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Showing posts from 2010

Carrie's NYE is a lot like mine

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Happy New Year's!!! (click on link)

2010: Moving and Shaking, Learning and Mistaking

It's New Years Eve, and it is blizzarding out, so I suppose it would be appropriate for me to reflect on the past year. Here goes: 2010 was a year of moving and shaking. I had a total of five addresses and began to consider a career change to become a professional gypsy. I moved with the seasons and with changing freedoms and responsibilities first living in a murder house in Vermillion, then to a Lawrence, KS house on Maine St., then my Watertown family home, then my aunt's windowless basement bedroom, then the cinderblock castle apartment with KS, and finally I'm here at my Watertown family home for a few more weeks until NYC. 2010 taught me the importance of efficient and organized packing (and unpacking), and by the end of it all, I think all the little moves and little goodbyes have helped lead up to my biggest move and my biggest goodbye of all. There was also a whole lotta shaking going on in 2010. I got all shook up at the Char Bar once or twice, and Club David,

We really love each other.. but mostly around graduation time

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Big AL graduation from grad school 2010 Little AL high school graduation 2009

Who says paper kills trees?

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A list of December happenings, resume style

So much has happened in the last month that the thought of writing a coherent narrative is too overwhelming for me to handle on a Sunday night. I suppose a real writer could tackle such a task, but I am not a real writer, certainly not an "A" writer (just ask my very last report card). Here's what's been going on in December... resume-style.  Researched and wrote a seminar paper about divine and courtly love in medieval allegory, completed a 3500 word essay about death and technology, and put together an annotated bibliography of grammar pedagogy research (barf!). Emptied out my office, desk, mailbox, and shelf. Turned in my key, left Dakota Hall for the last time, and didn't look back. Celebrated the culinary mastery of Vermillion's finest food establishments: RED, Mona Lisi's (first time!), Pro's, Chae's, and Viejo (all in one week!) Called myself Brenda and called KS June to a toothless man sitting at the bar at Carey's on our last nig

Scarf Parties at Delt, anyone?

Penny's Perspective

I finally sat down and watched Almost Famous in its entirety today, thanks to GG. Throughout the film, I thought, "How did it possibly take me this long to finally see this??" I gave it two red nail polished thumbs up! Here's my favorite quote: "I always tell the girls, never take it seriously. If you never take it seriously, you never get hurt; you never get hurt, you always have fun; and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends." --Penny Lane

I have measured out my life in coffee spoons

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Because everyone loves a good coffee date!

Here WAS New York

Mining the Collaboration with Advanced Analytics Using some of IBM's expertise in deep data mining and analysis, we will crunch all the content to help develop a SmarterCities Open Model , which cities and groups around the world can build on to start SmarterCities grassroots projects. The data will remain free and open, under Creative Commons license, so that it can grow and be improved over time. This creative output will also flow into and inform work at IBM's new network of Analytics Centers launching around the globe: in Berlin, Tokyo, Beijing, New York, London and Washington, D.C. SmarterCities is an outgrowth of IBM's Smarter Planet initiative, which is focused on how all the systems in the world -- including food production, healthcare delivery,

11:29

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Her art lives on! Please vote!

Go to this website and vote for Megan Dirks! She was published in this book earlier and was juror's pick. http://newamericanpaintings.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/inaugural-new-american-paintings-annual-prize-readers-choice-poll/

Amazing Rhema Marvanne

Let Us Commence

So I graduated today!!!! The speaker at graduation was from the SD Board of Regents, but instead of summarizing his commencement speech, I thought I'd post a (better) commencement speech from my girl, Annie. I like to read it imagining that she's talking to me. "I gave the undergraduate and interdisciplinary studies commencement address at the University of California at Berkeley in May. A number of people asked for a copy of the speech, and I told them I'd post it on Salon. So here it is, shorter and slightly fiddled with. I am honored and surprised that you asked me to speak today. This must be a magical day for you. I wouldn't know. I accidentally forgot to graduate from college. I meant to, 30 years ago, but things got away from me. I did graduate from high school, though -- do I get a partial credit for that? Although, unfortunately, my father had forgotten to pay the book bill, so at the graduation ceremony, when I opened the case to see my diploma, it

19-44-50?

