One day, the boss had someone drop groceries off at the house while she was at work. Along with some vegetables and a box of plastic bags, an enormous bag of cat food was placed on a chair and left unattended. Donald and James were generally very good about respecting boundaries. Things on the floor were in their territory, and thus could be played with. Things on the couch, similarly, were fair game. When the boss would set down a sweater, they would sit on it immediately, as was their right. They were allowed on chairs. This bag of cat food was clearly theirs. It was going to be an exciting afternoon.
Though their concept of time was limited, they knew that the boss came home when the sunbeams were gone. There were plenty of sunbeams streaming in, so plenty of time to investigate this bag. Right after a quick nap.
Donald woke up on the floor of the kitchen, his fur still warm from the sun. James had jumped up on the chair and was wrestling with the bag. Though a large cat, able to stand up and see out most windows without a perch, he was small in comparison to the bulk of the cat food. Additionally, the designers of the bag had done their work well, minds bent toward durability. Despite his best efforts, he was only able to tear small pieces of paper off, and he could not breach the final layer of plastic to get to the food. Frustrated, he left to sulk under the coffee table. Donald stretched, considered the bag, and went back to sleep.
The boss came home to find pieces of paper on the floor and the two cats standing expectantly in the kitchen, no attempts made to hide their shenanigans.
Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Friday, February 7, 2014
Chapter 7: The Forbidden Bedroom
Once upon a time, the cats had been allowed to play all over the house. Every room had its highlights. The office had the futon with the sunny spot. The guest bedroom had the brightest sunbeams and the warmest floor. The master bedroom had wonderful wool blankets, perfect for rolling and jumping around, kicking at suspicious lumps under the covers. So many places to play, so many spots to nap. But then, tragedy struck. The boss started closing the door of the master bedroom. The cats could not understand why she would keep them from a room that was clearly theirs, but though they spent many days sitting outside the room and complaining, the boss wouldn't budge. They had been exiled.
This made the master bedroom a source of fascination for the newly displaced. Donald, in particular, was determined to get in. He would trail silently behind the boss as she did things around the house. Filing papers. Doing laundry. Anything that occupied her hands was a promising activity. At first, he would sneak into the room and stroll silently around while she put away clothes. Once she'd notice him, the jig would be up, and he would be picked up, struggling and squeaking, and deposited in the hallway. Eventually, he stopped being stealthy. If the door was ajar, he would push it open, stare directly at the boss, then launch himself onto the bed, meowing and rolling around in open defiance of this unjust banishment. In these moments, when she would pick him up (laughing, for some reason, always laughing), he would go completely limp, exhausted from his righteous struggle.
James took a different approach. If, for some reason, the boss was in the bedroom, he would sit at the door and howl like a little wolf. "Awwooooo!" He would often bring his penguin to bear witness to the injustice, and they would sit together in the hall. There would be no peace in the house until their room rights were returned.
After a very long time, when they were almost beginning to despair of ever being allowed to sit on that wonderful, forbidden bed, and bunny kick those fascinating blankets, the boss relented. Perhaps it was the courageous displays of defiance by Donald. Perhaps the persistent lobbying of James. Perhaps she simply got tired of stepping over the penguin every morning. No matter what the cause, she started allowing the cats into the room for a few hours a day.
Victory!
This made the master bedroom a source of fascination for the newly displaced. Donald, in particular, was determined to get in. He would trail silently behind the boss as she did things around the house. Filing papers. Doing laundry. Anything that occupied her hands was a promising activity. At first, he would sneak into the room and stroll silently around while she put away clothes. Once she'd notice him, the jig would be up, and he would be picked up, struggling and squeaking, and deposited in the hallway. Eventually, he stopped being stealthy. If the door was ajar, he would push it open, stare directly at the boss, then launch himself onto the bed, meowing and rolling around in open defiance of this unjust banishment. In these moments, when she would pick him up (laughing, for some reason, always laughing), he would go completely limp, exhausted from his righteous struggle.
James took a different approach. If, for some reason, the boss was in the bedroom, he would sit at the door and howl like a little wolf. "Awwooooo!" He would often bring his penguin to bear witness to the injustice, and they would sit together in the hall. There would be no peace in the house until their room rights were returned.
After a very long time, when they were almost beginning to despair of ever being allowed to sit on that wonderful, forbidden bed, and bunny kick those fascinating blankets, the boss relented. Perhaps it was the courageous displays of defiance by Donald. Perhaps the persistent lobbying of James. Perhaps she simply got tired of stepping over the penguin every morning. No matter what the cause, she started allowing the cats into the room for a few hours a day.
Victory!
Chapter 6: The Allure of Flowers
Donald and James were very good cats. They (mostly) didn't get on tables. They (mostly) didn't jump on counters. They (mostly) did not try to kick the boss' computer off her lap to make room for naps. However, all cats have their weaknesses. Donald and James loved flowers. They loved to look at them. They loved to smell them. They would probably have loved to eat them, but the boss had stopped all attempts at this, so while they suspected that flowers were delicious, they didn't yet know for certain.
One memorable day, the boss put a beautiful bouquet on the kitchen counter. Donald, very round and uncharacteristically clumsy for a cat, stretched his paws up toward them. He pawed at the cabinet. He sniffed the air. Then, gathering all his strength, he jumped onto the counter. The boss, fussing over something on the stove, rushed over to pick him up, and he let out a squeak of resignation. He had been so close. As she set him on the floor, she patted his head and told him, "I'm disappointed in you for jumping on the counter, but I'm impressed you made it on the first try!" He made a sad little face, and went to check to see if any new food had appeared in his bowl. It had not. Disappointment all around.
James had watched the whole thing, and waited for the boss to go into the living room. Unfortunately for him, his size made jumping onto the counter a noisy endeavor, and he was similarly picked up, removed from the flowers and scolded.
When the boss left the house later that day, she put the flowers in the forbidden master bedroom. Both cats sat outside the door for several minutes after she left, checking to see if the door could be opened. It could not. Yawning, they padded to the guest room to find some good sunbeams.
One memorable day, the boss put a beautiful bouquet on the kitchen counter. Donald, very round and uncharacteristically clumsy for a cat, stretched his paws up toward them. He pawed at the cabinet. He sniffed the air. Then, gathering all his strength, he jumped onto the counter. The boss, fussing over something on the stove, rushed over to pick him up, and he let out a squeak of resignation. He had been so close. As she set him on the floor, she patted his head and told him, "I'm disappointed in you for jumping on the counter, but I'm impressed you made it on the first try!" He made a sad little face, and went to check to see if any new food had appeared in his bowl. It had not. Disappointment all around.
James had watched the whole thing, and waited for the boss to go into the living room. Unfortunately for him, his size made jumping onto the counter a noisy endeavor, and he was similarly picked up, removed from the flowers and scolded.
When the boss left the house later that day, she put the flowers in the forbidden master bedroom. Both cats sat outside the door for several minutes after she left, checking to see if the door could be opened. It could not. Yawning, they padded to the guest room to find some good sunbeams.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Chapter 5: Heroic Origins
Donald and James were littermates, and they had been together their whole lives, from a shelter, to their first owner, to another shelter, and this place. They had been with the boss for years. When they first arrived, they were put in the basement, because it was the only area with carpet. They sat underneath the bed in the basement bedroom for an hour, and then they had gingerly made their way up to the living room. They explored every inch of the house. James learned that the closed keyboard cover of the piano in the living room was perfectly shaped for napping, or lying on his back and meowing for attention! He also learned that he was not allowed on the piano.
Their first owner had loved them very much, and they had come with a little brown mouse toy and a plastic heart on a shoelace. These were their favorite toys for a long time, and they still loved and played with them, but as the years passed, new favorites had arrived. Larger toy mice. Foil balls that made a wonderful sound when batted across the floor. Pieces of ribbon. A fish on a toy fishing rod, then, eventually, the individual components of the fishing rod toy, cunningly separated and played with all around the house. All toys were wonderful toys.
The boss had made them some little fleece balls, which bounced in a charmingly unpredictable manner. They stored them under the couch for safekeeping, but the boss would always find them and put them under the coffee table. They couldn't understand why she insisted on doing this, but they would dutifully put them away, under the couch again, until the next time. The boss had also made them some little fleece pillows. They were good for sitting on, bunny kicking, and putting toys near, on and under. The toy piles were always very deliberate, and they probably meant something, but the cats never bothered to explain. Sometimes the boss would do a similar thing next to the front door, putting snowy socks and mittens in a row. The cats approved, and would often add little toys to the lineup. The boss would laugh when she saw this, but they never understood why.
Chapter 4: No Surprises at Dinnertime
Now that the boss was home, it was time to get ready for dinner! The cats got two kinds of food, and each cat had a different favorite. They had made their preferences known over the years, and they were familiar with the boss' serving technique. First the wet food, then the dry food.
