Wednesday, April 30, 2008

short stinkin' lived

so much for 'authors with abbreviated first names' week. somehow it's easy at times to go to the library specifically to pick up the book for book club, check out six other books, and leave the library wondering which books you'll read first. i had it worked out. for the rest of the week, i'd only read stuff by people with abbreviated first names - j.t. leroy and zz packer, unless i stumbled upon some others and checked out even more books. i probably can't do that; i think i'm back up over 20 library books again, and they probably don't let you take out 30. so wallace stegner it is. i'm glad that the wearyingly descriptive beginning lasted only 12 pages or so, not 80 like in 'the sea, the sea.' it was amazing how much i enjoyed that book considering how much of a drag the first section got to be.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

not what you'd guess

the story of how one evening is unexpectedly influenced by carelessness, a 20-foot walk, charades, and a friend's no-refined-sugar diet.

Friday, April 18, 2008

power, with a side of strawberries

one of the more disarming statements made to me during my professional career was 'you're not really interested in becoming a manager, are you?' this was in an interview, spoken by a woman who grew up 6 blocks from my last apartment. i felt a great rapport with her during the interview. in the end, her assessment was probably what killed me. she liked me, but i'm pretty sure she could tell i'm not interested in playing someone's game for the next 5 years in an endless quest to get ahead. it's always friends who figure you out. that's why they get under our skin so easily. at some point the relationship reaches the point where poking at tender points is effortless. not in a good way. maybe if she'd been the hiring manager, rather than the hiring manager's supervisor, she would have taken a chance on me just for the sake of friendship. why am i calling it that?

i'm sending myself to charm school this weekend. there are a lot of things i want to accomplish - find second furniture, shop, buy food, make greeting cards, throw a party - but this is one that i need to prioritize. this weekend's lesson: legacies. i'm going to build a time capsule, to be opened in one month. by me. i'll throw in a few words about the latest hopes and dreams, which crushes i've abandoned, and a snack or two. in a month, we'll see if i can make any sense of historical me. a lot can change in a month.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

i still want donuts

you know the oil price thing really hasn't changed us enough when a large vehicle getting 16mpg in the city is advertised as having 'exceptional' fuel economy. sure, maybe it's better than other large vehicles, but until it becomes economically impossible to sell things like this, nothing has really changed.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

things i never thought i would say

the postal service is growing on me.

i think beyond the casual-listen pop appeal, they've always driven me up the wall with increased exposure (ie listening to half the album in someone's car). these last few weeks, hearing a song or two now and then, i'm liking some of it. question is, is this just going to fade again with exposure?

Monday, April 14, 2008

some people deserve what they get

i like to make regular donations to the library. they appreciate it more when i give them money 25 cents at a time, in appreciation for the chance to take a book out a little longer than originally planned. as i'm waking up to make sure i stop running up fines on the books due two days ago, and digging books due tomorrow out of several different hiding places, i have one conclusion. i deserve library fines. three years ago, i never would have thought i'd be like this.

extreme kyle

extreme kyle is an imaginary friend of mine who does not exist. when i say this, i do not intend to be redundant. i do not actually have an imaginary friend named extreme kyle (or any imaginary friends, it's kinda sad). thus, he does not exist.

i learned today that shy is selfish. shy is selfish, people!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

i don't believe in regrets

i love breakfast, i'm in love with breakfast, i've been waiting my whole life for something like breakfast, and i'm not going to let it go.

due to a very foolish trick i played on my friends last night (not telling them they had walked well past the point where they needed to take a left turn to head over to georgetown) we ended up at a grocery store. this allowed us to buy some truly tasty food. what really impressed me were the "energy bars." these are not normal energy bars. they're in the baked goods section, along with the bagels, and are filled with (as best i can tell/figure) raisins, currants (maybe), apples, and perhaps some nuts or something else. there's a hint of cinnamon and an excellent texture. so very tasty. now, go find me some more of those.

Friday, April 11, 2008

15 ways to avoid eating breakfast

i made the mistake yesterday of buying not only a muffin with some frightening goo in the middle, but also of assuming that said muffin and fancy juice in a plastic bottle would cost me less than $6. i was at the airport, so prices are bound to be ridiculous, but fortunately the muffin was so smashed in my carry-on that i just ate around the cream cheese-esque filling. the juice was from the front of the fridge - another mistake - and not particularly cold.

as it ended up, that was the only thing i ate all day other than a black bean salad. at 10pm, starving, i was given an energy bar. i lay awake for hours wishing i'd eaten dinner.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

the perils of reading

since i am in the middle of moving, i thought it would be a fantastic idea to check about 20 lbs of nonfiction books out of the library. thus, in the past several days, i have read four new volumes, or parts of them. i keep leaving them in odd places like under my desk at work, and yet there are always more to choose from. now, if only i enjoyed the other 16 books i have out from the library so much.