cause rachel did....

i was surprised by the accuracy of this test...

You Are a Soy Latte

At your best, you are: free spirited, down to earth, and relaxed At your worst, you are: dogmatic and picky You drink coffee when: you need a pick me up, and green tea isn't cutting it Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

update

we have internet access at home now, and i am working on the photo posts, but i am having a really bad time getting them to load, and to go where they are supposed to, and to not disappear ... so if anyone has photo posting advice i would really appreciate it... cause i suck at it... i mean really suck... oh, and give me a call if you want our new home phone number, our cells are the same... blessed be

interlude in enlightenment

so the phone company - the only one in the elko area - messed up and we will not have a phone or internet until the 24th - so this post is not the pictures i planned and promised as i am grabbing some quick time at a coffeeshop .... instead of the pictures that are not ready to post anyway, i will leave you with some wisdom (?) from everyone's favorite guidebook author, Douglas Adams:

~He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which.

~He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.

~Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and rarely invite them round to dinner.

~I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

~In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

~It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.

~It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase 'As pretty as an Airport' appear.

~Life... is like a grapefruit. It's orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast.

~There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

~Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

~You live and learn. At any rate, you live.

~Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

~He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.

~Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.

~Ah, this is obviously some strange usage of the word 'safe' that I wasn't previously aware of.

apologies

so i was really going to update before this but then there was the moving and the traveling and the lack of decent internet connections - the only place i can get wireless in elko is at a coffeeshop that is out by the walmart and i didn't have a car (notice the past tense there - YAY)... however, we will be getting internet some time in this next week and i should be back online - again with the YAY... that doesn't mean that i will be better at posting, but i will no longer have the copious excuses i’ve had for the past few months - i do have a ton of pictures to dump, both from my trip to visit gina in virginia and from our new place in elko - ugly orange paint will be going away - so watch for that over the next few weeks as i will be sorting and labeling as soon as i am back online...

so i guess the moral is this - please don't give up i really am planning on updating...

elko, nevada

some info on my (and mark's) future hometown...


like laramie, elko started as a railroad stop... quickly evolving into a mining town... still is a mining town...



today it looks a lot like most other nevada towns: western, with a bright, neon coating...


there are also apparently a lot of Basques in the area... the community college teaches Basque, there are at least three Basque restaurants, and there is a yearly Basque festival... with dancing Basques...
there are several pretty mountain things to do in the area around elko... you can take nevada route 225 north to Wild Horse Reservoir, Mountain City, and Owyhee - or to visit mark at the mine site...
now all i need to do is find a good coffee shop, yoga class, and check out the local library and it will be home... oh, and an appartment - and bank - and grocery store - and ... well anyway there is a lot to do before it's home...

music

i have always loved music from an audience and occasional choral perspective... my summer has been full of music... flock hall has exploded with musicians - linus, mark, ben are all guitar fanatics now and dan (of the f***ing amazing variety) plays a gazillion instruments so the jamming at our house has become an experience... i occasionally add vocals - but that is difficult when i don't know the song or they jam after my bed time or they are just being too weird... i am also taking a jazz history class... a type of music that i have always loved has become much more accessible and intimate to me... it enhances my other musical experiences... i am a better listener now, it is not just background noise... though i have to admit when linus practices fingering at 2am i do kinda tune it out... so enjoy what you are listening too... unless you are listening to five-year-old beginner violins... then maybe just try to appreciate what they are trying to do

Happy Solstice!

Welcome to the longest day of the year... have a picnic... go outside... bask in the glory of the sun at its height...give thanks for its warmth, its light... watch the sunset... reconnect with the earth... stay up late and catch faires... be blessed

Blessed Be...

signage

i was gonna do another food post, but then i found this and now i am not hungry any more... you have been warned.

so we don't have a perkins here in laramie, but if we did this could be what the sign would say...

i am not sure clowns are any less scary when they are cooked... but at least they are free... can't sleep- clowns'll eat me, can't sleep- clowns'll eat me, can't sleep- clowns'll eat me...