James, a handsome tuxedo cat with a substantial pink belly, loved wet food. He didn't care what kind. He would meow loudly and happily and stand where the bowls with the wet food would go. He would wait, sometimes patiently, sometimes not, as the boss got dinner ready. Sometimes, he would put little toys in with his wet food. One time, the boss had walked into the kitchen to find him lying on his back, his head resting in his food bowl, lazily scooping food into his mouth with his paw, a toy fish sitting next to the bowl, silent witness to the whole, disgusting display.
Donald was a fluffy, very round, gray cat with white socks and a white chin. He loved dry food, and would stand where the bowls with the dry food would go, meowing and chirping expectantly. He was more interested in eating, and had no time for toy-in-food-dish shenanigans. A sensitive little soul, his eyes would light up when he heard the rattle of dry food in its bin.
This was a time of great excitement, and the boss would talk quietly, perhaps to herself, perhaps to the cats, as she measured out their dinner and made sure that each bowl had an equal amount of food in it. It never mattered. Sometimes they would go to separate dishes, sometimes they would share a dish. There were never any little disagreements during dinnertime.
James, a handsome tuxedo cat with a substantial pink belly, loved wet food. He didn't care what kind. He would meow loudly and happily and stand where the bowls with the wet food would go. He would wait, sometimes patiently, sometimes not, as the boss got dinner ready. Sometimes, he would put little toys in with his wet food. One time, the boss had walked into the kitchen to find him lying on his back, his head resting in his food bowl, lazily scooping food into his mouth with his paw, a toy fish sitting next to the bowl, silent witness to the whole, disgusting display.
Donald was a fluffy, very round, gray cat with white socks and a white chin. He loved dry food, and would stand where the bowls with the dry food would go, meowing and chirping expectantly. He was more interested in eating, and had no time for toy-in-food-dish shenanigans. A sensitive little soul, his eyes would light up when he heard the rattle of dry food in its bin.
This was a time of great excitement, and the boss would talk quietly, perhaps to herself, perhaps to the cats, as she measured out their dinner and made sure that each bowl had an equal amount of food in it. It never mattered. Sometimes they would go to separate dishes, sometimes they would share a dish. There were never any little disagreements during dinnertime.
Chapter 3: The Boss Comes Home
Donald and James awoke to the loud, strange sound that came from the room next to the basement. They weren't allowed in there, but on one occasion, James had managed to sneak in. It was a cold room, with a large piece of furniture in the middle of it. He hadn't understood it, but he had walked around and then eventually made himself comfortable underneath it. The boss tried to get him to come out, but gave up quickly and closed the door. While James loved doing what he wanted and not listening to anyone else, it was boring being all alone in the dark, so he went to the door and meowed. The boss let him in, and he checked to see if any new food had appeared in his bowl. No luck. Still, it never hurt to check. Since that day, he had peered into that strange room, but he hadn't bothered to go back. It wasn't soft or warm or interesting, and he had better places to nap.
Sometimes, when the cats heard the sound that meant the boss was home, they would run over to that door and meow until the boss opened it. Then she would laugh and step inside carefully, since they had a talent for getting little paws and little tails underfoot. She had actually stepped on Donald's tail once, and he made a terrible sound, but he forgave her. It wasn't her fault her feet were so big and clumsy. She tried to be more careful after that. Sometimes, when they heard the sound that meant the boss was home, they would stay put and keep dozing. There was always plenty of time to greet the boss.
This particular time, Donald and James stretched, yawned, and made their way to the door. The boss came in, distracted as usual, and they took turns meowing at her and pawing at her knees. She laughed and petted their fuzzy little heads, saying "Hello! Hello! How was your day?" They were always happy to see her, though they never understood where she went. Why would anyone leave such a cozy place? Surely she wondered the same thing.
Sometimes, when the cats heard the sound that meant the boss was home, they would run over to that door and meow until the boss opened it. Then she would laugh and step inside carefully, since they had a talent for getting little paws and little tails underfoot. She had actually stepped on Donald's tail once, and he made a terrible sound, but he forgave her. It wasn't her fault her feet were so big and clumsy. She tried to be more careful after that. Sometimes, when they heard the sound that meant the boss was home, they would stay put and keep dozing. There was always plenty of time to greet the boss.
This particular time, Donald and James stretched, yawned, and made their way to the door. The boss came in, distracted as usual, and they took turns meowing at her and pawing at her knees. She laughed and petted their fuzzy little heads, saying "Hello! Hello! How was your day?" They were always happy to see her, though they never understood where she went. Why would anyone leave such a cozy place? Surely she wondered the same thing.
Chapter 2: Naps Naps Naps
Sitting on postcards was serious business. After making sure that all the pieces of floor paper had been appropriately investigated, Donald curled up in his favorite sunbeam in the guest bedroom. His favorite nap spot was the master bed, but that bedroom was closed up when the boss was away. Something about James' inability to leave plastic alone, and the boss' refusal to James-proof that room. Donald put a paw on the piece of clothesline with a knot in it. It was much better than the piece without a knot, but he couldn't have articulated why. He could articulate many things, but they mostly covered general happiness, general displeasure, and "where is my breakfast?" He was a very talkative little cat.
While Donald dozed, James hopped up on the couch in the living room to look out the picture window and see if there were any squirrels or neighborhood cats out and about. There weren't, but the mailman was walking toward the door. James had seen this often enough to know what came next, but he couldn't stop himself from jumping when the mail fell through the slot. He shook himself and stretched. All this excitement was too much to take in. Time for a nap. He curled up under the coffee table and put a paw around his stuffed penguin. It didn't have a name, but aside from Donald, it was his best friend.
After about an hour of this, both cats made their way to the office. The sun was bright and strong, and it fell perfectly on the middle of the futon in that room. Donald and James curled up in a mass of black, gray and white fur and fell asleep. If there had been anyone in the house, they would have heard the soft, strange sound of cats snoring.
While Donald dozed, James hopped up on the couch in the living room to look out the picture window and see if there were any squirrels or neighborhood cats out and about. There weren't, but the mailman was walking toward the door. James had seen this often enough to know what came next, but he couldn't stop himself from jumping when the mail fell through the slot. He shook himself and stretched. All this excitement was too much to take in. Time for a nap. He curled up under the coffee table and put a paw around his stuffed penguin. It didn't have a name, but aside from Donald, it was his best friend.
After about an hour of this, both cats made their way to the office. The sun was bright and strong, and it fell perfectly on the middle of the futon in that room. Donald and James curled up in a mass of black, gray and white fur and fell asleep. If there had been anyone in the house, they would have heard the soft, strange sound of cats snoring.
Chapter 1: A Doomed Business Venture
Donald and James were cats. Large, fuzzy cats, that some might call portly. They were fat little dudes, and they loved almost everything about their house. They loved looking out the windows and chirping at birds and squirrels. They loved all the furniture they got to sit on. They loved all the furniture they got to sit underneath! They loved the toys their boss got for them, and the pieces of colorful tissue wrapping paper that she put on the floor for them to sit on. They particularly liked putting their toys on and under this paper, because it made a wonderful noise. Christmas was a very exciting time of year, because there was even more loud paper than usual! They did not love when their boss would listen to Britney Spears or Kylie Minogue. They'd look at each other, stare icily at their boss, then walk over to the basement stairs to play until the music stopped. Interestingly, they didn't seem to mind Cher. They had eclectic tastes.
For a brief, shining moment, they had had their very own business cards. They said "Donald and James: Handsome, Sassy Housecats. For All Your Door Opening Needs." If they had been consulted, they probably would have not included "sassy" as a descriptor. Their door-opening business didn't really go anywhere, mostly because they're weren't honestly all that good at opening doors after all. If a door had been improperly closed, perhaps they could eventually open it, if they really wanted to. Additionally, the business cards did not include contact information, because neither Donald nor James had an email account or a cellphone. They did have a mailing address, but were illiterate. Despite this, they enjoyed postcards.
They enjoyed sitting on postcards.
For a brief, shining moment, they had had their very own business cards. They said "Donald and James: Handsome, Sassy Housecats. For All Your Door Opening Needs." If they had been consulted, they probably would have not included "sassy" as a descriptor. Their door-opening business didn't really go anywhere, mostly because they're weren't honestly all that good at opening doors after all. If a door had been improperly closed, perhaps they could eventually open it, if they really wanted to. Additionally, the business cards did not include contact information, because neither Donald nor James had an email account or a cellphone. They did have a mailing address, but were illiterate. Despite this, they enjoyed postcards.
They enjoyed sitting on postcards.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Post-SDCC blogging
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
I don't usually dayblog, but I'm making an exception.
I have survived another year of San Diego Comic Con. The process of decompressing from this show is a complicated one. It's not exhausting in the same way that Spectrum Live is (it turns out that it's much easier to be an exhibitor than a showrunner) but it's probably similar in intensity.
