Too Intimate

 I always feel weird telling people what book I'm reading.  It feels so intimate and I immediately feel judged.  Although I care less now than before about being judged, I still care with regards to certain people.  I suppose it's those people whose opinions are less often bestowed but when done so, matter to me, or those people whom I feel only know me one-dimensionally and I'm afraid they'll see behind my wall before I'm ready to let them inside.  

Admittedly, walls or not, there's just something intimate with books.  If I were given an unsolicited book by a person, it means he or she thought about me, or what I might like to read, with enough care and compassion to actually go through with that gifting.  It's not like a vacuum where any one will do.  It's not like a TV, a watch, or even a pair of sunglasses. It required thought!

And likewise, if I purchase a book for someone, I don't want to get just any book.  I want to get one that I care about (or I think the reader will care about and ideally both things happen).  I know that whatever the reader thinks about the book could be reflected onto me.  Yet another level of intimacy!

Anyway, if you find yourself here reading, I'm curious...what book would you get for someone?

Discomfit

 I had a dream last night about the book I just finished.  I don't recall much of the dream other than the word "discomfit".  It kept coming up over and over again.  I woke up this morning very confused, thinking that I had just fallen asleep (which was not the case).  As I woke, scrambling to stop the blaring noise that was my alarm clock, the word discomfit kept coming to mind, as if I had just been saying it.

At that point in time I was not discomfited, rather quite annoyed at having to wake up from whatever it was that had me bound in a dream of fictional characters brought to life by my imagination.

NaBloPoMo Year Two

Welcome NaBloPoMo!

My goal this month, besides the mediocre task of giving birth, is to blog daily. Even if it's merely a photo, I shall try.

If you are uncertain what NaBloPoMo is, it happens to stand for National Blog Posting Month. Since my blogs are usually just worthless rants and raves that I feel the need to share with everyone, they mean little in terms of daily blogging, but it at least forces me to write daily. As it is therapeutic for me, I feel I should make the effort to write more, and this month, I at least have the excuse.

I'm trying to decide if I should require myself to blog here daily, or if I can combine the daily bloggings between here, BabyBlog, and HOK Life. What do you think?

Too Many Words Sound Alike!

"I'm jealous, Becky is going to see Grease tonight" he says. I look confused and disgusted all at the same exact moment. I wonder aloud, "really, I want to go to Greece, how did I not know about this"? I get that blank confused expression in return while he replies, "well, you know, working at the Fox, she gets so many tickets, so she's going to see it tonight". Damn it, I did it again, the other Greece!

While I won't be going to Greece anytime soon, I will be going with Amanda to New York this weekend for the Tim Burton exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. I am supposed to give my flight info to my brother so that some one can "track" me for my mom. So, here it is:

sat jan 16 2010 AA1030 STL 10:55-LGA 14:15
mon jan 18 2010 AA2223 LGA 16:15-STL 18:10

Since that's cleared up, my only worry is about poor Haiti. They needed better buildings.

SMART ASS

WHO AM I?

I am a TV character.

Carroll Spinney plays me.

My voice was based on a Bronx cabbie’s.

I am green.

My pet peeve is cheerful people.

My favorite vacation spot is the Mudville City Dump.

I love trash.

I live on Sesame Street.

WORD

advertent: giving attention; heedful

30 Million Dollar Garage

Did you know that if you were going to have a concrete parking garage built in the US, it would cost you about $15,000 per car? So for instance, if you wanted to allow 2000 cars to park in your garage, it would cost you 30 million US dollars.

There are a lot of stipulations that I should note, [you know, all that fine print]. As I am neither an estimator nor producer of said concrete structures, you should ignore anything I have to say...just thought you might like to know that tidbit!

SMART ASS
WHERE AM I?

I am a lake.

My waters come from glaciers.

I claim to have 300 sunny days a year.

Each winter, I have 400 inches of snowfall.

I am the second deepest lake in the US.

My southern shore is known for its casinos.

I am divided between Nevada and California.

I am in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

WORD

yashmak: A veil worn by Muslim women that is wrapped around the upper and lower parts of the face so that only the eyes remain exposed to public view.

