rainy day girl and guy

talkin' 'bout a resolution

2012-01-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

Last year in my resolutions post I featured a photo by Anne Marie Musselman, a Portland photographer whose series on the Sarvey Wildlife Rehab Center I really love. This year I decided to do that again.

In spite of the cold and general bleakness, January is one of my favorite months of the year. It seems set apart from the other eleven somehow, a month of new beginnings and hopeful futures. Eileen Joy, a scholar I quite admire, described it here as heralding

[if even as a mirage] new beginnings and re-tooled ambitions and second [and third and fourth and so on] chances as well as a chance to pause and rest and refresh.

I love it (the quote and the month). I know many, many people find New Year's resolutions an exercise in futility, and while I understand that, I love them anyway. Longtime readers (defined here as people who have loyally stuck with me in spite of my apparent inability to consistently post), however, will know that the only thing I love more than making resolutions is sharing them. Hence the ill-fated week of living resolutely, which went well until I crashed on my sister-in-law's bike. Hence also last year's New Year's Resolutions, and the following, my resolutions for 2012 (many of which will be familiar):

1. Exercise three times a week. I actually did rather well on this resolution this past year, and especially during Fall term. Last year I became much smarter about how I set up my schedule, and I was able to go to yoga class at least twice a week (more than that, I've discovered, and I'm just too darn sore). Over the summer I also "ran" several times a week for nine weeks. This year I'd like to keep up that progress, and possibly even find a way to transport my things to campus so I can continue running.
2. Drink enough water (64 oz. daily). Always and forever.
3. Continue to improve the way we eat. Last year I became a vegetarian, which has been wonderful. But it's also been challenging, and it's often hard to think of ways to give myself (and more importantly, my meat-loving spouse) enough of the right kind of food. A few sub-resolutions will hopefully help me break this down:
a). Eat less sugar. This has the pornography definition: I know it's too much when I see/eat it.
b). Eat three food groups at breakfast (courtesy of this great article at Runner's World, which I read even though I totally don't qualify as a runner). I don't often get to eat a full breakfast, but when I do, this will be my guide.
c). Fill half the plate with produce (courtesy of the same article. Also, really difficult, even for a veggie eater like me).
4. Write daily. Like many of these resolutions, this will probably be on my to-do list until the end of time. This year, my goals are: 1) To write short weekly responses to the things I'm reading for class; 2) To write 10-15 posts for this blog a month. I really love this blog and love knowing that people are out there reading it. I've been a bad online host, and I want to work on that; and 3) To blog at my cherry amour once a week, and to try to make my posts as cool as Kathayoon's.
5. Find a summer job I won't hate. I failed epically at this last year. This year, I am determined.
6. Be more generous to people (mostly Ross).
7. Make time for adventures. Of all types.
8. Relearn French. I've got to say, in terms of enthusiasm, this resolution tops the list. I've been thinking about trying to re-teach myself for a while now (Ross' continued facility with Polish is inspirational). Armed with a bunch of books and tapes from the library, I'm finally ready to give it a go.
9. Carry less stuff. I mean this literally, in terms of the sheer amount of heavy s**t I carry back and forth to school every week, but I mean it figuratively, too. I've been trying for years to shed a lot of negative emotions and anxiety, and for the most part, my efforts (bolstered by the incredible amount of support I've received from, oh, everybody) have paid off in slow and steady progress. I want to keep that up. Earlier this month, I hit a milestone in regards to a persistent and irritating problem I've been facing for a while now (sorry to be vague, but there it is). So I'm already making progress on this one.
10. Keep up with old friends. You are the hummus to my carrot sticks, the frosting to my graham cracker, the nap in my long day. Happy New Year.

2011 in review

2012-01-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! Every year, I try (oh boy, is that ever a key word) to post a year in review. By try, I mean that I created such a post for 2009 and began, but never finished, another such post for 2010. Ah, well. But here it is, 2012, a new beginning, and here, for your reading pleasure, is 2011 in review.