Traditionally, I come back from San Diego, I do fine for a couple of days, then I get very, very sick. This is probably because, when I come back from San Diego, I have trouble remembering to eat, and I have even more trouble getting to sleep. I assume that the sickness is my body's only way of forcing me to get some rest. Tricky.
SDCC is overwhelming on a number of levels. There's a high degree of social interaction required, there are many late, late nights (social interaction!), there are 160,000 people with an exponentially higher number of germs all packed into a space. People are handling money. Handshakes are pretty common. Sickness! Sickness is inevitable!
It's a wonderful opportunity to get work done, and I always come back from the show feeling very productive. I'm good at what I do, and SDCC is another venue for me to get work done, both for my job and for Spectrum Live. There are connections you make at SDCC that you really can't make anywhere else, in part because EVERYONE is exhausted, and when you do find people you connect with, you bond more quickly than you might otherwise because you're so tired, and there are so many horrible people. New friends become life rafts on a sea of awful.
(I have made a number of lasting friendships at this show, and I continue to meet people who are interesting and engaging. I think that half the battle is wanting to get to know someone. The other half is wanting to let them get to know you. The fact that I come back from San Diego with one or two new *actual* friends each year is pretty remarkable.)
Of course, there's some emotional fallout when I get home, which is the inevitable conclusion to a very long show. There's a rawness to my emotional state which takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to normalize.
It's tied into the physical side of things. It's hard to feel normal mentally and emotionally when your system and your schedule are so out of alignment. I know this about the show, and about myself, and have gotten better at handling it over the years. It's much easier when you realize that you're not losing your mind, you're just very, very tired.
Because I can't help being prescriptive, here are some ways I deal with the show.
During the show:
Vitamin C (so much vitamin C)
Water
Coffee
An attempt to be healthy (vegetarian dishes, solid but not heavy breakfasts, smoothies)
When I get home:
Vitamin C (sense a theme?)
Water
Netflix (I just embrace the insomnia. It lets up eventually.)
Careful consideration before socializing
Frozen eggrolls (key for when it's 2 am and you realize you haven't eaten since lunch)
Cats
Comfortable pajamas
I don't usually dayblog, but I'm making an exception.
I have survived another year of San Diego Comic Con. The process of decompressing from this show is a complicated one. It's not exhausting in the same way that Spectrum Live is (it turns out that it's much easier to be an exhibitor than a showrunner) but it's probably similar in intensity.
Traditionally, I come back from San Diego, I do fine for a couple of days, then I get very, very sick. This is probably because, when I come back from San Diego, I have trouble remembering to eat, and I have even more trouble getting to sleep. I assume that the sickness is my body's only way of forcing me to get some rest. Tricky.
SDCC is overwhelming on a number of levels. There's a high degree of social interaction required, there are many late, late nights (social interaction!), there are 160,000 people with an exponentially higher number of germs all packed into a space. People are handling money. Handshakes are pretty common. Sickness! Sickness is inevitable!
It's a wonderful opportunity to get work done, and I always come back from the show feeling very productive. I'm good at what I do, and SDCC is another venue for me to get work done, both for my job and for Spectrum Live. There are connections you make at SDCC that you really can't make anywhere else, in part because EVERYONE is exhausted, and when you do find people you connect with, you bond more quickly than you might otherwise because you're so tired, and there are so many horrible people. New friends become life rafts on a sea of awful.
(I have made a number of lasting friendships at this show, and I continue to meet people who are interesting and engaging. I think that half the battle is wanting to get to know someone. The other half is wanting to let them get to know you. The fact that I come back from San Diego with one or two new *actual* friends each year is pretty remarkable.)
Of course, there's some emotional fallout when I get home, which is the inevitable conclusion to a very long show. There's a rawness to my emotional state which takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to normalize.
It's tied into the physical side of things. It's hard to feel normal mentally and emotionally when your system and your schedule are so out of alignment. I know this about the show, and about myself, and have gotten better at handling it over the years. It's much easier when you realize that you're not losing your mind, you're just very, very tired.
Because I can't help being prescriptive, here are some ways I deal with the show.
During the show:
Vitamin C (so much vitamin C)
Water
Coffee
An attempt to be healthy (vegetarian dishes, solid but not heavy breakfasts, smoothies)
When I get home:
Vitamin C (sense a theme?)
Water
Netflix (I just embrace the insomnia. It lets up eventually.)
Careful consideration before socializing
Frozen eggrolls (key for when it's 2 am and you realize you haven't eaten since lunch)
Cats
Comfortable pajamas
Monday, April 29, 2013
I went on a trip but I'm too distracted to properly blog about it
I was going to write about how I went to Moab and had a great vacation, but I'm too engrossed in watching "Going Postal" on Netflix.
So here are some pictures of a horrible souvenir I found in a store called "Colorado Souvenirs" for $5.99. I don't know why it exists. I know only that it is ridiculous.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
It is named Poopy.[/caption]
We camped in Moab. Lovely weather. One coldish day (in the 50s) and no very hot weather.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
Great view. Mostly.[/caption]
Did a lot of hiking around Arches and Canyonlands.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
People are trying to enjoy the scenery and *this* keeps happening. Terrible.[/caption]
There were even some flowers. They were lovely.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
Lovely.[/caption]
There were some really useful signs in Arches.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
I don't think he's dehydrated.[/caption]
I also did a lot of mountain biking, including Klondike Bluffs, which has dinosaur tracks. Actual dinosaur tracks!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
There were better tracks but the were literally along the path and I didn't want to get run over by bicyclists.[/caption]
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
That's not a dinosaur, Poopy.[/caption]
Trails we rode:
Dino Flow
Baby Steps
Klondike Bluffs
Sovereign Trail and Salt Wash Trail
Moab Brand Trails:
Lazy EZ
Bar M
Circle O
North 40
Circle O was particularly interesting. It was like a much easier baby version of the Slickrock trail, but without as many possibilities of death. It was really fun, though it was still pretty tricky. Slickrock is really fun to bike on. You can make it up amazingly steep bits if you get your balance right and you have enough power. For the first half of the trail, we were totally alone. Later, we ran into a number of small children biking the trail (they were with adults, don't worry). Moab has some badass little kids. I fell, but luckily not in view of children. Wrenched my back a little, but I'm fine now. It helps to visit people who also happen to be physical therapists. They are great.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
He's not breakin' the law.[/caption]
Anyway, I spent a few days in Moab, did some epic stuff. Spent a few days in Fort Collins. Recovered from my fall. Did some mellow biking on their awesome trails. It was great. Came home to yelling cats. They are whiny. But luckily, they are also sleepy, and they snore a lot. When I'm surrounded by snoring cats, I'm home.
When I get home from a trip, I put everything away and do laundry right away. I have to do this stuff. If I put it off, I put more things off, and it snowballs. I am a procrastinator. I might not be procrastinating right now, but it's always around that one thing that I don't do right away. That pot and pan I don't wash immediately after using. I would compare it to the old "There's no such thing as a cured alcoholic," but that seems incredibly disrespectful to alcoholics. I just have tendencies. I try to be aware of them.
Today, I mowed the surprisingly robust (and typically dandelion-filled) lawn and walked to the grocery store.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
This is not my lawn.[/caption]
I didn't check the cupboards before I went, so instead of making lentil stuff, as I had intended, I made curry. It wasn't even going to be curry, it was going to be stir fry. But then I remembered that I had some coconut milk and curry powder. (the recipe would go: make stir fry. add coconut milk and curry powder. Simmer.)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
Delicious.[/caption]
Glad to be back.
So here are some pictures of a horrible souvenir I found in a store called "Colorado Souvenirs" for $5.99. I don't know why it exists. I know only that it is ridiculous.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
It is named Poopy.[/caption]We camped in Moab. Lovely weather. One coldish day (in the 50s) and no very hot weather.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
Great view. Mostly.[/caption]Did a lot of hiking around Arches and Canyonlands.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
People are trying to enjoy the scenery and *this* keeps happening. Terrible.[/caption]There were even some flowers. They were lovely.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
Lovely.[/caption]There were some really useful signs in Arches.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
I don't think he's dehydrated.[/caption]I also did a lot of mountain biking, including Klondike Bluffs, which has dinosaur tracks. Actual dinosaur tracks!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
There were better tracks but the were literally along the path and I didn't want to get run over by bicyclists.[/caption][caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
That's not a dinosaur, Poopy.[/caption]Trails we rode:
Dino Flow
Baby Steps
Klondike Bluffs
Sovereign Trail and Salt Wash Trail
Moab Brand Trails:
Lazy EZ
Bar M
Circle O
North 40
Circle O was particularly interesting. It was like a much easier baby version of the Slickrock trail, but without as many possibilities of death. It was really fun, though it was still pretty tricky. Slickrock is really fun to bike on. You can make it up amazingly steep bits if you get your balance right and you have enough power. For the first half of the trail, we were totally alone. Later, we ran into a number of small children biking the trail (they were with adults, don't worry). Moab has some badass little kids. I fell, but luckily not in view of children. Wrenched my back a little, but I'm fine now. It helps to visit people who also happen to be physical therapists. They are great.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
He's not breakin' the law.[/caption]Anyway, I spent a few days in Moab, did some epic stuff. Spent a few days in Fort Collins. Recovered from my fall. Did some mellow biking on their awesome trails. It was great. Came home to yelling cats. They are whiny. But luckily, they are also sleepy, and they snore a lot. When I'm surrounded by snoring cats, I'm home.
