over the snowy weekend i caught up on the tv series V. it will be on after lost which means i’ll likely end up watching it.
one of the drawbacks to watching tv on line, or on demand, is the repetitive commercials. when we learned we were to be subjected to repeated lashings with dear john film commercials my husband expressed his good fortune in marrying someone with no desire to see said film.
i responded: “yeah, you always complain about me not wanting to go to the movies. count your lucky stars. i could demand a dear john/valentine’s day double header!” then, if i recall correctly, we both made vomiting noises and laughed.
that’s not to say there aren’t a few things i get sappy about. one of them starts on friday: the olympics. summer or winter, no matter, i’m hooked. come friday night i’ll be glued to the opening ceremonies, especially the parade of nations. as far as i can recall, i’ve yet to get through a closing ceremonies without tears when they extinguish the torch.
last night brought another heart-string-tugging moment. i didn’t watch a whole lot of the super bowl. i wanted so very much for the saints to win that the suspense was killing me. so i took a second half shower, imploring my husband to make sure i knew if the game was about to end and the saints were winning.
because that’s the moment. that final whistle blows and everyone is so overcome with emotion they hardly know what to do with themselves. these gigantic, intimidating men break down and cry. it’s beautiful watching those superman of the sport reveal their humanity.
the saints did not disappoint. i “awww”-ed at a red-eyed teary drew brees and his little son like they were a basket full of kittens.
we celebrated, of course, with a good, strong sazerac.
this morning a little headline in my philly.com rss feed caught my eye. wait, did that say giants stadium? i had no idea it was scheduled for demolition! living in phila keeps me out of the homeland news loop. i admit, i’m sad to see it go. the images of a crane tearing up one of the swirling concrete loops almost bring tears.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_giants_stadium_demolition.html
just yesterday, i was discussing football with a co-worker who assumed the saints were my team of choice. i explained that i don’t follow football, and while the saints are my team of choice for this particular game, the giants will always be my home team.
i have so many fond memories of giants stadium. i vaguely recall a giants game or two when i was very young. i could never, ever forget the bon jovi homecoming concert with my cousins: i screamed along to “lay your hands on me” and thought skid row was the coolest band ever.
in more recent years there was a deliriously fun *nsync concert and a few international soccer matches. for one of them i somehow ended up in a box with un ambassadors!
by far, my best and most significant memory is attending the italy bulgaria match during the 1994 world cup. just thinking about it gives me chills. here i am waving the italian flag (and roasting in the sun) at the match.
world cup usa 94, italy v. bulgaria
the stadium was part of my life’s landscape. eventually i’ll get used to the new structures, after all i rarely drive by nowadays. i suspect something will always feel wrong about it, though, like when they renamed the brendan byrne arena. twice.
farewell giants stadium! *sniffle*
last night i went to a lecture by author david wiesner hoping for a bit of inspiration. while his lecture was fantastic, what i ended up with was discouragement.
flotsam
wiesner detailed his creative process and inspirations. he included grade school doodles, his favorite comic books, a project from his risd days, thumbnail sketches, book dummies, and finished paintings. he also showed a few responses to his work: a school play, text for his otherwise wordless flotsam, and even a tattoo.
all told, my husband really should have attended this lecture, not me, as wiesner indicated hope for illustrators. his take on the current children’s book industry for authors, on the other hand, was summed up in one word: “impossible.”
lovely. that really inspires me to keep working on my manuscript. when the accomplished professionals more or less tell you to give up, how do you keep going?
i couldn’t help but note wiesner’s career is made easier with an upper middle class upbringing (including summers on lbi) allowing him to attend risd, then marriage to a doctor. of course you can afford life in a beautiful suburb with two kids, days spent at home focused on your art, and continued summers on lbi.
the lecture was held at springfield high in montgomery county, pa. the school itself turned out to be extremely impressive! the lecture hall is nicer than most i’ve seen at many universities.
on the way out i passed the auditorium, where kids choreographed their spring show, the wizard of oz. i was impressed with their dedication and hard work so late into the evening. admittedly, most of my exposure to teens nowadays is via empty V, and it’s not pretty. this little glimpse provided a refreshing reminder that they’re not all unbelievably bratty, spoiled and/or pregnant.
that reminds me. i recently said to my husband: the longer we have cable again the more i think we’re better off without it.
last night i came up with a new children’s book idea, while cleaning the litter boxes, of all things. inspiration certainly can strike at the strangest times.
my dreams continue to center around travel, albeit in a bizarre nonsensical way. i started out in paramus, nj driving by what seemed to be the same five ranch homes. then, suddenly, i was in an airport in japan rifling through my bag for enough yen to pay a fee. after passing through security, i wandered through many gigantic fun video games. then i searched, inexplicably, for a frontier airlines desk and eventually found help through a partner airline.
obviously my unchecked wanderlust is manifesting itself while i sleep. i hope everything comes together for a short trip this spring, even if it is domestic.