January began, not very auspiciously, with some winter blues and sleepiness.

We also saw (and loved) The King's Speech, Creature had a seriously unfortunate poop explosion, and this incredibly charming thing happened.

In February, Miss Kathayoon Khalil and I started a design blog (still going strong!), Creature helped us celebrate Valentine's Day, and Mr. Chris came to town!! (Please excuse the poor quality of this photo. It was dark).

In February, I also officially became a vegetarian. It's been good.

In March, I presented at my first ever conference, Ross was in the midst of reading the Harry Potter series in Polish, I wrote some acknowledgements, and we had some more friends come to town:

We also celebrated Earth Hour by playing candlelit boardgames, which was lovely.

In April we went to the cherry festival, I wrote (a lot) and I traveled to Salt Lake City for a conference and to see my family.

We also broke ground on a garden we made with some dear friends.

In May, we had an amazing day with yard sales and good stuff, I didn't blog (at all), I started my wretched job, and best of all, we went to Charleston and Savannah!

There were also ducks in May.

In June I missed the zoo, and hated my job (although Creature liked the materials end of it):

Also in June, Ross' brother and family moved away. June sucked.

July was awesome, though! In July we went camping near Harper's Ferry and got our Civil War reenactment on.

My birthday was (and remains) in July, and Ross took me here for an amazingly delicious dinner and then surprised me with tickets to Harry Potter. Which was awesome.

August was busy! We drove to Chicago to visit Ross' grandparents and got to see the city from Joe's boat. (Can you find Ross-first picture-and the two of us?)

For Ross' birthday I staged a scavenger hunt, and Ross' ~~obsession with plants~~ hobby began to really take off.

Oh, also, there was a hurricane which wasn't, really. Not for us, anyway.

I didn't blog at all in September or October because I am the worst. Also, because I was trying to be super student. But we still did stuff!

In September we went to the National Arboretum...

and I went to the National Book Festival...

In October, we spent our second anniversary in New York.

Also in October, Ross gave me the best present I've ever been given. I'll try to blog about it soon (it will require me to come to a better place with our scanner).

Also also in October, we celebrated Halloween with our new friends, Katie and Evan. I went as a fox...

Ross went as three hole punch Jim. I didn't get a picture of Ross, but this is kind of what he looked like:

In November I went to a really boring conference (but at least it was in Miami)...

we hung out in DC...

and we drove Shenandoah with our friend Chris. Can we talk about Shenandoah for a second, by the way? People here LOVE it and think it's the most amazing thing ever, but the three of us--spoiled Northwesterners all--were somewhat unimpressed. Anyway, here are some pictures:

In December I wrote like a madwoman for a while, and then we left for Portland, where we visited beloved people...

(Next two photos by the fabulous Nicole Dewey)

and places...

It was the best.

Since we've been home (January bonus!!!), we've been doing a whole lot of blissful, wonderful nothing. Lots of movies, lots of books, and lots and lots of food. Last weekend the weather was incredible, so we went rollerblading at a park near the University of Maryland. It was, as the kids say, "rad."

Happy New Year!

happy happy birthday, sister dear!

2011-11-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

Dearly beloved sister-o'-mine,

Happy birthday, my love! I can't believe it's already time for another "Cassidy's Birthday" blog (the only thing I consistently post, alas - see the last two here and here). I'm a little appalled at how long it's been since we've talked, and I'm looking forward to calling you today.

Like so many of our pictures, you look fabulous and I look smooshed.

For the rest of you, here are a few facts about my sister. Fact 1: She's smokin' hot.

Just hanging out, looking great. It's how she rolls.

Fact 2: She is a wonderful sister.

Believe it or not, the people in the above picture are actually related.

Fact 3: Like the most badass woman in the world (our grandmother, pictured below), my sister is also wicked smaht, talented, spiritual, and exceptionally fashionable.