Last year at this time, I told a friend that my goal was to have 20 followers by New Year's Eve. She so sweetly messaged her friends asking them to "follow" me, but still I think I only made it to 19 by the time the bell struck twelve. But I just looked and realized that now I have 44 followers! How did that happen?! I really feel so so honored that people pop in to this blog from time to time to read, watch, or see whatever I've been wasting my time finding or putting together. THANK YOU for being interested in the same kinds of things that I'm interested in, and thank you for following. So, what do you say... 50 by December 31st?
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I hope that's ok

I think that the main purpose of this blog is to share cool, interesting, beautiful, thought-provoking, funny, original, strange stuff with my friends. But lately I've been thinking that maybe there's another reason, too. In my creative non-fiction class, we talk about how writing is a way of figuring out something or working our way through what's going on inside of us. And I think that this blog is sort of a way for me to do that as well. So this post isn't going to be funny or cool or strange, but instead it's just my attempt to work my way through what's going on inside of me.   *** I was searching through old facebook messages today to find an address, and I came across a bunch of old messages to and from MD. It's strange because I just finished a piece for my non-fiction class on this exact thing, finding technological artifacts as reminders of death. More on that later.. I thought I would post some snippets of messages.. it's so strange how lif

So Smart!

Do you have any idea how much more I would get out of lectures if they were all presented this way?!!?

Bad-Bye

There's this scene in Gilmore Girls when Lorelia and Rory are talking on the phone the morning that Logan, Rory's boyfriend, moves to London.  Lorelia asks Rory, "How was the goodbye?" and Rory responds, "Awful. There's nothing good about a goodbye. It was a very poorly named ritual. It was a bad-bye. A very bad-bye." I think Rory (or rather, the writers of GG) are so right. Who the heck came up with that word anyway? What a [oxy]moron!

The view from my front door

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The Hatch

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Two years ago, we spent the month of December sitting in the dark facing our television our faces blue with the reflection of the screen. We were sitting in our living room but we were lost watching disk after disk of the tv series of the same name lost. We were starved for adventure for physical trial and triumph for movement and ambition all of which we lacked that December. At night I dreamed of the island and had reoccurring Lost-mares of the Hatch because though we didn't say it aloud we all thought it "Please, don't go down there."

I know we've all had a bumpy ride

Quit talkin' shit about my boyfriend!

Louis: I have to say, this is my first trip to New York...not for me. The garbage, the noise, I don't know how you put up with it. Carrie: Thanks. I had a great time. Louis: Wait, you're going home alone? It's rough out there. Carrie: Nah. It isn't so bad. Carrie (voiceover): If Louis was right, and you only get one great love, then New York may just be mine...and I can't have nobody talkin' shit about my boyfriend. --Sex and the City

I have, as a matter of fact

We're Prepping for Picture #3!

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AL and EH  Spring 2005 Central Park. NYC AL and EH Fall 2008 Central Park, NYC

"What's the point?"

It's about this time in the semester when I look at the long list of meaningless tasks that I have left to complete when I ask myself the ultimate question, "What's the point?" Really, what is the point to all of this? What good will I serve humanity by completing a 20 page seminar paper about irony in medieval allegory? How will my annotated bibliography on second language grammar instruction contribute to well-being of mankind? And most importantly, will my students even know if I don't read their final portfolios? Life is twisted, complicated, fast, and short, and it's days like today when I really don't want to waste any more of mine being miserable and stressed over work that doesn't feed the hungry or nurse the sick. But yet, I do what I have to do. Only 8ish more days of annotations and comma splices, and then I'll be free to hug and help and high five everyone, improving our earth in my own little Amanda Lightfield way. Hang in ther

Happy B-Day from BK!

Happy Birthday AB!

Ugh.

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I like trees much more when I'm sitting under them resting in their shade. Instead, here I am here, hoovering over their thinly sliced guts trying to make sense of the words printed in size 11 Times New Roman. I hate this time of the year. Don't tell Jesus.

Them and Us

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I know a lot of people who are in love. I am not one of them. Neither is little AL. We talked about it the other night and watched this clip from 500 Days of Summer . She turned to me and said, "It's not fair that people in love get to be so much happier than us." I think I agree. How depressing. Them Us

Welcome back to AMERICA!!!

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JG is back. Thank. God.

