Last night, I was reading through some old stories that I've written, mostly short stories, or vignettes, I should say, because I rarely have time to get an entire story written out due to...well...life....and you know, I used to really have fun writing. There was one story in there, in particular, that I thought was really good, a little piece of fic that I'd written for a friend. I won't get into the details of it, but hot damn.....I did a good job on that one.
Another story in there is/was a longer piece of fanfic that I started that I still want to finish someday, and hopefully, I'll find the time here and there to do so. I'm sure by the time that happens, there won't be a soul alive interested in reading it, but at least I'll have the satisfaction of reading it myself.
I truly do wonder sometimes how long the actual fanfic genre has been acknowledged....whether it's just a virtual thing or if it was around in some form (besides in peoples personal lives) before that, because I recently found some stories I wrote while cleaning out my parents house (another whole blog in itself) from around 1982 and 1983, when I was 10 or 11. They were stories about that old show "Tales Of the Gold Monkey" which I was obsessed with (and YES, Stephen Collins as Jake Cutter was my first major celebrity crush). There were 4 or 5 short, but complete stories about adventures with Jake and I and the Golden Goose and the dog Jack....and I have to say, they weren't half bad. The female heroine of the show, Sarah, was "conspicuously" missing from all the stories.....a conscious decision of my adolescent brain, no doubt, because I'm quite sure I wanted Jake all to myself back then. Ah, the raging hormones of a 10 year old. Ick.
So anyway, it was pretty cool to find the stories (and many, many others) and realize that writing is something that I've always done, in some shape or form. At least I know that the person I am now is just the natural continuation of the person I was then. I'm just older, wiser, and have a better vocabulary. And much, MUCH more experience to draw on.
On a completely different note, I'm currently LOVING two new CD's I bought over the weekend: The White Stripes "Icky Thump" and Rivers Cuomo's "Alone". Pure musical happiness, let me tell you. "Icky Thump" just makes me want to get up and go seven ways of crazy and Jack White is all kinds of sexy. Rivers "Alone" CD is essentially an album of Weezer demo's, and I LOVE demo's. There's nothing better than witnessing first hand the evolution of a song, and Rivers has one of those flat out, open book, honest voices that I crave. There's not many that have them, but he's one. At least in my opinion. Anyway, this CD has a lot of demo's, some released before, some "leaked" over the years, but it's nice to have this compilation all together in one place. I'm a big Weezer fan, but I'd not heard many of these before.....thorough musical bliss!
And so, accompanied by good music, I am off to sojourn into the familiar territory of dinner preparation and home work supervision.
Until we blog again.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year...
So.
I'm back to work. Couldn't you tell? There hasn't been a blog here in like what....? A month and a half? I've been so freaking tired at night that I've consistently been in bed by 11:30. Me. In bed. 11:30. It's almost like an anomaly or something.
I started back to work the week leading up to Thanksgiving, doing something that I fell into completely by accident, but that I've ended up absolutely loving. I put my name in for substituting at a neighboring school district (my kids district wasn't hiring, unfortunately, but this district has essentially the same schedule) and within a week, I was interviewed for a substitute cafeteria position and within another week, I was made the head cook at the districts Intermediate School (grades 3-5), cooking lunch for 350 kids every day. Talk about a whirlwind.
Let me tell you, though. Being a sedentary creature for the last 5 years has NOT helped me prepare for this job. At all. I start at 9:00am every day, and I don't sit down until 1:30 when I climb into my car to go home. It's constant physical activity, which my body has taken it's own sweet time getting used to. The aches and pains and muscle strain the first couple of weeks was devastating, but I'm finally getting there. For anyone who anytime in their life has ever made fun of a cafeteria lady...take it back. Take it back now. There are no harder workers in ANY school anywhere than those that prepare that meal for those kids every day. I can say that now that I'm among their ranks. The job I do every day kicks my ass.
And I absolutely, positively LOVE IT. It's the best job I've ever done. Ever. Not only do I love the fast pace and the responsibility that I have, but I adore the women I work with. In a very short time we've become a well oiled machine, and better than that, we've become friends, which I'm sad to say, was something that was sorely lacking in my life. My real life anyway. I have cyber friends that I love dearly (and have neglected awfully lately. Me bad), but having that personal contact every day is something that I didn't realize I needed so much. I was becoming a bit of a Hermitt McDermitt in my own home, but thankfully, that's now been remedied. I can't live the life of a hermit. It's way too lonely. No offense to hermits.
Oh, and bringing home a paycheck again feels great. No complaints there.