Fact.

Fact 4: I love her tons.

Happy birthday, my dear! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you, but I know you'll have a good time.

Love always,

Ay-ee*

*When we were little Cassidy couldn't say my name. It was delightful. She has remained delightful ever since.

hey irene

2011-08-27T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hi all.

I'm going to be super quick here, because I'm simultaneously making a pea, rosemary, and parmesan omelet* before the power goes out (which I'm expecting it will, although who knows?). That's right, Irene. You can take our power, but not our taste. So far it mostly feels like a typical thunderstorm outside, although it's also oddly different in a hard-to-define way. It's the duration, I think, and also the massive size of the thing. It's been blustery and rainy and oh-so-very-dark all day long. Thunderstorms are quick. I taught today and had a very unnerving drive home, but now I'm home and safe and looking forward to a delicious dinner and a cozy evening watching the storm. As long as the power/internet hold out I'll continue to update you if anything interesting happens. In the meantime, be safe, be dry, and think happy thoughts for all the people who will be seriously affected by this craziness.

*Note: Becoming a vegetarian has done wonders for my cooking/willingness to experiment. Update coming soon.

8:24pm Update: Beginning to feel/hear some pretty gusty wind. We still have power and internet and can't see out much (just because it's light in our apartment... and dark outside). Doesn't feel like anything unusual yet. Just a really, really long thunderstorm.

Monday Update: Turns out that Hurricane Irene was a nonevent for Ross and me. We heard lots of loud, house-creaking wind, and it did a number on the river trail behind our apartment, but we never even so much as lost power. In fact, my Sunday classes and church were both canceled, so we spent all of Sunday lounging around, reading, going for walks, and eating. LOTS of eating. It was kind of awesome, actually. Basically, Hurricane Irene gave me my one and only day of summer vacation. Also, the day-after weather was fantastic. It's a dilemma: on the one hand, I got a much-needed day off to spend with the spouse. On the other hand, other people got flooding and property damage. Boo.

sto lat, sto lat, niech zyje zyje nam

2011-08-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Ross,

Please enjoy this online birthday card. Please also enjoy the scavenger hunt (!!!) I have created for you and upon which you will now officially embark. Some rules:

You must go in the order dictated by the clues. This is true even if you see something out of place or suspicious, eagle eyes.
Because we live in a tiny studio, hiding things has been challenging. Not that there are any things, but... you know. Anyway, because of that you are not allowed to poke around in our house anywhere. At all. If you need a pencil, it needs to go through me.
You are allowed one (and only one!) phone-a-friend if a clue is too hard. That friend is me. You don't actually have to phone.
Almost every clue leads directly to the next clue. Occasionally you may run into a dead end. Do not despair! Help is on the way.
Actually, that's pretty much all the rules. If I think of any more I'll let you know.

Now that that's out of the way, I also wanted to wish you a happy, happy birthday. I've been thinking a lot about you and about us lately, and I wanted to know how very much I love and appreciate you and all that you do. Thanks for letting me live my professorial dreams, thanks for moving across the country with me, and thanks for all the adventures and support and love. You're the best. Life's been more fun since I met you.

As proof, here are some nostalgic photos of us from when I was living in California:

I love you very much, Rosco. Niech zyje zyje nam.

Kocham cie,

Haylie

P.S. There is one important question you need to try and answer during the Scavenger Hunt: Where is Chonchito?!?

john brown's body is a-moulderin' in the grave

2011-07-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ross and I both had the weekend of the fourth off (the only weekend I'll have off all summer, I'm afraid, thanks to my ~~stupid~~ demanding job), and so we decided to go camping. We were able to get reservations at the Treehouse Camp, which is about an hour away from us, right near the West Virginia border (and no, there aren't really tree houses. They're more like cabins on stilts). On the way, though, we stopped at lovely, historic Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, where we found these signs posted on nearly every door:

