Words for Wednesday on Thanksgiving Thursday

I have been busy vacationing and not blogging much so I missed "Words for Wednesday." Instead I thought I combine lyrics with a Thanksgiving tradition -- at least around where I'm from. The tradition is to play Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant." It is an extremely long song so without further ado...

Alice's Restaurant
By Arlo Guthrie

(listen/watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_7C0QGkiVo)

This song is called Alice's Restaurant, and it's about Alice, and the
restaurant, but Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant,
that's just the name of the song, and that's why I called the song Alice's
Restaurant.

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on
Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the
restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the
church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and
Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of
room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room,
seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't
have to take out their garbage for a long time.

We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it'd be
a friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. So
we took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red VW
microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed
on toward the city dump.

Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the
dump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dump
closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off
into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.

We didn't find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the
side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the
cliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pile
is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we
decided to throw our's down.

That's what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving
dinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep and didn't get up until the
next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, "Kid,
we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of
garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." And
I said, "Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope
under that garbage."

After speaking to Obie for about fourty-five minutes on the telephone we
finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down
and pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at the
police officer's station. So we got in the red VW microbus with the
shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the
police officer's station.

Now friends, there was only one or two things that Obie coulda done at
the police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal for
being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn't very likely, and
we didn't expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us out
and told us never to be see driving garbage around the vicinity again,
which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer's station
there was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon, and we was
both immediately arrested. Handcuffed. And I said "Obie, I don't think I
can pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on." He said, "Shut up, kid.
Get in the back of the patrol car."

And that's what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the
quote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town of
Stockbridge, Massachusets, where this happened here, they got three stop
signs, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to the
Scene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars,
being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted to
get in the newspaper story about it. And they was using up all kinds of
cop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer's station.
They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and
they took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
one was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach,
the getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that's not to
mention the aerial photography.

After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to put
us in the cell. Said, "Kid, I'm going to put you in the cell, I want your
wallet and your belt." And I said, "Obie, I can understand you wanting my
wallet so I don't have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you
want my belt for?" And he said, "Kid, we don't want any hangings." I
said, "Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?"
Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out the
toilet seat so I couldn't hit myself over the head and drown, and he took
out the toilet paper so I couldn't bend the bars roll out the - roll the
toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. Obie
was making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Alice
(remember Alice? It's a song about Alice), Alice came by and with a few
nasty words to Obie on the side, bailed us out of jail, and we went back
to the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat,
and didn't get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.

We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back
of each one, sat down. Man came in said, "All rise." We all stood up,
and Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he
sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at the
twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows
and a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog.
And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry,
'cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of American
blind justice, and there wasn't nothing he could do about it, and the
judge wasn't going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each
one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. And
we was fined $50 and had to pick up the garbage in the snow, but thats not
what I came to tell you about.

Came to talk about the draft.

They got a building down New York City, it's called Whitehall Street,
where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected,
neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one
day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so
I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. `Cause I wanted to
look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted
to feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York,
and I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all
kinds o' mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gave
me a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the phsychiatrist, room 604."

And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I
wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and
guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,
KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and
he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down
yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,
sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."

Didn't feel too good about it.

Proceeded on down the hall gettin more injections, inspections,
detections, neglections and all kinds of stuff that they was doin' to me
at the thing there, and I was there for two hours, three hours, four
hours, I was there for a long time going through all kinds of mean nasty
ugly things and I was just having a tough time there, and they was
inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no
part untouched. Proceeded through, and when I finally came to the see the
last man, I walked in, walked in sat down after a whole big thing there,
and I walked up and said, "What do you want?" He said, "Kid, we only got
one question. Have you ever been arrested?"

And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Alice's Restaurant Massacre,
with full orchestration and five part harmony and stuff like that and all
the phenome... - and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, did you ever
go to court?"

And I proceeded to tell him the story of the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and the paragraph on
the back of each one, and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, I want
you to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W .... NOW kid!!"

And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W's
where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly
'n' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
and said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?"
And I said, "Littering." And they all moved away from me on the bench
there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I
said, "And creating a nuisance." And they all came back, shook my hand,
and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,
father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the
bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of
things, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held it
up and said.

"Kids, this-piece-of-paper's-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna-
know-details-of-the-crime-time-of-the-crime-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-
you-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-crime-I-want-to-know-arresting-
officer's-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say", and talked for
forty-five minutes and nobody understood a word that he said, but we had
fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there,
and I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony, and wrote it
down there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down the
pencil, and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on the
other side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else on
the other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read the
following words:

("KID, HAVE YOU REHABILITATED YOURSELF?")

I went over to the sargent, said, "Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to
ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm
sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench
'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women,
kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." He looked at me and
said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprints
off to Washington."

And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a
study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I'm
singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar
situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a
situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into
the shrink wherever you are ,just walk in say "Shrink, You can get
anything you want, at Alice's restaurant.". And walk out. You know, if
one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and
they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,
they may think they're both faggots and they won't take either of them.
And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in
singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an
organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said
fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and
walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and
all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the
guitar.

With feeling. So we'll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and
sing it when it does. Here it comes.

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

That was horrible. If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
I've been singing this song now for twenty five minutes. I could sing it
for another twenty five minutes. I'm not proud... or tired.

So we'll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part
harmony and feeling.

We're just waitin' for it to come around is what we're doing.

All right now.

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Excepting Alice
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

Da da da da da da da dum
At Alice's Restaurant

SXSW Tour: We Made It!

Day 3 went very well. We were on schedule all day hitting the road by 8AM and keeping the stops to a minimum. The day's highlights included breakfast at the Loretta Lynn Kitchen (not sure if it is an officially sanctioned Loretta Lynn restaurant, but I've had worse), a disappointing stop at a rest stop that promised TCBY frozen yogurt, but the frozen yogurt machines turned out to be broken, and Tex-Mex food for dinner in the Texas side of Texarkana. We arrived in Dallas around 9:30PM and stayed up talking until Rob passed out from all the driving around midnight.

All-in-all it was a really good drive. I didn't have to do any of the actual driving so I found it very relaxing to just sit there and watch the world go by. As a matter of fact this is the most relaxed I've felt in quite some time. Kentucky and Tennessee were really not my cup of tea (even sweet tea) although I am sure we missed most of the good stuff. I have been to Louisville, KY before so I know not all of KY is like the Wal-Mart and Horse Cave hotel experience we had, and I've been to Nashville and Memphis, but this time we just drove on past those spots. What we did see seemed to be from an alternate universe where people do a lot of hunting and wear Clint Black t-shirts. Not at all what I'm used to, I guess, but everyone was friendly so I can't complain too much.

SXSW Tour: Days 4, 5, 6

Destinations: in and around Dallas/Ft. Worth area

Sights: to include, but not limited to the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, Highland Park Village shops, Dallas Zoo, movies, and many kid-friendly restaurants.

