblings, her husband, and her youngest child; and though she was convinced she would die in her fifties, she kept right on trucking until she passed away at the age of 91.

Though we are all quite sad in her wake there is a great sense of relief. She's been living in a nursing home for the past four years and Alzhiemers has been steadily claiming her memories for the last five. Alzhiemer's is old age's cruelest joke - you get within walking distance of a century only to lose everything that has brought you there - but in spite of the memories she continued to lose, my grandmother's wit and sass only got stronger. Up into her last days she was flirting with male doctors, winking like a sneak, and casting her award winning stink-eye at unlucky victims.

I know she is at peace now, and probably giving Jesus a little sass.

Sweet Valereeeeee

2007-02-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

My dear friend, Valeree, has always been so good about professing her affection for me on the ol' interton. I am even listed as hero on her myspace profile - only second to Jesus.

I think I have been remiss by not expressing in this holiest of mediums that her friendship means a great deal to me - and I bet she is bummed because she didn't get her snow day today (I did) - the following is a grab bag list of things about Val:

She has professional eye make-up applications skills (seriously, check out her artful use of plum eyeshadow at the lash line next time you see her)
She is real about her feelings/relationships - sometimes you don't like the person you wake up next to, and you've got to be able to talk to your girlfriends about it and trust that they won't make you feel like a heartless freak - Val is awesome about validating my feelings and fears (and helping me to see beyond them)
She trusts me implicitly as a cook
She I lived in Richmond, hated my job, and was slowly being choked to death by some noxious gas emanating from the kitchen in my slum apt - she (and Ross) gave me a spare key and even came to smell my apartment and verify that I wasn't going crazy
She is fiercely loyal to those that she loves
She is unabashedly interested in celebrity gossip - I greatly admire this about her - I love celebs too, but I can't seem to get over mild embarassment about this infatuation - she is bigger than me
I was genuinely sad when someone else taught her how to knit because I really wanted to share that bond with her
She understands more than anyone else in the world my burning need to follow dinner with dessert
It's sucked to know she's been going through the ringer over the last year or so I am an no longer "there"
I miss seeing her whenevs
Also she is pretty and always smells good

HEARTS TIMES FOREVER!!!

OMG CUTE!!!!!

2007-02-04T22:10:00.000-05:00

Broken Fever

2007-01-22T11:21:00.000-05:00

Friday marked the completion of my first week of student teaching, which really marked my first week of teaching as I have found my mentor teacher has a pension for slipping out of the classroom unannounced just before the bell rings leaving me to try to remember and present the lessons she neverwrites down.

Those 12 year olds don't miss a beat, but unfortunately for them neither do I. I saw them eyeing the giant red S on my ID tag...mistaking it for sub and positioning themselves for tomfoolery...but I headed them off at the pass and wowed them with my intimate knowledge of their classroom code of conduct (which, duh, I totally made up).

They got me back, though, by smothering me with their invisible adolescent cooties, which made me delirious by Friday afternoon and kept me in bed until Sunday morning. This morning I am still getting used to the wonders of swallowing without wincing in pain.

I spent yesterday evening making trading card of members of the 65th Congress (my fave is Charles Curtis) for a badass lesson on Prohibition - my diligence was rewarded with a snow day, which I am enjoying from the confines of the office of my paying job - oh well, a girl's got to eat.

Nephew Pictures

2007-01-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

Alright, I all into being an aunt - I've crafted him three garments, started work on a quilt (OMG, I have never done that before!), and told a billion people about his existence (I love when my dad tells relatives he is "a robust young man"). Finally, I have seen pictures of the little bugger, which I will share with you now.
I think he is a little bit jaundice, but what a handsome little man.

Oh, Henry!

2007-01-12T08:42:00.000-05:00

Tobias, Josiah, Zachary, Dashiell - apparently none of these suited my biggun of a nephew and the name my sister and her wife have settled on is: Henry. What? It caught me off guard.

When we were little my dad used to make up these stories about two friends named Henry and Mabel...Mabel was also my nickname as a child and I have been open about wanting to name my daughter that, but I didn't think my sister was so intensely connected to the stories' hero.

Apparently, Henry is a family name on both sides of my sister-in-laws family - it goes back several generations on her dad's side and her mom is distantly related to Henry David Thoreau.

So, he's named.

NEW BLOG

2007-01-10T16:06:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a new culinary/nutrition project, Get Your Veg On, check it for recipes and the latest vegetable news.

p.s. C-section's been postponed until this evening...I am still not an aunt.

Baby Update Update

2007-01-10T12:20:00.000-05:00

The power of the internet moves fetuses (I would have thought "feti"). My sister-in-law is having the baby surgically removed from her uterus in an hour! (Baby is breech/Erica's late/baby too cute for conventional birthing methods.) The sex is still unknown but we all think boy (mostly because my mom thinks its a girl and she was wrong about everyone of her own children).

OMG OMG TWO HOURS UNTIL AUNTHOOD!

Baby Update

2007-01-10T09:02:00.000-05:00

As of this posting my niece/nephew has still not been born, and let me tell you, I am getting pretty sick of not being an aunt. The little bugger was due on Sunday.

Hey There

2007-01-09T11:11:00.000-05:00

I guess my heart's not really in posting anymore…I get good at regularity and then I get busy or distracted or lazy. But, I have lived since my last post and many nice and happy things have happened – I had an especially special weekend. I want to get back on track so here is my quick holiday wrap-up:

Car was hit by nice young man, still went out to celebrate friend’s 27th birthday. He was depressed-drunk when I got to the bar and kept touching my leg (made me sad). Didn’t feel like drinking so Mari, Sentell, and I asked for a pot of water and we drank Good Earth Tea (which I always have in my purse) at an Irish Pub. (The next morning my dad told me you’ve got to have great self-esteem to order hot tea at a bar.)

Christmas Eve – party at the Alonsos’ a time honored tradition. Saw amazing elementary school friend who has changed her name from Sara to Zahava and is now teaching Prenatal Yoga and Spiritual Belly Dance at the Deepak Chopra center in NYC…I didn’t mention what I do.

Mari gave me the DVD of Free To Be You and Me – if you know what this is, hi, I love you.