Harper's Ferry is a remarkably well-preserved town, made famous during the Civil War by John Brown's raid on an armory building. This building, to be more specific:

In case you've forgotten your Civil War history (and since most of my readers are from the West Coast, I'm betting you have), John Brown was an avid abolitionist. His raid, in the course of which he and eighteen other men held the building for several days, was intended to spark a slave uprising. He was caught and hanged, and is still a super controversial figure, which was obvious in the town. Although we saw a lot of plaques and thing honoring him, there was also this carved gem:

I was going to write out the whole inscription, but I'm too lazy. Instead you should click on it and read it. It's a masterpiece of double-talk and innuendo. Good stuff.

This being the Fourth of July weekend as well as the Civil War's Sesquicentennial (didn't know that? Me, neither), there were a lot of Civil War reenactors in town, which made my nerdy little heart almost explode with happiness.

Our favorite of the day's festivities, surprisingly, was the gun talk and demonstration. During the Civil War, apparently, Harper's Ferry was a huge gun manufacturer, and we got to learn about all the different types of guns they produced. Ross and I were fascinated, and I say this with no trace of irony. I never thought I'd find guns at all interesting, but it turns out that guns plus historical locations plus costumes equal an interested me. Learning!

Guns are loud, by the way. Also, after being fired a bunch of times they get freakin' hot. I know this 'cause I picked one up. What?! I know. It was a first.

From Harper's Ferry we drove a few miles to our campground, which was crawling with these incredibly creepy dudes. I'm not usually very scared of spiders, but these guys were intense.

Saturday night there was a huge thunderstorm. Luckily we were already in our tent (which dealt with the rain like a champ), but it kept us awake for a long time.

Sunday afternoon we rented kayaks from this shop in Shepherdstown, WV, which is officially the most charming town I have ever seen.

Here are some things Shepherdstown has to offer on its historic, tiny Main Street: a tiny university, a juice bar, a yoga studio, a store devoted to "Natural Running" (which means as close to barefoot as possible), the aforementioned kayak and bike rental place, at least one independent coffee shop, several lovely restaurants, an organic food shop, a twice-weekly Farmers Market, and a bakery. It's also right next to the Potomac River and the C & O Canal Trail. Seriously, it's my new favorite place. Although we did have a brief and tantalizing conversation with a resident who said that sure, the town may be cute, but the local businesses had "a dark underbelly." Um, that's awesome.

Anyway, like I said, we rented kayaks and used them to stalk wildlife. We saw a groundhog, a turtle, and a lot of fish, but mostly we just stalked this Great Blue Heron.

Shepherdstown is really great. I think someone should take me there for a romantic weekend away.

Sunday night it rained for a couple hours, during which we sat in the car and read junk food books, which was delightful. After it stopped raining, we made tin foil dinners and banana boats/bombs and went to bed. Thanks, Western Maryland! We liked you.

Up next! Fireworks on the Mall and the most Mormon Mormons I've ever met.

happy 4th of july

2011-07-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

More Confederate soldiers coming tomorrow. It was nerdy. It was patriotic (sort of).

It was awesome. Stay tuned.

creature stuck in things

2011-06-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Creature likes to get stuck in things. Please enjoy this random sampler.

Sometimes Creature gets stuck (like, really stuck) in the corner behind our file cabinet. We always pull her out.

Eventually.

a downer, but with ducks

2011-06-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

Public Service Announcement: This post is probably going to be a big ol' downer. In recognition of that fact, I've decided to include a picture of baby ducks at the end. Choosing to skip the written post to go straight to the smorgasbord of cuteness at the end is a completely valid option.

Today was bleak. Yesterday was kind of bleak, too. Let's get some things out of the way: Ross is fine and our relationship is fine. Our jobs are both fixed firmly in the "okay" category and the finances are surprisingly good. Everything is good, actually, except one tiny huge thing: Zoo Camp began on Monday and I am not there. I realize this may sound childish. After all, we're here in DC, notably away from Zoo Camp and all the other things we love, because of me and my professorial dreams. This is the choice we made, and I get that. I do. And yet.