On Thanksgiving Day we're headed out to Athens, TX for Thanksgiving at the ranch belonging to our friend's family. That will definitely be a different way to spend the day!

SXSW Tour: Where's Eeyore????

We got off to a late start yesterday and after visiting the Gettysburg Battlefield Visitor's Center and driving around the town of Gettysburg, we were even later.  But we weren't too concerned because we'd had a good night's sleep and figured we wouldn't make any other long stops and everything would be fine, right?  Wrong.  Of course wrong.  

About 7 hours of driving from Gettysburg headed to St. Louis, MO where our hotel with a view of the Gateway Arch was waiting my blood ran cold when Zoe asked, "Where's Eeyore?"  My mind instantly flashed back to earlier that morning and packing up Zoe's suitcase.  I had not put in Eeyore.  Oh. my. God.  Zoe has had Eeyore since her first Christmas.  She cannot face bedtime without him.  

"Do you remember packing Eeyore?" I asked Rob, hoping against hope.  

"No," he said looking at me and we both knew we were in trouble.

Rob pulled over at the next exit and checked the suitcases just in case.  Nope, no Eeyore.  I quickly found the receipt from the hotel and asked Rob to call them while I broke the news.  It did not go over well.  And that is an enormous understatement.  By some miracle the hotel had Eeyore and they were willing to Fed-Ex him to us in Dallas, but still that did not fully help.  What was Zoe going to do tonight??  I decided we'd have to find a Wal-Mart and get some kind of replacement.  

So, another stop top shop at Wal-Mart (not hard to find in KY), then dinner, and by the time we got back in the car the GPS said it would be 3AM before we arrived in St. Louis.  I immediately knew that was not going to happen.  So, we re-programmed the GPS to head right for Dallas, drove a couple more hours and ended up spending the night in Horse Cave, KY otherwise knows as Somewhere, KY.

Today's plan:

SXSW Tour:  Day 3

Destination:  Dallas, TX

Expected travel time:  12 hours

Sights:  Only what we can see from the car.  We just want to get there and minimize the detours.  

Will hopefully report in next from Dallas!

SXSW Tour: Gettysburg

We made pretty good time leaving the New York area yesterday afternoon only hitting real traffic on the GW Bridge. We were moving along at a very good clip until somewhere in Nowhere, PA we saw in the darkness a huge sign that said "Cabela's." Rob, who was starting to get a bit drowsy immediately perked up. "Cabela's?" he said like a kid on Christmas morning. "Should we stop?"

Rob regularly pours over the Cabela's catalog dreaming up all kinds of camping and fishing fantasies. I do not pretend to understand, but I could only imagine that going to an actual Cabela's store would be the equivalent of me going to a Kate Spade store. So, we stopped and Oh. My. God. It was so absurd that it could have been a Saturday Night Live skit. There were dead things everywhere. There were all kinds of implements for moving dead things. There were things to wear while getting things dead. It was stomach turning. I can't even dwell on it or I will ruin my breakfast. Needless to say I had quite the vegetarian dinner after we left the store. The store also happens to be enormous so it was over an hour and a half before we got out of there with the armload of things Rob could not live without. It was fun to see him shop with abandon and he did not actually buy and implements of death. Zoe was quite confused by the place. I'm not sure what she thought. I will have to remember to ask her today.

So, here's my report:

SXSW Tour: Day 2

Destination: St. Louis, MO

Expected travel time: 12 hours

Sights: Gettysburg National Military Park, Gateway Arch.

Believe it or not, this morning I went to the gym and then took Zoe swimming in the hotel pool. We are about get breakfast and hit the road again.

We've got 10 - 11 hours between sights so who knows what we'll find today. Hopefully something more like Kate Spade and less like Cabela's!

S X SW Tour

This year on our long list of things to be thankful for, we add the fact that gas prices have gone down dramatically in the last several weeks. The whole Zoe family is headed off for vacation this very afternoon and we could not be more excited about it. We are driving off into the sunset for a good old-fashioned road trip ending at our good friend's house in Dallas, TX where we will be spending several fun-filled days and nights including Turkey Day and then we will turn around and head back home.

Road trip!

S X SW Trek: Day one

Destination: Gettysburgh, PA

Expected travel time: 6 hours

Sights: Battlefield, hotel's indoor pool

I have made sure that all our the hotels (2 going, 2 returning) have pools so that Zoe can get some exercise. We will also be on the look-out for playgrounds along the way. And of course, we will try to fit in some good sights -- anybody know where we can find the largest ball of twine???

I will be doing my best to blog about the journey and include photos.

Words for Wednesday: Least Complicated

"Least Complicated" is on the Indigo Girls 1994 album "Swamp Ophelia" and I have been faithfully adding it to mixes (tape, then CD, now iPod playlists) since I first heard the song and bought the CD.

What is more true than the line "The hardest to learn was the least complicated" ? Especially in matters of love as this song pertains, but isn't it that way with everything? I can't count the moments of my life where I acted such a fool hoping for something despite the fact that the truth was plain to see and clearly that truth did not involve my hopes. Hoping that boy liked me, really liked me. Hoping that job would be offered. Hoping that just a little bit of good luck would come my way this one time, despite all signs to the contrary. Oh how those things hurt. And you would think that the hurt would help you to not make the same mistakes over and over, but in some things, you think you can make it happen this one time and "start clean slated."


Least Complicated
by The Indigo Girls

I sit two stories above the street
Its awful quiet here since love fell asleep
There's life down below me though
The kids are walking home from school

Some long ago when we were taught
That for whatever kind of puzzle you got
You just stick the right formula in
A solution for every fool

I remember the time when I came so close to you
Sent me skipping my class and running from school
And I bought you that ring cause I never was cool
What makes me think I could start clean slated
The hardest to learn was the least complicated

So I just sit up in the house and resist
And not be seen until I cease to exist
A kind of conscientious objection
A kind of dodging the draft

The boy and girl are holding hands on the street
And I don't want to but I think you just wait
Its more than just eye to eye
Learn the things I could never apply

I remember the time when I came so close with you
I let everything go it seemed the only truth
And I bought you that ring, it seemed the thing to do

What makes me think I could start clean slated
The hardest to learn was the least complicated
So what makes me think I could start clean slated
The hardest to learn was the least complicated

I'm just a mirror of a mirror myself
All the things that I do
And the next time I fall I'm gonna have to recall
Its isn't love its only something new

I sit two stories above the street
Its awful quiet here since love fell asleep
There's life down below me though
The kids are walking home from school

Im remember the time when I came so close with you
Sent me skipping my class and running from school
And I bought you that ring cause I never was cool

What makes me think I could start clean slated
The hardest to learn was the least complicated
So what makes me think I could start clean slated
The hardest to learn was the least complicated
The least complicated
The least complicated

Blogger meet-up

So, Saturday was the big blogger meet-up day and it was a great success. In attendance: Emily, Becky, Dorothy, Hobgoblin, Cam, and Charlotte. If you go to Dorothy's blog you can read a really nice summary of the day's events so I won't re-write that part.