When I get home from a trip, I put everything away and do laundry right away. I have to do this stuff. If I put it off, I put more things off, and it snowballs. I am a procrastinator. I might not be procrastinating right now, but it's always around that one thing that I don't do right away. That pot and pan I don't wash immediately after using. I would compare it to the old "There's no such thing as a cured alcoholic," but that seems incredibly disrespectful to alcoholics. I just have tendencies. I try to be aware of them.
Today, I mowed the surprisingly robust (and typically dandelion-filled) lawn and walked to the grocery store.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430"]
This is not my lawn.[/caption]I didn't check the cupboards before I went, so instead of making lentil stuff, as I had intended, I made curry. It wasn't even going to be curry, it was going to be stir fry. But then I remembered that I had some coconut milk and curry powder. (the recipe would go: make stir fry. add coconut milk and curry powder. Simmer.)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323"]
Delicious.[/caption]Glad to be back.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Things You Can Do Over a Weekend
1. You can go see a play!
I saw "Slashdance" at the Coterie After Dark. For anyone living in Kansas City, the Coterie is an institution. Their not-for-children productions are often very original and very good. The set design is inventive and the performances are excellent. I have never seen "Flashdance," so I don't think that I fully appreciated all of the jokes, but it was still an excellent horror/spoof/comedy. As good as "Sorority House of the Damned," and better than "Children of the Damned Corn."
2. You can subscribe to a hippie magazine!
After spending some quality time in the Barnes and Noble in Zona Rosa, I was sufficiently intrigued by "Mother Earth News" to subscribe for a year. Things I said to Mike this weekend, after reading the latest issue: "You could raise chickens!" "We could build a greenhouse!" "We should go to this hippie fair in Lawrence in October!"
3. You can prepare for a storm by going to the store!
I got chocolate milk, marshmallows, Reese's peanut butter cups and Kit Kats. Prepared!
4. You can make a terrible mocha and drink it very quickly.
Maybe don't do this one.
5. You can watch "Safety Not Guaranteed."
I didn't know what to expect going in, but it was so much more, and so much better, than I could have imagined. Given that the three leads are fairly prominent presences on sitcoms, their performances were familiar but not expected. Everyone was excellent. The story was interesting and emotional without being maudlin or overly contrived. There were two very slow chase scenes, which were unexpectedly hilarious. I felt more feeling than I expected to feel. The description of longing for something that has gone away was achingly poignant and beautiful. I really liked this movie. You should watch it.
6. You can shovel a driveway.
Ugh.
7. You can almost buy a mo-ped on Craigslist.
Don't do this one. You don't need a mo-ped. You have a bicycle! (right? no? get a bicycle! they are so great!)
8. You can do laundry.
Maybe it would be a good idea if you have some time!
9. You can get very paranoid about a wall in your basement that has ALWAYS bulged a little bit, to the point where you call your neighbor who knows about this stuff to make him come over and look at it and tell you that it's okay.
This is another one that I can't really recommend, but it's certainly how I spent part of my evening! (and yes, it is okay!)
10. You can sit on a couch so your cats can hang out and fall asleep on you.
This is probably the best thing you can do over a weekend.
I saw "Slashdance" at the Coterie After Dark. For anyone living in Kansas City, the Coterie is an institution. Their not-for-children productions are often very original and very good. The set design is inventive and the performances are excellent. I have never seen "Flashdance," so I don't think that I fully appreciated all of the jokes, but it was still an excellent horror/spoof/comedy. As good as "Sorority House of the Damned," and better than "Children of the Damned Corn."
2. You can subscribe to a hippie magazine!
After spending some quality time in the Barnes and Noble in Zona Rosa, I was sufficiently intrigued by "Mother Earth News" to subscribe for a year. Things I said to Mike this weekend, after reading the latest issue: "You could raise chickens!" "We could build a greenhouse!" "We should go to this hippie fair in Lawrence in October!"
3. You can prepare for a storm by going to the store!
I got chocolate milk, marshmallows, Reese's peanut butter cups and Kit Kats. Prepared!
4. You can make a terrible mocha and drink it very quickly.
Maybe don't do this one.
5. You can watch "Safety Not Guaranteed."
I didn't know what to expect going in, but it was so much more, and so much better, than I could have imagined. Given that the three leads are fairly prominent presences on sitcoms, their performances were familiar but not expected. Everyone was excellent. The story was interesting and emotional without being maudlin or overly contrived. There were two very slow chase scenes, which were unexpectedly hilarious. I felt more feeling than I expected to feel. The description of longing for something that has gone away was achingly poignant and beautiful. I really liked this movie. You should watch it.
6. You can shovel a driveway.
Ugh.
7. You can almost buy a mo-ped on Craigslist.
Don't do this one. You don't need a mo-ped. You have a bicycle! (right? no? get a bicycle! they are so great!)
8. You can do laundry.
Maybe it would be a good idea if you have some time!
9. You can get very paranoid about a wall in your basement that has ALWAYS bulged a little bit, to the point where you call your neighbor who knows about this stuff to make him come over and look at it and tell you that it's okay.
This is another one that I can't really recommend, but it's certainly how I spent part of my evening! (and yes, it is okay!)
10. You can sit on a couch so your cats can hang out and fall asleep on you.
This is probably the best thing you can do over a weekend.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Twas the night before Spectrum judging and I got to go to the dinner
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="I get to do neat things."]
[/caption]
My favorite thing about working with the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live show is getting to know people in the industry. Well, my favorite thing might be the art. But it's tied for first with getting to know people in the industry. Everyone has amazing stories, and in many cases, I'm getting to talk to people whose work I've been impressed by for a very long time. This is a neat thing. (My job is like this too, but as per usual, I won't be talking about that. Suffice to say, my job is awesome. My work with Spectrum Live is awesome. My cats are awesome. Caffeine is awesome. Why is it so late? I have to get up early tomorrow! Look at my life! Look at my choices!)
Tonight, I got to have dinner with Tim Bruckner, Irene Gallo, Tim Kirk, Mark Nelson, Michael Whelan, John Flesk, and Arnie and Cathy Fenner. I can't even get into the stories because there were too many of them, and they were all hilarious and amazing. I've been a science fiction and fantasy (and comics) fan for as long as I've been able to read, and to get to listen and participate in these conversations is very, very cool.
Also, I got a shout-out in a ridiculous holiday video that I somehow managed to miss when it was posted! Clearly, I should set up a google alert for my name (I'm not going to do that, that sounds terrible).
Seriously, though, art is clearly #1
[/caption]My favorite thing about working with the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live show is getting to know people in the industry. Well, my favorite thing might be the art. But it's tied for first with getting to know people in the industry. Everyone has amazing stories, and in many cases, I'm getting to talk to people whose work I've been impressed by for a very long time. This is a neat thing. (My job is like this too, but as per usual, I won't be talking about that. Suffice to say, my job is awesome. My work with Spectrum Live is awesome. My cats are awesome. Caffeine is awesome. Why is it so late? I have to get up early tomorrow! Look at my life! Look at my choices!)
Tonight, I got to have dinner with Tim Bruckner, Irene Gallo, Tim Kirk, Mark Nelson, Michael Whelan, John Flesk, and Arnie and Cathy Fenner. I can't even get into the stories because there were too many of them, and they were all hilarious and amazing. I've been a science fiction and fantasy (and comics) fan for as long as I've been able to read, and to get to listen and participate in these conversations is very, very cool.
Also, I got a shout-out in a ridiculous holiday video that I somehow managed to miss when it was posted! Clearly, I should set up a google alert for my name (I'm not going to do that, that sounds terrible).
Seriously, though, art is clearly #1
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Lentil stuff
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="403" caption="The best part is getting ambitious with the hot sauce and then drinking a lot of water because it buuuurns. The other best part is taking GREAT PHOTOS."]
[/caption]
This recipe is from The Hairpin, but with some modifications.
Mostly, measure NOTHING. Just use whatever onions and carrots you have in the fridge. Then forget what kind of tomato stuff you're supposed to use, and use whatever you have in your pantry. It will be fine. I'm serious.