Here is a sad truth of my life. Up until about three years ago, I was absolutely wretched at making or keeping friends. I'm not entirely sure why this is, although I have a couple of guesses that would be self-indulgent to go into now (look who's worried about being self-indulgent all of a sudden! Don't worry... there are ducks!). The point is simply that I can literally count the number of lasting friends I had amassed before about 2008 on one hand. And then, gradually, everything started to change.

Not all of this had to do with the zoo (meeting Ross, and the wonderful people he knew, like this girl, also made a big difference). But a lot of it did. This probably sounds so corny, but I was really-truly-aw-shucks the happiest I've ever been when I was working at the zoo, especially this last year. Really. And that's because of the zoo itself, sure, and because of the work I did, but mostly it's because of Miss Amanda. And Mr. Chris. And Jessica. And Miss Anna and Miss Lauren and Miss Jo. And Kathayoon and Kendall and Krist. And everybody (and I really mean everybody) else. Because of how much I love these people, and because of the way these people made me feel like I was worth being around. Like I was capable, and important, and lovable, and ooooookay, Miss Haylie. That's enough sharing for now.

But really, Zeta Chi. Really. You were my home for four years and my life is less brightly colored (and certainly less covered in marker) without you.

Behold! The promised pick-me-up ducks. Discovered Memorial Day at the Mall. Nothing says "Get Over It!" like baby ducks. Am I right?

confirmation of here-ness and southern adventure

2011-06-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hey guys.

We're still here, I promise. Between finals and training for my new job, it's been remarkably hard to sit down and blog, which is a bummer because we've been having some adventures and I have lots of cool things to share. Soooo... yeah. We're back.

By the way, props to both Ross' and my moms for finally getting me to do this. Moms. Gotta love them.

So, without any further ado, here's an adventure! About a month ago Ross and I took a road trip South. We started in Charleston, SC, where we mostly admired the architecture:

Psst! Super important note: If you'd like to see these pictures in their full glory, click to make bigger. The end.

Also, while we were in Charleston we decided that our destiny involves big ol' porches.

We were trying to keep our lodging budget small, so we stayed with people we found on airbnb. I was nervous about it, but it was great. Our hosts in Charleston loaned us bikes, and we rode to the beach. This was exceptionally brave of me, by the way, given my bike phobia and overall uselessness with two wheels.

The beach was lovely and warm, by the way. We're not in Oregon anymore. We also went hiking in a bona fide swamp in a state park, where we were ~~bitten~~ ~~demolished~~ blitzkrieged by mosquitos...

...and I got to cross an animal off of my "To See In The Wild" Lifetime List.

Thanks, American Alligator. ~~The coolest thing about this hike~~ (just kidding... obviously, the alligators - plural! - were the coolest thing) A cool thing about this hike was that we didn't see a single other person the entire hour and a half we were out. That was probably because of the mosquitos, and because we're idiot Yankees who don't know to avoid swamps in the summer, but it was still rad to be all by ourselves.

Other notable flora and fauna:

The baby bird was sitting in a tree right on the main path. We saw a lot of other baby birds of the same species, also in conspicuous places. Those mother birds suck. Also, that flower is the most freaking ridiculous thing I've ever seen.

This isn't chronologically relevant, but we also ate a lot of really good food, including deep fried peanuts and coke, which has changed my life forever.

On our way out of Charleston and to Savannah we stopped at the angel oak, which my pictures utterly fail to do justice.

Finally we made it to Savannah, where I fantasized about staging a coup of this building...

... and I read Flannery O'Connor (because I'm a huge nerd and she's from Savannah) and we discovered the best drain pipe in the world.

Clearly, a good time was had by all. Especially the mosquitos.