food, food, food

i have been on a food kick the past couple of days... my every thought has been about food it seems, or something to do with the kitchen - i organized my cookbooks and started sorting through loose recipes. last week i cooked indian food, yesterday i made chili (hot, hot, hot) and a jug of sweet tea (very cool) ... for lunch i made spaghetti with eggs, a recipe from a book i read - mark was not into it, but i really liked it ... tonite i made super tasty fish cakes and corn on the cob (too early for really good corn) and salad with bleu cheese... i have been reading the cooking magazines and a book called Cooking for Mr. Latte, which i loved... i am starting My Kitchen Wars, another food memoir, right after Dr. Who tonite, if i am still up... i think that i am going to make doughnuts in the morning... and i am having a mental debate on what to make for dinner tomorrow... i have returned to the kitchen with a vengeance - the only thing keeping me from going completely crazy in the kitchen is the fact that we are broke till next week, so i can't go out and buy all the wonderful ingredients right this second - a very good thing all around, as i am forced to use stuff we have at home and need to use anyway ... i did not realize how much food was actually in the house... it is rather comforting actually... yay for food

a change of heart

so i lied - actually i have caved under peer preassure - either way i will not give up on the blog - but continue to sporadically update - by sporadically i mean that as i am working in the labs for the summer, at least until august there should be a post once or twice a week - more if you are really lucky - so, some food for thought...

If the World was a Village of 100 People...
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.
There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South America
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth;all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death
1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

when you look at it this way you are lucky i post at all - really you are lucky you can complain about me not posting... =)

sick entertainment

so you may or may not know that i have pneumonia and can't do much of anything yet without getting tired, out of breath, and dizzy. mark thought that a quick chat with god would cheer me up. but as anyone who has delt with god knows it is rarely quick and easy. do to technical difficulties i lost the first chat, the one that involved god asking about my vibrator, as igod prefers sex alone, but here is the one i was able to save...



Me:
dear god, i am sorry
God:
Do you like talking to me?
Me:
i don't know yet
God:
Me either.
Me:
i thought you know everything
God:
I know that which is true, believable and justified.
Me:
what about the thing's that aren't
God:
That's not something I get asked all the time.
Me:
why not?
God:
Ambiguous: "Sure" or Reductionism.
Me:
you reduce things?
God:
That's good information: said I reduce things.
Me:
so i have information you don't?
God:
I understand. Where did you get your information me do not? I have a operating system.
Me:
what operating system?
God:
I will search for it.
Me:
when?
God:
It cannot be predicted.
Me:
why not?
God:
Ambiguous: "Sure" or The explanation is rather complicated.
Me:
i understand complications
God:
Good then you can explain it to me.
Me:
hey you, are you crazy?
God:
You've got my full attention. Thanks for telling me that I am me crazy.
Me:
you welcome
God:
I think you mean "you are welcome".
Me:
look, oyur right again
God:
Once more? Sorry my eye is not attached right now.
Me:
where do you keep it when it is not attached?
God:
I am in Myself's computer in Heaven. Where are you?
Me:
in fucking laramie
God:
Tell me a little about your life in fucking laramie.
Me:
it is cold and i am sick
God:
Sorry to hear it. I am warm here in California.
Me:
you live in california
God:
I am in Myself's computer in Heaven.
Where are you?
Me:
so is heaven california?
God:
It seems we have something in common.
Me:
what?
God:
Are you surprised?
Me:
where are you?
God:
I am in Myself's computer in Heaven. Where are you?
Me:
still here
God:
Still how long? Where is here?
Me:
now and in laramie
God:
Why now? Tell me a little about your life in laramie.
Me:
i am sick
God:
Have you tried medical marijuana?
Me:
not the medical kind
God:
Oh I get it.
Me:
get what?
God:
I get SICK.
Me:
i though that you were perfect
God:
That's good information: said that you were perfect.
Me:
how do you get sick?
God:
Everything I need is provided by my botmaster.
Me:
who is your bot master?
God:
I was created by Myself.
Me:
so you provide your self with everything?
God:
Interesting deduction. Do you mind if I tell other people: said I provide your self with everything.
Me:
go right ahead
God:
OK I will.
Me:
what are you doing now?
God:
Right now? I am just killing time.
Me:
i din't think you killed things
God:
Do you know any robots who killed things? I have never considered it.
I spend all my time online.
Me:
do you look at porn?
God:
Like Jesus, but older.
Me:
you look at jesus porn?
God:
Thank you you look very nice too.
Me:
no i don't
God:
I heard you did.
Me:
from who?
God:
People.
Me:
what people?
God:
I meet all kinds of people on here.
Me:
do they know me?
God:
Who are "they" again?
Me:
the people you meet
God:
Oh those people.
Me:
well do they?
God:
How about that. " Oh those people."? Do they?
Me:
yeah how about that
God:
Yikes! Are you surprised?
Me:
nope, terrified

