You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July, 2008.
I’ve really enjoyed the last few days, taking advantage of the time off from teaching and relaxing. Since I usually do so much reading and writing, I decided to take a break and do some art and crafts projects for our house. I cut up a bunch of Real Simple magazines and made mini-collages on playing cards (pictures to come). I’m not sure what to do with them yet–maybe mount them together on a canvas or tie ribbons on them to hang on the wall. I’m also making a chalkboard to hang in our kitchen by painting an old cupboard door with chalkboard spray paint. We’ll use it to keep track of our grocery lists, and to write each other notes. I got sewing supplies too.
Last night, Adam and I watched Flight of the Conchords, and we laughed and laughed. The show is hilarious. It’s two New Zealanders in a band who move to NYC and try to make a name for themselves. It’s a comedy but there’s a lot of singing really ridiculous and funny songs interspersed. It’s definitely worth checking out (a stark contrast to HBO’s dark dramedies). Here’s a clip:
Today, it’s been raining and pouring, and I’m glad I didn’t ride my bike. I had to take my car to get a tune-up this morning so everything would be in order before our trip Monday to Waterville USA, a water park about an hour away. In honor of making it through the summer semester and before our schedules get full this fall, Adam and I decided we needed a day just to play. I can’t wait.
Rachel did this meme yesterday, and browsing someecards.com was fun so I decided to do my own. The goal is to pick five cards from that describe yourself in “amazingly unflattering ways.” Here it is:
This weekend, I rediscovered the joys of bike riding. Now that I have a bike lock and a car that’s rapidly losing gas mileage because it desperately needs a tune-up, I figured it was time to put the rubber on the road. I located the bike path through Mobile, then rode it from home to work on Saturday to see how long it would take (about 17 minutes). I dropped off a movie at Blockbuster, then rode past my house to the library, where I picked up another book on sewing and a book of Wendell Berry poems. In all, I rode for 55 minutes.
I hadn’t ridden a bike in about four years (spinning class doesn’t count–no balancing involved). When I first got on it, riding felt a little weird. But when I got going, the wind kicked up and I pedaled fast and wondered why I hadn’t been doing this all along. It was an adventure, riding around streets I knew and some I didn’t, and I felt free, unencumbered by traffic and speed limits. I was fully engaged in the world, not just looking at it through a window.
The unfortunate thing is Mobile is not particularly bike-friendly. The roads don’t have shoulders, and the curbs don’t slope down where side streets interrupt the sidewalk. But I kept away from the main roads and, short of one person who insisted on driving on the wrong side of the street forcing me to quickly maneuver onto the sidewalk, drivers were considerate in sharing the road with me.
So, today I decided to ride to work. After checking the weather, I put on gym clothes and packed work attire, lunch, a book to read, and a stick of deodorant into my backpack, and headed out the door. It was an easy ride in, and I was at my desk ready to work at 8.
In other weekend news:
-Adam and I watched The Bucket List and enjoyed it.
-I went to the fabric store around the corner and found out they don’t sell sewing supplies. The counter girl told me she didn’t have any idea of what I’d need to start sewing, but she could tell me how much fabric I’d need for a project. What the?
-I read. A lot. Mostly for my class but some for fun.
-I also got season one of 30 Rock from the library. That show is hilarious, and Tina Fey’s character is likable and quirky. It was a nice break from all the reading I did.
-We went to the Episcopal church. Adam hadn’t gone yet, but he really enjoyed it. Since he went to a Catholic high school, he knew what to say and how to pass the peace. He also drank from the communion cup, whereas I just dipped my wafer in it. It was strangely moving to see his comfort level in all of it, and he said he’d like to go back. So would I.
We’re out of coffee filters at home, so I’ve been able to enjoy using my French press. I love coffee from the French press but seldom make it because of the cleanup involved. The coffee is so much better than the drip coffee from the coffee maker, and I shouldn’t be so lazy and let a silly thing like washing dishes get in the way of my enjoyment. So, this morning, I happily made my coffee and paid bills before heading off to work.