Christmas: awesome, laid back, and family-packed. Leisurely morning and day with my mom, dad, brother and his girlfriend – cousins came later – we laughed ‘til we hurt. Went to Grandad’s in the evening – played with babies (fell more in love with my Abs who currently loves “turtles and ears”) and hung out with especially awesome aunt. Sentell came as my Xmas Date for the second year in a row.

Matt’s Birthday (the 27th): hiked in Bald Eagle reserve to VA coast and lounged on Potomac beach. Made a gigantic homemade ice cream cake, made out, made lavish dinner, ate and drank and kissed.

Went to work on Friday, had early release and then a four day weekend; got really used to not going to work.

New Years Eve: Awesome, laid-back, alcohol heavy.

New Years Day: lazy, rainy, peaceful, and promising. Matt and I laid about, talked about our goals for the year, wrote in journals, read, made out - kicked it off right.

I’ve eased back into work and am gearing up for the challenge of working part-time while student teaching full time…I’ve nervous about working 10 hours a day and figuring out where to fit yoga and work outs and time for cooking – am I the last person on earth that makes dinners from scratch each night? All this starts next Tuesday…OMG.

Christmas Came Early

2006-12-24T12:17:00.000-05:00

I went out to my car last night to meet some friends in DC for merriment - a woman approached me and told me her son had just hit my teeny little (brand new) Scion with his monster truck. He was sorry and I was way more conciliatory that I should have been. We exchanged information and then I spent an hour on the phone with insurance companies.

Geez, it sucks - when his insurance representative asked me if there was any previous damage to the car I said (in a kind of loud voice, maybe?) "no, it's BRAND NEW."

It's a real Christmas Stinker, but whatev. Alright, I need to go make some charitable donations to compensate for my unnecessary whining.

Officially DONE

2006-12-18T16:58:00.000-05:00

Well, it happened, I am a MASTER. Though I have not get been conferred a degree (that only happens annually in May at a MANDATORY commencement exercise), I consider the title officially acquired. Why else would I hold an awesome graduation celebration on Saturday? Grades are still out (but rest assured I pwn'd) and I don't have that degree to hang on my wall (and look out of place since it will be the only one in the house not in LATIN), but I am totally done with graduate school. Since this really snuck up on me I have to keep telling myself:D-O-N-E.

My graduation party was fantastic. Want to feel like the luckiest girl in the world? Just get about 25-30 of the most wonderful people in your life into a room - your heart will swell, you will smile like it is your job, and the day will melt away before you realize it.

Thank you, guys who came - especially those who have been especially supportive in the past year and a half (you know who you are). I LOVE YOU.

Update: Civicism is STILL Sexy

2006-12-15T11:49:00.000-05:00

Last week I participated in state politics at a State Board of Education public hearing (wait, there's more than voting?!?). I'll admit this blog's title is deceiving, there was little about the process that was particularly "hot"; but being part of the political process - even a part that occurs in a dank half-filled high school recital hall before a panel of two (2) representatives from the Virginia School Board - kind of does it for me.

I went up to Fairfax to make a statement in opposition to the proposed elimination of Social Foundations of Education in the teacher licensure program (admit it Mr. Smith, I'm giving you goosebumps). I'll give you the gist of it - SFE is the only required course in the already barebones licensure program where teacher-hopefuls are given the space to think about the broader implications and purposes of education. Examining the practice from a variety of perspectives is the only way we can ever hope to make it better. And, blah. What follows is the statement I made (first of the session!):

In a little over a week I will complete my work towards a Masters of Education from the University of Mary Washington. While I will not be an official practicing teacher until January, I do have experience in the classroom and I believe I represent an important voice in this debate: that of the licensure candidate.

I took Social Foundations in the first semester of my teaching program and I cannot imagine succeeding as I have in my other courses if it weren’t for that class. Foundations offered me the chance to step back and consider the fundamental theories, broad implications, and major purposes of our practice. It is the only course that demands we think critically about the role school plays in our community, our society, and our democracy. This high-level investigation inspires debate, research, and innovation – components which are vital to ensuring we are providing high quality, demanding, and appropriate education for the children of our Commonwealth.

Eliminating Social Foundations would deny us the opportunity to think fully and critically about the system we are entering. Initially, this will limit our performance in other licensure courses. Ultimately, this will cripple our ability to think critically about both the work we do within our classrooms and the role of our broader profession - having failed to develop a strong sense of purpose, we ensure that our system will not evolve, will not improve, and will not succeed.

We will compile our tool-kits of useful teaching strategies but we will lack the direction offered by a thorough understanding of the theoretical components of education. You need a hammer and nails to build a house, but you also need a blueprint. We’ll have all the HOWS of teaching but none of the WHY.

The No Child Left Behind Act demands that our nation’s over 6 million teachers be “highly qualified” – denying teaching candidates the opportunity to engage in the critical examination of the social foundations of education also denies us that label. To be fully prepared for the classroom - to be highly qualified - we must step back and scrutinize our practice and articulate our purpose. Only then are those methods and strategies we acquire through our program truly meaningful.

Did you read it all? Wow, you are a trooper! Today is the last day to submit statements for or against the proposed change. If you're interested it contacting the VA Department of Education, let me know. Hearts!

The Stuff of Nerd Nightmares

2006-12-14T20:35:00.000-05:00

I awoke this morning at about 4 am to the sound of heavy breathing in my face. Matt in a moment of weakness had let Elee sleep on our bed and in a moment of greater weakness had decided to pretend he was asleep while she walked all over our heads and tried to burrow herself between our bodies until I finally got up and put her out.

I didn't really wake up because of the kitten - I'd been tossing because I had a dream that I got a C on the take home final I turned in on Monday - a powerful C that reduced my final course grade to a B and reduced my beautiful 4.0 to something that was not a 4.0. It took me a while to fall back asleep - I was half there in that in-between space where dreamy things seem really real. I was frantically doing mental math, convinced that I was a failure at life, and would be a piece of crap teacher with my laughable piece of crap 3.95 GPA. Listen people, I've had epic dreams about zombie attacks, terrifying nightmares where I am kidnapped and tortured (damn you Six Feet Under!), and have woken up in sweats over serial killers hunting me, but they didn't compare to the scare I got from this lame-lame-lame-lame nerd nightmare.