Chet the Jet

I recommend books all the time that people probably end up hating and wondering why I'd even bother reading let alone recommending! But one of the books I once recommended to my brother was Dog On It by Spencer Quinn, seemingly enjoyed by all. My mom and both my brothers read it. Since then, and to my utmost delight, I found the blog by Chet the Jet (hero of the book, a dog named Chet). I also follow Chet on Twitter! Anyway, the new book is out, Thereby Hangs A Tail.

I chose to mention this because I was reading today's blog which made me chortle aloud at work, thus giving away the fact I wasn't actually working. [People don't laugh at work in this industry]. So it goes, Chet arrives home and realizes that there have been trespassers. I'm on edge with anticipation as to who might have been on his property...

...I followed the scents: squirrel, bird, the mailman, toad, and several of my guys, including – Iggy?

...I have to laugh, that's just exactly what a dog would do; get everyone up in arms thinking some one is at the door or breaking into the house, you charge through rooms at the ready to find, but what, really?, that's just a squirrel taunting you with it's tail! Ohhhhh Dogs!

Anyway, good books, go read!

SMART ASS
WHAT AM I?

I am a form of dance.

I have companies throughout the world.

My lead dancers are called principals.

I have five main positions.

Edgar Degas’ paintings of me are well known.

The Nutcracker and Swan Lake are among my popular works.

Mikhail Baryshnikov is one of my most famous dancers.

My apparel can include tutus and toe shoes.

[easy peasy japanesy...and on that note, Mike, you were right, it was Degas...interesting that we just had that conversation yesterday]

WORDS

febrile: marked or caused by fever; feverish. This word, along with fever, are derived from the Latin word febris, meaning a fever.

confabulate: 1.:to talk informally; chat. 2. to hold a discussion; to confer. 3.:to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication. Confabulate, fabulous, and fable are all derivatives of the Latin word fabula meaning "conversation" or "story" depending on the usage.

kinesics: a systematic study of the relationship between nonlinguistic body motions (as blushes, shrugs, and eye movement) and communication. The formal study of "body language" is believed to have begun with the publishing of Ray Birdshistell's book Introduction to Kinesics in 1952.

What's Going On?

I'm either having a stroke or everyone on Twitter today is really confusing!

Want to know where the earthquakes are happening? Go to these sites:

• US


• Mediterranean

Want to know about any event? Go here:

• ubAlert

WHO AM I?

I am a famous leader.

I was born in Corsica in 1769 and died in 1821.

My military battles were well documented.

I was the greatest military genius of the 19th century.

I declared myself Emperor.

I was called the “Little Corporal.”

In 1815, I pushed it too far at Waterloo.

I told Josephine, “Not tonight.”

WORD

truculent: 1:feeling or displaying ferocity 2: deadly or destructive 3: scathingly harsh 4: aggressively self-assertive

Book of Lost Things

I just finished a lovely book, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. It was a great book with much taken from myths, folklore, and fairy tales. I have to admit that the ending was my favorite part. I won't share it, but will tell you that it has elements of well dressed talking animals [one of my bigger fears]; twisted fairy tales that end not quite like you expect yet the tales all end in some way that you some how did expect; the ending is sad and yet you smile by the shear happiness of it all. I recommend it indeed. On that note, I also think that @ibificus, @Emmet, and @FrankieP would rather enjoy it. First, well dressed talking animals. Second, great imagery for the mind that I think the likes of those fellas would appreciate. Third, it's twisted, and those three seem to like that which is twisted [or I assume since that what I gather from Twitter]!

WHERE AM I?

I am a North American city in the Rocky Mountains.

I am a stylish ski resort for the rich and famous.

I was once a rich silver mining center.

I am in Colorado.

I am located on the Roaring Fork River.

I share my name with a variety of tree.

I am the site of a music festival each summer.

John Denver moved here in the 1970s.

[Not quite so easy today]

WORD

passel: a large number or amount. [This word is similar to the words cuss and bust with respect that it comes from a "linguistic idiosyncrasy" where there is a loss of sound of "r" after a vowel and before a consonant in the middle of a word. curse-cuss; burst-bust]

Things Will Get Easier?

