What you could call some major updates

It would be really easy for me to focus on any one thing right now, given how much has been going on, not the least of which is the defeat of the Patriots by the Giants last night. That was quite a game, complete with heartbreak in the last 35 seconds of the game when the Giants scored their winning touchdown, in the last minute when Brady failed to complete a pass to Moss in the end zone, when .... i could go on, but I won't. The sting is fresh, but not so fresh that I can't take on some perspective: I am a New Englander. That means that the bitter poison of defeat is a taste with which many of us are familiar, but that poison has been on the shelf this whole season. In fact, we've been lulled into this false sense of security and have grown weak and perhaps more susceptible to the poison's designs since the Red Sox and the Patriots have done so well overall. We, dare I say it, are no longer used to the disappointment, instead got used to winning. *gasp!* Let's have some perspective on the matter: maybe it's just a game and maybe it isn't, but this is what it means to be a New England fan. Many people have come to hate the Pats and the Sox because they are the favored teams. But ya know what? I loved them when they were 0 and 17, not just when they were 17 and 0. And still calling them my team after a gutwrenching game like last night's is why I am a Pats fan. They put up a good fight against those Giants.

Oh yeah, and daN and i are moving on March 1. The last few weekends have been a bit hectic, what with looking for a new place to live, breaking it to the landlords that we're leaving (they took it well, but asked us to stay until May. Fuck no!)

FAQ's
1. Where is it?
-- On Walk Hill Street in Jamaica Plain across the street from a gorgeous old cemetery (quiet neighbors -- they're dead), which also means that our place faces PINE TREES!

2. How long of a walk from the T?
-- It's five minutes or less from the Forest Hills T stop on the Orange Line.

3. So, what's it like?
-- Well, kinda like this one, only with some major "quality of life" differences:

• It's on the second floor of a house that was insulated last year, so it's MUCH warmer and will be cheaper to heat (and uses GAS rather than us having to fill a Hoover era oil tank).
• The kitchen is a real kitchen with counter space galore, a breakfast bar, a vaulted ceiling with skylights (Mr. Plant, who has grown tall in recent years, will be happy), and - get this - a dishwasher!!!
• The rooms: living room, kitchen, dining room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom with full bath. All hardwood floors. Laundry is in the basement. The rooms are all a teeny bit smaller (except for the kitchen), but that is vastly made up for by the more useful floor plan.
  
• It has light switches in the rooms, and the kitchen and one bedroom have ceiling fans.
  

4. What about the bathtub? Last time I took a shower at your place, I couldn't help but notice that my shoulders are broader than your tub, and it makes it hard to face the stream.
-- The tub is full sized, and, from what the new landlord tells me, has jacuzzi features!

5. Wow, those are some major upgrades! Is it much more expensive than what you're paying now?
-- It's only $50 each more per month than this uninsulated, oil heated, first floor apartment with a half-ass kitchen that is a 25 minute walk to the T.

Did I mention the huge back porch?

Given that we have another bedroom, the futon will live in bedroom number two, helping that room to function as guest bedroom. What will it be doing while it's not housing guests? It will be my YOGA ROOM! YAY!

Also, given that futon will function in said guest bedroom, I procured a matching couch and loveseat in cream suede microfiber from a lovely couple on craigslist for a mere $400! You're lucky to get ONE decent looking couch for that price, let alone TWO! Anyway, those will go in the living room, and we'll be able to sit on a real couch when we're watching a movie.

So, we had to rearrange our current apartment on Saturday to accommodate this new furniture for the next month. That's why we were tired on Saturday.

We were tired YESTERDAY because, though it was supposed to be our day of rest prior to the big game and the ensuing week, our toilet overflowed in the morning and was utterly unusable until around 3pm. Yes, I had to go to Dunkin Donuts to take a shit yesterday morning. Then we had to invent errands like buying a $50 super plunger, recycling plastic bags at Stop'N'Shop, and getting air in the tires, all strategically planned around using their toilets. Our landlords were nonchalant about the whole thing: "Just give it a few hours. It will be fine. It's just an old toilet." I have IBS, and I can't just WAIT A FEW HOURS. At any rate, they were right -- it was mostly OK after a few hours. But it ruined my day.

So, I'm kinda tired...but i'm good. It's a Monday night, and I think I'll go for a stroll with my darling love daN. I'm excited to move to JP, though, and sad to see Somerville and this apartment go. It will find new wonderful tenants. In the meantime, I shall keep my eyes on Free Bowling nights at the Milky Way in JP.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Pinky?"

Courtesy of an email exchange that took place between myself and Q yesterday. Some innocent things just make the day go by faster.

"Yes, Brain, but don't you think it will be difficult to convince the president that he needs hot air balloons instead of jets?"

