Gone but not forgotten...

I apologize to My Beloved Bloggie for such serious neglect...I don't know what's the matter here, I just get all wrapped up in stuff, have the best of intentions...and yet...not a post to be had! It's downright embarrassing. So let me just update a few things such as listing some things that I've done - good and bad - to get you educated about the most recent version of ME. Today I am middling good. Hey, it's Monday, I don't want to push it...I don't know why I wrote that, I don't actually mind Mondays. I've always liked them because they are a little mini tiny recurring weekly new year's days - a good day to start things, stop things, begin anew, make promises you won't keep, forswear oaths you have no intention of honoring, setting out on quests to find holy grails, all sort of things can happen - and only on Mondays. The other days of the week just don't have that significance for me. So. That being said - HAPPY MINI NEW YEAR!!!! WOO HOO!!!

So the Opera in HD that I went to last Sunday was good - not great. I think seeing it live would have been great, but the film experience just isn't the same and the set and costumes and such were so dramatically awesome, I think the only way to really capture it is a live show - it's just like when they show Cirque du Soleil on Bravo, it's not breathtaking at all to watch on TV. It's cool and pretty, but there's something to be said for live performances of anything - theater, music, opera, ballet -doesn't matter. I think the whole vibe is different, you are using all of your senses and there most definitely is a mob mentality - I mean that in a good sense, not the scary riot and violence sense - but there's an excitement to a live show - like watching the Mets on TV versus being at the stadium - you know, the roar of the crowd and all that.

But the coolest part was the first act which had the Rhinemaidens, the Sirens, in these water cages and this giant gold fetus in the background which would sometimes switch to having this weird Gollum like lizard face and I found that fascinating and terrifying all at once - very nightmarish. Now the gold fetus reminded me of these little cute fat Buddha figurines I have here on my desk at work:

Plus, can I tell you, I found my people at the showing of this film - Opera People HATE noisemakers. And I HATE noisemakers. It was the quietest film I've ever been too, if someone just whispered or unwrapped her cough drop (wasn't me), you were promptly reprimanded with a loud and miffed "SHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

But it was still a very pleasant Sunday afternoon and then I walked and walked the west side which I rarely visit and it's odd for me to do so - I used to live up there and that was my neighborhood sort of when I went to college - we'd walk down as far as 72nd Street or to the park. And it's odd for me because it all seems so long ago - that was a different life - that used to be my grocery store, there's Mitchell Liquors (ha ha), there's the Barnes and Noble I was always in, I used to eat there all the time, or get coffee over there, hey there's no more Royal Canadian Pancake House, oh there's Harry's Shoes. And it made me find my Cultural Event for this weekend which was also at Symphony Space. I saw Man on Wire - the documentary about Philippe Petit, the guy who walked on the high wire between the Twin Towers and I oh so highly recommend seeing this - he's just this charming little elf pixie of a Frenchman, a very magical and funny character and the film is done as if they are describing how they pulled off a bank heist so it's got some drama to it even though you already know he pulled it off successfully. But it's funny too and just a well-told story and I've had a slight fascination with him ever since I heard him on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" late last year. Here's a fellow blogger's review that I found - he has some good stills from the film, as well as the trailer:

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=8020

And now I bring you a list of current obsessions and likes:

1. Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR

2. Car Talk on NPR - yes, I agree, I think I've become an NPR geek. I have absolutely zero interest in cars, but they are so funny and their nonstop laughing at their own jokes or at their own expense always makes me feel good and I find that I typically catch the Giggles from them.

3. Beef barley soup for lunch on Wednesdays only (the only day the soup place makes it!)

4. 3 Current Earworms - Black Cab and The Opposite of Hallelujah by Jens Lenkman and The Rising Tide by Sunny Day Real Estate.

5. Frozen peaches

6. 1 tablespoon of molasses dissolved into a cup of boiling water - an old herbal remedy that's supposed to give you some vim and vigor. Snake oil or not, it's a very soothing drink and I always feel better after sipping some.

7. The Joanne Harris book I bought yesterday "The Girl With No Shadow" which is the sequel to Chocolat, one of my very favorite books, and which I cannot seem to put down but want to make it last so I need to read this in doses only.

8. Eel rolls and seaweed salad for a special treat lunch..eel makes me electric! And as I joked to my mother, if you get near me after eating it, I'll demagnetize all your credit cards...I won't embarrass her by telling you whether or not she believed me.

9. Dead Poet's Society...this was on TV a few weeks ago and I'd forgotten how much I love this movie - I have it on DVD, I should make it a point to watch it more often.

Hmmm, well that' s all I can think of to say to you ... but see what happens when I don't write a thing here, I go CRAZY and it all comes tumbling out...I swear (see, there's that Monday Making Promises thing I wrote about up above) to be a better correspondent.