What I really want to say is thank you to my blogging friends for sharing your thoughts, taking the time to write and write often, and creating such an interesting community that I have come to rely on every day. Some blogs I have been following for awhile and some I am a newer reader, but I really enjoy keeping up with all your posts and getting to know you through your writing. That said, it was a real treat to put actual people with the voices behind these blogs. I look forward getting to know you all better and hope that we can meet up again someday.

Special thanks go out to Emily for organizing our day. And thanks and happy 40th to Charlotte who's birthday trip made this possible. I hope all your NYC birthday wishes came true!

P.S. The books I bought for Zoe at the Strand made up for the fact that I went off for this fun day without her even though Becky and Emily are her friends too. I was forgiven and welcomed home.

The Alcholic Meme

I found this one over at Emily's bar, I mean blog.

1. What’s your favorite drink?
It often depends on the weather or the food, but Vodka Tonic with lime always works for me.

2. Do you prefer red or white wine?
In general I prefer red.

3. Do you prefer dark or pale ale?
In that case, I prefer diet coke. Beer of every variety just turns my stomach. I can't stand the smell or the taste and it doesn't agree with me at all.

4. What was the worst hangover you ever had?
It was after a night of many El Rio Grande happy hour margaritas that never progressed to actual dinner. (Those of you who have been to El Rio Grande on 38th Street know how strong those margaritas are. Those of you who haven't been, please proceed with caution if you ever find yourself at that establishment.) I didn't even get home that late, but by the time I did I knew I was in trouble. A stomach full of strawberry margarita and not much else is not good. I was sick most of the night. The next day I went to work and my boss, who knew immediately that I was hung over told me that I should have called out sick. I was embarrassed, but she was right. My head hurts just thinking about it.

5. Would you describe yourself as a mean drunk, a happy drunk, or a maudlin drunk?
Definitely a happy drunk.

6. Are you a two-fisted drinker or a light-weight?
Complete light-weight except for once in a blue moon when I can drink like a fish, barely feel it, and be completely fine the next day. Obviously, the stars have to be perfectly aligned for that to happen.

7. Do you drink while reading?
Not usually. I like to talk when I'm drinking.

8. Reading what makes you want to drink?
Raymond Carver short stories or Richard Russo novels.

9. Which favorite fictional character of yours has got to be an alcoholic?
Most of Raymond Carver's and Richard Russo's.

10. Which fictional character would you most like to bar hop with?
Delysia LaFosse from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. I can just imagine the amazing bars she would know about, the fabulous clothes we would wear, the handsome men we would meet.

11. What’s your favorite scene from a movie involving drink?
The scene in Sideways where Paul Giamatti's character says: No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!

12. Watching what movie makes you want to drink?
The SpongeBob Square Pants Movie. Do I need to explain?

OK, I have to go now so I have time to stop and buy wine on my way home...

Proud to be a Connecticut Yankee

Today is the official start of same-sex marriages as a reality in Connecticut!

There's a nice article in the NY Times about it all.

“Today, Connecticut sends a message of hope and promise to lesbian and gay people throughout the country who want to be treated as equal citizens by their government,” said Ben Klein, a lawyer with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, a Boston group that litigated the Connecticut case. “It is living proof that marriage equality is moving forward in this country.”

Interestingly on Monday night Zoe and I were in Border's and out of the blue she asked me, "Mom, can a girl marry a girl?"

I smiled to myself and said, "yes, a girl can marry a girl and boy can marry a boy." And I thought to myself -- now.

Words for Wednesday: New York State of Mind

Maybe it is because I am looking forward to my blogger meet-up day in the city on Saturday or maybe it's because I just simply love New York (insert the "I love New York" theme song here), but this song has been in my head lately. Billy Joel's own love for New York comes shining through this song through both the words and the piano.

I always get that riding in a cab up Fifth Avenue on a clear night with a view of the Empire State Building feeling when I hear it.


New York State of Mind
by Billy Joel

Some folks like to get away,
Take a holiday from the neighborhood.
Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood.
But I'm takin' a Greyhound on the Hudson River line.
I'm in a New York state of mind.

I've seen all the movie stars in their fancy cars and their limousines.
Been high in the Rockies under the evergreens.
I know what I'm needin', and I don't wanna waste more time.
I'm in a New York state of mind.

It was so easy livin' day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, the Daily News.

It comes down to reality, and it's fine with me cause I've let it slide.
I don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside.
I don't have any reasons.
I left them all behind.
I'm in a New York state of mind.
Oh yeah.

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, the Daily News.
Who, oh, oh whoa who.

It comes down to reality, and it's fine with me cause I've let it slide.
I don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside.
I don't have any reasons.
I left them all behind.
I'm in a New York state of mind.

I'm just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River line.
Cause I'm in a, I'm in a New York state of mind

Cosmetics Counter: Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Eyeshadow Primer Potion by Urban Decay claims to do what many products have claimed before. The difference is that this stuff actually works!

Urban Decay's claim:

This miracle eyeshadow primer is unmatched by any other in the beauty industry! The genie in this bottle fulfills three wishes: eyeshadow that lasts, more vibrant and lasting color, and absolutely NO creasing.

It goes on quickly and easily although I recommend blotting it on with the wand and then smoothing it out with your finger. It dries quickly and does not affect the color of your eye shadow.

When I bought it I was highly skeptical of its ability to make my eye shadow last without creasing, but being the sucker that I am, I was grabbed by the marketing and bought it anyway. The first day I used it my expectations were low. I put my make-up on at around 7:30AM as I do most mornings and I was absolutely shocked to look in the mirror at around 5PM and see that I still had eye shadow on my eyes. No creases either. Amazing!

The arc of history

There's this one small part of President-elect Obama's speech from election night that I keep thinking about:

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

I just love that so much and my naive, liberal heart really hopes it is true.

Relive the moment. Read the full speech.

Words for Wednesday: Falling Slowly

This week's song for Words for Wednesday is the Academy Award wining Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the movie Once which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. This song is on the CD playing in my car that I sing along with daily and has been on my favorites list since the moment I heard it in the movie.

It is ostensibly a love song, but the chorus makes me now think about Obama's victory and the change this could really mean. It has the same hopefulness -- "raise your hopeful voice" -- that I feel. Whatever you bring to it, it is just a beautiful, beautiful song.

Falling Slowly

I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along

Hear it for yourself at the movie's website. While you're at it, listen to the entire soundtrack.

I love your blog

Earlier this week I was given an award by by Becky from her sofa and my soon to be new friend in real life, Charlotte. Thanks to you both! I feel the same love for you.

And now I have to pass it on. The rules are:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you (as shown above).
3) Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.

So the awards go to...

Heather and her D's. Love keeping up with her boys.