"Yes, Brain, but how are we going to get 57,471 pink paperclips in an hour?"

"Yes, but how are all those elephants going to fit into the bottle?"

"Yes, Brain, but how where are we going to store all the donkeys while we're there?"

"Yes Brain, but this time, you wear the tutu."

"Yes, Brain, but wouldn't the chocolate get everywhere?"

"Yes Brain, but how would you get the gerbil OUT?"

"Yes, Brain, but I can't remember where I put the sushi."

"Yes Brain, but why does it vibrate like so?"

"Yes, Brain, but I thought you didn't like acupuncture."

"Yes, Brain, but how will we convince your daughter to eat all those kittens?"

Giants: 'We Almost Beat The Patriots Once, We Can Almost Beat Them Again'

Courtesy of The Onion: PLEASE read it. Especially if you intend to watch the Superbowl.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/giants_we_almost_beat_the_patriots

"Commodity fetishism just makes me feel better."

I have finally sprung for a really expensive pair of spike heels. No Manolo Blahniks or anything, but I did buy a pair of Italian patent leather Mary Janes that look remarkably similar to those that Marilyn Monroe wore (which currently live at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, by the way... which may have inspired me to seek some out). Here is a picture:

A friend of mine asked me how they are practical. Well, for one thing, they're the most comfortable three inch spike heel I've ever put on. And keep in mind -- these are not for jogging or speedwalking; they're for sauntering around. And they're marvelous for that. And let's not forget the real point here: they make me look sexy. However, I sprung for the expensive ones because, no matter how sexy the shoes, I won't wear them unless they're comfortable for their purpose.

On the thriftier and more practical side, i was getting REALLY tired of using my Moody's Diner apron as my only kitchen apron. It's just utterly insufficient for cooking. It is shorter than any decent apron should be (it was designed only to hold pens and ordering pads) and doesn't have the side coverage. The result: I go to wipe my floury hands on my apron, and end up getting it all over my pants anyway because the apron is just too short. Ten years of that was enough.

Solution: vintage style aprons on ebay! This one particular seller, Sassy Aprons, has a broad selection of wonderful vintage patterned aprons. Here is a picture of the one I bought, for a mere twenty one bucks including shipping.

Incidentally, the quote from the title of the post -- that was me in college talking through my feeling philosophically inconsistent regarding my love of shoes with my college friend and roommate Patty. Being a Marxist and recognizing that the irrational love of shoes is a replacement for missing social relationships in a capitalist society of mass markets where the consumer has no ostensible connection with the means of production beyond the transaction of purchasing, I still meanwhile suffer (and enjoy!) an irrational love of shoes. I sighed. "Commodity fetishism just makes me feel better."

And there it is.

News Snippets

I have recently (just in the last few days) discovered (well, have been roped into, rather) Goodreads.com. I HIGHLY recommend it. I am having so much fun with it. Maybe it's because I typically enjoy recounting what I have read in the past and getting recommendations from others. Yeah, that's it. Anyway, goodreads.com -- it's grrrreat!

Reflectively: I have really enjoyed being able to work in various locations in Boston Proper and watch how it has changed dramatically over the last few years. It's wonderful getting to see the North End (read, Little Italy) be reconnected to the rest of the city after years of having been separated by I-93. Now that 93 is underground, the area that used to be complex road systems are now blossoming into parks and beautifully landscaped harborside wooden walkways that span the whole of the Boston waterfront from Charlestown to Southie. When I started working at Global Protection a little over 4 years ago, it was an up and coming area of town -- lots of construction, and it looked like a baron wasteland of parking lots. Now, it holds new hotels, gardens, a new Institute of Contemporary Art, little cafes, and the like. Still under construction? Yes. But as promised, it came up. It's been a lot of fun to witness.

2007 was a good year. i'm looking forward to 2008.

year in review: you've heard much of it already, but just to review, daN and i had planned on buying a condo, didn't end up doing it, and meanwhile have decided to move south of the river anyway to facilitate a better commute and possibly and upgrade in apartments. we can keep saving up for buying eventually, but more importantly, we leave ourselves in the financial position not to go completely broke when we each try going to grad school.

for me, '07 was a good year for learning more about what i want and having my hobbies come back to me. i have decided to start painting again,and thanks to daN, i now have the easel to do it! but at the very least i have started in again with pastels. i've managed a full year of financial stability, kept the same job and still plan to, stopped teaching yoga for the time being, and am hoping to take some french classes in the year to come. i've also come to the realization that i do, in fact, want to return to grad school and become a teacher of literature and cultural studies, just not on the same scale as i was thinking last time. i'll be applying for my master's degree in the next couple of years, after daN finishes his classes up (which he hasn't started).