The most beautiful thing about it? I confided the stuff of my dream to Matt and we were rumbling to get up for work this morning, His response? "I had the same dream last night."

Beautiful.

Here is a picture of my cat in a bag.

A Year in Bullet Points

2006-11-29T14:00:00.000-05:00

I am nearing the end of my 25th year of life. Here are some things that happened during it. I:

Lost as much weight as I gained
Grew at least three more inches of hair
Experiences some proliferation of gray hair
Grew zero inches in height
Cut my thumb to the point of scar
Traveled across the country twice
Got all As
Saved the life of a kitten
“Fell in love all over again” (Ross’s words) at least twice
Got a ridiculously high score in Wanted
Got a raise
Made out in three new states!
Wrote a Masters thesis
Laughed at an 11 year old when he farted in class
Gained at least 3 (possibly 4) new cousins
Completely abandoned my yoga practice (shame on me!)
Voted in two elections
Met and fell in love with San Francisco
Never started trying to learn how to play the guitar
Saw the best live show of my life (Page France)
Saw the worst movie ever (Thumbsucker)
Survived a ridiculously inappropriate situation at work
Wrote an article about subversive teaching I can probably never admit to in a job interview
Got called a dirty Communist (by my boyfriend – repeatedly)
Made some new friends
Rekindled my love affair with knitting
Learned to hate Ronald Regan
Threw jellyfish at children
Survived another year is soulless suburbia
Continued to lead a happy and fulfilling life.

Group Work is Poop Work

2006-11-28T13:16:00.000-05:00

For my absolute final assignment in graduate school I am working on a unit plan with two other ladies. It was supposed to be a partner project but someone didn't have a partner so she joined our group. Then she called my original partner a racist.

I diverted the confrontation and asked how we should teach fifth graders about Reconstruction the group member who made the accusation suggested they watch a video on it (kind of uninspired, but whatever) - she was tasked with finding an age appropriate/accurate movie on Reconstruction and a week later via email she suggested (drum roll) Birth of a Nation. I could eat that delicious irony with a spoon.

I FELT IT KICK

2006-11-27T12:01:00.000-05:00

This long weekend I ate a million delicious vegetable dishes and three different kinds of pie and then my parents and I drove up to the suburbs of Philadelphia to visit my grandmother (Grammie) and go to my sister's baby shower.

Erica, my sister-in-law, was full of life in more ways than one. She looked big and beautiful and the whole house bubbled with love and excitement. When I saw her last she was only about 2.5 months ago and she was really only "showing" because she had been eating more. I thought she might be enormous but she's just gained the customary 30 lbs.

I held her stomach and felt the baby kick - it's something I had only seen people do in movies - despite the bzillion babies born into my family in the last 10 years I never wanted to impose. It was probably one of the most amazing things I've ever felt.

I gave them the sweater I knitted for my future niece/nephew and immediately made plans for another - I'll hold off until I actually meet the little guy. If the it's a girl her initials will be BTW. I am thrilled about my impending aunthood - I think it is going to be a marvelous vocation.

Oh Richard Nixon, I Do Not Love You

2006-11-22T10:52:00.000-05:00

I watched All the President's Men (library, baby), which was "eh." I know the story's more about the Washington Post investigation and less about the depth and breadth of the scandal, but I love that scandal. I love getting all worked up the way I do when I think about how badly the Constitution got pwnd by that administration and how Ford let Nixon off scott-free, and G. Gordon Liddy got his own radio show (and recurring role on Miami Vice) and the present president's cabinet is (or has been) stocked with ex-Nixon staff.

I am totally fascinated by that period in American politics – probably because that kind of imperial presidency with its near-aimless war, ignored solider abuse scandals, encroachment on civil liberties, and disregard for the US Constitution is the kind of indignity so extreme it's unlikely to ever repeat itself. It's nice to know all that is behind us.

Here are some FUN FACTS about ol' Tricky Dick:

Spiro Agnew alleges that Nixon threatened to have him assassinated if he refused to resign.
He put Matt's boyfriend on his enemies list and opened an FBI investigation on him.
He suffered from motion sickness and hay fever.
Upon visiting the Great Wall of China he said, "I think that you would have to conclude that this is a great wall."
Favorite food: Pat's meatloaf
His Committee to Re-Elect the President's "Dirty Tricks" team was set up to embarass and discredit the Democratic party - they posted fake news cables, and, my favorite: ordered pizzas to be sent to the Democratic Headquarters (pwnd).
He hated: Dolly, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, Butch Cassidy, and Atticus Finch.
He will be elected President of Earth in the year 3000.

My Heart is Back On the East Coast

2006-11-16T16:23:00.000-05:00

We got back from our trek westward earlier this week. I loved California a lot, but by 11:30 on Monday - after 15 hours of travel - I was happy to be driving down the DC to Fredericksburg stretch of 95 – after navigating route I know like the back of my hand.

It was a wonderful trip with lots of things seen, lots funny things said and laughed at, and tons of intense conversation about feminism, misogynism, identity, and sex. Jon worked hard to convince me how lucky I am to have Condoleeza Rice as a role model (I am serious, and so was he - his argument included vectors). And with all this good conversation filling our days I started to wonder what the hell I am doing with my life.

I was completely ready to love the greater San Francisco area with all my heart and to fall so hard that I'd cry my way back east. That didn't happen. But lots of magical things did. Like how Matt and I kept tripping over our love for each other. I guess any kind of freedom from the suburban deathtrap we've called home for the past year and a half sends us into some sort of first crush bliss. We kissed all over California. And we saw things, and thought things, and talked about the things we saw and thought - which just highlighted for me how little of that is happening here, even with me in grad school.

I surmised that the solution isn't to pack up and move away from the highest concentration of people we care about but to try to find those life experiences here on the east coast, which can totally see California's organic markets and raise them cheese grits and a more reasonable prime time TV schedule. Because truly when I think about it, the best thing that trip had to offer was Jon and Ingrid, which is a pretty big plus. But, I doubt they're going to want to hang out all the time and talk about feminism every night.

