Greater expectations...

Merely one item in a long list of firsts this past week, I saw (and touched of course) the ocean!
It was amazing. The ocean! You all know how I feel about water in general; how could I not fall in love with the Atlantic? It was amazing. The entire island was amazing. Or at least that's what I extrapolated from the fair bit of it that I saw. I'll not pretend that we went over every inch of it, but what we did go over was awesome. And I mean that with the "awe inspiring" definition of the word, rather than the skaterboy "totally rad" definition. Though it was also totally rad.
I picked up a couple of shells, and that was totally rad too. Assateague has an open policy about shell collecting, which is nice, so long as you don't sell them or "take more than you need". How many is more than you need? According to their brochure, it's more than can comfortably fit in a gallon sized bucket. That may seem like a lot, but a gallon of shells go nowhere when you're trying to mosaic all your bathroom porcelain in them, let me tell you.

In other news, I may have been the first (pfft), but I sure as heck wasn't the last person to begin singing Welcome To The Jungle upon entering the main atrium (the jungle room) at the US Botanic Gardens. That's right, Paul scoffed at me for singing it on the way in, and on the way out we met a group of three kids doing the exact same thing as they entered. So much for originality. I really need to go there later in the year sometime though, when the outside gardens have a better chance of being in bloom. Still, had a great time there, and got some shots that I'm pretty sure will make darn good stereos...once I get around to making time to tinker with them...

I'll probably post a couple of pictures and more Adventures of Spring Break later. Woo! Spring Break!

Idea: How about a co-quel?...

Has good ol' Sly Stallone been in anything that they didn't make umpteen sequels/prequels to? Now I'm not saying I don't find The Stallione very attractive, I don't, but you know, you have to end a series somewhere. Though I will admit that I am looking forward to 'Rocky 59 - Scrabble in the Old Folks Home'.

Waitin' for...anything that looks tasty...

My cat Jiffy is going after the big game these days. Sit down, I'll tell you all about it.
Last night during the twilighty period I was at my computer and Jif was out killing time on the balcony. Turns out time isn't the only thing Jif had a mind to kill...
Suddenly I heard a desperate scrabbling sound and look up just in the nick to see a common gray squirrel hotfooting it through my door with Jif hard on its tail. The two of them tore through my main living area and raced into the kitchen where the squirrel banked hard and high against the cabinets, luge style. He executed a quick about face in the entrance of the bathroom and somehow managed to squeak by Jif and make for the door, cat still only inches behind. Back on the balcony the squirrel dived to either his death or his safety. Turned out to be the latter.
What did Paul Kuliniewicz have to say about the matter?
"I think you were supposed to close the door before the squirrel could run back out... Way to be a team player."
I'll be sure to remember that for the next time Jif chases something half his size into my house.

Crazy Awesome Huge Book List Update...

--2010--
Jan 15 - 'The Big Over Easy' - Jasper Fforde
Jan 25 - 'The Man From Beyond' - Gabriel Brownstein
Jan 27 - 'The First Men in the Moon' - H.G. Wells
Feb 4 - 'American on Purpose' - Craig Ferguson (BOT)
Feb 5 - 'Holidays on Ice' - David Sedaris (BOT)
Feb 12 - 'Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not' - Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris (BOT)
Feb 16 - 'The Book of Fate' - Brad Meltzer
Mar 1 - 'Naked' - David Sedaris (BOT)

Currently reading: 'Gilgamesh' - Joan London

It's Friday....

... Oh thank God, it's Friday.
I have an exam today, but I feel alright about it I guess. And when it's over, it's over, so there's that.
By Sunday I have to have final prep for a presentation on advertising done. On the plus side for that, I think we came up with some really awesome class activities to make our audience use what we're teaching.
Last night I had one of the more disturbing dreams possibly of my entire life. Not the most, but probably in the top 10 at the very least.

Monarchy...

This Friday we had a fantastic turnout at improv. I believe that the head count topped out somewhere in the 70-75 range. We've had callouts with much worse attendance than that, let alone regular meetings. I credit these new kids we've got coming that keep bringing their friends. Man I love that.
Know what else I love? Sitting out on my balcony when the weather is nice. The weather has not been traditionally "nice" for a very long time, and I miss it. I'm not saying that I don't like snow and ice rain as much as the next guy; I do. I'm just saying that sun and warm breezes also have their merits. And I believe that this year I'm going to plant butterfly attracting flowers. I do love me some butterflies.
On another note, I would not want to be the Queen of England.

"If BASIC is the pair of rounded blunt safety scissors you give a kindergartner, C++ is a chainsaw with no off switch where you've replaced each tooth with a smaller chainsaw."
~ Paul

For balance...

Wrapped up inside
Pushing, welling, longing
Well, this is familiar
The old fixes only sometimes work
But then, did they ever
You can always get it wrong
Prayer to an unknown deity
Asking for help that may not be there
Maybe some lavender
Maybe some zen
Maybe that's best for now.