Ingredients:
onions
carrots
lentils
garlic if you have it
tomato stuff (I've used tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and probably tomato paste, too, at various times, and it was always fine in the end. Different, but delicious. OK, maybe not tomato paste)
other stuff that you want to use up, like, maybe, meatless "ground beef" from Trader Joe's
Slice the onions and cook until soft in a pot of appropriate size for the random amounts of stuff you're going to be cooking (olive oil or butter...do you want to be vegan? or not-vegan?)
Slice the carrots and add them to the pot
Add whatever weird other things you've got sitting around but aren't sure what to do with. Stir.
(wash the lentils) Add the lentils to the pot, along with an appropriate amount of water for the amount of lentils
Cook for a while.
Add some hot sauce (sriracha, random very hot hot sauce in your fridge that your mom made, both, whatever)
Cook longer until the lentils are soft.
Did you put too much hot sauce in? Maybe you should have made some rice! You can make rice later and have it with leftover.
This stuff keeps for a really, really long time. And I think it gets better as it ages, like chili.
I don't have a good way to work pictures of cats into this.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323" caption="...but I won't let that stop me!"]
[/caption]
[/caption]This recipe is from The Hairpin, but with some modifications.
Mostly, measure NOTHING. Just use whatever onions and carrots you have in the fridge. Then forget what kind of tomato stuff you're supposed to use, and use whatever you have in your pantry. It will be fine. I'm serious.
Ingredients:
onions
carrots
lentils
garlic if you have it
tomato stuff (I've used tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and probably tomato paste, too, at various times, and it was always fine in the end. Different, but delicious. OK, maybe not tomato paste)
other stuff that you want to use up, like, maybe, meatless "ground beef" from Trader Joe's
Slice the onions and cook until soft in a pot of appropriate size for the random amounts of stuff you're going to be cooking (olive oil or butter...do you want to be vegan? or not-vegan?)
Slice the carrots and add them to the pot
Add whatever weird other things you've got sitting around but aren't sure what to do with. Stir.
(wash the lentils) Add the lentils to the pot, along with an appropriate amount of water for the amount of lentils
Cook for a while.
Add some hot sauce (sriracha, random very hot hot sauce in your fridge that your mom made, both, whatever)
Cook longer until the lentils are soft.
Did you put too much hot sauce in? Maybe you should have made some rice! You can make rice later and have it with leftover.
This stuff keeps for a really, really long time. And I think it gets better as it ages, like chili.
I don't have a good way to work pictures of cats into this.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="323" caption="...but I won't let that stop me!"]
[/caption]Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Here's a novella about my Spectrum live feelings!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="376" caption="Spectrum Live!"]
[/caption]
So aside from my day job, which is basically the coolest job I can think of (yet describe in the most boring way possible, and will not talk about in this space, probably), I have been working on Spectrum Fantastic Art Live for the last few years.
What is it? It's an art show with a focus on fantasy and science fiction. It includes concept art, three-dimensional art, oil paintings, sketches, digital art, bronzes, dolls...it's a long list. If it can be imagined, it's probably represented.
Basically it's a spotlight on art and artists, and a way to bring these artists and their art to the public. If you're a nerd like me, you'll love it. Trust me.
It all started at a Dead Dog Party at San Diego Comic Con in, oh, probably 2009 or 2010. I was talking to Arnie and Cathy Fenner, and they floated the idea of a convention centered specifically around artists. If you've been to SDCC in the last ten years, you know that there are MANY areas of focus, and some (Hollywood, video games, television shows) are taking over more and more attention and floor space. The Fenners thought that an art-focused show would be great for fans and artists alike, and I thought it was a great idea.
If you aren't familiar with the Fenners, they publish an art annual called "Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art," and they have been doing this for the last 20 years. 2013 is the 20th anniversary of the book, and it's an amazing publication. If you've never seen one, go to a bookstore or comic shop and find one (and buy it). It's an amazing collection of art. I was lucky enough to be a judge for Spectrum 18, and it was both an amazing experience and quite an education into the kind of work that's being produced. Amazing. Fantastic! (if you find a copy of Spectrum 18, you'll see my photo in the jury section, wearing my Carrie Donovanest glasses.)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="409" caption="It's this one!"]
[/caption]
Anyway, they know their stuff, and they've been focused on this art for a long time. A year or so after our SDCC conversation, they asked if I would be interested in being involved in making this theoretical show happen, and I said yes. Of course.
We had to put together a show from scratch - getting the word out to potential exhibitors, figuring out the floor plan, scheduling programming, everything...not to mention the logistics of finding a venue, figuring out all of the little details (insurance! security! how money works!) that add up to a show. We thought it would be hard, and we were totally right! It was super hard! We had weekly meetings for more than a year leading up to the inaugural event, which was May 18-20, 2012, in the Grand Ballroom of Bartle Hall in Kansas City.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="408" caption="The scene of the convention...pre, you know, *convention*."]
[/caption]
We also put together a number of events around the show. We had a special screening of "Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffery Catherine Jones," by Maria Paz Cabardo. It was inspiring and bittersweet and just remarkable. If you ever have a chance to see this film, do it. We also had a late-night live drawing session at the top of one of the convention hotels, which drew a great crowd, and I missed because 1. I don't draw 2. I was soooo tired.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="376" caption="This was obviously staged, but I WAS very tired."]
[/caption]
I did, however, make it to the first ever Spectrum Awards.
Each volume of the Spectrum book includes category winners, and the winners have always been announced in a press release. Because we had a physical event, we decided that it would be a great opportunity to finally have an awards show to celebrate the winners of these categories. We booked the Midland Theater, planned even MORE stuff (Quixotic performed! My favorite thing about this was that when they were announced, the crowd was kind of "I have no idea who this is because I am not from the KC area, but okay, polite applause," and when they finished, the applause was deafening. Way to go, Quixotic. Way to be awesome!) and all these amazing artists, art directors and other people involved in art community managed to tear themselves away from KC's famous BBQ to give speeches, accept awards, and have a great time.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Phaedroid also performed. Amazing."]
[/caption]
So we did this amazing show, we had over 250 exhibitors from all around the world, art directors from every discipline (comic books, video games, board games, movie studios, AND MORE!) and people like me! Fans. Well, I was technically the "special guest wrangler" which sounds a little weird, but I got to have walkie-talkie conversations that went like this "Does anybody have eyes on Mignola?" "Yes, I see him...3 o'clock...where's his panel?" etc. Best guest-wrangling experience was being told that the Shifletts hadn't showed up for their panel yet, and finding Jarrod watching Iain McCaig's presentation. Artists are fans of each other! It's so obvious, yet also so wonderful to see in action.
Looking over that "from every discipline" bit reminds me of an article that ran in my college newspaper back in the day. I lived in the scholarship halls at KU, which was kind of like the Greek system, without the money and the social skills. And nerdier. The newspaper would sometimes run profiles of rooms, and they ran one of a room in Battenfeld, which was the schol hall next to mine (Watkins!). The money quote was one of these young men saying "We have over 200 pounds of books, and we have everything from science fiction to fantasy."
(200 pounds of books is not that much, dudes. come on.)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="324" caption="Imagine that I'm also holding "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" and "The Complete Far Side" and that's 200 pounds of me, cats and comics. Not that impressive."]
[/caption]
This is so rambly...I'm so sorry. I'm just trying really hard to not let it turn into marketing text. It's like finding religion, or drugs, or being on fire, or having an experience that you want to share with everyone but you just know you won't be able to explain it sufficiently. I want, so badly, to convey how important, wonderful, energizing, amazing this show was, and I know that nothing I can type here is going to make you feel the way I felt at the show.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Just like how nothing I post can make you understand just how fuzzy James' belly really is. Language has failed me even more thoroughly than T9 predictive texting when it was pretty sure I spent all my time playing "videohands.""]
[/caption]
Sunday night, everybody hung out in one of the hotel bars to drink and talk and decompress. This was the first SFAL ever, and no one had known what to expect. I went around and asked for feedback, and I honestly expected a mix of good and bad. What I heard was overwhelmingly positive (and some constructive criticism which I did write down and we took to heart for 2013). I had been really tired, and I thought about just going home, but all I could think was that this was happening in MY CITY. And I helped make it happen. And there was no way I was going to miss out on the last night with all of these amazing people.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Paul Tobin! If I remember correctly, we were talking about Frank Lloyd Wright, and I was probably talking about how he never made livable spaces and was a huge jerk in his personal life. Because those are the kinds of conversations I insist on having with talented artists from around the world."]
[/caption]
I was overwhelmed by how amazing the show was, and how uplifted I felt during and after the event. I was seriously dazed for a month after, because I couldn't believe it had really happened, and it had gone so well. I'm not exaggerating when I say that, for me, it was a life-changing experience.
I'm one of the organizers for Spectrum Live because sometimes, the only way to go to the kind of show you want to attend is to build it yourself.
