Month: May 2007

Is it just me, or does anyone else find the week following a three-day weekend to be incredibly anticlimactic? I had such a wonderful weeked and somehow I just can’t get into the swing of things again. I don’t have much going on this week — a couple days of work, some writing, some reading. Yes, I am actually reading books again! I’m currently in the middle of Heat by Bill Buford. I actually started it sometime last summer and I really enjoyed it but never found decent chunks of time to devote to reading. But now my gift knitting is complete and I think I am taking a little knitting break to lose myself in words for a while. Next book on my nightstand waiting to be read: Water For Elephants. Actually I have several other books that have been pushed aside in order to read this one, and some of those might get pushed further back because I also want to read Black and White by Dani Shapiro. I listened to an interview with her on NPR a few weeks back and the book sounded interesting.

Let’s see, what else… I think we’re going to see about moving Noah from his crib into a bed. He’s very comfortable in Jake’s bed and was pretty excited when we asked him if he’d like to sleep in a bed. Maybe in the next couple of weeks we’ll get that set up and the crib will be dismantled and put into storage in case we know someone who needs one someday.

I guess that’s about it. I have no motivation to even think of anything to write about. Maybe I should get myself a cup of coffee to wake up!

I hope all my U.S. friends had a great Memorial Day weekend! Mine was filled with seeing friends and family, drinking mojitos, lots of grilling (Asian barbeque and garlic ginger drumsticks, BBQ chicken breasts, and filet mignon), watching the Rhinebeck parade, and enjoying the glorious weather!

In the sleepy west of the woody east
is a valley full, full o’ pioneer
we’re not just kids, to say the least
we got ideas to us that’s dear
like capitalist, like communist
like lots of things you’ve heard about
and redneckers they get us pissed
and stupid stuff it makes us shout
— “UMass,” The Pixies

On Sunday, May 25, 1997 I graduated Cum Laude from UMass with a B.A. in Journalism (one or two classes short of a B.A. in Economics as well, incidentally). It poured rain for the first time in 20 years and and the ceremony was cut short. Mike Barnicle spoke. We drank champagne. We laughed. We cheered. We got soaking wet. It was amazing. It is probably one of the 5 best days of my life.

Today I am so filled with bittersweet nostalgia. I loved UMass. I still do. Ten years. Wow.

Here’s a photo of me from graduation day with my partner-in-crime, KP (I know you’re reading!!!), who graduated one year after me. I don’t think my time at UMass would have been anywhere near as great if it hadn’t been for her. She was always there to make me laugh (and God, how much laughing did we do? I swear I had such great abs back then because laughing gave them such a great workout). She was always there when I needed to cry (even if it was 3 in the morning). We totally rocked Orchard Hill! Thanks for all the great memories, KP. Even though I am not the greatest about keeping in touch, I still don’t know what I’d do without you.

It’s unreal to think about how much has changed since then, and also how much as stayed the same, and even some things that have come full circle. Life’s crazy. And I love it.

Well, this morning we had the flushing ceremony for Beets, my Calico Ryukin Goldfish. He didn’t even live a month (nor did the three small Fantails I bought that same day — they lasted maybe a week and a half). I have no idea what happened with Beets; one morning it looked like his mouth had been half-chewed off. Now, I doubt either of our other two goldfish attacked Beets. They’ve co-existed peacefully with other fish for nearly three years. I hope it wasn’t a parasite that is going to spread to the other two goldfish. I’d venture to guess that PetSmart just isn’t the best place for fish, even though Hulk and Enid came from there. Even though it’s just a fish, I’m still a little bummed. He was a cute little guy.

So, in an effort to improve our home’s “curb appeal” (a term that makes me gag), we’ve been doing some minor landscaping in front. It didn’t take much — just a few bags of cedar mulch, a couple flats of flowers, and a few hours’ worth of weeding but I think it has made a huge difference in the appearance! The mulch really makes everything “pop” in addition to adding some color. We have a couple mums, some petunias, and some marigolds (which Jake picked out because apparently they were talking about marigolds on an episode of Max and Ruby. I will have to remember to take some photos. Drew also added some stepping stones to make a path to the front steps and redid the bottom step (which was a little steep and awkward to climb). This weekend if he has time he might stain everything so it matches. We’re trying to do a bunch of little projects like this and then we’re going to relist the house. It has to sell, right? Third time’s a charm, right? I hope so because I just can’t take it anymore!

Drew was looking to see if the local hardware store had a current flyer online. The site hadn’t been updated in quite some time, which was a little annoying, but as he was clicking around the site he saw the photos on the Events Page and immediately called me. The second photo from the top? The woman at the end of the line with the pink bag, jeans, and red shirt? That’s me! I was waiting in line for 25 cent cotton candy at the 2005 Customer Appreciation Day, and I was hugely pregnant with Noah at the time. How random!

Don’t you love when a song that you never hear on the radio (and a song that you just love) is actually being played on the radio? Currently “Waste” by Phish is on, and it’s making me smile 🙂