The best part is that I leave after my kids leave and I'm home before they get home. They don't even miss me. I'm blessed. I truly did fall into the perfect job for me.
Oh...one more added perk. Since I've been busting my ass, running around like a mad woman, and drinking more water than I have in ages, I've managed to lose 12 pounds. Not bad!
So, we're 10 or so days away from Christmas again, I'm just about done shopping, and I'm dumbfounded that the holiday is upon us again already. It feels like once we get past Halloween, the time just flies. But it's good. Our tree is gorgeous and the kids are uber excited so it'll be fine. I'm just hoping that I have the oomph to do all the cooking that I normally do. I'm so whupped I don't want to do anything at night!
On a slightly sad note, one of our parakeets died on Sunday. My little Finback, aka Finn. Rest in peace, little fella. I loved you.
I feel like there was so much more that I wanted to write about, but now that I've sat and begun typing, it's all escaped me. It'll come back to me tonight when I'm lying in bed pondering my day, as so many things often do. Why is it that my best thinking comes on the brink of sleep instead of when my hands are on the keyboard?
I guess that's one of life's little mysteries best left unsolved.
I'm back to work. Couldn't you tell? There hasn't been a blog here in like what....? A month and a half? I've been so freaking tired at night that I've consistently been in bed by 11:30. Me. In bed. 11:30. It's almost like an anomaly or something.
I started back to work the week leading up to Thanksgiving, doing something that I fell into completely by accident, but that I've ended up absolutely loving. I put my name in for substituting at a neighboring school district (my kids district wasn't hiring, unfortunately, but this district has essentially the same schedule) and within a week, I was interviewed for a substitute cafeteria position and within another week, I was made the head cook at the districts Intermediate School (grades 3-5), cooking lunch for 350 kids every day. Talk about a whirlwind.
Let me tell you, though. Being a sedentary creature for the last 5 years has NOT helped me prepare for this job. At all. I start at 9:00am every day, and I don't sit down until 1:30 when I climb into my car to go home. It's constant physical activity, which my body has taken it's own sweet time getting used to. The aches and pains and muscle strain the first couple of weeks was devastating, but I'm finally getting there. For anyone who anytime in their life has ever made fun of a cafeteria lady...take it back. Take it back now. There are no harder workers in ANY school anywhere than those that prepare that meal for those kids every day. I can say that now that I'm among their ranks. The job I do every day kicks my ass.
And I absolutely, positively LOVE IT. It's the best job I've ever done. Ever. Not only do I love the fast pace and the responsibility that I have, but I adore the women I work with. In a very short time we've become a well oiled machine, and better than that, we've become friends, which I'm sad to say, was something that was sorely lacking in my life. My real life anyway. I have cyber friends that I love dearly (and have neglected awfully lately. Me bad), but having that personal contact every day is something that I didn't realize I needed so much. I was becoming a bit of a Hermitt McDermitt in my own home, but thankfully, that's now been remedied. I can't live the life of a hermit. It's way too lonely. No offense to hermits.
Oh, and bringing home a paycheck again feels great. No complaints there.
The best part is that I leave after my kids leave and I'm home before they get home. They don't even miss me. I'm blessed. I truly did fall into the perfect job for me.
Oh...one more added perk. Since I've been busting my ass, running around like a mad woman, and drinking more water than I have in ages, I've managed to lose 12 pounds. Not bad!
So, we're 10 or so days away from Christmas again, I'm just about done shopping, and I'm dumbfounded that the holiday is upon us again already. It feels like once we get past Halloween, the time just flies. But it's good. Our tree is gorgeous and the kids are uber excited so it'll be fine. I'm just hoping that I have the oomph to do all the cooking that I normally do. I'm so whupped I don't want to do anything at night!
On a slightly sad note, one of our parakeets died on Sunday. My little Finback, aka Finn. Rest in peace, little fella. I loved you.
I feel like there was so much more that I wanted to write about, but now that I've sat and begun typing, it's all escaped me. It'll come back to me tonight when I'm lying in bed pondering my day, as so many things often do. Why is it that my best thinking comes on the brink of sleep instead of when my hands are on the keyboard?
I guess that's one of life's little mysteries best left unsolved.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Two Blogs In One Day
Being that blog time is one hour behind my real time, I can effectively name this blog as stated above. My wit is astounding. *rolls eyes*
Anyway...
I unabashedly love Neil Finn. I've never made any bones about that to anyone. I try to keep my raving about him to a minimum here, or maybe I'll refer to him discreetly, but this post is dedicated to YOU, Neil Finn, because you deserve it!