A Jury of My Peers

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My roommate KS is in law school, and for her trial tech class, she needed volunteers to serve on her mock trial jury. Of course LS and I jumped at the chance! We love everything Law & Order and were so excited to see our rockstar friend in action, but we were both a bit concerned about our longstanding issues with church giggles and initiation giggles. We feared that court room giggles could be the worst yet. Regardless, we put our fears behind us and braved the court room. There was some stifled and outright laughter, but for the most part, we behaved ourselves. We even learned a thing or two! So... If you ever get summoned to [mock] jury duty Bring something to write with. That way, every time something happens that makes you want to say a smart ass remark to the person sitting next to you (LS), you can write it down and discuss during recess. Come prepared. Bring a list on non-funny images to counteract all of the courtroom comedies you've ever seen that will inevitably

Look at what the light did now:

I'd take some drizzle

"I wanted so badly to lie down next to her on the couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. Not fuck, like in those movies. Not even have sex. Just sleep together in the most innocent sense of the phrase. But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating. So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was hurricane." — John Green in Looking for Alaska

RIP Facebook

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You know what I hate?? I hate when I have an idea, a light-bulb-going-off, this-is-going-to-make-me-millions, can't-wait-for-my-10-year-reunion kind of idea, and then, I realize that someone has already thought of it. Lately, I've been working on a piece for my creative non-fiction class looking at death and technology. I want to look at how technology in the 21st century makes grief and moving on more difficult than it was 100 or 200 years ago. I want to explore how facebook profiles, email addresses, and phone numbers of dead people are both haunting and healing for those who grieve. Ultimately, I want to reach some sort of conclusion about letting go of the dead: the real and the virtual. But this morning I made the mistake of googling it, and it turns out that this idea has already been written about, and not only that, but it has been written about in a much more convincing and provoking way. Ugh. Typical. Any-who, I still think the idea is interesting, and I'm still g

Thank you.

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...more blessings than can fit on this chalkboard. Thank you.

I changed my mind... I want to get MARRIED RIGHT NOW!

Maybe I'm being a little hasty, but I really love this song! Find me a groom, and it's on. 

Weird, but cool, but weird

Nerd.

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"Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself." — John Green

Guess What Song

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Oral Exam: It's Not What You're Thinking

Tomorrow is a big day because I have my oral exam/program defense. "What is an oral exam?," you ask? (hold the jokes- it's not that kind of oral exam). Well, it's the last flaming hoop I have to jump through before graduation (I guess if you don't count the seminar paper, creative non-fiction piece, and annotated bibliography project all due before December 18th). From the hours of 11:00-12:00 I will be sitting in a small conference room with my committee, which consists of one ed school professor, one English professor, and my advisor and committee chair. During that one hour, they will ask me questions about what I've learned in each of my classes and how it fits in with the program and with other courses. They'll ask me about my teaching pedagogy and philosophy. They'll ask about writers and theorists and periods of literature and critical concepts. At least this is what I think they'll ask me about. I'm not exactly sure. I'm hopin

Song for the Painter, Song for Meg

There's a new princess in town!

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I can't help it! I'm a sucker for a good fairy tale!!

The Rules of Love

...according to Medieval notions of Courtly Love. (not to be confused with COURTNEY Love.. which I keep typing) I'm researching this for my Medieval Seminar Paper.. if I have to read it, you have to read it. My commentary is in Italics . I. Marriage is no real excuse for not loving. Huh? II. He who is not jealous cannot love. Jealousy can be kind of sweet . III. No one can be bound by a double love. Tell that to the girl on The Notebook IV. It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing. Sounds like a nauseating carnival ride to me . V. Boys do not love until they arrive at the age of maturity. What exactly is that age?? VI. No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons. Height is not a good reason. VII. It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry. I fully support this one. VIII.A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved. True but with the exception of John Mayer IX.W

Messy

I love my tidy apartment, but I agree about messes in my mind.  "Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived...Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation... Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist's true friend. What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here." — Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life)

I'm engaged to no ordinary city

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Larry, Kansas

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The light that cried wolf

I drove 337 miles to Lawrence, KS this weekend with my "check engine" light on the whole way, but nothing bad happened. I'm beginning to think that my "check engine" light is full of shit. Pulling into Lawrence felt good. Iowa street, Tennessee street, Kentucky street, Mass street. I remembered the streets like fingers remember on a keyboard, and soon I was at KG's front step first recognizing CS curls as she stood on the porch to welcome me. We sat and talked surrounded by the wood paneled walls in KG's apartment, and in between bites of chickpea curry and rice, we filled each other in on everything that I had missed in Lawrence since June. Who is dating? Who broke up?  Where are you working? How is the new apartment? We went down to Mass street, toasted a drink to my dad at the Jazz Haus, and went dancing at the Jackpot. I sweat so much I had to pull my hear back, but I didn't stop. I didn't know the songs or the people I was dancing with

Cloud Dog

I saw these guys at the Replay in Lawrence on Friday night!! Unbelievable, but this video doesn't do it justice. 