We have a Facebook page.
And a website where you can buy tickets to the show and book hotel rooms if you're coming from out of town.
The show this year is May 17-19.
I really can't wait.
[/caption]So aside from my day job, which is basically the coolest job I can think of (yet describe in the most boring way possible, and will not talk about in this space, probably), I have been working on Spectrum Fantastic Art Live for the last few years.
What is it? It's an art show with a focus on fantasy and science fiction. It includes concept art, three-dimensional art, oil paintings, sketches, digital art, bronzes, dolls...it's a long list. If it can be imagined, it's probably represented.
Basically it's a spotlight on art and artists, and a way to bring these artists and their art to the public. If you're a nerd like me, you'll love it. Trust me.
It all started at a Dead Dog Party at San Diego Comic Con in, oh, probably 2009 or 2010. I was talking to Arnie and Cathy Fenner, and they floated the idea of a convention centered specifically around artists. If you've been to SDCC in the last ten years, you know that there are MANY areas of focus, and some (Hollywood, video games, television shows) are taking over more and more attention and floor space. The Fenners thought that an art-focused show would be great for fans and artists alike, and I thought it was a great idea.
If you aren't familiar with the Fenners, they publish an art annual called "Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art," and they have been doing this for the last 20 years. 2013 is the 20th anniversary of the book, and it's an amazing publication. If you've never seen one, go to a bookstore or comic shop and find one (and buy it). It's an amazing collection of art. I was lucky enough to be a judge for Spectrum 18, and it was both an amazing experience and quite an education into the kind of work that's being produced. Amazing. Fantastic! (if you find a copy of Spectrum 18, you'll see my photo in the jury section, wearing my Carrie Donovanest glasses.)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="409" caption="It's this one!"]
[/caption]Anyway, they know their stuff, and they've been focused on this art for a long time. A year or so after our SDCC conversation, they asked if I would be interested in being involved in making this theoretical show happen, and I said yes. Of course.
We had to put together a show from scratch - getting the word out to potential exhibitors, figuring out the floor plan, scheduling programming, everything...not to mention the logistics of finding a venue, figuring out all of the little details (insurance! security! how money works!) that add up to a show. We thought it would be hard, and we were totally right! It was super hard! We had weekly meetings for more than a year leading up to the inaugural event, which was May 18-20, 2012, in the Grand Ballroom of Bartle Hall in Kansas City.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="408" caption="The scene of the convention...pre, you know, *convention*."]
[/caption]We also put together a number of events around the show. We had a special screening of "Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffery Catherine Jones," by Maria Paz Cabardo. It was inspiring and bittersweet and just remarkable. If you ever have a chance to see this film, do it. We also had a late-night live drawing session at the top of one of the convention hotels, which drew a great crowd, and I missed because 1. I don't draw 2. I was soooo tired.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="376" caption="This was obviously staged, but I WAS very tired."]
[/caption]I did, however, make it to the first ever Spectrum Awards.
Each volume of the Spectrum book includes category winners, and the winners have always been announced in a press release. Because we had a physical event, we decided that it would be a great opportunity to finally have an awards show to celebrate the winners of these categories. We booked the Midland Theater, planned even MORE stuff (Quixotic performed! My favorite thing about this was that when they were announced, the crowd was kind of "I have no idea who this is because I am not from the KC area, but okay, polite applause," and when they finished, the applause was deafening. Way to go, Quixotic. Way to be awesome!) and all these amazing artists, art directors and other people involved in art community managed to tear themselves away from KC's famous BBQ to give speeches, accept awards, and have a great time.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Phaedroid also performed. Amazing."]
[/caption]So we did this amazing show, we had over 250 exhibitors from all around the world, art directors from every discipline (comic books, video games, board games, movie studios, AND MORE!) and people like me! Fans. Well, I was technically the "special guest wrangler" which sounds a little weird, but I got to have walkie-talkie conversations that went like this "Does anybody have eyes on Mignola?" "Yes, I see him...3 o'clock...where's his panel?" etc. Best guest-wrangling experience was being told that the Shifletts hadn't showed up for their panel yet, and finding Jarrod watching Iain McCaig's presentation. Artists are fans of each other! It's so obvious, yet also so wonderful to see in action.
Looking over that "from every discipline" bit reminds me of an article that ran in my college newspaper back in the day. I lived in the scholarship halls at KU, which was kind of like the Greek system, without the money and the social skills. And nerdier. The newspaper would sometimes run profiles of rooms, and they ran one of a room in Battenfeld, which was the schol hall next to mine (Watkins!). The money quote was one of these young men saying "We have over 200 pounds of books, and we have everything from science fiction to fantasy."
(200 pounds of books is not that much, dudes. come on.)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="324" caption="Imagine that I'm also holding "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" and "The Complete Far Side" and that's 200 pounds of me, cats and comics. Not that impressive."]
[/caption]This is so rambly...I'm so sorry. I'm just trying really hard to not let it turn into marketing text. It's like finding religion, or drugs, or being on fire, or having an experience that you want to share with everyone but you just know you won't be able to explain it sufficiently. I want, so badly, to convey how important, wonderful, energizing, amazing this show was, and I know that nothing I can type here is going to make you feel the way I felt at the show.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Just like how nothing I post can make you understand just how fuzzy James' belly really is. Language has failed me even more thoroughly than T9 predictive texting when it was pretty sure I spent all my time playing "videohands.""]
[/caption]Sunday night, everybody hung out in one of the hotel bars to drink and talk and decompress. This was the first SFAL ever, and no one had known what to expect. I went around and asked for feedback, and I honestly expected a mix of good and bad. What I heard was overwhelmingly positive (and some constructive criticism which I did write down and we took to heart for 2013). I had been really tired, and I thought about just going home, but all I could think was that this was happening in MY CITY. And I helped make it happen. And there was no way I was going to miss out on the last night with all of these amazing people.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Paul Tobin! If I remember correctly, we were talking about Frank Lloyd Wright, and I was probably talking about how he never made livable spaces and was a huge jerk in his personal life. Because those are the kinds of conversations I insist on having with talented artists from around the world."]
[/caption]I was overwhelmed by how amazing the show was, and how uplifted I felt during and after the event. I was seriously dazed for a month after, because I couldn't believe it had really happened, and it had gone so well. I'm not exaggerating when I say that, for me, it was a life-changing experience.
I'm one of the organizers for Spectrum Live because sometimes, the only way to go to the kind of show you want to attend is to build it yourself.
We have a Facebook page.
And a website where you can buy tickets to the show and book hotel rooms if you're coming from out of town.
The show this year is May 17-19.
I really can't wait.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Kind of about handbags, kind of about the difficulties inherent in replacing things that are perfectly functional when you are a terrible cheapskate
I like handbags. This is becoming a blog about things I like! I do like handbags, but I don't tend to buy handbags. I look at handbags, I think seriously about purchasing handbags (when they are sufficiently on sale) and I admire the handbags of stylish people. When asked what I did in a given day, often, "I looked at a handbag and then didn't buy it" is part of my answer. ("long story about my cats" and "made juice and/or chili" are also popular answers)
The problem ("problem") is that I like very expensive handbags, but I can't ever justify paying a great deal of money for a bag. Even when a nice bag is on sale, it's still ridiculously expensive. Compare this to, say, socks. I can understand why you'd want nice socks. Socks are very, very useful. You need multiples of them! They come in handy for hiking and really anything you'd want to do outside that involves feet. When they go on sale, they can be very reasonable. I could get a whole new sock-robe (ward-sock?) for far less than the cost of one nice, on-sale bag.
Of the bags I like, I'm most conflicted about Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. line. They veer from "that is the best bag I have ever seen" to "that is the worst bag I have ever seen." Sometimes I need a second opinion to make sure I'm not accidentally filing one of the latter items into the former category because I have been blinded by the label. Just because Gwen Stefani can pull it off, doesn't mean that I should make the attempt.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Oh sorry, were you talking about handbags and materialism? I was reading this informative pamphlet about Harvesters and thinking about charitable giving."]
[/caption]
I think the post I originally intended to write was really just about how I'm weirdly fascinated by handbags while simultaneously mentally unable to justify purchasing them. But another blog I wanted to write was about how it's really hard to justify purchasing nicer versions of things I already have. When you set up a household initially, you get things that are functional and you think "I will replace these later when I have the money to get what I really want." Easier said than done, younger self! This is very difficult for me to do. I am pretty sure that I will eat off of the stoneware my mom got me from a church sale in 2003 for the rest of my life. I will look at new, elegant china sets, and I will think "but I have a perfectly functional stoneware set at home which is both microwave and oven safe!" Similarly, "I would like to get a nice new down comforter for the nautical room, but instead, I'll just put four blankets on this bed!" Works great!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Donald doesn't mind that there are a bunch of blankets under here!"]
