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[Nov. 11th, 2007|12:47 pm] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Crane Wife 2 - The Decemberists and Dennis | ] |
My birds like the Decemberists.
It's weird for me to be so awed by a trio of parakeets. Growing up I've had just about every pet you could imagine: iguanas, hedgehogs, sugargliders, fish, cats, dogs, bunnies, snakes, turtles, spiders, frogs, not to mention just about every kind of rodent you can buy in the US. You would think that three dully colored common parakeets woul be old news for me, but I've actually never had a bird before. I'm not sure why, my mother always loved them and would often reminisce fondly about how she had kept birds when she was younger, but I'd never so much as seen a bird up close until a few weeks ago. Actually, I feel kind of dumb; I thought birds were cold-blooded until I held mine for the first time and noticed how warm he was.
I've had just about every kind of pet you can imagine, and I've liked them all, I was fascinated by all these strange creatures coming and going through my zoo-home, I am particularly fond of one cat and one of my dogs(who has now betrayed me for my neighbors, but that's another story) but I can't say that I've ever been quite as amazed and excited to be keeping any of the other pets as I am with these parakeets. I'm not exactly sure why, something about the way they cock their heads to the side and squeak at me when I give them their food, or how Dennis perches on my thumb and eats millet sprays from my palm, or how Xerxes and Perry ruffe their feathers in annoyance when I vacuum. They are incredibly charming little birds and I absolutely adore them.
I presume that one of the best experiences of being a parent must be to realize that you and your children have something in common. That's why my dad was thrilled when I started dancing Argentine Tango, or learned to ice skate, and why my mother always supported my love of painting. I don't have kids, but I can't fully communicate the joy that it brings me to hear Dennis singing along to my favorite band. His whistling is a bit out of key and I'll admit it doesn't exactly sound good, but whenever I play the Decemberists he goes right to whistling along. I'm so proud of him. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 11th, 2007|12:41 am] |
There's a new fellow at work. I distinctly got the impression that he was incredibly cool, but I wasn't exactly sure why. I'll be honest, he doesn't look it, he has a sort of uptight and nerdy look about him, but as I talked with him more, it slowly dawned on me that I was talking to one of those really genuinely amazing people.
What really won me over was this one thing he said: "The thing about time is there's always more of it." It's an odd thing to say, and arguably untrue, but it's so simple and powerful, especially to a person who constantly worries about time. Actually, I doubt there are many people in the world who don't worry about time. Whether you're worried about a deadline, trying not to be late to work, or just afraid of dying, ultimately, what you're worrying about is time. Which is why it's so amazing to meet someone who just trusts that there will be more time.
I spent a few moments deciding whether to use "trust" or "faith" in that last sentence. Really, it's essentially the same thing, but faith has religious implications. I think faith is a wonderful thing, but it's not really for me, don't ask me why, I couldn't tell you. I think I like the idea of trust though. You don't have to put your faith in a god, just go ahead and trust that things will be ok, it may be a blind leap into an unclear future, but it beats the hell out of wringing your hands anxiously while the future sneaks up on you. |
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| Yay, nano widget! |
[Nov. 10th, 2007|01:42 pm] |
My word count is way behind because I've had limited acess to computers and haven't done a lot of typing, but I am feeling optimistic nonetheless, I've got enough written out longhand that whenever I get my computer fixed (it's at the shop now, there's a good chance I'll get it back in the upcoming week) I will be able to do some mad typing and catch up. I hope. |
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| Parakeets! |
[Nov. 9th, 2007|12:53 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  cold | ] |
Ok, so they're really not much to look at, but they are very charming little creatures, and I'm quite pleased to have them staying with me. The blue and white one on the Left is Dennis, the one in the back is Perriwinkle (Perry for short), and the one on the right is still in need of a name.