Something from a real writer

"The Piano" by Lynne Sharon Schwartz "I still have the Baldwin baby grand piano my parents gave me as a high school graduation present decades ago. All through my adult life, every time I moved I took it with me—no easy feat with a piano so large—or else found it a suitable temporary lodging. The piano has accompanied me from Brooklyn to Philadelphia to Boston and is now settled in Manhattan, where it occupies a good part of the living room. Once I went to Italy for a year, and for that year I asked my sister to shelter it. When I returned I found a few paper clips lodged inside among the strings and I heatedly accused my sister of not taking proper care of the piano, which in retrospect seems an odd overreaction on my part: just a few clips, after all. It’s not clear to me why I’ve held on to the piano for so long and continue to play it, considering that I no longer play well, nor, to be candid, with much enthusiasm. It’s not that I love it so much. I hardly love

The problem is... we all do.

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Caffeine and Coldplay

As I type this, I am sitting in the Black Dog coffeehouse in Lenexa, KS grading research papers while KG teaches at her real, big kid job. She's not just a TA anymore, you know. It's cold and rainy outside, and I love everything about what's happening today. I'm with good friends and good coffee. After I dropped KG off at her job and started off toward this coffeeshop, I hopped on 87th Street and was stopped at a red light. I became mesmerized by the windshield wipers going back and forth and back and forth. I remembered distinctly the last day of high school when EH and I skipped school to go to a Dashboard Confessional concert in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was pouring rain the whole way to Grand Forks, and we listened to a Coldplay album over and over again. To stay awake, we coordinated the wipers to the beat of each song. We were pretty good at, actually. Coldplay is playing right now in the coffee shop, but unfortunately I don't have windshield wipers to

37 Days

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A scrap

I wrote this little guy for class and then wanted to delete it. I didn't want it to feel bad about itself though, so instead of deleting, I told it I would copy and paste it on my blog. It was very relieved that it wouldn't be going to waste.   "Sister Ida, my favorite sister and also one of the oldest and sweetest at Mother of God Monastery, was my Wednesday night driving and teaching buddy. Every Wednesday at 7:00, I pulled up to the Monastery to pick her up, she would greet me with a warm hug, and we would head down Highway 81. Together we taught ESL to Spanish-speaking dairy farm workers at a little country church 30 miles away. It was my first job out of college, and the first time I felt that I was actually using my degree and what I had been reading about for all of those years. I was finally an English teacher. When we arrived to class, we welcomed the students who had come from one of the five surrounding dairy farms on their only night off. They h

I am obsessed with this song... obsessed.

(Please don't become famous!)

A preview of something to come

I'm working on a longer piece for my nonfiction class involving several anecdotes that I'm desperately trying to connect. They are all over the place. I met for a conference with my professor last week to talk about what I can do to improve my story. He told me: "Your dough needs more time to rise. Put it back in the oven." "You have the pearls, now you need to string them together." "There needs to be more vegetables in your pot of stew." While these are wonderful metaphors, I have no idea what the H any of them mean. I wanted to say, "How exactly do I do that!?" Instead I said, "Gotcha," and I confidently walked out of his office. So now here I sit a week later, staring at my draft thinking of beef stew and pearl necklaces (neither of which are at all related to my story). Ugh. Figurative language is so overrated.

If you say so...

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Crabby from 11:00-12:00

A professor gave me feedback on a project proposal I wrote last week, and he used the exact phrase: "looks a little sketchy." He's a medievalist. He has no room to talk.  Then, the middle buttons of my button up shirt came unbuttoned while I was teaching. The very top button was the only one that remained buttoned, and I didn't notice until I went home for lunch. My boobs were literally busting out to my class, and I definitely remember two boys laughing in the back row. At the time, I thought I was being entertaining. I guess in a way I was. I burned the roof of my mouth on leftover lasagna, and someone stole my parking space. The nerve...