Sara -- one of my newest blog favorites. Love her view on life and motherhood.

Rebecca Of Books and Bicycles whose writing on books is a regular education

Emily the Telecommuter who regularly makes me laugh out loud.

Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle His blog is more than just hints for the day's puzzle (which I often rely on), but really interesting thoughts and analysis of the daily puzzle and I love it.

Traciedesigns who is a great shopper and and even better designer.

And last, but certainly not least...

Becky from her sofa. And not just because she gave me the award -- I love her and her point of view.

MaBloCoPoMo

I kind of meant to participate in NaBloPoMo, but somehow I looked up and it was already November 2. Instead I've made up my own event MaBloCoPoMo -- Marcy's (that's me) Blog Comment Posting Month.

I will do my best to comment on every one's NaBloPoMo posts as an encouragement for their efforts. I am sure their will be some terribly inane comments, but I will try to write something meaningful.

Get out and vote!

Get your own badge here. It's free. Thanks Mandie!

Looking devilish

IMG_1243, originally uploaded by Marcyjill.

Here's Zoe all dressed up for Halloween and doing her best to look evil.

Halloween was 24 hours of celebrating this year -- starting with the parade and party at school Friday afternoon and finishing up at a party at my sister-in-law's house on Saturday afternoon. Enough candy has been consumed to make all 5 dentists scream and the tatoos will hopefully be gone by Thanksgiving.

More pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcyjill/sets/72157608599581590/

The Cosmetics Counter: Drying Lotion

It has been awhile since I have done one of these Cosmetics Counter posts, but lately I have discovered a few new products that I really want to share so I am reviving the category.

The first product I want to share is Drying Lotion made by Mario Badescu.

It is not an anti-moisturizer as the name implies, but, in fact, it is a pimple healer. And it really, really works! I am prone to occasional pimples (not regular acne) and I have tried a lot of these so-called "spot" removers. Most of them don't really seem to work, but this stuff is like a little miracle. Apply this stuff before bed and in the morning any pimples are either gone or really significantly reduced. I've even started putting it on in spots where I think I might be getting a pimple. It is something that has to be worn at bedtime because it is a pink solution that has to be washed off. Also good to note, because you only apply it on the spot, your skin doesn't get all dry and flaky.

At $17 for a small bottle it does sound expensive, but one bottle lasts me at least 6 months.

Sing for stress relief

I have always enjoyed singing along with the radio while driving. I do it by default and I have a knack for remembering lyrics. Admittedly I am not the greatest singer (I am not the worst either), but when a boyfriend of mine once told me that the person singing didn't need my help, I pulled my car over to the side of the road and told him he could get out and walk if he didn't like my singing. You can probably see why things didn't work out between us.

Anyway, my point is that lately I have been, like much of the country and probably the world, kind of stressed out. Between the election, the economy and my own work situation (which I have now named "Survivor: Corporate Edition") my shoulders have found a resting spot around the tops of my ears and my sleep patterns make me think there is a baby in the house. The other day while driving home I noticed that on my trips to and from work I was making things worse for myself by either listening to news radio (CNN via Satellite radio) or thinking about my work situation and what exactly I was going to do or needed to do. Rather than let myself wallow in the stress yet again I switched the station until I found a song I liked. I turned the music up loud and then sang along at the top of my lungs. I sang like that for the rest of the ride home and when I got home I felt so much better (although slightly hoarse).

The next day on my way too work I tried it again. This time I popped in an Indigo Girls CD. I know every lyric of every song so I didn't have to stop singing for a minute. It was great!

That night, I went home and burned myself a CD of all my favorite songs to sing along to. It is a somewhat eclectic mix, but it works for me and it has been playing in my car every day since. I have been singing my little heart out. I sometimes wonder if the other drivers notice me belting it out, but that doesn't stop me because it works. I drive a beige Jeep Grand Cherokee in case you think you've seen me...

So, if you're feeling stressed out, I recommend you give this a try. Find some songs you like to sing, get them playing in your car and go for it.

Words for Wednesday

Yesterday Emily started a new regular blog entry she has titled "Favorite Song Lyrics Monday" and she welcomed others to take the idea so I am doing just that.

My day will be Wednesdays and I am kicking it off with my current favorite song "Free Life" by Dan Wilson. I discovered this song while listening to The Spectrum on Sirius satellite radio (also known as '"crack radio'). I remember the first time I heard it. Rob, Zoe and I were on our way to Springfield, MA to see the Dr. Seuss museum on a gorgeous, sunny spring day. Zoe had fallen asleep in the back seat and Rob and I were enjoying the music and chatting. When this song came on we both stopped talking to listen and I even wrote down the title and artist so I could remember it for later.

The lyrics are simple yet moving and evocative. I want to "fall in love again." I want some more "empty afternoons." And most of all I want the answers to some of the questions. The music, mostly guitars, starts out soft and slow and it builds throughout the song as the chorus hits home more and more. So, now, without further delay, here are the lyrics:

Free Life
by Dan Wilson

Let's take a little trip down where we used to go
It's way beyond the strip, a place they call your soul
We'll sit down for a while and let the evening roll
Don't worry about the time, we'll find a place to stay
The people down here seem familiar in some way
Look kind of like we did before we got so cold

In the air the questions hang
Will we get to do something?
Who we gonna end up being?
How we gonna end up feeling?
What you gonna spend your free life on?
Free life.

Let's fall in love again with music as our guide
We'll raise our ready hands and let go for the ride
Down into unknown lands where lovers need and hide
We got these lives for free, don't know where they've been
Don't know where they'll go when we are through with them
Starlight of the sun, dark side of the moon

In the air the questions hang
Will we get to do something?
Who we gonna end up being?
How we gonna end up feeling?
What you gonna spend your free life on?
Free life.

It seems so long ago, those empty afternoon
With nowhere much to go and nothing much to do
Just sit up in my room and let the world unfold

In the air the questions hang
Will we get to do something?
Who we gonna end up being?
How we gonna end up feeling?
What you gonna spend your free life on?
Free life.

A Six-year-old in a Sleep Mask

sleep mask, originally uploaded by Marcyjill.

Yes, I love to take pictures of Zoe while she is sleeping and have taken many and posted a few here on the blog, but this may be my favorite to date. The funniest part about the fact that she is wearing the sleep mask is that she insists there be at least 2 different lights on in her room at night -- her closet light and a night light. At least the flash from my camera didn't disturb her when I took this picture.

The elementary school vote

The other day Zoe came home from school and announced, "You cannot vote for John McCain because he wants to add one more hour to the school day! You have to vote for Barack Obama." You cannot imagine the look of horror on her face as she said this.

My husband and I giggled and then because my husband likes to tease as much as I do, he said, "Barack Obama eats children." Zoe stomped off and we continued to giggle and then the subject was dropped.

Several days later we were in the car and out of no where Zoe said, "Daddy, tell me the truth. The real truth. Does Barack Obama really eat children?"