Girl Scout Honor.

Long time, no see

Me not write much lately..me been very busy here at work, here at life, etc...me has regressed into a big baby child, not a grown adult with only death and taxes on her mind, oh poor poor me!!!

Speaking of taxes, I did mine way ahead of schedule, the forms are in the mail and all I have to do is wait for my refund to be deposited, so YAY for moi!

Other than that, what have I been up to? What's taken me so long to post here? I've been wrapped up in STUFF with a capital S - work has been crazy but in a good way, I've even been called names because of my actions and behavior here:

1. Psycho - by my boss because I like it when he gives me system problems/issues to research and resolve

2. PeopleSoft Nerd - self-proclaimed, because I get WAY too excited when I figure something out that no one else could and we don't have to consult Oracle because they just give us the standard "Case Closed - Works as Designed" answer

3. PeopleSoft Hero - by an IT Guy because he thought Nerd was too harsh

And I've been wrapped up in my class, which I am still enjoying and still finding difficult too. I've been exceptionally good about my 3 Pages First Thing In the Morning - the first week I did 5 of 7 days and last week I did 6 out of 7 as well as most of the other tasks she laid out for us. One of the other agenda items for the class is to help you "refill the well" so to speak, to stimulate you in a creative way. So you have to go and do something outside of the home, by yourself - so watching a dvd on your couch does not count! The first week, I went to a gourmet/ethnic food market and sampled some items and last week I went to the Morgan Library (even though technically, I did this with Cousin Megan, I'm still counting it as my cultural-creativity-sparking event of the week) which we both loved by the way - it's a beautiful building, especially his original study and library. We got to see a Gutenberg Bible, I thought that was pretty cool! Now this week, I'm going - by myself - to Symphony Space to see on opera on HD film - Wagner's Das Rheingold - something different for me, so I'll report back on what I thought of it. That's kind of the point, to try things you normally wouldn't do - going to the museums are very typical of me, so this is bit out of the ordinary. Here's some photos from the performance, it's quite Cirque du Soleil, n'est-ce pas?:





Let's see what else...my mind's a bit warped from too much thinking so I think this is quite the boring update but I feel kind of exhausted ... so me going back into tarzan/ape/baby talk...me not want to write much more, me want to go home and rest my weary bones...

Did you know...

that this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Age of AAAAAAAAquarius...AAAquarius...

"The song was based on the astrological belief that the world would be entering the Age of Aquarius, an age of love, light and humanity, unlike the then current Age of Pisces. This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century. Forty years after the song was written, starting at 7:25am Greenwich Time on February 14, 2009, all of the astrological chart listed in the song actually aligned for 18 minutes. It is believed that this is truly the beginning of the Age of Aquarius."

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

I think I'm supposed to credit my source, but it started with the Yoga Journal enewsletter and then I looked on some random site and now I can't find the link, so I'm sorry for cutting and pasting without recognition.

So, without further ado:

Let the sun shine, let the sun shine in, the sun shine in...let the sun shine, let the sun shine in, the sun shine in...

I survived!

Yes, I know you were worried about SLM - Shy Lil' Me - but I did it, I made it through the first class, complete with exercises where she gave us cues and then we had to write the first thing that came to mind and THEN when she was done, we had to break into groups of 2 or 3 and SHARE. This is thing I don't do well with strangers. So I have a feeling this is going to be good medicine for me - it may taste bad - but will end up doing me a world of good, because guess what? We had to do this 3 times and each time, I did not die. I did not turn to jelly like Simon in Airplane 2 (although I'm jello-like - go on, squeeze me!), nor did I melt into a puddle like Amelie did when she can't find the courage to talk to Nino. I was fine. Okay, maybe I melted a bit on the inside, but my candy shell remained intact and the two people I HAD to talk to and discuss with seemed nice and at the very least, interesting. And - just as unsure/nervous as me. So there. Most of it was listening to her speak about writing and the creative process and what the course would entail - she used to be married to Martin Scorsese by the way and she only referred to him once as her "ex-husband who lives in Pasadena" but apparently they still have a good friendship, which I think speaks well of both of them. But I gathered most of the class knew this little gossipy tidbit and knew who she was referring to, without name dropping. Good for her.

One thing is - as she put it - non-negotiable. The first thing you have to do when you wake up in the morning is write 3 pages in a notebook, longhand. You have to. Now I've had this lady's book for like 7 years (without getting past chapter 2) and she mentions this right off the bat and its REALLY really really really really really REALLY hard to do and to keep doing, no matter what. But she swears amazing things shall come to pass if we keep up with it and since I'm actually paying money for this class, then I figure I better do what she says for the duration.