And so it goes, 2010 is on the move. It hasn't started out swell, but I suppose, granted the way the universe works, I shall not worry the small stuff. As an update, Chris (Andy's friend) is alive and well. By well I mean no internal injuries. Yesterday afternoon he was sitting on his couch when a car drove over his porch and into his front room pinning him against the wall opposite where he sat; he was then flown to Barnes-Jewish hospital. As I mentioned, he is well and since they aren't my injuries I won't share them here, just know he's well.

I have a whole list of worries and dilemmas plaguing me at the moment, but I won't share them all at once, instead I shall share with you a question in order to get your opinion on the matter.

QUESTION
How should one say 2010? [Click here for my poll]

• Twenty Ten [history indicates this to be logical... The War of Eighteen Twelve; Party Like It's Nineteen Ninety-nine]


• Two-thousand and Ten [while this feels right to me, I would not have chosen to say "The War of Eighteen-hundred and Twelve" nor "The War of One-thousand Eight-hundred and Twelve"]

WHAT AM I?

I am a musical instrument.

I am made from brass, but am not part of the brass section.

A “Bird” was known for playing me.

I can be an alto, soprano, tenor, or baritone.

Lisa Simpson plays me all the time.

Bill Clinton once played me on a late night talk show.

I am occasionally used in the orchestra.

My popularity stems mainly from jazz.

[another easy one to boost the confidence! As usual, check back in the comments for the answer]


WORD
fissiparous: tending to break up into parts; divisive. For example, my home made shortbread! In biology, where the word was first used, it applied to organisms that produce new individuals by fission (dividing into seperate cells creating two new and unique organisms).

Did I Wake Up In Alaska?

I fear I may have accidentally moved to Alaska without knowing I have done so...



[temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit]

WHO AM I?

I am an actor and screenwriter born in New York City.

The first movie I wrote and starred in won Best Picture.

My most famous character now has been in 6 movies.

My second most famous character has been in 4 movies.

Neither character speaks much.

At birth, part of my face was partially paralyzed.

I have a body-focused nutrition company and book.

My nickname is “Sly.”

[Seriously, if you can't get this, you're out of the loop, but I'll be sure to post the answer in the comment section of this blog towards the end of the day]

WORD

alley-oop: A basketball play in which a player catches a pass above the basketball and immediately dunks the ball. "Alley-oop" was first heard by English ears under the big tops of early 20th-century circuses. When acrobats were about to leap to their trapezes, they would often cry the similar sounding French word allez-oop--an interjection meaning roughly "go up". Its latest venue is the half pipe, where skateboarders and snowboarders pull "alley-oop" spinning tricks.

Smart Ass

So far 2010 started out well. It's 3°F outside with a -6° wind chill. This weather made drinking my hot tea quite delightful!

I was a bit disappointed in my word of the day so I decided to register online for my free calendar (that came along with my purchase of the paper kind).

I opted for Smart Ass (though it took some finagling with the site to get around to giving it to me)! Anyway, instead of a word, here's a riddle...

Where Am I?

I am a famous structure in Asia.

Shocking conditions were endured while making me.

I was built by Allied prisoners of war.

The Japanese oversaw my construction.

I was portrayed in a 1957 Oscar-winning movie.

I am in Thailand.

I was destroyed during the war, but was rebuilt.

I am still in use today.

[Just a note from the editor, don't respond with the answer "Thailand", smart ass indeed]

My Daily Food?

I was asked what "My Daily Food" means. I think the question spurred because of the lack of content about food on my blog. I'm not a foodie (baker perhaps), I rarely cook. In fact yesterday I contemplated this for dinner...



My Daily Food is a ska song by Toots and the Maytals. I'd give you the lyrics but I only know a few. "I earn my daily food", "it's my daily food", "something something something" that sounds like "take a banana peel", and then some other words that sound like mother and father and let go. I sometimes make words up to my music. For example, to this song I often say "Happens all day, happens all day; spendin' my time lookin' like a, like a crazy fool"! [For those of you that have/know the song, I'll give you a moment to play it and wait for the moment that you can totally understand what I mean]!