(I know at least this last picture is not really related to the blog - but HELLO look at how gorgeous that is!)

Leaving My Heart

2006-11-11T23:21:00.000-05:00

Civicism Is Sexy

2006-11-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

My boyfriend got up at 5:15 to vote...that is hot. I could never love a man that didn't vote.

A lady at the polls asked if she could count on my support for the Marriage Amendment™ and I told her no. Pwn'd.

Then I voted, walked out of the high school and immediately regretted my House vote - oh well. Now to gear up for a sweet night of NPR.

The Platinum Anniversary

2006-11-06T13:45:00.000-05:00

September 9, 2006 marked the 20th anniversary of my friendship with Marisa, my oldest and best friend. We celebrated with Ethiopian food on Friday night.

I vividly remembered our meeting on the first day of firth grade; the class desks were arranged in two horseshoe formations – a smaller one inside a larger one. Mari sat in the corner of the larger one and I was next to her. Her desk was higher than everyone else’s – I thought that made her cool.

Elementary school was one wild ride – in third grade Mari invented the “Gross Club,” which provided us 9-year-olds with a forum in which to discuss the grossest topics most relevant to our daily lives: butts, farts, making babies, boobies, and diarrhea. I never rose above the ranks of treasurer (we had no budget).

When I was little I was achingly shy, timid, and often whiny. I defend that last one now as an early indication of a heightened sensitivity to justice – while I admittedly tattled often in my own self interest, I was always felt a disequilibrium when people were picked on or lied to or treat unfairly. Mari describers herself at that point in our lives as “mean” – an assessment I can endorse, but which comes as a shock to people who know her now – now she is maybe the kindest person I know.

Let me say this, when you are 25 years old, 20 years is a pretty long time and maintaining a friendship of this sort of emotional intimacy is quite a feat especially since geography as kept us separate for the past 8 years. We’ll go a month or two and then pick up again as if – well, you know.

Think about all the people that you have met in your life and all of the ones that you’ve formed a friendship with and then consider the odds that you’d still be confiding secrets to a person you met when you were 5 years old. (I suppose if you live in one place all your live those odds are pretty good – but we didn’t.) I feel so fortunate to still call Mari my closest friend, and to know that no matter how far we run away from the place where we met that we’ll still be as close.

Here are some highlights from our early years by grade:

First: Genesis of our friendship – Mari sleeps over, gets an ear infection and goes home crying

Second: Have different teachers – Mari gives me a Splatter kit for my birthday; at her birthday party I try not to stare at the painting of a topless woman in her parents' dining room – I win a jar of gumdrops

Third: In Ms. Fisher’s class – the best year of elementary school – Sh’queta Johnston stands on table and sings “Devon’s got a big ol’ butt, Oh Yeah!” while Ms. Fisher is down the hall. Brian A. holds a freshly sharpened pencil on Nathan D.’s chair, who sit on it and is rushed to the hospital. Neither boy is able to join the class for a trip to the ice cream parlor financed by our recycling campaign.

Forth: I hang out mostly with a girl named Sarah who convinced me that she was dating a 7th grader named Travis – every time I come over she’s just getting off the phone with him. Turns out she was just chatting with the time-lady. (I also am in love with Bret Michaels at this point.)

Fifth: Mari and I have both mellowed – she a lot nicer, I whine less – by 6th grade we are best friends again.

Cottage Industry

2006-10-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

Another finished project! I made this little hat (for newborn to 6 months) for my friend’s new baby girl.

I altered the pattern for the umbilical cord hat from Stitch ‘n Bitch. It was instant gratification as it probably took me about 4 hours all tolled. I’ve been making things that require a lot of finishing and I am just not very good at sewing shoulder seams. I needed something quick and satisfying. Done.

Name This Kitten

2006-10-16T21:29:00.000-05:00

Matt and I have added a new small, sometimes sneezy, animal friend to our home. We saved her from CERTAIN DEATH, only to toss her into a den of hisses and dirty looks from our elder cat. She is extremely cuddly and lovey - scared of index cards, strings dangled in front of her face, the smell of beer, and antibiotics. Miso's still afraid of her.

She doesn't really feel like our pet yet since we have been unable to settle on a suitable name. Rilo, ELee, Spock (note the big ears), and Zelda have been tossed around, but none of those fit. Please please help us come up with something so we can stop referring to her as "Little One" (Matt)/"Snugglebug" (me).

Hello, I Make Things

2006-10-06T16:58:00.000-05:00

This Thursday I put the finishing touches on a fuzzy mohair sweater. It was a project I began earlier this year shortly after I learned to knit, but I'd put it and knitting aside for many months to consume lots of books (for fun and for school and occasionally for both) and feel guilty about doing things that weren't scholarly. But since this semester started I've been much more interested in clacking my knitting needles together than reading about classroom management.

And so, now I own this:

Which also looks like this:

I am going to say that I don't love it - it can out pretty much the way it was supposed to, but it's a boxy pattern and makes my already wide shoulders approach linebacker-grade. But I realized I picked the pattern because I thought I could handle it, not because I thought it was super-cute.

I've got a surprise baby sweater in the queue for my niece/nephew on the way (today it feels like a niece). It's meant to be a surprise, but it is totally safe to announce it on the WORLD WIDE WEB because despite regular prompting neither my sister nor my sister-in-law will ever read this thing.

Away, I love knitting.

Also, my domestic partner is a talented craftsman as well. Check out this gorgeous wine rack:

Inventory

2006-10-03T08:25:00.000-05:00

Here is what is in my purse:
One (1) USB cord
Two (2) sets of headphones
One (1) random earbud cover pad
One (1) can of cat food (for cat trapping purposes)
One (1) iPod
One (1) ridiculous looking cobalt blue cell phone
One (1) almost done knitted sweater (which I am going to go sneak a couple rows on in the workroom)
Two (2) stolen pens
One (1) stick of Chap Stick (medicated)
One (1) Kashi granola bar (high on fiber, low on flavor)
One (1) hipster cigarette case wallet

Fascinating!

All I had on my to-do list today was to inventory my handbag, and done. I don’t have much work on the docket because my video editing skills are so incredibly badass that I finished everything yesterday. I am eagerly waiting for my co-worker with a box-trap to come in this morning so we can try to trap the feral cats living in our parking lot.