Let's get one thing straight first. The man is a phenomenal talent. Even if you don't like his melodies, take a moment to read his lyrics. Then, read them again. Find something different the second time? You'll find something different the third and fourth as well. His words are gloriously open ended, vague, sometimes confusing, but so personal and cohesive that you often find yourself shaking your head and saying "Yes...yes. That's me. I GET it." It's his ability to let the listener find themselves in his songs that makes his music timeless. A Neil Finn song is unmistakable. It's instantly recognizable. It's as close to musical nirvana as one can hope to get.
"It's so far to fall and so hard to climb
Nothing sadder I know, than the passing of time..."
The middle eight from "English Trees", a sublimely melancholy song, with a soft, lilting melody that takes you through grief, pain, mourning, loss...and even though Neil wrote it, it could be about anyone's loss, anyone's grief, anyone's pain. It's one of his more personal songs, but it's written in such a way that it's personal to everyone. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but if you hear the song, you'll understand exactly what I mean.
But even his personal experiences can pop up in ethereal ways:
"Vacant eyes can't describe my hunger for your billowing arms.."
The imagery and the emotion in that line has always struck me. Vacant. Hungry. Billowing. So very beautiful, but rooted in such a subjective response. It sounds like a lovers lament, but really, it's all about missing a departed loved one. And it's perhaps one of the most haunting and passionate expressions of sorrow I've ever heard.
"I lean the slightest bit towards you
White turns into brown
light goes to black
your eyes danced in my reflection
and the horse ate my trousers"
Quite histrionic, isn't it? The play on words, the use of contradictory colors, the good fading into bad, the light going to dark. And to make light of the whole situation, an unfortunate true story of a hungry horse in an open field, nibbling on his pants. I mean...who else can DO that in a song and make it sound so good?
There are too many superb lyrical references for me to start listing them all, but I have my favorites, which I'm sure some of you have seen pop up now again in posts or sig lines and banners. I have my constant favorites, and then, once in awhile, a line will pop out at me from a song I've heard tons of times and suddenly take on new meaning, or it will suddenly become relevant in my life for one reason or another. An example:
"Love this life, even when it's holding you down..."
A line from a song from 1988. I can conservatively estimate that I'd heard this song at least 500 times in the last 20 years, then one day, that line had meaning for me. Significance. Relevance. I was stressed out and feeling generally down on everything...and POP. Talk about putting things into perspective.
When I was finally able to meet Neil last August, it truly was a dream come true. I'd been waiting 20 years...20 YEARS! Music has always been a transcendent thing for me, and to finally shake the hand of the one person who has been a constant for me was a deeply moving experience. He was as wonderful as I always dreamed he would be. He was earnest and thankful, easy and warm. He looked me in the eye. He was genuine. It reaffirmed my faith and my devotion. It validated my admiration.
I now know, at this point in my life, that having a talent based appreciation for someone can often result in a visceral and aesthetic appreciation as well. And an appreciation I certainly do have. I'll admit to having a crush on Neil for a very long time now. What can I say? I'm a sucker for an accent! I won't spend too much time expostulating about his finer features (although there are many) but I'll leave it simply by saying that his innate talent gives me a greater appreciation of ...uh....his OTHER talents.
That's to say, he has the most gorgeous blue-green eyes on earth and the easiest, sexiest smile. There. I said it. Now deal with it.
I won't even get into the hands.
The hands.....
Ahem.
So anyway, there is my short, but honest amblings. I know I've bored you to death, but that's okay. I enjoyed writing it. And now that it's all off my chest, I can go back to my normal, cliched crap.
But that's not to say, there won't be more discreet references....
Anyway...
I unabashedly love Neil Finn. I've never made any bones about that to anyone. I try to keep my raving about him to a minimum here, or maybe I'll refer to him discreetly, but this post is dedicated to YOU, Neil Finn, because you deserve it!
Let's get one thing straight first. The man is a phenomenal talent. Even if you don't like his melodies, take a moment to read his lyrics. Then, read them again. Find something different the second time? You'll find something different the third and fourth as well. His words are gloriously open ended, vague, sometimes confusing, but so personal and cohesive that you often find yourself shaking your head and saying "Yes...yes. That's me. I GET it." It's his ability to let the listener find themselves in his songs that makes his music timeless. A Neil Finn song is unmistakable. It's instantly recognizable. It's as close to musical nirvana as one can hope to get.
"It's so far to fall and so hard to climb
Nothing sadder I know, than the passing of time..."