[/caption]
The problem ("problem") is that I like very expensive handbags, but I can't ever justify paying a great deal of money for a bag. Even when a nice bag is on sale, it's still ridiculously expensive. Compare this to, say, socks. I can understand why you'd want nice socks. Socks are very, very useful. You need multiples of them! They come in handy for hiking and really anything you'd want to do outside that involves feet. When they go on sale, they can be very reasonable. I could get a whole new sock-robe (ward-sock?) for far less than the cost of one nice, on-sale bag.
Of the bags I like, I'm most conflicted about Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. line. They veer from "that is the best bag I have ever seen" to "that is the worst bag I have ever seen." Sometimes I need a second opinion to make sure I'm not accidentally filing one of the latter items into the former category because I have been blinded by the label. Just because Gwen Stefani can pull it off, doesn't mean that I should make the attempt.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Oh sorry, were you talking about handbags and materialism? I was reading this informative pamphlet about Harvesters and thinking about charitable giving."]
[/caption]I think the post I originally intended to write was really just about how I'm weirdly fascinated by handbags while simultaneously mentally unable to justify purchasing them. But another blog I wanted to write was about how it's really hard to justify purchasing nicer versions of things I already have. When you set up a household initially, you get things that are functional and you think "I will replace these later when I have the money to get what I really want." Easier said than done, younger self! This is very difficult for me to do. I am pretty sure that I will eat off of the stoneware my mom got me from a church sale in 2003 for the rest of my life. I will look at new, elegant china sets, and I will think "but I have a perfectly functional stoneware set at home which is both microwave and oven safe!" Similarly, "I would like to get a nice new down comforter for the nautical room, but instead, I'll just put four blankets on this bed!" Works great!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="Donald doesn't mind that there are a bunch of blankets under here!"]
[/caption]
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Many paths to happiness
One of the things I wanted when I got a house was to have a dedicated guest room, so that if my friends wanted to visit, it would be easy for them to do so. I just had a friend from New York stay with me for the weekend, and it was awesome. I got to show off my house, Donald and James got to make a new friend, and visitors are always a great excuse to go do things in Kansas City that I might not normally do. Things like driving around at night and pointing out the different awesome buildings and neighborhoods (Kauffman Center, Bartle Hall), going to special occasion restaurants (Port Fonda), seeing the symphony (okay, that's a normal one for me) and going to pop concerts (Lady Gaga!). We'd stay up late watching movies, then I'd wake up in the mornings and make coffee and juice, sit in the breakfast nook, and generally have a nice time.
Sometimes I worry that I'm too excited about showing off my life, if that makes sense. This is where I live, these are the things I do, this is the city that I love...I know that I am very fortunate to be in this position, and there are many factors that play a role in it. One of them is that I'm just happy with things as they are. I like it here. I don't spend a lot of time wishing I was somewhere else, I can't image a job that I'd enjoy more (and I have side projects that I'm just as excited about) and I make an effort to become friends with people who are interesting and uplifting.
I believe that there are many ways to be happy.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="One of James' paths to happiness involves helping make the bed."]
[/caption]
Sometimes I worry that I'm too excited about showing off my life, if that makes sense. This is where I live, these are the things I do, this is the city that I love...I know that I am very fortunate to be in this position, and there are many factors that play a role in it. One of them is that I'm just happy with things as they are. I like it here. I don't spend a lot of time wishing I was somewhere else, I can't image a job that I'd enjoy more (and I have side projects that I'm just as excited about) and I make an effort to become friends with people who are interesting and uplifting.
I believe that there are many ways to be happy.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="One of James' paths to happiness involves helping make the bed."]
[/caption]
Thursday, January 31, 2013
New sheets
I am kind of into bedding. I like high thread counts, nice flannel sheet sets, interesting quilts and blankets, and old army blankets. I also love down comforters.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="He's helping."]
[/caption]
James likes bedding too. He reeeally likes bedding. I can't make a bed in the house without his help (which translates to him attacking the sheets, burrowing under every set of sheets and blankets as they go on the bed, and generally being a terrible nuisance).
Anyway, I've got two nice sets of regular sheets and one set of flannel sheets for both my master bedroom and guest room, and a couple of "Bed in a Bag" (do other people know what I mean by this? The cheap, 200-threadcount sets that include comforters and shams and ruffles and stuff. Generally in soothing, neutral hotel colors.) sets for the futon in the office. I had a Kohl's gift certificate to spend, and nothing I really needed from Kohl's, so I thought I'd check out their flannel sets. Now is, weirdly, the time when those start to go on sale. It is freezing outside. It is bitterly, bitterly cold. Now is the time to hike the price up on flannel sheets, department stores! Stop trying to sell bikinis! What is wrong with you? Anyway, I went to Kohl's and found an amazing sheet set for the futon.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="He's trying to catch the owls."]
[/caption]
My only complaint is that these owls aren't dressed in winter clothes. A lot of flannel sheets feature characters wearing hats or mittens or scarves. Maybe because flannel sheets primarily get used in the wintertime! Anyway, owls wearing scarves would have been better, but these are pretty fantastic. As I was telling my boyfriend earlier this evening, if I were to have friends visit, and they had small children, and those children go to stay in the office, and were also really into owls, they would think I was really cool.
He said that was a lot of hypothetical stuff going on to justify these sheets, but I feel good about it. That imaginary kid and I are going to be great friends.
One of the many nice things about having your own house is that you can do things like purchase pink owl flannel sheets for the office futon and no one can try to stop you. HAHA!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="He's helping."]
[/caption]James likes bedding too. He reeeally likes bedding. I can't make a bed in the house without his help (which translates to him attacking the sheets, burrowing under every set of sheets and blankets as they go on the bed, and generally being a terrible nuisance).
Anyway, I've got two nice sets of regular sheets and one set of flannel sheets for both my master bedroom and guest room, and a couple of "Bed in a Bag" (do other people know what I mean by this? The cheap, 200-threadcount sets that include comforters and shams and ruffles and stuff. Generally in soothing, neutral hotel colors.) sets for the futon in the office. I had a Kohl's gift certificate to spend, and nothing I really needed from Kohl's, so I thought I'd check out their flannel sets. Now is, weirdly, the time when those start to go on sale. It is freezing outside. It is bitterly, bitterly cold. Now is the time to hike the price up on flannel sheets, department stores! Stop trying to sell bikinis! What is wrong with you? Anyway, I went to Kohl's and found an amazing sheet set for the futon.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="He's trying to catch the owls."]
[/caption]My only complaint is that these owls aren't dressed in winter clothes. A lot of flannel sheets feature characters wearing hats or mittens or scarves. Maybe because flannel sheets primarily get used in the wintertime! Anyway, owls wearing scarves would have been better, but these are pretty fantastic. As I was telling my boyfriend earlier this evening, if I were to have friends visit, and they had small children, and those children go to stay in the office, and were also really into owls, they would think I was really cool.
He said that was a lot of hypothetical stuff going on to justify these sheets, but I feel good about it. That imaginary kid and I are going to be great friends.
One of the many nice things about having your own house is that you can do things like purchase pink owl flannel sheets for the office futon and no one can try to stop you. HAHA!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
First Foray into Juicing
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="an array of things, but not a cucumber. there should be a cucumber in there somewhere...whoops."]
[/caption]
I have been sick for the last two days, which for me, means that I have been basically asleep for the last two days. Since I live in a house with very affectionate cats, this has meant very happy cats, and the occasional nightmare where I think I'm dying, but it's just Donald trying to sleep on my chest. he weighs 17 pounds. I am never without company, is what I'm trying to say.
During the three hours that I was awake yesterday, I watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." It was interesting. I hated the animations, and the Australian dude was kind of annoying. However, Phil Staples was awesome, and there were some interesting things mentioned in the movie. Mostly, if you tell me that something might help eliminate migraines, and it's not dangerous or prohibitively expensive, I'm going to try it. I guess my official stance on this movie is "I didn't like most of it but when Phil Staples showed up it all became worthwhile. That dude is awesome."
So I watched this movie, and it was all "juice juice juice, juice is awesome, I will now go into awesome diners and try to make people feel bad about their diets because I am a wealthy mildly obnoxious Australian" and all I wanted when it was over was juice, but all I had in the house was a lot of chili. So I had some chili (I also got some potatoes, so technically, I had an awesome baked potato with chili on it) and I ate a carrot because that was the best I could do under the circumstances.
Now, my mother gave me her old juicer a couple of months ago, and it's just been sitting around. I was glad to get it, and I remember using it when I was little to make carrot juice, which I did not enjoy (no small children enjoy carrot juice, pretty sure) so this seemed like a good opportunity to use an appliance that I hadn't used in ages. I love appliances! But I didn't feel well enough yesterday to go get stuff to make weird hippie juice.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="20-year-old Waring juicer, last used to make carrot juice that I did not like, about 20 years ago."]