I make words up in songs all the time. Sebadoh has a song called Ocean whose lyrics go like this, "somethin' 'bout the middle of the ocean, somethin', somethin', somethin', somethin' else, and that's all I know".

I'm just classy that way!

Word...

bid: A prison sentence.

NaBloPoMo Day 25 Post 25 - #Doodle

A doodle for your time!



Happy Thanksgiving!

Word...
skeezy: Used to describe a dubious and dirty or vulgar individual. A combination of "sketchy" and "sleazy". Think in terms of a used car salesman!

NaBloPoMo Day Twelve Post Ten - Forgot Dream

Every evening that I jog [or lay awake suffering from insomnia] I think of all the things I plan to write. I even write these things out in my head in such a way that if I could use my mind to make the physical action of writing happen, I'd have novels all over flowing the shelves. [Okay, so yes, the books are already over flowing the shelves, but they aren't books *I've* written]. But then I arrive to the computer the following morning and my mind is blank. I can no longer recall all of my brilliant ideas. It's as if the book I'd written never existed, but I swear to you I have some brilliant ideas, I just forget them.

Even this morning I thought of something I wanted to write, but, well, as you can guess...I forgot what it was. It's okay though, I'll try to take better care of my ideas by jotting a note or two down about them. As for now, you'll get part of my dream from last night [surprise surprise, you only get that part which I can remember, I've already forgotten the rest!]

...I looked in a mirror to see that my skin was washed out, very pale but freckle free. I leaned in closer to see my skin. It was dry and cracked with fine lines in places I'd never seen them before. Disappointed I looked over my entire face finding age. I stopped once to glance into my own eyes that were as they truly are; a hazel colored iris that has amber and green in streaks around the pupil. I felt slightly reassured that I was still myself, but disappointed that I was the person looking back in the mirror. I was actually a bit horrified that it was me. But what I saw next was even more frightening. I saw that I'd lost most of my hair, the bald area covered in scabs. I poked at them to discover they were bruised, tears streamed down my eyes while I tried to gather my memory to recall when this had happened. Nothing came. Then I woke up panicked.

Word...
Facebook crush: A crush on a FB friend is characterized by the unexplainable urge to revisit the friend's Photos tab repeatedly and checking to see if other friends have written new messages on their Wall. Usually afflicts users who are only somewhat acquainted. [heh]

NaBloPoMo Day Three Post Three -V

I won't have time later so I'm writing early. I'm at work and the slave driver will be in soon, so I can't write too long....

My new life's strategy from coworker Jim: "Under promise and over deliver every time", set the bar low and you will succeed and avoid failure every time! I've tried this strategy a few times and failed anyway, so I can't say it'll be effective, but you never know right!

A very quick story and one word...

V
Years ago there was a television miniseries called "V". It stood for the "visitors" and was about aliens coming to take over Earth. I was probably 4 or maybe 5 at the time and therefore my older brother was about 6 or 7. We became instant fans as everyone in my household was a fervent fan of the thing called science fiction. We all still are to this day. Anyway, we were huge fans, we played "V" regularly. We made our own posters displaying the iconic red V, the symbol of the resistance(V for victory which was spray-painted over posters promoting Visitor friendship among humans). Eventually, the family moved to a new house a year or two later, and somewhere we managed to get our hands on some red spray paint. As you can guess Dusty and I painted the town red...or at least various parts of the backyard with the drippy red V!

Word
electile dysfunction (ED): The state of impotence and abject disinterest toward the political elective process.

BY THE WAY, IT'S ELECTION DAY, GO VOTE, YOU AIN'T GOT ED!

NaBloPoMo Day Two Post Two -Taiwanese Toilets

Mac and cheese, or rather some tube like noodles and cheese is what I'm having for dinner. I'm a lousy cook but can bake fairly well. I'm left brained and it's obvious. I'd like to be less nerdy, but I can't, never could really. Some people claim to like it and think it's cute...but some how I suspect "cute" really means something equivalent to "look at the girl who can't walk but tries so hard, you can't help but adore her effort"...I'll take what I can get I guess.