The middle eight from "English Trees", a sublimely melancholy song, with a soft, lilting melody that takes you through grief, pain, mourning, loss...and even though Neil wrote it, it could be about anyone's loss, anyone's grief, anyone's pain. It's one of his more personal songs, but it's written in such a way that it's personal to everyone. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but if you hear the song, you'll understand exactly what I mean.
But even his personal experiences can pop up in ethereal ways:
"Vacant eyes can't describe my hunger for your billowing arms.."
The imagery and the emotion in that line has always struck me. Vacant. Hungry. Billowing. So very beautiful, but rooted in such a subjective response. It sounds like a lovers lament, but really, it's all about missing a departed loved one. And it's perhaps one of the most haunting and passionate expressions of sorrow I've ever heard.
"I lean the slightest bit towards you
White turns into brown
light goes to black
your eyes danced in my reflection
and the horse ate my trousers"
Quite histrionic, isn't it? The play on words, the use of contradictory colors, the good fading into bad, the light going to dark. And to make light of the whole situation, an unfortunate true story of a hungry horse in an open field, nibbling on his pants. I mean...who else can DO that in a song and make it sound so good?
There are too many superb lyrical references for me to start listing them all, but I have my favorites, which I'm sure some of you have seen pop up now again in posts or sig lines and banners. I have my constant favorites, and then, once in awhile, a line will pop out at me from a song I've heard tons of times and suddenly take on new meaning, or it will suddenly become relevant in my life for one reason or another. An example:
"Love this life, even when it's holding you down..."
A line from a song from 1988. I can conservatively estimate that I'd heard this song at least 500 times in the last 20 years, then one day, that line had meaning for me. Significance. Relevance. I was stressed out and feeling generally down on everything...and POP. Talk about putting things into perspective.
When I was finally able to meet Neil last August, it truly was a dream come true. I'd been waiting 20 years...20 YEARS! Music has always been a transcendent thing for me, and to finally shake the hand of the one person who has been a constant for me was a deeply moving experience. He was as wonderful as I always dreamed he would be. He was earnest and thankful, easy and warm. He looked me in the eye. He was genuine. It reaffirmed my faith and my devotion. It validated my admiration.
I now know, at this point in my life, that having a talent based appreciation for someone can often result in a visceral and aesthetic appreciation as well. And an appreciation I certainly do have. I'll admit to having a crush on Neil for a very long time now. What can I say? I'm a sucker for an accent! I won't spend too much time expostulating about his finer features (although there are many) but I'll leave it simply by saying that his innate talent gives me a greater appreciation of ...uh....his OTHER talents.
That's to say, he has the most gorgeous blue-green eyes on earth and the easiest, sexiest smile. There. I said it. Now deal with it.
I won't even get into the hands.
The hands.....
Ahem.
So anyway, there is my short, but honest amblings. I know I've bored you to death, but that's okay. I enjoyed writing it. And now that it's all off my chest, I can go back to my normal, cliched crap.
But that's not to say, there won't be more discreet references....
I Realized Something Today
You can't force a good blog. Or even a bad one. Sometimes, I can manage something mediocre, but mostly, I just need to wait for inspiration to hit, which is not happening now, so I'll put you out of your misery and end this one here.
I wish I had a bologna sandwich.
I wish I had a bologna sandwich.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
A Vision Spectacular In Grace
So, everything has been good. Life has been chugging along at a nice, slow, even pace. No curve balls, no forks in the road, nothing life altering or even remotely strange. It's been good. Very good.
The house thing is at a stall right now...okay, maybe more of a low idle. My parents have decided to go another route for some reason, so it looks like the big "living together" thing has taken a nosedive. I'm not sure what the reason is for them backing out of this...maybe they just wanted their own place, maybe they couldn't stand the thought of having to live with me....who knows. Either way, it was kind of a surprise after how gung ho they were about it at first. But hey, it's their life, their choices, their decisions. In one of life's great ironies, I find that I have to let my parents go.
We did find a house we liked though. A beautiful raised ranch with a full apartment underneath. It's a gorgeous house, and it would afford us more room AND a source of income if we were able to rent out the bottom. It needs a little bit of updating, but it was a foreclosure and the price is SO right. So right in fact, that we could move on it today, but we're waiting. The bank has lowered the price twice in three months that we've had our eye on it, so we're waiting to see if they lower it again. So either we buy the house or we stay here and expand. Either way, we win.