The poor mama cat has been around the block so much that her teats (I am sorry, that is the only word for them) are LITERALLY dragging on the ground. She’s had at least two litters in the last year and the Honda dealership next two us is slowly being overrun. Soon their lot will look like a scene from Sleepwalkers - so we are hoping to at the very least get them fixed and de-wormed and vaccinated before releasing them back into Element-filled wonderland they call home.

Tonight I am heading down to Richmond for my date with Kim. We are going to David Sedaris (OMG!?!!?). When Kim and I met we realized we suffered from the same affliction (charm?) – the tendency to relate nearly any topic of conversation to something David Sedaris said once. This night was meant for us.

How to Wake Up Happy

2006-09-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

Matt and I got Sirius Satellite Radio a few months ago and discovered the greatest feature of all, FM transmission, which allows us to wake up to any one of nearly 200 quality radio stations (including OMGPlayboy Radio!?!?). This is probably the most significant quality of life improvement made since I moved in with him a year ago.

Now instead of waking to the god-awful end-of-the-world air-raid that is his alarm, we are enticed to rise to the soothing, yet energizing tones of Sirius 30: The Coffee House. The station has an annoying habit of frequently playing “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt – a song I hate so much that I will leave stores, houses, and moving cars if it comes on the radio. But, the Coffee House typically plays all those songs off Edie Brickell and Indigo Girls albums that you are totally too cool to own but not too sing to while you’re cleaning your bathroom. It’s not the best station we’ve got but it is absolutely necessary now that we wake up to it – we’ve tried a bunch alternatives and every one made us wake up wanting to die.

My most favorite days are ones (like today) when the first full song to play once the alarm has gone off at 7:07 is Peace Train by ~~Cat Stevens~~ Yusuf Islam. HOLY CRAP – it’s as if someone poured liquid happiness into a fine cup of coffee and served it to me in bed. I bounded to the shower smiling and I still feel fantastic. Thank you, Sirius; thank you, Yusuf Isam.

Shuffle Through Monday

2006-09-18T08:31:00.000-05:00

Tyler over at Too Much Awesome did this months ago and I am copying him - it's his birthday, so I'll say it's in honor of him.

These are the first lines to the first 25 songs that came on my ipod when I put it on shuffle (well, almost the first 25 - I skipped over the Don't Know Much About History tracks and chapters from David McCullough's Truman biography). You (all four of you) tell me which songs the lines are coming from, and I strike the lyrics out when they've been correctly identified? Fun, right?

1. Some girls, they like candy, and others, they like to grind, I'll settle for the back of your hand somewhere on my behind.

2. ~~Such an awful, tragic night though I’ve only done what’s right, but even with my conscience clear, I can’t help this flood of tears.~~

3. There is no one, nothing to see. The night is useless and so are we.

4. One day, it will happen. One day, one day it will all come true.

5. Open up you mind and let me step inside, rest your weary head and let your heart decide.

6. Inside this leaking submarine, the hull is closing in, the water is above my ankles

7. ~~Pressure, pushing down on me, pressing down on you, no man asked for.~~

8. ~~I heard someone say they couldn't speak and I heard someone hear they couldn't hear.~~

9. A compromise between honesty and lies to lead me past their disguise

10. Everything is gone but the echo of the burst of a shell and I'm stuck here waiting for a passing feeling.

11. ~~I got a woman way across town. She's a-good to me, oh yeah.~~

12. ~~She says wake up, it's no use pretending. I'll keep stealing, breathing her.~~

13. ~~There is a tear in the fabric of your favorite dress; and I'm sneaking glances.~~

14. I got this feelin' that I've been here before.

15. It's alright, I won't commit, my friend. And if pay for your mistakes, you can break apology.

16. ~~I'm the same as I was when I was six years old and oh my god I feel so damn old, I don't really feel anything.~~

17. I like to think I'm the mess you'd wear with pride.

18. Ladder man is climbing for a little sunlight; it doesn't even matter if I'm faking a good time.

19. ~~There are beads that wrap around your knees that crackle to the dark.~~

20. Who will shadow you home? The streets are getting crazy.

21. ~~My favorite shows on TV are 12 minutes of advertising. I can't get behind that.~~

22. ~~All the things I knew I didn't know and didn't want to know that you told me just to tell me later that you told me so.~~

23. ~~When you walk home from the party drunk on Bacardi and listening to the voices that lie to you nightly.~~

24. I was just bony hands as cold as a winter pole. You held a warm stone out new flowing blood to hold.

25. ~~Don’t fall in love with me, yet. We only recently met.~~

Funny, I Thought It'd Be Colder When Hell Froze Over

2006-09-06T10:28:00.000-05:00

Quietly, without event or fanfare, the world as I've known it changed forever. A truth which I held to be inflexible and unalterable just suddenly ceased to exist.

Matt, without heavy prodding or pressure, ate an entire eggplant for dinner the night before last. It was a day I truly never believed would come and it may have opened up a world of possibilities. Delicious possibilities.

Sacks and Sacks of Letters

2006-08-30T12:57:00.000-05:00

A long time ago (January 06) I made a promise to myself in the form of a New Year’s Resolution to both write more (general) and write more personal letters (specific). I have done alright with this – notably “making the month” of my friend Mo, who was living in the mountains in Alaska studying birds and only receiving (sparse) contact with the “outside world” four+ weeks. She promptly wrote back and caught me up out about a years worth of her life – I sprawled on my bed reading the pages – an event Matt found so momentous that he documented it in several pictures.

My dad, uncle, and grandfather are/were ridiculously witty and prolific letter writers. Letters that make you laugh out loud or shake your head at the adroit prose. Of course they wrote to keep in touch when countries and oceans divided them – before cell phones and email and blogs. But, while my dad is a now a frequent and equally thoughtful emailer, he still sends letters to me in the mail with stamps – typically typed because his artistic handwriting is frequently mistaken for nonsensical scribble. They are just as rich as his pre-email days.

When I was in college he usually put a $20 bill in these letters, a habit he has since retired but the reinstallation of which I would not protest.