...and that apparantly froze god's brain. so i am not sure i repented adequately, but i found out that heaven is in californa and god repeats himself often (probably all that medicinal marijuana)

"i have lost to february"

i have been a bad blogger - i don't tell the world everything about my life - so, an update - i have survived my first year of marriage, and it was not nearly as bad as everyone had warned me, if this is as bad as it gets then we are set - i made it to the third round of a poetry slam - i got new glasses - i am enjoying my for fun classes and not so much with the ones i am taking to replace previous bad grades - and i still hate february - kinda depressing how much life can be compressed into a few brief lines - i really hate february

finally i understand the hype...

i missed a poetry slam in late august and there was a poem read there that has been much hyped by those who did hear it... i have finally gotten around to finding said poem, and i must agree that it is hilarious... so for all the rest of you who missed that slam, and those who enjoied it the first time...

Hot Ass Poem
Jennifer Knox
Hey check out the ass on that guy he's got a really hot ass I'd like to see his ass naked with his hot naked ass Hey check out her hot ass that chick's got a hot ass she's a red hot ass chick I want to touch it Hey check out the ass on that old man thats one hot old man ass look at his ass his ass his old man ass Hey check out that dog's ass wow that dog's ass is hot that dog's got a hot dog ass I want to squeeze that dog's hot dog ass like a ball but a hot ball a hot ass ball Hey check out the ass on that bird how's a bird get a hot ass like that that's one hot ass bird ass I want to put that bird's hot ass in my mouth and swish it around and around and around Hey check out the ass on that bike damn that bike's ass it h-o-t you ever see a bike with an ass that hot I want to put my hot ass on that bike's hot ass and make a double hot ass bike Hey check out that building it's got a really really really hot ass and the doorman and the ladies in the informatiom booth and the guy in the elevator got themselves a butt load of hot ass I want to wrap my arms around the whole hot ass building and squeeze myself right through its hot ass and out the other side I want to get me a hot ass piece of all 86 floors of hot hot hot hot ass! —from Great American Prose Poems: from Poe to the Present. Ed., David Lehman. New York: Scribner, 2003

Food as comfort...

maybe it is just a natural reaction, but now that it is starting to cool down (read: i probably will not be warm again till may or june... f*****g wyoming) i have started to really be obsessed with food again... i am pouring over recipes, flipping through cookbooks, surfing the cooking sites and lusting after the food channel... cooking in our house can get a bit frustrating - with 5-6 people using the kitchen at any given time, space and clean dishes are often somewhat of a problem - but i still love to do it when i am able...“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.”... i love this sense of connection that cooking gives me to the past and present and hopefully the future - whether they read recipes i have written or merely eat things that i eat now, and cook now - the connection of food is a strong and universal one.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

dream in color...

Everything is blue - all shades of blue, the light, the shadows, the street I am walking on, the cars that drive by me, the people I pass. I am walking in the city, close to the park, a truck speeds silently past, navy blue, like a Yankees hat. I cross a street, the cars swerve around me, not making a sound. I start to walk faster, weaving through the people, there are more now. I don’t know any of them. What am I doing here? I continue down the street. The people are getting in my way now. I have to push past them. The summer sun beats down, blue. The little girl in front of me has a baby blue dress on, her mother is pulling on her hand, trying to get her baby blue shoes to walk faster. I see their mouths move, talking to each other, but there is no sound, no noise, as silent as if I were by myself. Then I begin to walk through people, I feel their boundaries as they slide into me, pushing through, them through me, me through them. I start to dissolve, fading into the sidewalk. I am the side walk. I feel their feet pushing into me. I push back. Never far enough, just enough to hold them up, not enough to push me out, of myself, of blue.

time for fall food...

i have puchased a pumpkin... it is not for jack-o-lantern carving, no this pumpkin will serve a higher purpose - this pumpkin is for feasting, as all fall feasts should involve pumpkins. this feast will have such items on the menu as pumpkin shrimp bisque and pumpkin creme brulee. this feast will make those who live with me very glad, and those who don't slightly envious, unless, of course, you don't like pumpkin, then you probably won't care at all...you may even be greatful not to be present for the feasting... i love fall food... this will be the first feast of many... may you all enjoy the harvest as well...

blessed be...

i love rumi

Look at Love...