"Of course not honey." We were both stifling huge guffaws. "Not anymore."

"Daddy!" she shouted exasperated.

I then tried to reassure her that Barack Obama does not eat children, but I'm still not 100% sure she believed me. Rest assured though, Zoe still things we should vote for him because she does not want John McCain and his extra hour of school.

Excuse me while I get political for a moment...

I have stayed away from posting anything about the upcoming presidential election, but I just had to share this one video clip because it truly scares the life out of me and I want to make sure as many people as possible see and hear this.



What goes on in his head????

9 things about my marriage

Today is my 9th wedding anniversary therefore I give you 9 things about my marriage:

1. It has been a lot of laughs and not too much tears.

2. It has been a lot of pizza and some champagne.

3. Neither of us cook or clean much, but I clean more and he cooks more.

4. He can still surprise me (in a good way) and I think I still surprise him occasionally.

5. There was a time about 5 years ago when I wasn't sure we would make it. I'm glad we got through that time and it makes me more confident that if (when) bad times come again, we'll get through that too.

6. We still hold hands all the time.

7. On weekends we often have to make sure we're not dressed in the same outfit (i.e. jeans and a black shirt).

8. We're the only people we don't bore with endless talk of Zoe and we do spend an awful lot of time talking about her -- or watching her sleep.

9. I love him more than I did on our wedding day.

Zoe and Michelle

We spent this past weekend visiting good friends who have a farm in Aurora, NY. Their farm includes a beautiful old farmhouse, a big red barn, corn fields, and chickens. Hard as it may be to believe, they are really good looking chickens too, but they all look identical. Therefore, they are all named Michelle. Zoe had a fantastic time at the farm and especially loved getting to know the Michelles.

Once

This past Friday night I was fortunate enough to catch a really wonderful movie on TV. It is called Once. The title caught my attention as I was scrolling through the "guide" looking for something to watch because I remembered that it won an Oscar for best music in February. I had never heard of the movie before Oscar night, but the two lead actors performed one of the songs and I remember thinking how much I liked it. The song was "Falling Slowly" and if you go to the link for the movie above you can hear it.

The official movie description is:

A modern day musical set on the streets of Dublin. Featuring Glen Hansard from the Irish band "The Frames," the film tells the story of a street musician and a Czech immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story.

It truly is one of the most beautiful love stories I've seen in a long time. And for those who are generally turned off by musicals, in this case the music is so perfectly integrated into the story that I don't even consider it a musical per se. I highly recommend this movie.

Now I am off to check out more music by Glen Hansard and The Frames.

Confirmation at last!

I took the The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test and I have finally gotten confirmation that I am:

Pure Nerd

Here are my results...

For The Record:


A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.



You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.



The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.


Congratulations!

Take The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test at HelloQuizzy

Where did my rug go?

Did you ever get some news that, even though you pretty much knew it was coming, you were completely unprepared for? At least completely unprepared for the full impact of the news at any rate. It seems that is what has happened to me.

Last Wednesday I arrived at the office just in time to receive an email from the president of the company informing us that we have been sold and we're all officially being given 60 days until termination. Fun stuff, right? Unfortunately and fortunately -- depending on how you're looking at things -- it isn't really all that simple.

We've been sort of sold.

We sort of have 60 days until we're out of work.

We sort of might have the opportunity to apply for our own jobs.

We sort of get information eked out to us.

Like I said, I was largely expecting this news, but somehow seeing it all in print and living through the bureaucracy has been unsettling to a degree that I hadn't expected. I have been a real grouch and I kind of feel like somebody died.

Bah.

Current Addictions

I've been tagged again...

RULES:

* Post at least five current addictions (with some details, please).
* Mention the person who started this meme (Being Brazen) and also the person who just tagged you - Emily.
* Type your post with the heading “Current addictions”.
* Tag at least two people and pass on the above rules.

So, here are my current addictions:

1. Shopping. No, duh right? It's an addiction that has lived near and dear to my heart for many, many years now. I should qualify this by saying I like shopping for clothes, shoes, make-up and books. I can live without shopping for furniture or groceries or any other practical things. I do enjoy a good turn through CVS though. In this current economic climate shopping will probably be my downfall. There are major bargains out there!

2. Buying Books. I guess this is related to the above, but it is more than that. I have an enormous pile (several shelves worth actuall) of unread books -- my TBR pile as its called. And that pile makes me happy because when I am ready for a new book I have my own private selection to choose from just waiting there for me. I love going to the bookstore to discover books, I love ordering books from Amazon that I've read about. I love my books and I just keep on getting more.

3. LibraryThing. This one is related to the above. I have become obsessed with not only cataloging my books, but also with recording when I acquired the book, when I started reading it, and when I completed reading it. I try to never look at the ratings or reviews for a book until after I've read it because it is so much fun to compare my thoughts after.

4. Twitter. I just love it. It is great to see the thoughts of multiple friends and persons of interest. It is fun to post my own thoughts for many to see at once. And it was so fun to watch the posts on debate night. It is like blogging, but it is short and sweet and to the point and it gives you that false sense of connection to others that only the internet can give.

5. Mike and Ikes. They are my current favorite candies. I eat some just about every day. They are just so chewy and good. But too many do make me feel a little ill so I only eat a handful.

6. Diet Sunkist. When we were in Italy in June I drank a few Fantas and they were sooo good. Especially in the heat. It was 100 degrees almost everyday we were there. The U.S. version of Fanta is not as good (just like the Italian version of Diet Coke is not as good) so I decided to try Diet Sunkist one day and it tasted just like the Italian Fanta. I've been hooked ever since. However, I do not like to have Diet Sunkist and Mike and Ikes at the same time.

These are my addictions, I tag Tracie and Noble Savage.

Aging Meme

I was tagged by Becky to do my own meme. Imagine that!

So, here goes...

The Aging Meme
all you have to do is fill in the blanks...

At a certain age women should not wear very long hair. At a certain point I think around shoulder length is really long enough.

At a certain age men should not date/marry/or make children with women in their 20s.

When I was a kid I thought I would become an artist.

Now that I am older I wish I spent more time thinking things through when I was younger.

You know you are too old to wear a miniskirt when you wonder if you're too old to be wearing it.

You know you are too young to wear make-up when you still have gorgeous kid skin.

When I was in high school I listened to the music of The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, R.E.M.

Nowadays I find I like the music of whatever they're playing on The Spectrum on Sirius Sattelite radio. It's a great mix of new and old including R.E.M., Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Lucinda Williams, Tom Petty, and Jakob Dylan.

On my last birthday I turned 37 and celebrated as described here.

On my next birthday I want to go skiing.

The best birthday present I ever got was the timing of my birthday. My birthday is January 15 which was Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and because his birthday is treated as a national holiday I not only get to share my day with a great man, I get a long weekend. Don't get me wrong, I've gotten lots of wonderful presents, but that day off is so nice.