Needless to say, today was my first day at it and I did 2.5 pages. Close enough. I think when I get home, I should finish the rest even though that's not really how it works but the one lady I spoke to in the second "cluster" told me that she started doing them a week ago in anticipation of the class and said that the first day or so, it was difficult to force herself to do them but then she found herself looking forward to them, like a luxury, because the idea is to get all that crap out of your head, the dust bunnies, so it's really a bit like meditation and then she felt her day went along on a better note because she swept her mind clean, leaving you to focus on what you should/need to be focusing on. I'm hopeful that I will come to enjoy it too - it wasn't awful but you know, I sort of would have rather just laid there for 40 minutes, drifting in and out of sleep listening to 1010WINS until I can no longer hide, it's creeping closer to 9am and I must get up, as per my usual.

But as I said before, good medicine...I just need a spoonful of sugar to assist me as my other role model (the primary one is still Fraulein Maria) Mary Poppins sang so luverly...

And other tasks were given to us as well, so I've got my work cut out for me - and we have to check in with her each week as to what we've worked on, how many mornings we did or did not do the 3 pages - so we are being held accountable to an extent - as she said, she teaches Grown Ups. How much we choose to use this is up to us.

Looks like after a 12 year absence, Little Miss Me finds herself back in school...I have homework!!

"Rainy days and Wednesdays always get me...

EXCITED!"

Now that sounds funny...but I actually do like rainy days - they make me feel cozy. Today has been an odd day because it started out a little sunny but brisk and then about 1:30, I looked out my humongous office window - I'm not bragging, there are two totally oversized windows that go almost from floor to ceiling and soooo drafty that I have to keep my baby heater on throughout the year and I'm currently also wrapped up in a pashmina too - anyway, I look out and in a big blasting WHOOSH!, snow swirled out of nowhere and then turned to rain a minute later and since then it's been a steady drizzle so soup and coffees have been the order of the day.

But I'm excited (and apparently prone to going off on tangents) - and a teensy bit nervous - because I'm starting a class tonight and it's something very out of the ordinary for me and a way to make 2009 different than any other year - so it's a writing/creativity boot camp sort of class in Soho and it goes for 12 weeks, 2 hours every Wednesday, and I signed up for it about a month ago and didn't breathe a word of it to anyone because I wanted to wait and see how it goes before discussing it. I'm hopeful about it but you know, as it is with shy little me, new things are HARD but I need to leap a little now and then so here I am. Wish me luck, will you?

And this week is just odd on all fronts because it's a short week, because the Big Boss is out all week and I'm in charge of This World and so I feel myself forgetting to breathe, there is so much going on, it all seems to be nonstop rush rush around here - but: one thing at a time and I'll be fine.

And now we change to a more Sandmanish/Deliriumish layout - since that is how the Bloggie got her name in the first place, methinks she needs some crazy colors and patterns - the pinky purply one was too girly, but I have a feeling since I've found this pYzam site, I might get quickly addicted to changing this all on a whim...

But for now, behold - COLORS!! SWIRLIES!!! YAY!!!

Dear Bloggie is now upgraded!!!

It's a wee bit girly, I know...but I'm having fun with a new layout, cut me some slack...maybe I'll try out a few more before I settle, but this is cool for now...

Three score and seven years ago...

A good man was born... happy birthday to the dearest daddy a girl could ask for - I'll raise a glass (of orange juice, alas, I have no wine in my kitchen at the moment) tonight in your honor! Here's the man himself, sitting in between two of his favorite places on earth - the Pacific Ocean in Cambria, California to the right, The Sea Chest to the left, enjoying a glass of vino, waiting for escargot and calamari steak - cheers to you Chuck!!


And of course I love you more than I could ever say!!!

I have the croup! I am cherry alive!

My mother laughed at me when I said that...she says - knowingly - that only small babies get the croup, but SORRY - the definition of it in my medical book says if you have a low-grade fever, aches, fatigue, and a cough that sounds like a barking seal, then you have the croup...so there!

Okay, maybe I just have bronchitis or some sort of respiratory infection. Fine. I don't feel WELL. And it's cold, oh so cold but it supposed to warm up soon...its getting into my very bones, this winterness. I may crack like a frozen twig if this keeps up...I shivered in anticipation this morning when I awoke to the guy on 1010WINS exclaiming "...with a real-feel factor of 3..."!