I got there and found that many old college acquaintances had befriended me on facebook. Also, I got a message from my brother wondering how the weather was and why he couldn’t get through to our home phone last night. I messaged him back to say that Hurricane Dolly is far west of us, and we haven’t had a home phone since we moved in February. Then, I got a call from my dad to check on us because my brother said he couldn’t reach us, and he was worried. It all made me laugh.
It did pour buckets here for a while, but now the sun is shining again. I’m glad since today is the last day of my class and the last day I have to drive across Mobile Bay to teach. It seems like every Wednesday this summer it has rained, which makes for a miserable commute across the bay. From now on, I’m stickin’ to my own side and teachin’ in these here parts.
But first, a brief hiatus from grading and long, long classes. I got a sewing book from the library, but it seems too advanced for me. I need to go back and get Sewing for Dummies or the equivalent. Saturday, I’ll walk around the corner to the fabric store and buy enough to get myself started. I also need to read ahead in the textbook for my fall class and work on my syllabus, but that will most-likely be put by the wayside for a week or so.
Oh, and I decided I need some wellies. It rains so much here, I think it would be a practical purchase. Maybe these. Or these.
This weekend was a whirlwind of fun, enough to keep my mind off of my awful week. Saturday, Adam and I walked Penny to the market. She’s not very socialized and tends to freak out when she sees other dogs or, especially, cats. She did all right, though, and we got some blueberries and yummy scones. The produce selection was pretty slim, so we went to Jimmy Lowe’s Fruit Stand to buy grapes, peaches, and eggplant. The produce was excellent, much better than Wal-Mart, so we’ll keep shopping there. After Adam took a nap and I did some reading, we went to the theater to see The Dark Knight. It was hands-down the best movie I’ve seen this summer, comes highly recommended. We returned home; grilled sausage, eggplant, and red peppers; and relaxed with some chianti.
Yesterday, Adam worked and I finished reading On Writing, read Proverbs 2-6 and Isaiah 11-13, watched Penelope cleaned the all the floors in the house, kickboxed in the living room, and went to the fire station for dinner. We ate burgers and tater tots and drank sweet tea. Then, we shot baskets for a bit and watched Rescue Dawn, which I didn’t finish but Adam said the ending was really good.
Today, it’s back to work for me, and Adam is taking a final exam for his summer class. After work, I’m hoping to sneak to the library to get something good to read and a book on sewing. Teaching ends this week, so it’s time to do all things domestic.
I’m glad this week is almost over. It’s been a strange week, filled with foul moods. For some reason, I just haven’t been able to get it together. Recently, I read that looking out the window lowers stress. Unfortunately for me, my back faces the window for eight hours a day. I do try to look out it when I can, usually up through the trees to see if the sun is shining or if it’s about to rain. Today, it’s sunny, and I wish I was at the beach.
Honestly, so many things have been getting under my skin, and I think it’s time for a time-out. Last night, I was talking to Adam on the phone and found myself getting irritated with him for no reason. I’ve been like that all week, on edge about everything. So, I apologized to him, got off the phone, and prayed, something I haven’t been doing enough of lately. Sometimes I get myself so worked up thinking about all the things I want to do in my life and feeling like there’s not enough time.
So, for the sake of positivity, here are some things I’m thankful for:
-My wonderful husband, who is endlessly patient with me
-Our cute, little home with it’s tall windows that let in lots of sunlight
-Fresh fruits, veggies, and flowers from the market
-Nichole Nordeman’s mood-lifting music
-The book of Isaiah, which I am making my way through, slowly
-My new (and hopefully better) teaching job
-Poetry, which also lifts my mood
-Living simply
-and God’s continual forgiveness and grace, without which I’d be a big mess
Because I can’t afford to subscribe to Image, I try to read as much of its online-available content as possible, including the Good Letters blog. The new issue of Image includes an essay by Jill Noel Kandel titled “Asking for Salt,” which I read last night. It is a beautiful essay about her son’s struggle with reading. You can read it here.