The first time I felt grown up was the first time I had to stay up all night with Zoe when she was sick.

The last time I felt like a kid was 5 minutes ago as I enjoyed the movie Wall-E.

When I read Bridge to Terabithia it changed my life. I read that book sometime in elementary school and that's when I discovered how wonderful reading is.

Last year was filled with ups and downs.

Next year I hope not to repeat some of the downs from last year.

What does my inbox say about me?

Here are the first 6 emails in my personal email inbox right now.

Aging

It seems like there has been a real lack of memes out in the blogosphere lately. I went searching for one the other day and the best I could come up with was not very good. So, I was inspired to create my own and here it is.

The Aging Meme
all you have to do is fill in the blanks...

At a certain age women should _________ .

At a certain age men should ___________ .

When I was a kid I thought I would ___________ .

Now that I am older I wish ___________ .

You know you are too old to ___________ when ___________.

You know you are too young to _____________ when ___________ .

When I was in high school I listened to the music of __________.

Nowadays I find I like the music of _____________.

On my last birthday I ___________ .

On my next birthday I want to ____________ .

The best birthday present I ever got was ___________ .

The first time I felt grown up was _____________ .

The last time I felt like a kid was ______________ .

When I read ___________ it changed my life.

Last year was __________.

Next year I hope _____________ .


Tag, you're it!
In order to get this off on the right foot, I am tagging: Becky, Emily, and Tracie. Anyone else is welcome too.

A Sentimental look back ... and meatballs

Compared with some I am barely a baseball fan, but I do root for the Yankees and I am waxing nostalgic about the closing of the old stadium. My favorite tribute:

Made it into a meme

I found this over at Jane Green's blog and as she has it, it isn't quite a meme -- it looks more like a chain email, but it is pretty close to a meme and it feels like it has been soooo long since I've done a meme so I decided to make it into one by changing some of the questions a little bit and omitting just a few as well. So, without further ado...

Getting to know you...in 45 questions

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:30 AM

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds all the way.

3. What was the last film that you saw at the cinema? Mama Mia and it was just awful. There hasn't been much I've wanted to see since then.

4. What is your favorite TV show? Project Runway

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Special K at home, French Toast when at a restaurant

6. What is your middle name? Jill

7. What food do you dislike? Seafood and mushrooms

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? The mix I made for the car trip to Cape Cod. It has all my latest favorite songs. In general I don't buy CDs anymore. I just download.

9. What kind of car do you drive? Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, Rocky Mountain Edition, or, as I call her Sandy Wabbit.

10. Favorite sandwich? Peanut butter and jelly -- preferably creamy peanut butter, grape jelly and whole wheat bread.

11. What characteristic do you despise in others? Two-faced-ness

12. Favorite item of clothing? Several pairs of my shoes including the purple Tory Burch ballet flats and the grey suede booties shown here.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? These days I'd really like to go to Barcelona.

14. Where would you retire to? Manhattan.

15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I'm not usually a person to focus on the negative, but my most recent memorable birthday is my 30th when my husband was supposed to book the party room at a particular restaurant for a particular night, but he waited until that last minute to call and it was too late. Yeah, it was a bad time, but that happens.

16. Favorite sport to watch? Tennis.

17. When is your birthday? January 15

18. Are you a morning person or a night? Definitely a morning person despite myself.

19. What is your shoe size? 7.5 It used to be 7 until I got pregnant. I actually had to get rid of almost all my shoes after Zoe was born and I realized my feet were not going to shrink back -- just like certain other parts of me.

20. Pets? Not any more unless I can count Mike...?

21. What did you want to be when you were little? An artist.

22. What is your favorite flower? Gerbera Daisies

23. What is a day on your calendar that you are looking forward to? This Saturday! Big shopping adventure planned for Saturday.

24. What are you listening to right now? Nothing, but I can hear Sponge Bob Square Pants.

25. What was the last thing you ate? A handful of Mike & Ike's.

26. Do you wish on stars? Yes.

27. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Violet blue

28. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My sister-in-law Joanne

29. Favorite soft drink? Diet Coke. I think I am actually partly made of Diet Coke.

30. Last place you ate out Katzenberg's

31. Hair color? Brown with a few persistent strands of grey.

32. What was your favorite toy as a child? Fashion plates

33. Summer or winter? Summer summer summer summer summer summer

34. Hugs or kisses? Both

35. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla

36. Coffee or tea? Coffee. Tea always makes me think of being sick.

37. Salty or sweet? Sweet...thus the Mike & Ike's

38. What did you do last night? Had dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's house. They made pizza on the grill using a pizza stone and it was really good.

39. What is under your bed? Art supplies, stationery, pens, paper, and computer bits and pieces like spare wires. All neatly packed in plastic bins.

40. How many keys on your ring? 2.

41. How many years at your current job? 3 and a half

42. Favorite day of the week? Thursday.

43. How many towns have you lived in? Rockaway, Stamford, Monroe, Ithaca, Dallas, Westport, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Fairfield

44. Do you make friends easily? I didn't used to, but I find that now I do. Or maybe I've just been really lucky in the last few years.

45. What is the last book you read?
These Three Remain and I am currently reading Vanity Fair.


And now I tag anyone who is longing for a meme like I was.

More aquatic silliness

This may have been the last swim of the season so it seemed necessary to record it on film.

Is this normal?

Tonight as Zoë was getting ready to get into the bathtub my husband turned to me and asked, "Do other kids take a bath like this?"

I looked at Zoë and saw her with her goggles on and digging her piece of rubber tubing out of the basket of other bath toys frankly I and wondered the same thing.

Temptations -- Fall '08

Couldn't sleep so I ended up doing some online browsing (no purchasing). Lots of nice things to look at! Some of my favorites...

This morning

Every year since 9/11/01 my mother, my husband and I go to the 9/11 memorial at Sherwood Island on the morning of 9/11. This year was no exception. Every year there are fewer and fewer people there, but it makes it no less poignant especially when there are people there clearly grieving someone who's name is carved into the memorial.

This morning there was a man there who's face was the absolute picture of grief-stricken. Just looking at his face made me well up with tears and I was once again struck by just how lucky I was that day -- how lucky I am. My mother was in the WTC when it happened and she (obviously) escaped. Every year when I see the mourners at the 9/11 memorial at Sherwood Island or on TV at "Ground Zero" I am reminded just how close I was to becoming one of them.

Coincidentally on my way into the office this afternoon I heard a song I've never heard before by a singer I've never heard of before and that song really spoke to me along these same lines. The song is There Is So Much More by Brett Dennen. The particular lyrics that struck me:

In a world with suffering,
Why should I be so blessed?

If I were athletic

If I were athletic I think I'd like to be like Serena Williams. She's an incredibly talented player who clearly takes her game seriously, but she also knows herself so well. I've watched her play for years now and I can usually tell what kind of match it will be just by looking at her.