There is a singular joy to coming home to find “real” mail. It’s like getting a netflix but warmer and without danger of it making you want to pull out your eyeballs. I’m no technophobe – I won’t pull that alienated by a speed of light changes in technology – blah blah – but there is something so totally different and romantic and special about sending and receiving REAL mail.

So! I have reaffirmed my commitment to written correspondence – sending off four packages this week alone. I was going to call this post “A Letter a Day” but who am I kidding – look how miserably brief our commitment to A Picture a Day was. In fact, I think I can state with certainty that there is no way I’ll be writing a letter every day. But I will try to carry on my family’s legacy.

p.s. If you ever write to me, I’ll write you back.

Talking from Where?

2006-08-29T09:26:00.000-05:00

Matt: (in a clumsy British accent) They’re talking from here! (point to his crotch).

Me: They’re not talking from here (point to my crotch) they’re talking from HERE (pointing to my butt).

Matt: No they’re not! (British accent again) They’re talking from HERE! (Pointing to crotch).

Me: Why would Freddie Mercury say that people were talking out of their penises? That doesn’t make sense. People were talking out of their asses.

Matt: No, no, no. Maura, he was bi.

Me: And bisexuals talk out of their penises?

Matt: Yeah. (British accent) from HERE.
_
Nope, you're still wrong.

Back in Time to Be Gone Again

2006-08-28T09:10:00.000-05:00

Ask be anything - what caused the annexation of Hawaii? What were the tactics of the Dirty Tricks team? How awesome was Morris Udall? Arthur Zimmermann? The "Half-Breeds" v. the "Stalwarts"? Why people love "Teflon Ron"? I can answer all of those, except for the last one; I have no idea why people love Reagan so much.

In an effort to save $200 and a lot of time, I CLEP'd US History II - an undergraduate course that I needed for my Social Studies teaching endorsement. Thanks to obsessive attention to the details of "Don't Know Much About History" mp3s, a ridiculous commitment to cataloging everything in my study guide on note cards, and Matt's exhaustive, encyclopedia-like knowledge of everything - I was able to test out of the class with an A.

The added benefit of this practice is that I learned a lot. I mean beyond the definitions of the Dawes Severity Act and the Taft-Hartley Act, and the Potsdam Conference. Our recent history is fascinating, if not a little depressing. In the illumination hindsight allows there is a buttload of corruption, misinformation, and war - and, most indicting of all, a largely uninformed or apathetic populace.

So, I have since shifted most of my internet attention from what Britney Spears wore to the grocery store to I don't know, stuff that might matter.

Friday, I'm in Love

2006-08-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

School’s out, at least for the next two weeks or so, and the weekends are now allowed to be more action-packed than a couple days of me whining over my laptop while Matt tries to inspire truancy. We’re off to Richmond this evening – something I have been longing for for quite some time. I think it has actually been months (plural) since I have seen my beloved Richmond friends.

Yesterday was a real piece of crap day – won’t go into it – but it was a day that made me really wish I could just walk up to someone and punch them in the face. I spent the day letting my insides get balled up with anger until I chatted with my dear friend Ross, and my beautiful cousin, Meaghan and I came home to a wonderful (exceedingly handsome) partner and I looked at pictures of my amazing family and I thought about being able to hug Valerie and Chris this weekend and was immediately overwhelmed with how very very rich I am.

I’ve never given much thought to karma, but I’ve been thinking that I must be doing something right to warrant such a beautiful life – or maybe I am just one lucky bastard.

Special Friends with Special Skills

2006-08-09T15:37:00.000-05:00

Again with the beach. This family vacation should probably be known as the “Summer of Energetic Children”, but if I had to pick a second theme it would probably be the “Summer of ‘Special Friends’”. Special friends got climbed on, engaged in a dead jellyfish projectile war, funded a 12-year-old’s gambling habit at a cruddy arcade, and took hole digging orders from 7-year-olds. Indeed, special friends even got nods in the end of vacation toast my cousin John offered on our last night together (“to special friends who tolerated being separated from their special lady while she was volunteered out to braid hair”). Special friends may get some props, but they are forced to put up with family chaos without the binding sense of responsibility and heritage – and they don’t get a proper label - special sounds like they may be retarded.

Matt’s old hat to me (the anniversary of our cohabitation came and went without notice or fanfare) but to most of my family he was a bearded novelty at the week’s start. But this blog is about the other special friend staying at our must-ridden beach house – my cousin Meaghan’s “friend”, Bishop.

The best thing about Bishop, besides the fact that he is an awesome winker, is that he posed in the complete family photo on the beach even though my aunt, Margaret, and cousin, Meaghan, didn’t. My aunt Mary had scheduled one of those professional photographers who take those pictures on the beach where everyone wears khaki pants and nobody wears shoes. But the shoot location was infested with biting files which caused an infestation of weeping children and grouchy baby-boomers and probably produced the most awesome family picture that no one will ever see. My aunt and Meaghan had run back to their car before the full group shot was taken leaving Bishop to stand next to “some guy”.

Ok, whatever, the point of this blog wasn’t to go on about my vacation, it was to say that Bishop, in addition to being a world-class winker and makeshift boogie board, is a really interesting contemporary artist whose pop-y comic and NES inspired work makes me want to paint our entire house in 8-bit color. Maybe, for some of you, it is the kind of work you dismiss as something you could do if you’ve thought of it. Well, I could pee in a mason jar and throw a rosary in there before screwing on the lid, but I wouldn’t be too proud of that, nor would I want to put it on my mantle. I'd put a piece of Bishop's up in a second.

I love Bishop’s work like I love the work of Richmond’s Valdes and Kuszyk – their art doesn’t dissuade thinking or eliminate challenge from art but it doesn’t put itself out there to make you feel like a character in the Emperor’s New Clothes. You know you like it when you see it, it is immediately pleasing like eating candy...but it has badass undertones that make you feel like getting something tattoed and yelling at people from your car. It is also pretty funny.

Give it a look friends, and remember that the artist is also capable of playing a fierce game of air hockey and has great aim when throwing jellyfish at small children.