now that time is flying by so quickly, i feel at liberty to make longer term plans because, frankly, 3 years doesn't sound so far away anymore. it certainly used to.

what else? did some light traveling. chicago in february, DC in april and june, denver in may, quebec city in august, and monhegan island in october. i think this year i would like to get off the continent. not exactly sure how that's going to happen yet, but i've got some ideas percolating. i'll tell you one thing though -- having only 2 weeks of vacation really cramps my style. and working in a place that is open between christmas and new year's. man, i'm looking forward to the day i get back into academia. more built in time off. phew! i work hard anyway. if i don't have more built in time off, it's not as though i stop working as hard. i'm a mainer!

what a scattered post!

i read some great books, too! john irving's "until i find you" and alice sebolt's "the lovely bones" are my chart-toppers for the year, but i had fun with tom robbins' "jitterbug perfume" and kim edwards' "the memory keeper's daughter." not to mention reading the seventh "harry potter" book with daN.

i knit a really huge pink scarf that is extremely warm and matches the hat that i knit (and lost and am remaking).

i also got really, really, good at making this one particular bread recipe, and have become much more creative with soups.

mulled wine.

karaoke!

have become more confident in certain arm balances in yoga. experimenting with forrest yoga has been good for me.

had a massage. i want more.

yeah, i think i can say it was a good year for me. thanks for all your help!

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year!

I bet you all are tired of hearing about how tired i am all the time. Well, I will leave that out of the equation, but let me just tell you that the following took place within three days.

daN and i had about 22 hours each more worth of work to do than we thought we did. We had planned on leaving for Maine on Saturday, December 22 (our anniversary!). We didn't. We spent the day wrapping and cooking and finishing presents and cleaning our filthy apartment. We got about 4 hours of sleep, cleaned some more and packed the car, and then we left for Maine around 9:30 in the morning. We were one of three cars on the road, so we actually made it to Rockport to see daN's nephew within 3.5 hours. Whew! We weren't even speeding!

Sunday night, we hung out with daN's brother and sister-in-law playing Karaoke Revolution. Christmas Eve (Monday), I helped my Mum get ready for the evening's festivities at Nana's house, and then we took off for her place. Christmas Eve at Nana's is always wonderful. I love my family. It's so much fun, and we really savor each other. I feel so lucky.

Christmas morning, we actually slept in just a little, and then Christmas presents happened where we were staying at daN's brother and sister-and-law's place, and another of his brother and his girlfriend were also there. People arrived a tad late, as is how it goes, and the orgy of present opening commenced, followed soon by dinner. We got to hang out with everyone there (including daN's mother, brothers, and their respective significant others) and then we went to my Dad's house in Gardiner for Christmas there with his girlfriend and my halfsister and my brother. It was a good time. He made a real full on dinner, which was a wonderful break from a lot of the rich foods that had been on our plates in the meals before (not that there is anything wrong with rich food).

Yesterday, I took a bus home. Let me just say that I had a great time. daN and i stole walks, which made a big difference. Thank goodness! But he is still in Maine, and I went to work today and will be going to work tomorrow, and then walking to South Station from work and taking the bus up to Maine tomorrow afternoon.

At any rate, I'm kind of glad to be back to MA for the day or two. I got to have coffee with Q and Kate in Davis Square this afternoon and do some more housework yesterday afternoon. It wasn't the bad.

New Year's plans? I have no idea. I am sort of hoping that we'll be able to come back to Boston on New Years Eve instead of New Year's Day so that I have a day to recoup before going back to work for another three days. We'll see, though.

I can say this... or, ASK this, rather: when are we allowed to make our own Christmas tradition? It's tough to do when you live in another state and don't have kids. It seems that children are the metonymy for the license to one's own holiday traditions. Can getting closer to 30 and just not being energetic enough anymore for all the running around be a good enough reason?

That all being said, I had fun. I am getting to the really fun point where I get so excited about giving things that I forget that I will receive things, too. And I got some great presents. Extremely heartwarming presents. There are always the hilarious gifts from my uncle that hint at my baron and void womb; the framed photo of me and daN from my Mum's wedding; the cranberry chutney, spiced blueberry jam, and the handmade candies from my Mum; the cashmere stoll from my Dad; the great movies and trail guides... it was a good time. And all usefull! Ooh! I also got some Bailey's Irish Cream and an inflatable mattress! AND, daN got me an iPod dock that has all kinds of great converters for other countries and it's completely portable! And it sounds great. I'm listening to my podcast of CarTalk right now.

I should go. I have to pack for Maine. Again. And i would LOVE to do some yoga! Yeah... i'm getting excited now. Anyway, happy new year!