Watching her play last night I knew by the second game of the first set that she was going to win. How did I know? you may ask. Well even if you didn't I am going to tell you anyway.

There was this moment right after a somewhat tricky rally that had each player running hard. It was just a tiny, tiny moment. Serena won the point and just after she saw that she won it, she looked down at her hand to check her manicure. It is an unmistakable gesture so I know that is what she was doing. It was as if she wasn't even worried about that last point and she was so relaxed and ready for the next point that she didn't have to worry about that either. She knew she had this.

To be fair Jelena Jankovic played a strong match and Serena did not trample her, but there was never a moment where I felt that Serena thought she wouldn't win. That manicure check moment was just awe-inspiring to me.

Just can't get enough

Last night, after dinner, dishes, laundry and putting Zoe to bed I sat down to watch some TV. There were a lot of good choices last night including the latest episode of "Project Runway," Serena v. Venus in the U.S. Open Quarter finals, and some sort of convention. My day had ended on a bit of a down note and I really wanted to just sit and not think.

And then it happened.

As I sat there innocently trying to relax a commercial came on which I never would have noticed if it weren't for the song. It was Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough." I loved that song in its day and it still had a place in my heart until I realized just what was happening. Payless Shoes was using the song to advertise their "BOGO" sale (Buy One, Get One half off). To my utter shock I realized that Depeche Mode have sold out!

I have nothing against Payless Shoes. In my more broke days they fulfilled many shoe urgings. However, I do hate hate hate when songs are used in commercials and I especially hate it when it is a song I like! Of course this could be one of those cases when someone else actually owns the music catalog as was done to the Beatles, but it doesn't matter. Those are my teenage memories being exploited for a "BOGO" sale. Oy.

Why do the women have to grind the corn?

I showed signs of being a feminist very early on when in 6th grade, along with my partner in crime, Heather, demanded of our Social Studies teacher, Mr. Corica, "Why do only the women have to grind the corn? Why didn't men also grind the corn?" We were studying Native Americans (or as we called them back then, Indians). Of course the answer to that question is long and complex, but you would think he could have given us some kind of answer. Instead we got no answer which only made us both ask more insistently. I am sure it was annoying to be harangued by 2 13 year-old girls, but wasn't it also interesting that we were even asking the question? I still find it sad that instead of an answer we got into trouble. Both Heather and I ended up with notes home to our parents, but we never forgot that moment. And, for the most part, I don't think it has made us stop asking the question.

That is why I am sharing this image of women grinding corn which I came upon in a project I am currently working on at my job. I didn't need it to remind me of the "incident" from 6th grade, but it made me laugh. Hopefully it makes Heather laugh too.

Four young Hopi women grinding corn. Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Edward S. Curtis Collection.

American Wife

I received the book American Wife as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. It is the latest novel by Prep author Curtis Sittenfeld and draws on the life of Laura Bush for much of the formation of the main characters and events. It is a long and detailed story of how a reserved (but not conservative), intelligent woman ended up the wife of the President of the United States.

The books starts off strong with a compelling description of teenage life in the early 1960s in middle America. I was drawn in by the dramatic events of most of the first part and quite interested to see how these events would shape and drive this young woman -- as I was sure they would.

I will admit I was not a big fan of Prep. I wanted very much to like it and by the description it sounded very much like a book I would definitely like, but it had one fatal flaw -- the main character. I had no empathy or even sympathy for her. American Wife suffers from the same problem. I can't find many reasons to warm up to Alice. She's so reserved and so rigid and so downright prissy that I just couldn't care about her. I can't help thinking that Ms. Sittenfeld was so afraid of having her novel referred to as "chick lit" that she stripped out all the humor, all the passion and all the foibles of Alice -- in other words all the things that make us root for the women who star in all those "chick lit" novels. If I could have cared about Alice more, and rooted for her then this story might have been a lot more human.

Alice never really overcomes, she never really shows passion and she doesn't even stand behind her husband or her own convictions. So, for me, the book, like Alice herself, slowly stagnates after the first part. If Alice had been passionate about her husband, rather than accepting, had thrown herself into supporting him, or thrown herself into motherhood or really anything it would have been a much more interesting story. Instead we ended up with story of how a rather stilted woman came to be. For Laura Bush's sake I hope the similarities between her life and Alice's are limited to the major events only.

08/30/08 Update: As I could have predicted this book is the cover review in the NY Times book review section this week. It is reviewed by Joyce Carol Oates no less, who must be an incredibly kind reviewer because although she doesn't say she enjoyed the book she doesn't pan it either. She just talks around it. I don't know who Ms. Sittenfeld knows at the NY Times, but she sure is lucky to know them.

Throwing rocks

I am just starting to get a handle on all the cool things I can do with my digital SLR. I had some fun with it this weekend while we were in Cape Cod.

Tracie will love this!

I was just catching up with Emily's blog where she had a very accurate post about the lack of activity in the blogosphere right now. Check it out for yourself. The best part about the post is the quiz at the end called "What Font are You?" I, of course, had to click right through and find out for myself ...

You Are Helvetica

Your life is ultra modern and ultra streamlined. You don't get bogged down in details or decoration. You like to think that you're the epitome of style and taste. People either totally get you - or they think you're boring and generic.

What Font Are You?

I would say that sounds about right except for the details and decoration part. I am not a knick knack person, but details definitely make a difference to me. Overall, however, I must admit I am proud to be considered Helvetica.

My new favorite charity

I just happened upon what I consider to be an awesome charity. I haven't checked out their financials, but they do file all the right paperwork. They are called Soles4Souls and they facilitate the donation of shoes to needy people worldwide. Individuals, organizations, shoes stores can all donate shoes or (of course) money.

I came across this charity on the Piperlime website (one of my favorite shoe-shopping websites) and I can't wait to fill up a box and ship it off. I will then have more room in my closet for new shoes and feel like I've done one small thing to help someone else in the world. What could be better? The fact that it is all about shoes, of course!

Speaking of shoes that need room in my closet, last week before I started my new hiatus I bought these gorgeous shoes and I haven't worn them yet, but I still want to show them off:
from Nine West

Definitely a Happy Camper

Friday was Zoe's last day of camp for the summer. When she got off the bus she came running to me and said, "Mom, can I go to camp again next year?"

"Of course," I said.

"Can I go every year until I am 13?"

"Sure."

That was how I knew the 6 weeks she spent at Camp Tepee were a success.

Here's a picture of her the morning of her last day. I would say she looks tanner and bit shaggier than her first day, but just as happy.

Not tired?