[/caption]
Today, I slept forever, then I went to the store and picked up things to make one of the juices featured in this movie. It's called "Mean Green" (adorable!)
Ingredients:
4 stalks celery
1 cucumber
1 ginger root (size of thumb)
1/2 lemon
2 green apples
6 kale leaves
I went to ALDI and Trader Joe's and spent about $10 (but I'll have enough to make a few batches...ok, did the math and this batch, which yielded about 30 oz., cost $2.62). Peeled the cucumber and the apples (ha - I didn't peel the apples! But I should have! I will next time) and cut off the lemon rind. Then I made some juice!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="juice! more juice than expected!"]
[/caption]
It's definitely healthy juice. It's not super sweet juice like I'm used to, but it tastes nice and it's not so healthy-tasting as to be off-putting (do you know what I mean? I drank kambucha once and the only reason I finished it was because it was $5 and it was so awful I *knew* it had to be good for me. Just me? OK.). I got two big glasses of juice out of it, and I was impressed by how well this juicer did. They have all sorts of fancy juicers now (there's a very long article on The Wirecutter about them, which is a fun read if you're into that sort of thing), and I do love gadgets, so I was kind of expecting this to not do a great job. I did try to feed things into the juicer slowly so that it would have a chance to extract the most juice. Juice juice juice juice juice...it doesn't even look like a real word anymore...Clean-up was pretty easy, and overall, it was a neat experience. I will do this again.
Juice!
[/caption]I have been sick for the last two days, which for me, means that I have been basically asleep for the last two days. Since I live in a house with very affectionate cats, this has meant very happy cats, and the occasional nightmare where I think I'm dying, but it's just Donald trying to sleep on my chest. he weighs 17 pounds. I am never without company, is what I'm trying to say.
During the three hours that I was awake yesterday, I watched "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." It was interesting. I hated the animations, and the Australian dude was kind of annoying. However, Phil Staples was awesome, and there were some interesting things mentioned in the movie. Mostly, if you tell me that something might help eliminate migraines, and it's not dangerous or prohibitively expensive, I'm going to try it. I guess my official stance on this movie is "I didn't like most of it but when Phil Staples showed up it all became worthwhile. That dude is awesome."
So I watched this movie, and it was all "juice juice juice, juice is awesome, I will now go into awesome diners and try to make people feel bad about their diets because I am a wealthy mildly obnoxious Australian" and all I wanted when it was over was juice, but all I had in the house was a lot of chili. So I had some chili (I also got some potatoes, so technically, I had an awesome baked potato with chili on it) and I ate a carrot because that was the best I could do under the circumstances.
Now, my mother gave me her old juicer a couple of months ago, and it's just been sitting around. I was glad to get it, and I remember using it when I was little to make carrot juice, which I did not enjoy (no small children enjoy carrot juice, pretty sure) so this seemed like a good opportunity to use an appliance that I hadn't used in ages. I love appliances! But I didn't feel well enough yesterday to go get stuff to make weird hippie juice.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="20-year-old Waring juicer, last used to make carrot juice that I did not like, about 20 years ago."]
[/caption]Today, I slept forever, then I went to the store and picked up things to make one of the juices featured in this movie. It's called "Mean Green" (adorable!)
Ingredients:
4 stalks celery
1 cucumber
1 ginger root (size of thumb)
1/2 lemon
2 green apples
6 kale leaves
I went to ALDI and Trader Joe's and spent about $10 (but I'll have enough to make a few batches...ok, did the math and this batch, which yielded about 30 oz., cost $2.62). Peeled the cucumber and the apples (ha - I didn't peel the apples! But I should have! I will next time) and cut off the lemon rind. Then I made some juice!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="juice! more juice than expected!"]
[/caption]It's definitely healthy juice. It's not super sweet juice like I'm used to, but it tastes nice and it's not so healthy-tasting as to be off-putting (do you know what I mean? I drank kambucha once and the only reason I finished it was because it was $5 and it was so awful I *knew* it had to be good for me. Just me? OK.). I got two big glasses of juice out of it, and I was impressed by how well this juicer did. They have all sorts of fancy juicers now (there's a very long article on The Wirecutter about them, which is a fun read if you're into that sort of thing), and I do love gadgets, so I was kind of expecting this to not do a great job. I did try to feed things into the juicer slowly so that it would have a chance to extract the most juice. Juice juice juice juice juice...it doesn't even look like a real word anymore...Clean-up was pretty easy, and overall, it was a neat experience. I will do this again.
Juice!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Magazines I Read
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="160" caption="Vanity Fair, Bicycling, Everyday Food, Cat Fancy."]
[/caption]
I enjoy reading magazines. Physical magazines. Not as much when they have perfume or cologne inserts, but that's getting harder and harder to avoid. Three of these magazines don't have them! Stay unscented, everyone but "Vanity Fair."
I originally got "Cat Fancy" as a joke gift for an ex-boyfriend, but I find the articles to mostly be interesting and informative. There is an advice column "written" by Garfield. Seriously. It's also worth it for the bizarre ads - things like embroidered fleece jackets that are outrageously expensive, and feature appliques of kittens playing with string. Again, seriously.
"Everyday Food" is a mystery. It just shows up at my house. It's someone else's subscription, but I've been getting it for about a year. It seems like it would be really helpful, if I cooked with recipes. It all seems very straightforward and manageable. I read it cover to cover, and if it ever stops appearing, I may have to subscribe for real.
"Bicycling" is a new addition, because I have only recently start to ride bikes! I got a Raleigh Eva 8.0 mountain bike and a Capri 3.0 road bike in 2012, as well as a very old M60 that I use to ride around town (to the store, mostly). It's really interesting, with a blend of gear reviews and health articles that I find very appealing. It's speaking to a user above both my tax bracket ("best bikes under $3000!"*) and my skill set ("best century rides in the southern hemisphere!"*) but it's a slick magazine with some talented writers.
"Vanity Fair" has a lot more nudity than I would have expected, in that it has any nudity at all. For example, Kate Moss is VERY naked in this issue. Why? Is this really necessary? Who is this magazine for? This is a question I ask myself frequently as I flip through the hundreds of pages of this magazine. A friend of mine gives it to me every month, and I still have no idea who the ideal reader is, nor why they need so many perfume inserts. Booo, perfume inserts. Boooo.
*not real articles, but they COULD be.
[/caption]I enjoy reading magazines. Physical magazines. Not as much when they have perfume or cologne inserts, but that's getting harder and harder to avoid. Three of these magazines don't have them! Stay unscented, everyone but "Vanity Fair."
I originally got "Cat Fancy" as a joke gift for an ex-boyfriend, but I find the articles to mostly be interesting and informative. There is an advice column "written" by Garfield. Seriously. It's also worth it for the bizarre ads - things like embroidered fleece jackets that are outrageously expensive, and feature appliques of kittens playing with string. Again, seriously.
"Everyday Food" is a mystery. It just shows up at my house. It's someone else's subscription, but I've been getting it for about a year. It seems like it would be really helpful, if I cooked with recipes. It all seems very straightforward and manageable. I read it cover to cover, and if it ever stops appearing, I may have to subscribe for real.
"Bicycling" is a new addition, because I have only recently start to ride bikes! I got a Raleigh Eva 8.0 mountain bike and a Capri 3.0 road bike in 2012, as well as a very old M60 that I use to ride around town (to the store, mostly). It's really interesting, with a blend of gear reviews and health articles that I find very appealing. It's speaking to a user above both my tax bracket ("best bikes under $3000!"*) and my skill set ("best century rides in the southern hemisphere!"*) but it's a slick magazine with some talented writers.
"Vanity Fair" has a lot more nudity than I would have expected, in that it has any nudity at all. For example, Kate Moss is VERY naked in this issue. Why? Is this really necessary? Who is this magazine for? This is a question I ask myself frequently as I flip through the hundreds of pages of this magazine. A friend of mine gives it to me every month, and I still have no idea who the ideal reader is, nor why they need so many perfume inserts. Booo, perfume inserts. Boooo.
*not real articles, but they COULD be.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Things that improve a cold night
[caption id="attachment_45" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chrysanthemum tea."]
[/caption]
Tea/cider/hot chocolate/beverage of choice.
Soup.
Space heater.
Oversized blanket.
Cats.
Turning the thermostat up past 60 F.*
"Jacques and Julia: Cooking at Home" on PBS.
Good books.
Milk and cookies.
Holiday music.
Festive candles.
*I WILL NEVER DO THIS.
[/caption]Tea/cider/hot chocolate/beverage of choice.
Soup.
Space heater.
Oversized blanket.
Cats.
Turning the thermostat up past 60 F.*
"Jacques and Julia: Cooking at Home" on PBS.
Good books.
Milk and cookies.
Holiday music.
Festive candles.
*I WILL NEVER DO THIS.
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