Archive for January, 2008
My dear friend Erin recently ‘fessed up to a variety of embarrassing purchases and other closeted items that a woman of her age, gravity, intellect, and social standing probably should not own. This was a follow up to a post about embarassing entertainment purchases, except Erin took it one step further, and I’m oh-so-glad that she did. This got me (and also Kasia) thinking about my guilty pleasures, the things SB can’t believe I own, and the things that I’m really a little shocked that I’ve kept despite moving at least once a year since 2002.
Without further ado:
- A subscription to People Magazine. I may be the only person you know who actually subscribes, but I can tell you that many others reap the benefit. I really enjoyed reading the trashy magazines that were left about when I was using the gym at UIUC, and the prospect of not being able to enjoy them in our building’s gym made me very sad.
- Not one but TWO Ace of Base albums. Not just the stolen mp3s – entire albums. Which I listen to without irony.
- A plaid button-down shirt from Abercrombie & Fitch purchased in Washington DC in the spring of 1993. It’s threadbare and huge, but I love it.
- A box of totally embarrassing notebooks ranging from notes exchanged between me and Sarah in high school to mortifying journals that I never want to look at again, but somehow can’t get rid of.
- A soup tureen, brought home on a whim from my parents’ house. Who needs an effing soup tureen?
- An obscene amount of bath products and lotions. At one point recently I put all the lotions I owned out to remind myself that I didn’t need more lotion, and there were at least three fragrance options, several unfragranced options, as well as several options for specific body parts (hands, feet). This doesn’t include any facial products.
- Several boxes of art supplies, which I haven’t used in at least two years, and also several boxes of letters, which I haven’t revisited in several years but am keeping for posterity’s sake nonetheless.
- Nursing bras, not because I’ve ever been pregnant or have nursed, but because for 18 months I failed at every attempt to buy bras, and so had to buy multiples of the first thing that fit.
- Holiday dishes (Christmas) and cat napkin rings ($1.50 at a yard sale!).
- Lots of scarves. Winter scarves. Decorative scarves. Neckerchiefs. Sitting in a drawer.
OK, so few of these things are actually embarrassing – most of them just fall into the category of “seriously? I own this crap?”. Regardless, I’m amused.
January 30th, 2008
So the LJ is all abuzz about Tumblr, which apparently makes posting all kinds of random web things incredibly easy. Having already fallen in love with delicious, embraced and abandoned Vox, and then jumped straight into Twitter, I think I already have enough places to post things, though the idea of a posting bookmarklet is pretty cool. Instead, my faithful readers, I’m going to be more steadfastly resolved to sharing ephemera here, rather than fattening your feed readers with another site to manage.
Speaking of which, how in the world did I ever manage my internetting before feed readers? The Google Reader feature set is my current best friend, especially the sharing options. Say what you will about Google – I’m happy to integrate my reading, my email, my document composition, and my calendar, and then also have the option to highlight text and send it to my phone.
January 28th, 2008
Have I mentioned how much I love canteloupe? Because it just may be my very favorite fruit.
January 23rd, 2008
culinary:
- Red Ink, a soft grassy sheep’s cheese, Appenzeller cheese, and jamón ibérico (!!!!!!). The jamón was a birthday gift from Shane, and oh what a gift it was. We have a bit more in the fridge, and I plan to savor it at some point this week. Some girls get chocolate for their birthdays – me, I get expensive Spanish ham.
- brunch at the Corcoran, which wasn’t all that exciting in and of itself, but it was a very nice atmosphere and I enjoyed the souffle.
- the always reliable veggie options at the Hut.
cultural:
- one more opportunity to see the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the Corcoran. Our memberships paid off today when we didn’t have to wait in line for the sold out show. The galleries were packed with people, so the exhibit lacked some of the intensity of our first visit, but I’m awfully glad we went again.
- staying in to watch Helvetica and Paris, je t’aime, two very different films but both quite good.
home life:
- our new sofa arrived on Saturday and promptly exerted its dominance over our living room. I showed it who’s boss by taking a nap on it later.
- meeting a new friend at the Arlington Animal Shelter. She can’t possibly replace Sid in our hearts or memories, but she will Basil on his toes and the two of us in stitches. We’re hoping to bring her home in a few days, once she’s healed from her spaying and they’ve made sure that no one is going to come claim her.
- lots of quality time with SB. The last few weeks have been very hard, and very tiring, and it was wonderful to have a lot of lazy downtime together.
January 13th, 2008
I would be lying if I said I was anything other than really, really sad right now. SB and I have spent the last two days – the last two and a half weeks, really – trying to keep busy and cheer each other up and avoid looking at all the spots where she loved to sit or sleep or absorb heat. She was so small – especially at the end – but her absence is enormous and tangible in our little apartment. I know it will get easier, and in some ways I think it started getting easier yesterday when we left the shelter, if only because we could stop worrying AND grieving AND hoping AND making decisions and instead focus on our grief and our memories. I put her tag on my key ring so that I’ll have a reminder of her every day.
Earlier in the month I made my resolutions for 2008, but I’ve since revised them somewhat. I haven’t checked last year’s list to see how poorly I did (and it was poorly), but I’ll do that soon. My list for 2008:
1. Read two books for pleasure each month.
2. See 12 movies in the theatre.
3. Take a trip west of the Mississippi (and also west of Iowa).
4. Go to Bonnaroo or Coachella.
5. Put $5,000 in savings by the end of the year (sub item: and leave it there).
6. Finish Couch to 5K and run a 5K.
7. Continue weight training and do an unassisted pull up.
8. Finish my CAS.
9. Get published.
10. Find a church.
11. Reconsider therapy and/or medication.
12. Beat SB at Zooloretto or Alhambra.
13. Finish 2007′s Bond-watching resolution.
I guess most of these are more like action items than resolutions, but that’s probably better anyway. I really enjoy checking things off lists. A final item:
14. Bring a new friend into our family.
We don’t want to replace Sid, but there’s a huge gaping hole in our lives without her, and we don’t want Basil to forget that other animals, especially other cats, are nice. Things feel oddly off balance with just one.
January 1st, 2008