Anyway - this poem by Delmore Schwartz ALWAYS makes me feel good...its very ME...hope it makes you feel good too:

I Am Cherry Alive
“I am cherry alive!”the little girl sang.
Each morning I am something new:
I am apple, I am plum, I am just as excited
As the boys who made the Hallowe’en bang:
I am tree, I am cat, I am blossom too:
When I like, if I like, I can be something new,
Someone very old, a witch in a zoo:
I can be someone else whenever I think who,
And I want to be everything sometimes too:
And the peach has a pit and I know that too,
And I put it along with everything
To make the grown-ups laugh whenever I sing:
And I sing: It is true; It is untrue;
I know, I know, the true is untrue,
The peach has a pit, the pit has a peach:
And both may be wrong when I sing my song,
But I don’t tell the grown-ups: because it is sad,
And I want them to laugh just like I do
Because they grew up and forgot what they knew
And they are sure I will forget someday too.
They are wrong. They are wrong. When I sang my song, I knew, I knew!
I am red, I am gold, I am green, I am blue,
I will always be me, I will always be new!”

GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!!

Someone saw Gran Torino this weekend and absolutely loved it..I wasn't sure I would because since it came out in December, I was constantly making fun of the commercials for it by growling to my dad, "GET OFF MY LAWN!" and telling him to be that kind of grandpa to Allie and Jake by muttering to them in a Clint-ish manner "GO AHEAD-MAKE MY DAY...SIT ON MY LAP AND CUDDLE"! But it did get really good reviews and turns out, I liked it so much, I could have totally walked back in the theater and watched it all over again. I'd like my dad to see it since I think Clint's character could just be his new hero - but with the caveat that he not try to go after the Asian gang members in the same way...I did feel a wee bit guilty laughing at some of the racial slurs, but hey, I never claimed to be morally perfect :-) Plus, the guilt was forgotten soon enough with the BMC (Brooklyn Married Couple) over a glass or 3 of good "mawn-teh-pool-CHAH-noh" and pasta at John's in un paese dell'est - sorry if I'm butchering Italian there, I just looked up East Village on some online translator and this is what I got - hey guys, give me a break, I'm only trying to be cute!

On a side note, BMC invited me to come up to the Bronx with them yesterday to watch the Superbowl at "The Priory" - now I assumed this was some sort of Irish pub and almost said yes but then settled on a no because I had a few chores to take care of. Then I discovered that the Priory is indeed a PRIORY - meaning full of Brothers and Priests and Priests To Be - now wouldn't that have been a riot? Beer-addled Holy Men, full of wings and spewing curse words at the TV! Well, I don't know what really went on there, but it could have been a good tale to tell if I had gone - sounds to me like BMC might have gotten themselves banned from further monastery visits!! (Don't worry, I'm only kidding - they are related to one of the Fathers)!

I did want to share a good recipe with you that I just crafted all on my own yesterday and the taste totally reminded me of my beloved childhood fave Alpine Village soup so I imagine it would taste QUITE yummy with pumpernickel bread and/or oyster crackers - it's easy to make and pretty healthy. I had an extra can of pumpkin puree from December because I thought I had to make another pumpkin pie but I never got around to it - so I decided to turn it into soup. I'm crafty like that. I swear, I can make soup out of anything. It's the Russian-German peasant in me.

So take a 19 oz can, put it in a pot, along with about 4 cups of water and a dash of chili powder - bring to a boil and then simmer until it's all mixed up. I added a packet of powdered chicken bouillon but you could have just started with 4 cups of stock.

In a separate pan, saute 1 yellow onion in a tbp or so of butter or olive oil for about 10 minutes or until translucent, then add 2 garlic cloves minced, a tsp of chili powder, 1/4 tsp of salt. When this started to caramelize, I added it to the pumpkin pot - you want it nice and brown and about to dissolve kind of softness - along with about an inch worth of grated ginger (you could eliminate this if you don't care for the spiciness of ginger but I thought it gave it a nice kick - or add in a smelly sneaker a la Willy Wonka) and about a tsp of lemon juice. Let this simmer for an hour or so to really let all the flavors marry - I began it while I was doing laundry so I tasted some right after I put stuff in the dryer and it tasted more delicate and then ate a REAL bowl after my stuff was out of the dryer and it tasted WOW POW KABLAM! good. And of course, add in more lemon, salt, pepper, as you deem necessary.

Now it's today and it's not so very cold out - it's downright balmy in fact - and I decided to wear a dress and tights while I can since its supposed to snow tonight (yay!) and drop far far down and only be in the 20's and teens all week and the sad thing is, I'm not enjoying the cuteness and sassiness of my dress since my tights seem to have regressed into those of a 7 year old and keep falling down and like a little girl, I keep hiking them up. Good thing I have an office door I can close to adjust them! Since walking to the train this morning, I've been singing in my head:

"My tights are falling down,

My tights are falling down,

High ho the merry oh,

My tights are falling down"

Yes, I really have been singing that to myself. And yes I make myself smile at myself because I realize, once again, it is true: I am a dork.

But oh well...be true to your school...