Anyway, as I promised, a blog a day. I'll give you some words and a story and be on my merry noodle eating way!

Taiwanese Toilets

I'd been out of the country before...Mexico, Ireland, and now Taiwan. It was a school Fellowship to see the earthquake damage of Chi-Chi Taiwan. It was a treat to go, and I had almost decided not to even send in the application. But I did, and I was accepted, and I went. I was nervous as anyone could imagine, going alone to a country that was of Chinese language, nothing of which I could speak or understand.

I was alone, did I mention that? I was meeting a handful of other students in Taiwan. Fortunately for me, I managed to meet one of those students in Detroit before heading into Taiwan. Thankfully I didn't have to be scared alone! We could be scared together. Anyway, cut to the chase, we had a crazy driver that got us to our hotel, then I realized I'd left my money at home. Luckily I had just come from Ireland less than 24 hours before, so I did have money on me! I'm certain I cried for about 2 or three hours before I passed out from exhaustion. Then the adventure was on!

The trip was all in all, very cool! I learned a lot, met really great people, became adventurous with food (you'll eat anything if you are hungry enough), and got to see some very unique things in a part of the world I may have not seen otherwise.

The part I want to tell you about is the toilets. In many of the places we traveled (with the exception of hotels/rest stops/finer dining establishments) the men's restrooms/bathrooms/water closets/what-ever-the-hell-you-call-it were traditional toilets with a seat and tank and a lid and a flusher. I know this because of the conversations we had with the boys. In the women's restrooms/bathrooms/water closets/what-ever-the-hell-you-call-it were holes in the ground. Yes, a simple pipe that came up to collect waste. Imagine my surprise when I walk in to use the toilet and open the stall door and see a hole! I walked back out and saw the universal "chick in a dress symbol"...yep girls in here. I stood and looked. A girl walked in, went into the stall, I saw her squat, I saw her "waste", I cringed. Really? This is how I have to do this? Camping style? Well okay...only had three beers by now and have to squat. Okay, I'm used to hovering, how hard can this be? Well about five minutes later I braved the stall, I squatted, I wasted...it was a toilet experience I'll never forget!

Words...

feeling fist:The fist used to express deep or extreme emotion during a song, in which the singer extends a fisted hand and brings it back in towards the body with intensity of emotion.

In Use: When singing Hungry Eyes on the karaoke machine, Joe impressed us all with a perfect feeling fist.

pitching wedge: Someone who only looks good from far away.
ride on dubs: To drive a car with 20-inch or larger rims.
lappy: Short for laptop computer; especially old and outdated models.
midnight gardening: The act of passing out or falling over in foliage after large amounts of liquor have been consumed.
no homo: Phrase used after one inadvertently says something that sounds gay.

In Use: His ass is mine. No homo.

Bland Today

Today's choice in footwear:

Argyle socks and rubber-polka-dotted-rain-boots!

[A message to Becky: I didn't make it to the shoe store this past weekend, so I didn't get to partake in the shoe sales...what all did you get?? You should be posting this stuff! :)]

Not a lot of time today, have to hammer down and get some work out in addition to packing my things as we are moving to a new desks this week. When I saw we, I mean the entire structures group. Besides lack of storage for my many books and building codes; as well as the fear that now everyone will see me crying at my desk, I'm really looking forward to the change!

Word...
fojo: Female mojo

Finally, The Results Are In...

Well, it's been a while since I've written, and you can all blame work for that! I've been working 12/13 hour days most days for about a month now. I've also got a lot of personal stuff going on too. I've been wanting to get around to writing some more, but just can't seem to find time. Since we hit a deadline yesterday, I'm making time to post! Here we go...

So much for polls, they only tell me what I already know!

First the results of the brownie poll. My question was, "what is the best part of the brownie", and your choices where, "corner", "middle", or "edge".
....and the winner is....

Corner

I already knew that though!