They are awfully hard to photograph becuase they are always flittering around the cage, out of a good 30 or so photos, this was the best one. Well, I said I'd post photos, not good photos. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 7th, 2007|03:25 pm] |
So NaNoWriMo has gotten me infected with the writing bug again, so there's a good chance I'll be updating this journal on occasion. This year's NaNo is going well, I'm writing a really cheesy Steampunk novel complete with goggles, robots, dirigibles, trains, and mad inventors with petty rivalries.
In other news, I'm failing a drawing class, which is pretty wild (ok, judging by my last post, anyone reading this will probably not be surprised) but I'm still a bit bummed out about it. My teacher is basically evil, and the class is so demoralizing I find that I don't even enjoy drawing outside of class anymore. This sets back my plans for world domination - I mean applying to art school - a good bit.
In other other news (there are gonna be a few of these non-sequitors, get ready) My mother gifted me with three lovely Parakeets. I will take/post some pictures of them soon. I have named two of them, (Dennis and Perriwinkle) but the third, who arrived a few days after the others when my mother decided she wanted a girl, remains nameless.
Finally, my beloved laptop literally caught fire a few weeks ago. I'm currently getting by using my mothers ancient computer. It's carved from stone; an ancient goliath, slowly lumbering across the internet. It takes about 3-6 minutes for a website to load, depending on the content, I actually timed it a few times. This is putting a bit of a hamper on my schoolwork, notably my introduction to computer programming, but it's not exactly like I was making straight A's up until three weeks ago or anything (actually, I was, dammit. but my recent failures have little to do with the computer) How, you may ask, did you go from making straight A's to a failing grade in your drawing class in just three weeks? I dunno, maybe I'm over reacting, but I have a very late project due and my teacher is evil and I won't be surprised if he doesn't give me credit for it.
Strangely, none of this is upsetting me too much right now, I suppose I just have a lot of other things going on that are keeping me happy and optimistic, even if I probably shouldn't be. Between NaNoWriMo, taking care of parakeets, getting my computer repaired and writing a grant proposal for a video project I want to do this summer, I just don't really have time to stress out. Weird, that.
So what exactly keeps me going? Coffee, for one, and music, I have been wearing a pair of headphones for several days now (well, I take 'em off to bathe and sleep) I recently picked up an album by The Blakes, which totally rocks my socks, also I have a set of three mix CD's by Akriad (who is a mix CD master, btw) that I have been listening to over and over, I've had 'em for a while now and they still haven't gotten old. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 26th, 2007|01:26 pm] |
So here's what annoys me about that whole "black people like watermelon" stereotype:
Everyone likes watermelon.
Seriously.
It's like a beverage and a fruit. |
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| COOKIES!!!! |
[Apr. 6th, 2007|02:03 pm] |
For any one not in the know, I have struggled with fatigue problems for several years, I've been to about a thousand different doctors and every one of them has had some new pill for me. My most recent doctor, a heinous old witch who has specialized in "Chronic Fatigue" for nearly 20 years (and whose waiting list I was on for 8 months before I was able to see her) has suggested a really strict diet that eliminates white flour, processed sugar, dairy, and trans fats, among other more obscure things. Basically, this means I can no longer eat anything that tastes good, and it has put a heavy damper on my love of baking. UNTIL NOW! After a few months of plans and experimentation, I have finally adapted my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe to fit into my diet. The original recipe was adapted from the "vanishing oatmeal cookies" recipe found under the lid of Quaker Oats. After using the same recipe for a few years I slowly tweaked it here and there to create a more delicious, gooey, perfect oatmeal cookie. The new, healthy version, is equally delicious to me because I haven't tasted real sugar in some time, and these seem perfectly sweet enough, plus, there's the benefit of not feeling quite so guilty when you binge on these. I should also mention that I've eaten a batch of these every week for a month now and I still managed to lose 5 pounds, so if that sort of things matters to you these cookies are great. Of course, with the junksters in mind, I will also provide my original oatmeal cookie recipe, that it may live on in someone else's kitchen, since I have been forced to abandon it.
