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ARCHIVES
: APRIL 2003
tuesday
/ april 29, 2003
>
I like to get to the local nursery early on sunday morning before
it gets crowded. They open at 10am. Then, i wander around reading
labels to see what will work in the area where i want to plant.
i have a hard time deciding. Then I ask for help and whatever they
point to is usually what i end up buying. Evidently, lamb's ear
does well in our climate and so that's what i bought the other day.
As an unspoken rule, it seems that i can only buy about 3 plants
at a time. Any more would just be too overwhelming. I have to think
about sections of the yard at a time. Its hard to decide and this
is all new to me and I don't want to get in over my head.
 I
think that what i've done so far in the front yard would all be
considered an improvement, since there was nothing there before.
My planting agenda thus far has been to plant stuff where the grass
doesn't grow. I'm sure this method is either genius or totally amateur.
The lamb's ear went in a spot between the walkway and the boxwoods
(original with the house) and a tree, but i think i need to buy
a few more. I'm not as happy with that area as I am the other area
against the house. Its an obvious example of minimum effort trying
to reap maximum effect. I mean, let's face it, i'm not taking up
gardening as a hobby ... I just want our house to look decent and
normalish, you know, with plants and stuff.
My biggest accomplishment was digging out a small stump that was
blocking my progress in the bed where I planted the iris and dancer
darks. I had tried to get it out a while ago when I originally dug
out all of those bushes. This time, i was seriously determined.
The best thing about digging out a stump is that you know when you've
done it well. Its either still there, or it isn't.
monday
/ april 28, 2003
>
Snail and I went out saturday night to the Broken Spoke, a real
live authentic honky tonk type of place. This place has been around
for ages and has hosted all sorts of music legends, and yet remains
accessible and genuine. What I like about this place is the general
positive vibe going on. This is a place where people aren't trying
to be cool or have an attitude.
There was this 80ish year old man out there really tearing it up.
Each song, he was out there with a different lady, each one varying
in age and size. When he wasn't dancing, he was standing just off
the floor looking for his next victim. That guy was really something
thursday
/ april 24, 2003
 >
I found some darn nice woodcut
landscape prints at nextmonet.com. You can view Tom Killion's
portfolio by clicking on the link below the image.
>
I got some quizno at lunch. i didn't want a sandwich but it was
convenient for my lunch errand doing. I ordered a roast beef sandwich.
Quizno is a place that has their own sandwiches with their own made-up
names. I don't have the patience to decode each sandwich shop's
menu, so i typically just say, "turkey sandwich." Today,
i said, "roast beef sandwich". I leave it up to them to
figure out which sandwich program that fits into. When I get back
to my desk, I remove the top bun to reveal the contents of my sandwich:
1.
cheese
2. beef of roast
3. sprinkled dried herbs
ok. i guess that's not what i was hoping for. I was thinking maybe
some lettuce, perhaps a mayo blob or two. oh, the other unfunny
thing was watching him put my beef of roast slices in what appeared
to be 'hole de au jus' for a few moments of soaking. I admit that
i'm a visual person. I'm sure there's nothing poisonous about the
hole de au jus, but just the same, it made me uneasy. There's really
something to be said for the subway sandwich system. My food never
leaves my sight and i can dictate exactly what goes on there.
>
I heard the song, "Beat It" on the radio yesterday and
was annoyed by this one line in the chorus that i've never been
able to understand. Today, I have solved the mystery:
Just
beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin' how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn't matter who's wrong or right
wednesday
/ april 23, 2003
>
My dad is having his gallbladder removed today, so last night i
baked him some Clementine's
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (with pecans). Today I will ship
them overnight to arrive in his belly, tomorrow. (I am assuming
that he will be allowed to eat them.)
So, i don't bake cookies very often. With these I would say that
my first thought was that the oats were too big. I mean, when you're
eating a cookie, you might think, "mmm, big pecan chunks"
or "mmm..huge morsels of chocolate". But never, "mmm,
big oaty pieces." I do realize that I'm overly picky about
sweets.
tuesday
/ april 22, 2003
>
I think this background color looks exactly like cantaloupe. We
had some delicious cantaloupe the other night. Snail served it up
in a chilled bowl with honey
liqueur (Barenjager....which we keep in the freezer) drizzled over
the top. So tasty!
monday
/ april 21, 2003
 >
We found some time to check out the davis
gallery this weekend and discovered this
lady's work. She has done some really fine work, primarily with
birds as the subject matter: some charcoal drawings, lino-cuts and
lithography prints (prints are all really affordable for purchase
on her website). I really like the look of linoleum prints (this
image is a linoleum-cut hand-colored print; the rooster is a lithograph).