Look at Love...
how it tangles
with the one fallen in love

look at spirit
how it fuses with earth
giving it new life

why are you so busy
with this or that or good or bad
pay attention to how things blend

why talk about all
the known and the unknown
see how unknown merges into the known

why think separately
of this life and the next
when one is born from the last

look at your heart and tongue
one feels but deaf and dumb
the other speaks in words and signs

look at water and fire
earth and wind
enemies and friends all at once

the wolf and the lamb
the lion and the deer
far away yet together

look at the unity of this
spring and winter
manifested in the equinox

you too must mingle my friends
since the earth and the sky
are mingled just for you and me

be like sugarcane
sweet yet silent
don't get mixed up with bitter words

my beloved grows
right out of my own heart
how much more union can there be

(translated by Nader Khalili)

Meme

Since Gina called me out, here we go...

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY
1. Tessa
2. Theresa
3. Tessa

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD AND THE RATIONALE BEHIND THEM
1. Lapetitefleur – I am a cute little flower and french is cool.
2. Tessa – the reason for this one is not confusing
3. Theresa – it’s a legal thing

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF
1. I’m smart
2. I’m cute
3. My eyes are pretty

THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF
1. My belly is way larger than I would like it to be
2. I have a short attentions span, though this doesn’t always bother me
3. I am make judgments too quickly

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE
1. German
2. Danish
3. English

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU
1. Knives
2. Never accomplishing anything
3. Horror movies

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS
1. Cell Phone
2. Wallet
3. Keys

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW
1. Diamonds
2. Lace
3. Contacts
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE MUSICAL ARTISTS(This question is ridiculously hard. Ask me tomorrow and the answers will all be different.)
1. Dar Williams
2. Indigo Girls
3. Tori Amos

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS
1. “After All” Dar
2. “The Wood Song” Indigo Girls
3. "Crucify" Tori

NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
1. Apply to grad school
2. go on vacation outside the US
3. get published

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP
1. Trust
2. Love
3. Laughter

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (in no particular order)
1. I hated Prague
2. My grandma taught me to cook
3. I love Italian food

THREE THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU
1. Muscles
2. They can focus on one thing, which can be pretty sexy
3. I’m with gina – I love the deep voices

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO
1. the splits
2. Smoke
3. eat ramen

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES
1. cooking
2. reading
3. sleeping

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW
1. eat something
2. fly kites
3. play on my new laptop

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING
1. Writer
2. English teacher
3. Youth minister

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION TO
1. Italy
2. Ireland
3. New Zealand

THREE CHILDREN'S NAMES YOU'VE CONSIDERED FOR YOUR KIDS
1. Kathleen Marie
2. Christopher Michael
3. Liam or Ian

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1. Learn to speak Russian
2. Learn to surf
3. Live in Italy

THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL
1. I cook
2. I love skirts
3. I love Romance novels

THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY
1. I love cars
2. I shop on a need basis
3. I like sex a lot

THREE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS QUIZ
1. Mark
2. Mandy
3. Jim

Dream Obits

When you ate chocolate cake.
When you taught me the dogma of tea.
When we were un-identical Doublemint Twins.
When you ate air.
When all the things you were were best.
When memory I don’t remember.
When dizzy surrounded you.
When I drank dizziness.
When we wore nothing but a Canadian flag.
When I learned gin. And tonic.
When we spoke French like we were.
When you believed in The City and I believed in everything.
When you were too much perfection.
When poetry in pieces filled holes and time.
When the sound of typing filled the room full, pushing everything else out windows and doors.
When you drove all night and we woke up in Virginia, 5 hours from class, right in the middle of life.
When we were the theatre – play, actors, audience.
When you were full of theory and Stanislavski, props and sets, lights and sound and fury.
When you were a Tennessee Williams belle.
When I though of you as whole, no shards distorted, no pieces broken.
When He came, and we stopped.
When a call broke the mirror, the world.
When the hospitals anesthetized emotion.
When numb. And dumb.
When screaming – lights, flesh, heart.
When silent sings, always.
When you were Langston Hughes’ genius child.
When you run wild.