Seriously. We were unprepared.

how to have the best day ever

2011-04-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Step One: Finish the paper that has been making your life mis-e-ra-ble for almost a week now (and feel pretty good about it, as well). Email the sucker off with nary a look over your shoulder, just in time for...

Step Two: Yoga class! For best results, choose one with a warm and lovely teacher with tight red curly hair. Chaturanga like the BAMF you are. Namaste.

Step Three: What?! Two whole hours before your next class?! That's okay... read outside in the sunshine (86 degrees today!), your only regret being that you wore the jeans instead of the dress.

Step Four: After class (this wasn't your favorite class, and therefore doesn't count as part of the best. Day. Ever) take the Metro to Union Station. Catch the early train!

Step Five: Spend the evening working on the garden you are co-opting with good friends (they have the yard, you have the will). Eat delicious veggie tortilla wraps and homemade mango ice cream. Get home at ten and throw open all the windows, because it's still lovely outside.

Repeat as necessary.

Hope you had a lovely day, too!

writing day

2011-04-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Mission: Write 7 reasonably eloquent pages for Virginia Woolf final essay (due Saturday; aiming for first draft by end of Thursday). Do not give in to any of the following: despair; paranoia; the beautiful day tantalizingly waiting to be enjoyed outside.

6:30am Crawl out of bed to see Ross off. Heat up some eggs (my weirdo weakness). 15 minutes of youtube yoga.

7:00am Breakfast, my very favorite part of home days. Two hardboiled eggs; a glass of water; plain yogurt (a mistake... I thought I bought vanilla) with banana slices and the rest of the frozen berries. Quiet time bliss. Put the chickpeas in water to soak for chana masala tonight.

7:30am Back to bed. I know, I know... but before you judge me too harshly, may I submit to the court that I'm currently taking a new medication which makes me insanely drowsy in the morning, even though I take it at night. Not my favorite. Sleep until 9:30.

9:30am Wake up. Open all the windows and move plants into sunny spots. Think about what a beautiful day it is and how I'm stuck inside writing all day. Stop thinking about that. Shower.

10:00am Open this new blog post. Type previous. Open blank word document. Stare at it. Fight rising panic. Type header and "TITLE" for title. Feel pleased with self for filling even a small part of a page. Cut apples and cheese for snack.

10:30am Freak out because it's 10:30 already with nary a word. Close blog window to focus. Actually get some writing done (a whole half-page)!

11:30am Open up the internet again to look up an essay. Get distracted by thinking about dinner tonight. Stress about how few Indian spices I have; stress about whether or not Ross will like it. Read comments on recipe site. Realize how distracted I've become and reel it back in. Write a little more: almost a full paragraph/page. I am a writing God.

12:00pm Lunch time! I'm a big believer in two conflicting things: forcing oneself to sit at the computer for hours, and scheduling breaks. I think my subconscious needs time to sort through the things I was thinking about when I was chained to the desk. I also think this process happens best when it's combined with food and old episodes of Parks and Recreation. Lunch: Half of the biggest grapefruit ever; two pieces of toast; three chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. Cleaned up the kitchen so I don't have to worry about doing it when Ross comes home, thus freeing me to... just... write. Hmm. Maybe I should spill something.

1:00pm Lunch over. Back to it. Le sigh.

3:00pm Or not! Turns out it was supposed to be really hot today, ergo I should have left the windows closed, ergo I became really hot and dehydrated and fell asleep post-lunch. Whoops. Ok... NOW we're back to it. Good heavens.

4:30pm Yeah... this essay is going really slowly. I'll let you know when I've finished the wretched thing. Haylie OUT.

Edit: Writing yesterday was an utter disaster. I couldn't get my thoughts to congeal or my attention to settle and this morning I realized I'd have to start over almost from scratch. Bright side? It's going much better today (Thursday). Although my thoughts are still somewhat fuzzy, I have a better idea of where I'm going. I doubt I'll have a draft by day's end like I'd hoped, but I'll be much, much closer to that goal than I was last night. Writing is hard, man.

acknowledgements

2011-03-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

Today I spent some time fantasizing about the acknowledgements page for my future first book. Here are some possibilities.