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

Reason to Celebrate!

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AO put in an offer on a new house! Friends are coming to my hometown this weekend, and I'm so grateful for their support! TB is feeling (a little) better! The sun is shining! CS survived her conference presentation in Pierre! I only have one day of classes next week! GG has the most hilarious students ever! Marty Jackley won! The No Smoking ban passed! LS gave me the new TS album! It's November, and I still haven't worn my winter coat! My mom bought me boots and hairspray when I was home last! JG is coming back to America soon! I have worked out every single day in November! And it's EK's birthday!!! Happy Birthday!! Let's celebrate!!

I am no tiny dancer

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I love to dance. I love to dance alone. My body was made that way, I think. The way that I twist and twirl and shimmy and strut is something that seems to happen on its own. The swinging of my hips and skip of my step are motions that are entirely independent of thought and reason and sometimes even rhythm. It is the music that moves me, and the result is instinctual and often very, very uncoordinated. I've grown to value this about this bumbling body of mine, in spite of the sweat and embarrassment that it often produces, mostly because it's something that I'm really good at doing.. alone. For me, dancing with a partner just slows me down and holds me back. It feels too controlled, and there is no freedom to move. Arms and legs have to coordinate with a partner, and speed and direction have to accommodate to the one who leads. I am not the one who leads. Dancing with someone else can be awkward and sometimes downright painful. I know; I've been hurt before. Sometim

The words to a cute song

The lyrics sound kind of intense, now that I know them... but the song itself is quite cute and catchy. Check it out.   2 Atoms in a Molecule  By: Noah and the Whales Last night, I had a dream We were inseparably entwined Like a piece of rope made out of two pieces of vine Held together, holding each other With no one else in mind Like two atoms in a molecule Inseparably combined But then I woke from the dream To realize I was alone A tragic event, I must admit But let's not be overblown I'm gonna try to write a love song Just a sad, pathetic moan And maybe I just need change Maybe I just need a new cologne But now I look at love Like being stabbed in the heart You torture each other from day to day And then one day you part Most of the time it's misery But there's some joy at the start And for that, I'd say it's worth it Just as you play the shortest sharp on me And if love is just a game Then how come it's no fun? If love

Eeeeee...

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Letting people down

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I'm failing in my relationships. I give myself an F. I'm sorry. "A good friend" rubric (1-10)  3  Calls friends on a weekly/monthly basis  0  Participates in important events (wedding dress shopping, cancer runs, etc.)  2  Visits no matter the distance or time commitment  5  Sends emails and letters on a weekly/monthly basis   4  Generally knows what's going on in her friends' lives Total:  14/50 I'll try to be better. I had a similar experience in 9th grade algebra, and I ended up getting a B. Hang in there with me, please?

Get it together, Amanda!!

Ok, I gotta get it together. No more Halloween candy. No more dirty laundry on my bedroom floor. No more stacks of ungraded student essays piled on my desk. No more drawers of crap that need organizing. No more bird poop on my windshield. No more excessive facebooking. Perhaps no facebooking at all. I am going to eat more carrots, floss every night, and shave my legs (above the knee). This is getting ridiculous.

Happy Birthday MR!!

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If I was with you today, I would make you wear a birthday crown. Since I'm stuck in my office working on my pathetic cover letter, this image will have to do instead. Hope your bday is ballin'!!!

"I like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society"

I know just how he feels!

Matilda

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Some thoughts on today

Today to remember how to spell the word aggressive. I had to sing the cheerleader song in my head (Be aggressive, gotta be aggressive, b-e a-g-g-r-e-s-s-i-v-e!!). I should have learned more spelling words this way, I think. I'm considering getting another tattoo this weekend. I can't afford it, and I'll probably change my mind before Saturday comes. But I keep remembering a quote from Jack London that says, "Show me a man with a tattoo and I'll show you a man with an interesting past." I think my interpretation of this quote is an example of faulty causality, but I might do it anyway. Last night I had a dream that my mom had died instead of my dad. He and I were in the grocery store, and he wouldn't let me buy anything that I wanted. He was really sad. When people ask me if I'm going to miss my friends and family when I move to New York, I say, "I already miss them." Every one of my relationships is already a long distance relatio

To a song bird on her birthday

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Happy Birthday JS!!