i considered scrapping this blog entirely, neglected as it is. to do so would be another excuse to fall out of my writing practice, though. i am reminded of an awful, yet fun, s club 7 song.
over the past few months i’ve learned more about medicare, medicaid, nursing homes, retirement communities, elder care, estate laws and home care programs and agencies than i ever, ever wanted to know. the most important tidbit: check to see if your state has a filial responsibility law. pennsylvania does.
orange peel dress
on a lighter note, i picked up the cutest j crew dress ever in the universe on deep discount on ebay. after a few minor alterations i hope to make use of it for one of the several wedding and/or baby related spring/summer events this year.
last night i had a dream of somewhere that was a cross between new orleans and seaside heights. no, the jersey shore cast was not there. two of my montclair nerd camp friends were. the downtown areas looked as though they had been through a war, yet managed a thriving bar scene in the shell buildings. we took a tour, bat hopped, i bought a hanging lamp, played with a cat on the beach and at dusk we settled in by the surf to watch fireworks.
then my alarm went off and my mostly-asleep husband issued this warning: “beware the flying diagonal discs of doom.” i suppose i should keep an eye on the cold grey sky today, then.
coach cabin
from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8441206.stm:
“Erwin Washington, 51, from Lakewood, Colorado, was arrested in November last year on a flight that was due to leave Heathrow Airport.
A breath test showed Washington was more than three times the permitted limit to fly a plane.”
this is far from the only news story of it’s kind. if airline pilots have such abysmal salaries, how can they afford to drink so much?
i suspect freebies. according to captain’s log: “Discounts and deals abound in the pilot world. Almost every airport eatery and hotel restaurant offers a percentage off of whatever we purchase to eat. There are coupons for free drinks or buffets. I have seen 50% off in some places, which none of us can pass up.”
now, i wonder if bartenders or servers ever ask pilots if they’re flying that day before selling them the next round. from a business standpoint it makes more sense for the bar to make more money. from a moral standpoint, you’re partially responsible for putting hundreds of lives in the hands of an intoxicated pilot.
of course, one can argue that computers do the majority of the navigation. in some cases; however, nothing beats human instinct. for example, would flyguy’s right engine have “missed that huge piece of metal by about 20 feet.” if he were flying with a buzz on?
thank goodness his passengers didn’t have to find out.
shawn dubin
also known as: shameless shawn promotion. no cute fuzzy cats this week, sorry.
my disgustingly multi-talented other half just released his his latest illustrated work, worlds without end: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/worlds-without-end/6080047
and recently opened his very own etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/shawndubin
of course, he also has a blog: http://shawndubin.wordpress.com/
and a plain old website: http://www.shawndubin.com/
during thanksgiving turkey prep we gave the cats turkey neck to snack on. aurelia ran off with her piece, growling the whole time. this was taken just after i caught her.
aurelia the turkey neck thief
satsuki susuwatari
a black cat for friday the 13th, of course. as an owner of two black cats, i assure you they are not bad luck. quite the opposite, in fact.
here is our number one ookie, satsuki, in one of her bizarre resting positions in the kitchen.
happy friday the 13th!
café latté and beignets
this morning i had about 3 oz of coffee. most people would scoff at this and think “so what?” for me, it’s quite a bit. i very rarely drink coffee, or caffeine in general. it’s reserved for special occasions, like a trip to café du monde, or dire energy circumstances.
make no mistake, caffeine addiction is real. it’s the most widely consumed mood altering drug in the world.
yes, drug.
i learned this at a fairly young age. i went through a coffee and capuccino phase in my late teens. at some point, and i cannot recall why, i stopped. quit cold turkey. searing headaches, irritability and constant fatigue soon followed. it wasn’t until years later that i figured out i was going through drug withdrawal.
since then i’ve been careful about getting too attached to any chemical. when a recent back injury forced me to take a host of hitherto unknown medications, i wasn’t happy. many of them have side effects, and more often than not a doctor will prescribe yet another medication to counteract those.
the most difficult part of the injury and subsequent medications for me has been a lack of sleep. i’m either in pain, struggling for a comfortable position, or not getting proper sleep due to a side effect.
as a result, there are days i nearly fall asleep at my desk at work. while sitting up. i have to retype and reread the same sentences several times. i constantly fall asleep on the train, and have even slept right through my stop!
caffeine has very slowly worked it’s nefarious way back into my life, and my body. at first it was green tea. then hot chocolate made with about an ounce of coffee, then hot water. then more coffee in the hot chocolate. mix in the occasional pepsi or diet coke in the afternoon. now i’ve succumbed to a few ounces of coffee.
sneaky, sneaky caffeine.
my hope is that physical therapy and the new nightly exercise routine it imposes, will help me sleep through the night a bit better. eventually my injury will heal. what i look forward to most, after being pain free, is being drug free. and that most certainly includes caffeine.
joon. my catch-up-on-sleep-on-the-couch snuggler. she turns 12 tomorrow.
joony in a blanket