( Cookie Recipes Lurk Within ) |
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| Harry the Dinosaur |
[Mar. 6th, 2007|10:47 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  silly | ] |
The sad thing? That's my real handwriting. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 28th, 2007|01:39 pm] |
So a few weeks ago I auditioned for the aforementioned Improv group, and I actually got in. It kind of took me by surprise; it had been so long since I'd heard from them that I just assumed they forgot about me. Anyway, I'm kind of excited and kind of nervous all at once. |
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| Still learning my ABC's |
[Feb. 26th, 2007|12:18 pm] |
So I read about this challenge on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) kerydwenn's journal. It was written in French, which I'm not really familiar with, but the basic idea is that you read one book of an author for each letter of the alphabet in one year. That's pretty intense because it gives only 2 weeks per book. I tend to be a pretty damn slow reader, so I'm going to be a little flexible about the timing, but I'm definitely going to try.
My theme is "Books I should have read by now." Maybe it's not terribly exciting, but even though I consider myself pretty well read, I often find that I've missed exactly the most important, greatest books. So this year is going to be about me trying to patch up the holes in my literary experience.
There are a few letters for which I have not yet thought of an author or a book, any suggestions would be appreciated wildly.
Austen, Jane, Pride and Prejudice
Bronte, Charolotte, Jane Eyre (I'm trying not to let all the annoying women's lit scholars I know prevent me from reading the classic female authors, whom I've more or less avoided until now. Still though, If I start to feel too womanly after Pride and Prejudice, I may bail on Jane Eyre for now and read some good, masculine, Borges.)
Cervantes, Miguel de, Don Quixote
Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (technically, I've already started this, but I stopped in the middle to read Crime and Punishment, so I figure if I finish them both it will count as one book)
Eliot, George, Middlemarch
Fitzgerald, F, Scott. Tender is the Night
Gogol, Nikolai, Dead Souls: A Novel
H ?
Joyce, James, Dubliners
Kafka, Franz, The Trial
Le Carre, John, A Perfect Spy
Milton, John, Paradise Lost
Nabokov, Vladimir, Lectures on Russian Literature
Orwell, George, 1984
Proust, Marcel, Swann's Way
R ?
Sedaris, David, Naked
Tolstoy, Leo, War and Peace
Udall, Brady, The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint
Vonnegut, Kurt, Slaughterhouse Five
Woolf, Virginia, On Being Ill
X ?
Yoshimoto, Banana, Kitchen
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz, Shadow of the Wind |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 12th, 2007|09:28 pm] |
I've always secretly wanted to act but have been too chicken to audition. I was in a few plays in school and I absolutely loved being on stage, but there's something about the auditioning process that always makes me uncomfortable. I think it's just knowing that I'm being openly judged. I don't mind if I trip on stage and people in the audience snicker, but to trip during an audition... that would be a disgrace.
I vowed to go ahead and audition for some stuff, just to become more comfortable with the process, so that whether or not I ever acted again, I'd know it wasn't cowardice that was holding me back.
On Saturday, I auditioned for a local improv comedy troupe. I honestly haven't had very much improv experience, but it's improvisation. Who needs experience when you can make it up as you go along?
Most of the people in the group were in their 30's and 40's, so right off the bat I could tell I didn't fit in. I tend to get along better with older people in general, but I got the impression that my youngness made everyone else uncomfortable. I went through with the audition anyway, because I'd made a pact with myself. I ended up having a blast. We played a bunch of strange little improv games and I actually got to get up on stage and make an ass out of myself. I went home content that even though there was no way I was getting the part, at least I'd taken a risk and proven something to myself. Besides, it was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon anyway.
Yesterday, I got a call back.
I've still got a suspicion that they will ultimately decide I'm too young, but it's still a little bit exciting.
At the very least, it will give me something to do tomorrow night. |
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