 I
called the studio
she works with to see about getting a list of classes/workshops.
Maybe there is an overview class I can take and get my hands on
several printmaking methods. The process of Lithography is most
curious to me. The principle of it is based on the relationship
between oil and water. (her website has some good simple descriptions
of the different processes). And the method of litho is always decribed
as using a 'greasy crayon' to draw onto the stone (or paper) to
create your image. Any litho print i've ever seen is SUPER detailed
and tight. I've been rather curious to try out these 'greasy
crayons' that can create such meticulous work.
>
Movie
night was great fun.
friday
/ april 18, 2003
> I bring you, Robot Dance.
Today is tax refund day! woooooo! Today is friday! wooooo!
Tonight is movie night and its my pick! wooooooo! and the theme
is 'technology gone amok.' Woooooo!
>
Happy Easter Everyone.
thursday
/ april 17, 2003
> I recently got two new pairs
of glasses. The second pair is kinda funky and I hadn't even worn
them out until last night when we went to home depot.
Every time i put them on, snail cracks himself up laughing. I admit
that they make me look like a cartoon character. A very hip cartoon
character, but a cartoon character nonetheless.
> Mark Ryden's website has been redone. There's a photo of him
in his studio on the biography
page. Also on the bio page is an essay on using meat as a subject
matter (click on artist statements, "Meat"). He's got
a new show, "Blood: Miniature paintings of Sorrow and Fear."
That stuff's getting downright creepy. Click around and enjoy!
wednesday
/ april 16, 2003
>The
meeting yesterday went fine. Its your typical fresh-faced hip small
office
environment (reminded me a lot of the web design company that i
worked for): lots of macs in a quaint working space. It was clear
when we walked in the door, that they had forgotten our appointment.
Ohhhh well.
Anyway, we got some information from them and will now be able to
take the next steps, which will involve some serious math/financials
and looking for land. It all sounds doable, its just a matter of
perseverance -- making all the calls and doing the leg work.
>
I think i'm actually done with the freelance gig that i was working
on, but i don't want to speak too soon because you never know what
will come up. Now i can get back to exercising after work and doing
whatever. hurray.
>
do you ever get frustrated in line behind a grocery coupon snag?
I did yesterday. the several employees and the customer all stood
around staring at the computer monitor, seemingly fascinated by
the mix-up/malfunction. I waited patiently for five or so minutes.
But then, it just seemed silly since there were other lines open.
I really wanted to just hand the coupon man a $20 and tell him to
hit the road. I calmly removed my items from the conveyor belt and
went to another line. Its funny how grocery stores really have no
reason to provide good customer service. It would have been nice
if the cashier lady had said, "i'm so sorry to keep you waiting
ma'am. it'll be just another minute." But in reality, they
know that they owe me nothing. I mean, what am i going to do? NOT
go to that grocery store anymore? ha. yeah.
tuesday
/ april 15, 2003
> In an hour and a half, we are meeting with an architect to
talk about building a house. I am really nervous because its something
we've talked so much about and its time to finally find out whether
it can be a reality or not. Frankly, building a house sounds like
a huge hassle/headache and if there were houses around like the
kind i want to live in, than i would surely just buy one rather
than go through the trauma of having it built. I mean, based on
just our one-room carpet installation nightmare, the task of getting
something done right seems daunting. But, when you want to live
out your dreams, you just have to power up and make it happen.
Up
with people! Power UP!
monday
/ april 14, 2003
> It was a really nice weekend weather-wise. Unfortunately, my
allergies were absolutely out of control. I was walking around a
nice shop saturday with a finger and a tissue up my nose. When its
that bad, you have to let go of your dignity. You are a walking
faucet of running snot.
> Kinko's just called me and I had to be rude to the girl on
the phone. Its pretty darn easy for me to be rude at 9:10am. She
called to tell me that my business cards were ready. I was in there
just last night asking for the cards and they said that they weren't
in yet. I asked the girl on the phone what was wrong with their
business process that the cards could be in and them not know. Her
response, "I don't know." A little advice people: If you
work in customer service, you NEVER say i don't know.
friday
/ april 11, 2003
> If
I were going to quit my day job, get the heck out of texas, move
to NYC and open a cookie shop, my cookies would look like these.