The second of polls had to do with a dog contest I was participating in and did not win. I had asked you all to help me choose a photo to submit, your choices were the following:




As you may be aware, there was a tie between Bella as a puppy and Riley with a corncob. The whole point of this poll was to help me decide but instead the poll only narrowed my options down to the two photos I had already really decided on...oh well!

The picture I chose to submit was Riley with the corncob. As I mentioned, we didn't win, *sigh*! Thanks for participating though, that was great fun, wasn't it?!

If you read my last blog, about cat pee, you might be interested to know that I've received a nickname based upon that very true and sad story! Bernie has dubbed me "la reyenita de la gata orina" which translates to "Little Queen of Cat Pee"!

Ahead now with words...and speaking of words, I heard one today that gave me a chill along my spine! Parlance...now most of us have heard the word parley...and so parlance is just a variation on that word (which means vernacular; vernacular is the term I more commonly use in lieu of parlance). Parley comes from parle which I believe is the sourced from parable (you know, the stories told to teach us stuff, like "don't cry wolf"). I of course heard the word on Twitter [where else do I socialize?] from @ibificus: "I think it's what would be called, in modern parlance, an epic fail. http://tr.im/B61y The laughing cop makes it". Did you get a chilly spine?

Okay, off to the urban words yo (I owe you many):
microvisit: The real-world equivalent of microblogging. Stopping by to talk to someone for 140 seconds or less. [Here's a funny video about this...from @That1EBD]
renob: "Boner" spelled backwards; a less derogatory way to coll someone a boner.
less than three: The literal form of <3; which is in turn supposed to represent a sideways heart (love). [I've wondered if "<3" is love; is "< B" broken hearted?? But after entering that in, I realize the compy only sees it as bold text, oh well]
lickle: To tickle by licking.
phishing: Tricking people so you can steal their personal information. Usually done over the Internet.
askusation: A question and an accusation.

Three Words for Three Days

sporn: Combination of "spam" and "porn"; this fills most e-mail in-boxes.
petro: Scared; afraid; sort for "petrified"; what I am of the monsters under my bed.
floordrobe: A form of storage for clothing that required no hangers, drawers, doors, or effort. Simply drop the clothes on the floor and you have a floordrobe.

Bye Justin

It's one of those days when the temperature is just about perfect and the sun is shining down to warm the skin as the cool breeze brushes your hair around your face. It was so nice that I got off the train a stop early so I could walk the extra half mile to the building in which my office resides.

I am however a bit saddened today. I've known for some time that my blog crush Justin was up to something. You might recognize that I've had a blog crush for some time as I've written about him for about a half year now. Well today he posted his Two-Weeks Notice. Since initially "meeting" Justin, we've become friends on Facebook so I've been enlightened to his newest adventures which are always seemingly amusing [for example: "I had to stand in a trough to have a shower this morning", or "Anyone know how/where I can become a certified drivers-ed instructor?", and even as simple as "On a bus to London..."]. It'll just be sad to watch him go. I do have to say though, [I hope he reads this], Justin is much braver than I am. It takes a lot of courage to grasp the concept of being unhappy with a career choice; then to leave it behind and try something new. It's scary, and I commend him for his change! So I say good luck to him, but I know his luck from having read his blogs, there's really no point to wishing any luck to him! But he knows he has a pal in St. Louis, and that's just swell for now!

I did do something different yesterday, which consisted of going to a food demo show! I've done this once before though never blogged about it. A friend, Kelly S., works at a place called The Kitchen Conservatory. It's a cool place where they sell kitchen/cooking/baking items, but also where they teach cooking classes. What happens at the demo shows I've gone to, she [or the chef of the class] cooks a three course meal (and cocktail) in front of an audience of [at most] 14 people all stationed around a counter where she works. We the audience then get to eat her delicious food! Well, last night's was all about lavender [my favorite smell]. If you ever get the opportunity, please try the Honey-Lavendar Ice Cream. It was divine! You can read all about the stuff we got to try at Kelly's blog found at barbaricgulp.com!

Since I'm around today, I shall share a word...
amish: [urban slang definition] To be completely grounded and deprived of all means of modern technology. [a.k.a my mom]