Sunny Madison...

Cap: 2009 Garden Tour with Pap

Something, something, GATOR...

At least the trains are on time...

So I've decided to keep a record of all the books I read so that in forty years I can have a list like Art Garfunkel's. He averages more than two books a month and reads everything from 16th century philosophy to just released mystery novels. I appreciate his taste. He's got to be a fascinating man to talk with.
Anyway, so far this year I've read:
Jasper Fforde's 'The Big Over Easy'
Gabriel Brownstein's 'The Man From Beyond'
And I'm halfway through H.G. Wells' 'The First Men in the Moon'.
Generally during the school year I don't read anything that's not a text, but making a point of sticking a book into my backpack means that I'm grabbing a few minutes here and there throughout the day, and that adds up. Now to just get back into the rhythm of writing a couple times a week too...

Fun fact of the day: Sugar, flour, etc plants can be dangerous because all the crystalline dust in the air builds up a ton of static charge and is actually very flammable. Proper ventilation and machine care mitigates some of the risk, but there have been plant explosions because of the dust build up. I had no idea. Cool huh?

Remember when it was summer?...

Running Start...

This semester I have one instructor with a touch of a deep southern drawl, one that looks like the Disney conductor, one that is fidgety and restless, and one that waltzed into the room on the first day saying "Hello everyone! Sorry I'm late!" in a pretty dang good English accent. Could be a good year!

"There are no makeup labs in Astronomy."

Unforgettable...

Cap: Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, VA

Stranded...

God it’s cold. Why is it so cold?

Crippling confusion swirls like thick fog in my mind. Like wraiths and demons, choking out logical cognition.

Synapses reconnect, neurons fire, the fog thins slightly.

“Can you hear and understand me?” asks a voice from the void above.

Yes, yes I can hear. I can understand; but how? I try to raise my head, open my eyes, voice my epiphany of consciousness, all to no avail. All that I manage is to crack open what I believe to be my lips and with tremendous effort vibrate my vocal cords in a tremulous and primal groan.

“Very good, Ms. Leyburn. You’re doing fine.”

Leyburn? Who is Ms. Leyburn? Where am I?

“You’ve suffered quite a lot of damage from the cryonic process that was used on you.”

Damage? What the hell is she talking about? Slowly memories begin to filter back in; small, disjointed, episodic visions of a life. My life? I try hard to make my eyes work, but the blackness persists.

“Unfortunately it is not damage that we can repair at this time.”

A brief image of an animal drifts through my mind. It is accompanied by the feeling of sunlight, soft golden-red fur against my face, the smell of leather and hay. A feeling of happiness. Contentment. I try to grasp the sensations but they fade all the faster for it, leaving a feeling of loss so intense that for a moment I forget my confusion.

So much grief. So much pain.

“What we have decided to do with cases such as yours, since we cannot viably re-freeze you without causing further damage, is to place you in suspended animation. You will have some level of consciousness, though for the purpose of preserving as much brain function as possible, we will stall the thawing process where it is at the moment and, as a consequence of that, consciousness of yourself and your surroundings will be limited to approximately what you are experiencing right now.”

Re-freeze me? I was frozen? That explains the cold. Why was I frozen?

“In case you are wondering, it is April eighth, 2541. Welcome back to life, Ms. Leyburn. Rest assured that we here at Burns and Levy CryoniTech Incorporated will do all that we can to ensure that your body and mind get the premier care that you paid for when you signed with us.”

I’m dead. I was dead anyway.

I don’t understand what the voice means by “damage”, but the fog seems to be lifting ever so slowly. There are memories there; I can feel them on the edges, just out of reach. With just a bit more time I’m sure that I’ll be able to see and understand them. They will fall into proper order and I will know who I was. Who I am. I just need to know, to think, to feel. Just need time, a little bit more time. My lips open, I strain to speak.

“Alright Ms. Leyburn, I’m putting you into stasis now. Sweet dreams.”

No.

But for some bread a sandwich...

Cap: Some kind of Jelly - Newport Aquarium

On time...

Cap: One of my favorite pictures from the US Botanic Gardens.
Are you interested in seeing more? Cause I've got more.

Retroactive Photo Thursday...

Cap: Library of Congress - Washington, DC
-or-
Renee would be delighted to make a living just photographing architecture.

Two Tears...

Emptiness
I can't put my finger on it.
Aching
Just out of mind's reach.
Disturbing
But how can that be?
Pulling
Can't find any peace in here.

The wildness...

Cap: What Jif was waiting for.

Word, Johannes...

Remember those ads that Americans for the Arts ran/run? "Feed your kids arts enriched Raisin Brahms!" and "Give your kids nutritious van Goghgurt, packed with culture!" I love them. I support the arts and exposing your kids to them anyway, but seriously, if my local grocery store started carrying a cereal called Raisin Brahms I would be there to buy.