Rest-less but Love-filled

2006-08-07T11:11:00.000-05:00

After seven hellish hours in an over-packed coupe, Matt and I returned safely from our vacation. The kind of vacation, Matt said, you need a vacation from. I have come to think of trips to the beach as packed with hedonistic levels of sloth-like relaxation, gluttony, and nerdom - hours of sitting, and reading, and eating. My last few trips to the beach have been with Matt’s family and with just six or so adults making up the party all of the above activities have been well represented. We had 10 adults in our beach house alone and the other two houses in our party had adult to children ratios of 4:9 and 4:2, respectively. But we all spent most of our time at the one house on the beach.

Matt’s head nearly exploded on that first night when he met the bulk of my family – to him, at the time, they were an anonymous swarm of hugs and loud. Already just inches away from a panic attack, as we were leaving the main house, my cousin taunted him for his reserved quiet - I thought we were going to have to turn right around and head back for Virginia. He persevered somehow; despite a near absence of the solitary “Matt time” he demands to keep from losing his mind or plunging into lethal depths of mope. And towards the end of the trip he even found some new people to love.

As I have written before, my family is a kind of crazy web of people. Both my uncle and my father went into the order – my father as a priest, my uncle as a monk – and they both left that calling to marry and start families in their last forties – my younger brother was born the Christmas after my dad’s 52nd birthday. But, their younger sister married young and had babies shortly thereafter and those babies are now in their forties and between the three of them they’ve given my aunt (Mary) and uncle (Jim) 11 grandkids. Then there’s how my granddad remarried when he was 66 and fathered four additional kids – who now range in age from 28 to 34. Before my youngest uncle, Dave, was born, he was an uncle of 4. And when Ana married my uncle Dan three years ago, she became a great aunt nine times over. So not only is this a large family, it a very confusing one – I cannot fault my six-year-old cousin Erik for having absolutely no clue who I am.

Matt has no young cousins and an extended family that, by comparison, is fairly small. He has never been around children for an extended period of time and thinks of beach vacations as the quiet bibliophile orgy I described earlier. He ended up kind of babysitting quite often – searching for band-aids, applying sunscreen to kids’ backs, digging holes, loaning out his DS, trying on mood rings, getting his hair done, and being cuddled. It was a chaotic, decidedly un-relaxing, fantastic, love-filled week.

Anyone who knows me knows how incredibly important my family is to me. I have actually denied beach invitations to past boyfriends because I have feared their inability to get along in the group. Matt did better than fine – and his efforts meant more to me because I know they were earnest and challenging, even. By the end of the week Maggie, my amazing six-year-old cousin, had declared him “loveable” and she spent the last night of vacation curled up in his lap. The night we got home he admitted that he missed his “babies”.

More photos on flickr and a video featuring the wall of sound that accompanied us most of the trip is forthcoming.

Chance to Breathe

2006-07-27T07:58:00.000-05:00

Last night I finished my last class of the semester – I’m now more than halfway towards getting my Masters. The paper, a manifesto on subversive teaching (don’t get your bureaucratic panties in a bunch, it’s not crazy and a billion times awesomer than you think) turned out alright, though Matt told me I’d be more likely to get play on “Talk Left” than NPR – that cut me to the bone.

I bid farewell to my advisor – the guy is fantastic. He told be that I’ve challenged him, a compliment that is hard to match, and insinuated that I was, well, his favorite. I have never had a mentor before or a professor so willing to engage in debate or conversation with me. And I had never been encouraged to think of myself as an intellectual agent before – or taken totally seriously as someone with the potential to move systems. For all the frustration this program has afforded me (the ridiculous Saturday “class,” the offensively simple technology class, etc.) I can happily call my 25th year hugely formative.

The News of the World

2006-07-25T15:40:00.000-05:00

First, I am still alive and I still think about things. But I don’t still do stuff unless it necessitates a Reference page in APA format. I really kicked it into high gear about three weeks ago and have been reading and writing and being an anxiety-ridden grouch since then.

Yesterday, I presented my graduate thesis which instantly received glowing acclaim. I’d like to think it is a testament to my mind-blowing educational philosophy skills that I was awarded an A fifteen minutes after the presentation began. I ‘d like to think that, instead of considering that it may reflect a serious lax in the stringency of the thesis review procedure. Can we compromise and say it’s a little of column A and a little of column B?

I am nearly done with my treatise on subversive teaching – it is the swan song of my collaboration with my advisor/mentor who is leaving UMW for the greener pastures of VCU at the end of the month. That guy has made this program for me and I will be sad when I tell him off tomorrow night for leaving me two semesters before graduation. I am particularly proud of the reference section of my Ethics paper which touts a citation of a snopes.com article and pwns E. D. Hirsch (uncle of the SOL).

Also, it’s official – it’s being announced – I’ll be an aunt this time next year. My sister-in-law is about four months pregnant so I am about to become that kid’s cool aunt – luckiest baby in the world!

Matt and I went to an actual movie theatre on Sunday to see Pirates of the Caribbean. It was o-k. But the experience reminded us why we don’t go see movies in the theatre – correction why we don’t go see blockbusters in the theatre. Three words: orgy of mastication. Seriously, fatties, chew with your mouths closed. Also, try not to audibly burp during the movie.

The hinge on my cell phone mysterious broke yesterday. I took it to Sprint to get it repaired. They replaced it with a gigantic cobalt blue number that looks like a Fisherprice toy. I hate it, but I am coming around. Whoever did the programming for it LOVES Asians (or hates them?) because every other ringer using some sort of stereotypical Asian tune. My phone is currently set to “Kung Fu Jingle.”

Lastly, we’re heading off to exotic Delaware at the end of the week for fun in the sun with a big chunk of my extensively large family. I am so excited. We eat and laugh all day long and then by night, my cousin and I pwn everyone at board games. And then everyone cries because we are so awesome. At one point there will be 36 of us together – 15 of whom are under the age of 12. Matt expects to get a lot of reading done.

Peace.

I'm still gone

2006-07-22T09:57:00.000-05:00

Sorry for my absence from the blogging world...I now write all day at work and am in the midst of completing my graduate thesis and composing a treatise on subversive teaching (Matt calls it my Communist Manifesto). I am currently spending nearly every waking hour writing and don't have the brain power to compose original blogs - but if you are interesting in hearing about problem-based learning let me know.