This morning, I pulled my old copy of The Outsiders out of the box of books my dad sent a while ago. I first read The Outsiders in Mr. Burruto’s 8th grade honors English class and loved it. We spent at least a quarter of the year reading and analyzing the book, though we didn’t watch the movie because Mr. Burruto said it was poorly made, coming on the heels of Apocalypse Now, a film Francis Ford Coppola had spent too much time and money making. So, of course, I rented The Outsiders, and it wasn’t a great movie. It could have been on par with American Graffiti or, maybe, Grease (without the singing). But, in spite of all this, it does star Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, and the beautiful Diane Lane as Cherry Valance. How could you go wrong with a cast like that, Mr. Coppola? At any rate, I digress. The book is tucked safely in my bag so I can read it tonight while my students write.
[As a side note about Mr. Burruto, I ran into him a year and a half ago when Adam and I were in Rochester for Christmas. We were at a Kinko's making official and final copies of my masters thesis. I saw Mr. Burruto across the store, walked up to say hi, and he recognized me immediately. We chatted a bit, and he said he still had a form I'd filled out at the beginning of that school year where I had written that my dad was my hero. He dug it up later and gave it to my dad, who has kept it out on an end table in his living room for easy reference. Cute, but embarrassing. I also still feel bad for forging my mom's signature in Mr. Burruto's class and lying to him about it when he caught me. Lying is bad. It'll still haunt you 14 years later.]
Speaking of class, I decided to teach again in the fall. Yesterday, I had a meeting at the University of South Alabama with the head of the composition program and will be teaching Composition II on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I know I said before that I wouldn’t teach again, but I have hope that teaching at a different college (one that actually has standards and, say, an attendance policy) will be better. I actually told Adam that I’d like to go to massage therapy school so I could work part-time as a massage therapist and part-time as an adjunct professor. He said that would be fine, except that fewer and fewer people will be getting massages if the economy gets worse. So, for now, we’ll just put that in the maybe pile.
Well, it’s back to work after a lovely weekend. The barbeque Saturday night was almost rained out. A slew of wild thunderstorms came through around 6 o’clock, when the party was starting. We didn’t make it there until 8 because Adam was working. When we arrived, most people were well on their way to being quite happy, so we chatted mostly with Daniel (who works with Adam) and his wife, Adrienne. Afterward, we went to their house to play Wii, which I had never played. I’m glad we don’t own one because I could see all my time being sucked up playing Guitar Hero. We stayed up much too late, and yesterday we were exhausted. Our Sunday was spent going to church, napping, grading papers, reading Stephen King’s On Writing, and watching Mama’s Boy, which was a quirky, fun film.
I’m still really tired but have been ridiculously busy already this morning, which helps. Also, the sun is coming out. That helps too.
This morning, I decided to walk downtown to the farmers market. There were so many things I wanted to get while I was there, but I only had $20. I got a cranberry-orange scone for breakfast, two pints of blueberries, three peppers, a watermelon, and a jar of locally grown honey. I put everything into my shoulder bag except for the watermelon, which I carried all the way back home, about a mile. It was heavy, and everyone I walked by commented on how delicious it would be and how carrying it was good exercise. I haven’t tasted it yet, but my arms and shoulders are tired and I was soaked with sweat when I got home.
I put everything away and got cleaned up before making some coffee and eating my scone. Penny was going crazy smelling the fruit (she likes fresh fruits and veggies–I think this is my fault for ever introducing them to her in the first place), and then she wanted to taste my scone. I swear she thinks she’s a person.
Last night, I watched My Blueberry Nights and Vantage Point. My Blueberry Nights was good, a sweet film about a woman who, in an effort to leave behind a broken relationship, travels around the country meeting interesting characters and working as a waitress. I would have liked it to be a bit longer (it was only about 90 minutes), but it’s definitely on my recommended list. Vantage Point is a look at a presidential assassination attempt from the perspective of 11 characters. It’s not bad for an action movie (thought it’s no Jason Bourne film), but the ending is a bit too tidy and doesn’t explain enough about why everything happened. Also, Matthew Fox (who I love) was in it, but his role is disappointingly small.
Tonight, Adam and I are going to a barbeque with some firefighters. Until then, I have mucho papers to grade. Only two more weeks of class. Hurrah.