Check out the
fruitstand
and the baby
girl set. (the site runs a little slow, by the way)
> mmm.....I am thinking about a chamomile bubble tea and an aunt
annie's cinnamon sugar pretzel.
thursday
/ april 10, 2003
> I saw a commercial last night that i thought was noteworthy:
Vitaballs.
Vitamin gumballs for kids and adults. Here's some valuable testimony:
"My
children love Vitaball! Thank you so much. We don’t buy gum
anymore. They just eat one of these a day…In fact, my kids
can’t wait until the next day. You rule.
Thomas S.
Kearny, NJ"
>
My boss's office is right across from my cube. Her computer makes
a sound just like someone knocking on the door. I think the noise
is for incoming email or IM or something. A door knock is a very
particular sound with a specific meaning. This particular knock
is a confident, serious knock. "Open up, its me. They're coming."
I imagine that the person knocking is wearing trench coat and its
raining outside and its downtown and its the 1930's, or some time
before there were doorbells.
tuesday
/ april 8, 2003
 >
I put some more plants in the ground on sunday (in leiu of a digital
camera, i did this quick illustration for reference). I have now
created what appears to be a little landscaping on the front of
our house. I'm rather excited about this. I can undestand snail's
skepticism, in that over the years I am not exactly known for my
gardening expertise. Often when we're walking around the house plants
section of a nursery, i am repeating in my mind, "I've had that,
and that and one of those..." But, i think house plants are different
from real in-the-ground plants.....for one thing the cost investment
and the time/manual labor investment of ground plants in an incentive
to take care of them. I have high hopes, but only time will tell.
monday
/ april 7, 2003
 >
We went to Target last night. I am constantly admiring Target for
their splendid-ness. For one thing, they are the ONLY store that
sells Tissue boxes that aren't designed for 80-year old ladies.
I've been complaining about tissue design for years and I refuse
to buy a hard plastic decorative 'cover' because i would need five
of them, one for each room. How hard is it? Thanks to target for
saving the day by making fun cool tissue boxes, although i think
they could still take it a step further. Anyway, last night, i was
looking at the Target brand bagged candy...gummy worms, lemon drops,
etc. They have developed a hip little face illustration system indicating
"tasty", "tangy", etc. Very clever and well
done. Bravo!
>
Yesterday morning, I woke up at 8:30am DST to the sound of something
loud and motorized. When I was first becoming awake, I was laying
there trying to imagine all of the things that snail could be doing
to make that sound....is that the coffee grinder? the hair dryer?
the power sander? the chainsaw? the blender? the pencil sharpener?
I was imagining my angered reaction when I came upon him using this
unknown instrument. It turned out to be a neighbor, several houses
down using what was mostly likely a wood chipper. I swear that if
i'm ever convicted of some heinous act of terror it will be because
of someone doing something noisy and waking me up. Luckily it wasn't
our next door neighbor, therefore out of my immediate half-awake
grasp.
One time when I was about 8 or 10 years old, I was staying over
at a friends because we were both waking up early the next day to
go on a church ski trip. As the story goes (and i don't remember
any of it), the mom came in to wake me up and i punched her in the
jaw.
friday / april 4, 2003
> I
ran an errand dowtown before work, which put me in prime whole-foods-going
position. Whole Foods is home to the most delicious cinnamon scone.
I ate it up on the drive to work, but it's mostly sugar and now
i feel kinda ill and wish that i'd had a breakfast taco instead.
The breakfast taco never betrays me.
 >
Last night, i saw a minor celebrity. Scott
Speedman of Felicity fame. What's funnier than seeing him is
seeing people's reactions when I tell them. The loud girl at my
allergist couldn't believe that i didn't speak to him or get his
autograph. A girl at work wanted to know why I didn't call her.
Generally speaking, women seem to be mad at me because i saw him
and they didn't. Don't hate me because I saw Scott Speedman.
wednesday
/ april 2, 2003
> I
dropped off some dry cleaning this morning and stopped in the starbucks
next door. I couldn't believe how hoppin that place was. I guess
its always a little unimaginable when i see people hanging out and
enjoying themselves in the morning. Every seat was taken and everyone
was talking. It was loud. I got a bagel and left. This starbucks
is in the middle of nowhere and I just didn't expect many people
to be in there. I just don't leave enough time in the morning for
that sort of thing.
tuesday
/ april fool's day, 2003
> Another month, a new header. Amen.
archives: >> march
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