I'll be back eventually.

xom

As Promised

2006-07-03T12:58:00.000-05:00

Well, my dear dp has returned to me safely despite a frustrating 12 hour delay in his homecoming. I am glad because a missed him a lot.

One day though I didn't miss him as much and that was because three of my most favorite women visited me in fxburg and encouraged me to load up on mojitos because it made me "so much fun." (By the way, we measured eachother's boobs - omg, is your head exploading?!?)

I promised them I would post this utterly ridiculous picture of Matt, which I am totally going to get in trouble for - but, you know, I am only as good as my word.

Update

2006-06-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

I’ve been urged to write again just after I admitted this afternoon a complete lack of desire to do so. I’ve been busy making out with my books and Xeroxed copies of journal articles all summer and it has been hot HOT. And I haven’t had the time to write about whether or not I have heartburn even though I realize omitting such stories robs my dear readers of what is clearly a fascinating tale.

I have been completely uncreative and useless lately – all I’ve been doing is feverishly scribbling notes in the margins of Neil Postman books, kicking back (alone) with a single beer and watching netflixes, which I promise I will turn off halfway through so I can get back to studying, but inevitably I end up watch all of them and then feel guilty for neglecting poor Neil.

Matt is in Ireland now. At least I assume he’s made it there – he and his family ended up getting stranded in NY for about 25 hours before finally departing for the Emerald Isle (not to be confused with the Emerald Isle they usually head to). He missed the union of two of our very favorite people for this trip but ended up spending the time he could spent dancing to the "sickest, funkiest tracks" on a tarmac in D.C. When I talked to him at the Ramada refugee camp he deeply regretted not shelling out the 2K to bring me along. Oh but then I would miss out on all the glamorous single-Yuengling drinking in the dark and in my underwear, alone.

The wedding, by the way, was amazing. I get annoyed by people who bawl at weddings but I found myself getting a bit choked up and then giggling a lot. Ingrid and Jon are fantastic friends, a wonderful couple, and people for whom procreation should be mandated. We need more of them in the world.

Just look at how awesome they are.

Dr. Mom

2006-06-22T14:40:00.000-05:00

Earlier this past week I was getting this strange chest pains that seemed to come at night and felt like hunger pangs smack in between my breasts. I sent an inquiry email to my dear physician, Dr. Wilson (aka my mom) – I feared that I might be developing dreaded GERD, which has plagued my grandmother my entire lifetime. She responded to my concerns in a phone message later that evening that I was having mild anxiety attacks. When we talked the next day I related that I’d had five papers due in the last week, seen An Inconvenient Truth, and watched some kind of graphic footage of happenings in Iraq. My brain is full and I feel all heavy.

“Oh, yeah, while you were watching An Inconvenient Truth, I was at a pandemic summit – pretty much the consensus is avian flu is coming. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” my mom says.

“Holy shit. I’m getting chest pains again.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it now.”

My mom has awesome bedside matter.

So Little!

2006-06-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

After a couple of difficult carless weeks I purchased a brand new Scion xA (stupid name) almost all by myself. It is very exciting and I am very very happy.

In an effort to save $1,300 and to be both cooler, tougher, and capture Al Gore’s heart I got the model with manual transmission. When I test drove it in Arlington the salesman, Rick VanWinkle (seriously), told me to take the car to the movie theater parking lot so my dad and Matt and I did just that. I had flashbacks to my 15 year old self struggling with the clutch outside the Pentagon.

I did so well in those 15 minutes that when I picked up my car on Friday I felt completely confident that I could drive downtown and back. Not so. I got stuck at a stop light on a steep hill and freaked out – after burning a layer off of my tires I managed to make it up the hill and pull over – I called Matt who collected both the car and me a few hours later.

Matt drove the Scion down to Richmond for Langdon’s opening at Chop Suey (where I finally met my new best friend) so I was able to appreciate my new property from the comfort of the passenger’s seat. The following morning Matt took me to his middle school’s parking lot where I started on hills with increasing proficiency until I felt confident enough to navigate the busy streets of Brandermill. (This was before I knew about Safety Town.)

I didn’t tell Matt this but the whole experience reminded me of learning with my dad - it made me feel warm and loved all over.

Now check out these hot, incredibly small, wheels...

Twin0rz

2006-06-07T07:54:00.000-05:00

My friend, Tina, had two babies last week. It seemed like she was going to be pregnant forever and since the babies were almost brought to term (a rarity for twins) she was quite a fatty before popping those little suckers out.

Tina, as you may know, was a fiercely close friend of mine in my former life at the Hand Workshop - she made that world tolerable and infinitely more fun. When I left she said she and her husband were going to start trying to have a baby - though I know this timing was just coincidental, I like to think that she couldn't go on there without me and had to find a way out. So now, thanks to ME, she has two beautiful baby girls to feed, cloth, and support for the next 18 to 25 years.

No need to thank me, Tina!

Carless and in Love (With a Baby)

2006-06-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

I had the weekend to beat all weekends. It felt like a week and a half the way it was jam-packed with so much awesomeness. So much. Which is good since the weekend began with my car billowing gray smoke and expiring on Jefferson Davis Hwy in the height of afternoon heat. That evening, I smelled wonderful.

My brother left for China yesterday so on Saturday we celebrated both his impending departure and his accolade laden graduation with a Wilson-style party…a whole bunch of people crammed into a townhouse drinking beer. Ooo, it was good. Everyone knows I love my brother times forever and that I am totally totally proud of him, but it was also just nice for me to be around so much family.

My Aunt Sarah showed up with a protruding belly and the news that she is three months preggers with her fourth baby. I spent a lot of time chasing around her youngest, Abby, and being totally in love. Lately my encounters with kids and infants has been inside grocery stores and compelled me once to call my pharmacy to confirm that my prescription for a year’s worth of birth control is on file. But Abby stretches her little arms up to you and you melt – not enough to think about having babies of your own but enough not immediately narrow your eyes at them.

This is a Test

2006-06-05T15:24:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by i heart dorks.

This is a test of my flickr blogging capabilities and also an opportunity to point out how cute we are and how good I look in hooker-sized earrings.