A brief outline of my day:

5:00 AM Get up, get dressed, head to the gym, workout
6:30 AM Shower and dress
7:00 AM Make breakfast for Zoe, pack her camp bag, start a load of laundry
7:30 AM Eat breakfast (Special K), drink coffee, read for 10 minutes
8:05 AM Wave good-bye to Zoe on the camp bus
8:25 AM CVS stop for some things I need for my upcoming trip
8:45 AM Arrive at work, turn on computer and begin reading email and other work
9:30 AM Drink large iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts, continue working
10:00 AM Meeting
10:30 AM Meeting
12:00 PM Lunch at The Burger Bar with friends-- eat too much, but don't really regret it
1:30 PM Return to office
2:11 PM Remember and go to 2pm meeting to discuss upcoming trip
3:15 PM Finalize presentation for upcoming trip
5:10 PM Leave work and go home
5:45 PM Have a long talk with Zoe about the bully at her camp. Conversation ends with a smile, hug and kiss.
6:25 PM Put washed clothes in dryer and add new load of dirty clothes to the washer
6:30 PM Head out for dinner in Milford with friends and manage to not eat too much.
9:30 PM Return home, bring out recycling, fold dry clothes and put clean clothes from washer into the dryer
9:45 PM Pack 2 lunches for Zoe, pick out 2 outfits
10:15 PM Sit down and watch Michael Phelps break the all-time gold medal record. Wow, butterfly is so hard!
10:25 PM Get clothes out of dryer, fold and put away
10:30 PM Pack for trip, clean up clutter so cleaning lady can clean tomorrow
11:45 PM Can't do the one thing I really want to do -- sleep.

OK, I haven't been trying for very long, but I would think after the day I've had, I would have been passed out by now.

Dramatic fashion

I have been watching coverage of the Olympic Games and it seems to me that the commentary is so overly-dramatic. I realize this is an incredible moment of potential achievement for these athletes who have probably worked most of their lives for this moment, but even so it seems that the stakes have been raised. Some phrases I've heard tonight include:

"That's a major mistake. Definitely a half a point there."
"There is no safety net for this team."
"The race of his life."

Much more importantly, let's discuss Olympic fashion:

I think Ralph Lauren did a nice job outfitting the team this year. The athletes all looked good at the opening ceremony and I think a lot of the warm-ups and other clothing they provided are quite nice. Looks like Nike has provide most of the actual performance gear.

It was a very nice change to see the men's gymnastic teams not in white stirrup pants. The dark, flat red is a much better choice for tight pants on men. Keeps the emphasis on those nice arms and upper bodies. The Chinese men's outfits are really nice too.

I don't think red satin was the best choice for the women's gymnastics team, but at least they aren't spraying their hair with glitter this year.

The women's beach volleyball team outfits look like something that should be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but the men's regular volleyball team look good.

All the women archers look awesome. Tough as nails.

That's all my comments for now, but I will be sure to keep my eye on the Olympic fashions and report back.

Finish-the-Sentence

So I know I haven't written a real post in awhile now, but things have been a little hectic and at least this meme came from the Queen herself.

THE FORTY FINISH-THE-SENTENCES MEME

1. My uncle once yelled at me for touching the window of his car. He is compulsively clean and neat and especially about his cars.

2. Never in my life have I eaten lobster. I don't think I ever will either.

3. When I was five I loved Snoopy. I carried my Snoopy doll with me everywhere, I wanted to own anything with Snoopy on it and I lived for the Snoopy holiday specials -- especially "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

4. High School was too long. Those were the 4 longest years of my life.

5. I will never forget 9/11.

6. I once met Tom Brokaw at a restaurant in NYC called the West Bank Cafe where some friends were doing a show. I had had several drinks and was sitting with my back to his table so I didn't know he was there. For some reason I decided it was good time to show my friends the different kinds of hats one can make with a dinner napkin. At one point my friend across the table said, "Tom Brokaw is laughing at you right now." I turned around to see him laughing right at me. He then came over to our table introduced himself and bought us all a round of drinks.

7. There's this girl I know who is coming to visit me (and her family) tomorrow and I can't wait to see her.

8. Once, at a bar I met Joe Torre's son Michael. He was a nice guy and I would have given him my number if he'd asked, but he didn't. And not just for the potential Yankees tickets.

9. By noon, I'm usually hungry on weekdays and feeling like the day is slipping away from me if it is a weekend.

10. Last night I had dinner with Becky. We went to Acqua in Westport and it was half-price wine night yet somehow we restrained ourselves and only had one bottle.

11. If I only had more time in a day.

12. Next time I go to church someone will be getting married, baptized or buried.

13. Terry Shiavo makes me think how insane the world can be and how much I need a living will. Just in case -- tell Rob to pull the plug and get on with it.

14. What worries me most is different on any given day.

15. When I turn my head left, I see my mother sitting next to me on the couch.

16. When I turn my head right, I see my deck, the table and umbrella on it, and part of my pool.

17. You know I'm lying when I...wait -- why would I give away my own "tell"? Actually, I try not to lie because I used to do it terribly often as a kid and it always got me in trouble and I don't know what my "tell" is, but I am sure I have one.

18. What I miss most about the eighties is the music.

19. If I was a character in Shakespeare, I'd be one of the women in a comedy who dress as a man like Rosalind in "As You Like It." That's just the kind of thing I would think is a good idea.

20. By this time next year Zoe will be 7 and getting ready to enter 2nd grade.

21. A better name for me would be Jill. I was supposed to be Jill and then my great-grandmother Mary died just a couple of weeks before I was born. In the Jewish tradition babies are often named after a relative who died recently. I've never been in love with my name, but I do like Jill which is my middle name. Of course, as a kid I looked just like Marcie from the Peanuts gang so it did seem like I was meant to be a Marcy.

22. I have a hard time understanding boys.

23. If I ever go back to school, I'll go for that semester at the London Centre. What was I thinking??!!

24. You know I like you if I want to go shopping with you.

25. If I ever won an award, the first person I'd thank would be hmmm...my mother or Rob depending on the award.

26. Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro walk into a bar...

27. Take my advice, never drop a full bottle of wine on your foot -- especially while wearing flip-flops

28. My ideal breakfast is a really fresh everything bagel (not toasted) with butter on one half and cream cheese on the other half, an extra hot latte and a vanilla creme-filled donut for dessert.

29. A song I love, but do not have is "Lean on Me" because I love it for the memory it evokes much more than I love the song itself.

30. If you visit my hometown, I suggest driving right through -- unless you're hungry then go to Country Pizza followed by Dr. Mike's ice cream and then drive right out of town.

31. Tulips, character flaws, microchips & track stars walk into a bar with Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro

32. Why won't people stop talking on their cell phones while they drive?

33. If you spend the night at my house you'd better hope Rob is home if you want a home cooked meal otherwise we'll probably go out for dinner.

34. I'd stop my wedding for any number of emergencies.

35. The world could do without George Bush.

36. I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than go skydiving.

37. My favorite blond is my niece Sophia. But I know several other very nice blonds who do nothing to propagate the stereotype.

38. Paper clips are more useful than decorative soaps.

39. If I do anything well, it's: shop

40. And by the way: Zoe can now do a front flip off the diving board. It is hysterical to watch.