"A Thing Called Rain" by Jackie Greene

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Part of a pretty song I heard on Pandora "I kept your picture in a frame I kept your heart out on a chain But hearts don't belong on chains And pictures don't belong in frames People come and people go Foe to friend and friend to foe And you do just what you're supposed to do Cause the clock don't ever stop for you" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c_Cegm_H48

hello/goodbye

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Bars with Bars

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We sang karaoke at a Sports Bar, Aretha and Garth. A sloppy man in a blue button down Sang my dad's perfect piano song. Good to hear the right song, But sad to hear the wrong voice. Mixed drinks, mixed feelings. We walked into an Irish pub With an Irish band, and I drank a green drink I thought about him then, too. They sang "Amazing Grace," With accordions, beers, friends. He would have loved it there, you know. He's in the bars of the music, The segments of time that hold the beats. Some bar lines begin repeat, But some just end. Eventually, they all do. Some songs are short songs. 
I hadn't heard this song in a while. It's sweet... but how depressing?!

KS-PT-BDAY!

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Today is my dear roommate KS's birthday! And Sunday is her bf PT's birthday! I love them both dearly and hope that they have a great weekend!!

Carpe Diem, baby!

"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" By: Robert Herrick Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,  Old Time is still a-flying: And this same flower that smiles to-day  To-morrow will be dying. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,  The higher he's a-getting, The sooner will his race be run,  And nearer he's to setting. That age is best which is the first,  When youth and blood are warmer; But being spent, the worse,  and worst Times still succeed the former. Then be not coy, but use your time,  And while ye may, go marry: For having lost but once your prime,  You may for ever tarry.
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Actually I don't mind being alone right now, but I like this picture of this bed. Looks comfy.

A Modern Allegory: Her Heart

I've been reading a lot of Medieval allegory lately, but don't worry, I'm not going to post any excerpts of medieval lit here. Instead, I've decided to write my own modern allegory. It's clearly fictional and as always, open to interpretation. There once was a bright, welcoming place called Her Heart. The door was always open and the windows were so clear the glass appeared invisible. The whole place was spotless. There were no fences or locks in Her Heart, as it was always open. Her Heart was home to many including Joy, Acceptance, and Faith. In fact, Her Heart never turned anyone away. One day Selfishness (who came from a place called His Heart) came into Her Heart and made a big mess. He took everything he wanted from Her Heart leaving Her Heart alone and empty.. Her Heart wasn't the same after that. Then, Sadness came in, kicked off his shoes, plopped down on the couch, and refused to leave forcing Joy, Acceptance, and Faith to find a new home. He invit

B & B

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When I Grow Up...

When I was in second grade, I wanted to be an author when I grew up. I had known this for some time (relatively speaking since I had only been alive for 7 years and literate for 1), but I finally made the declaration to my mother one night after a supper of warmed up goulash. She was pleased with my ambitious career choice, I think, but less than pleased about what I had to say next: "And, tomorrow is Career Day at school. And I have to dress up. Will you help me?" How does an author dress? Police officers wear police uniforms. Business people wear business suits. What do authors wear? It was dark out and bedtime was looming, so we promptly gathered her all of her Ladies Home Journal magazines and J.C. Penny's catalogs. We had our work cut out for us, and it was getting late. Each armed with a pair of friskers scissors, we began cutting out pictures of items that reminded us of authorship. We cut out pictures of pens, paper, books, desks, desk lamps, swivel chairs. W

I'm following these guys

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We're going East, boys!

The good news about when everything is falling apart...

"Besides the big brokennesses in people's lives this year, I've noticed all sorts of really dumb things breaking lately. Since Advent began at the end of November, I've had a dozen calls reporting broken cars, water heaters, a window, even a finger. So I was on the lookout for something wonderful to happen, because of this great story I heard recently about dumb things going wrong: Carolyn Myss, who writes about healing, went to Russia a few years ago to give a series of lectures. Every single aspect of getting to Russia that could go poorly, did. Then in Moscow it turned out that her reserved room at the hotel had been given to someone else. She ended up sleeping on a stranger's floor. Two mornings later, on a train to her conference on healing, she began to whine at the man sitting beside her about how infuriating her journey had been thus far. It turned out that he worked for the Dalai Lama. And he said--gently--that he believed that when a lot of seemingl