On a side note, the trees here in upstate New York are about to take center stage. All the trees now have brilliant tinges of strawberry red, yellow, bright orange, and eggplant purple and when the sun hits them just right, it's like they come alive in a sparkling array of glistening light. It truly is one of life's little pleasures to go out your front door and have your breath taken away by the wonder that nature can create. In two weeks time, the colors will peak, the roads will be packed with leaf peepers, and I'll truly remember why it is that I love this part of the country so much.
And then, with a brisk October wind, it will all be gone.
It's good, though. Because watching your children jump into crisp fallen leaves is ANOTHER of life's little pleasures. There's just something about kissing a little nose that's red with cold, cheeks that are flush with the uninhibited abandon of childhood. I sit here and smile just thinking about their faces all wide eyed with laughter and love and mischievous fun.
I mean, truly. Is there anything better?
The house thing is at a stall right now...okay, maybe more of a low idle. My parents have decided to go another route for some reason, so it looks like the big "living together" thing has taken a nosedive. I'm not sure what the reason is for them backing out of this...maybe they just wanted their own place, maybe they couldn't stand the thought of having to live with me....who knows. Either way, it was kind of a surprise after how gung ho they were about it at first. But hey, it's their life, their choices, their decisions. In one of life's great ironies, I find that I have to let my parents go.
We did find a house we liked though. A beautiful raised ranch with a full apartment underneath. It's a gorgeous house, and it would afford us more room AND a source of income if we were able to rent out the bottom. It needs a little bit of updating, but it was a foreclosure and the price is SO right. So right in fact, that we could move on it today, but we're waiting. The bank has lowered the price twice in three months that we've had our eye on it, so we're waiting to see if they lower it again. So either we buy the house or we stay here and expand. Either way, we win.
On a side note, the trees here in upstate New York are about to take center stage. All the trees now have brilliant tinges of strawberry red, yellow, bright orange, and eggplant purple and when the sun hits them just right, it's like they come alive in a sparkling array of glistening light. It truly is one of life's little pleasures to go out your front door and have your breath taken away by the wonder that nature can create. In two weeks time, the colors will peak, the roads will be packed with leaf peepers, and I'll truly remember why it is that I love this part of the country so much.
And then, with a brisk October wind, it will all be gone.
It's good, though. Because watching your children jump into crisp fallen leaves is ANOTHER of life's little pleasures. There's just something about kissing a little nose that's red with cold, cheeks that are flush with the uninhibited abandon of childhood. I sit here and smile just thinking about their faces all wide eyed with laughter and love and mischievous fun.
I mean, truly. Is there anything better?
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
E Noi Dovrem Ahime, Morir....Morir....
"Il nome mio nessun sapra"
In English: "and my name no one will know"
What irony.
"Dilegua, notte! Tramontante, stella! Tramontante, stella! All'alba vincero...vincero...vincero!"
In English: "Disperse, oh night! Vanish, oh stars! Vanish, oh stars! At daybreak, I will win, I will win, I will win!"
I remember my Grandmother and my old Aunt Raimonda vividly...sitting in my Grandparents kitchen singing Italian songs...and this one always stood out. It's one of the first songs I learned completely in Italian, and even though I didn't know what I was singing, I had an inkling that there was something magical about it.
It wasn't until many years later, when I finally saw HIM sing it, and grew to learn what the words were and meant, that I realized exactly how magical it was.
Riposarse nella pace, Luciano.
In English: "and my name no one will know"
What irony.
"Dilegua, notte! Tramontante, stella! Tramontante, stella! All'alba vincero...vincero...vincero!"
In English: "Disperse, oh night! Vanish, oh stars! Vanish, oh stars! At daybreak, I will win, I will win, I will win!"
I remember my Grandmother and my old Aunt Raimonda vividly...sitting in my Grandparents kitchen singing Italian songs...and this one always stood out. It's one of the first songs I learned completely in Italian, and even though I didn't know what I was singing, I had an inkling that there was something magical about it.
It wasn't until many years later, when I finally saw HIM sing it, and grew to learn what the words were and meant, that I realized exactly how magical it was.
Riposarse nella pace, Luciano.
Monday, September 10, 2007
My Memory Has Never Been the Best...
You know, today when I was driving to the store, I had a really good idea for a blog, but I've since forgotten what it was.
Which begs the question:
Was it really a good idea?
Because, you know, if it was so good, shouldn't I be able to remember it?
I guess some synapses must have misfired today. Or I have one less wrinkle on the old brain. Or maybe, I shouldn't think while driving.
Which begs the question:
Was it really a good idea?
Because, you know, if it was so good, shouldn't I be able to remember it?
I guess some synapses must have misfired today. Or I have one less wrinkle on the old brain. Or maybe, I shouldn't think while driving.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