To my husband, Ross: Thanks for making sure that neither the cat nor I starved to death. On an unrelated note, thanks also for making sure the bridges of Maryland don’t fall down.

To the English Departments of Cornell, Brandeis, UMass, NYU, U of Virginia, U of Chicago, Penn State, UConn, Urbana-Champaign: Thank you for your rejection. The English Department at GWU is awesome. You, clearly, are less so. Thanks for helping me dodge a bullet there.

To my friends on Facebook: Thanks for responding to even my most narcissistic, whiny, and/or needy status updates. Put another way, thank you for responding to my status updates.

To Portland: I think I’m speaking for everyone when I say thanks for allowing me to be the girl who talks about how her hometown “is, like, waaaaay better than this place.” Because everybody loves that girl.

To Don, the man I sit next to on the MARC train almost every morning: Thanks for making room for me. I hope the USC basketball team does well.

To my cat, Creature: Thank you for whining, freaking out, attacking my leg, and generally carrying on while I was trying to write this, and all other, books/papers/articles/emails/shopping lists. Although you make me crazy, unbroken stints of focused writing make me more so.

To Scott, another frequenter of the MARC system: Most flamboyant men are delightful. You’re mostly loud and obnoxious. Thanks for crushing stereotypes.

To my third grade rival, Christopher C: Thanks for nothing. I still despise you for building a better model of a California mission than I did. I also despise your sister for narrowly beating me in the school spelling bee. A plague o’er both your houses.

To Kelly Sirles and Chris McDonald: Thanks for being my Portland fellows in this crazy world of English. Chances are extremely poor that more than one of us will be successful and here I am already publishing a book, so, you know. Good luck with that.

Dear Ira Glass: Thanks for everything. I couldn’t have done it without you.

the big red button

2011-03-21T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today I pressed the reset button. It was a minor thing, really... I didn't go to a class. But it felt like a really big deal. I always go to class. I'm just that kid. I can be irresponsible and flaky in some other spheres of my life (I'm big enough to admit that, I think), but I always, always go to class. So choosing not to go this evening was:
a) a big deal (I think that's covered now), and
b) extremely liberating.
It's been a slightly crazy couple of weeks, and it's only going to get more so from here. So tonight I just came home early. Ross and I took a walk, we had a nice dinner, and I've had time to sit down and write this blog post. See? Everybody wins.

update friday

2011-03-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

Hello all. Remember that time in January when I promised that I’d blog more often? I believe 20 posts a week was my delightfully naïve goal. Ah! Something about the plans of mice and men (and graduate students). Please accept my sincerest apologies, and my (mostly sincere) promise to do better. In the meantime, here are some bullet-point updates for your consideration:

CREATURE:

Loves her hexbug
Misses her terrace garden
Is otherwise pretty much the same she always was

ROSS:

Continues to work extremely hard for the State Highway Administration, making sure that the bridges of Maryland don’t fall down. I think we can all agree this is an important service. Thanks, Ross!
Had an interesting project lately in which he was checking the plans for a pedestrian bridge that really would have fallen down if he had cleared it. Which he didn’t
Organized the bookshelf and “the office,” which means the house is pretty much all done. Thanks again, Ross
Is reading the Harry Potter series in Polish
Likes Creature a little. Sometimes
Likes Haylie a lot. Usually

HAYLIE:

Started working a lot more hours at her job with Kid Power DC.
Is taking (and mostly really enjoying) classes on Shakespeare, medieval objects, and Virginia Woolf
Is presenting at her first ever conference (at GW, on a graduate panel) in a week!
Is presenting at her second ever conference (in SLC! On a real grownup panel!) in April
Is flying to Sacramento to visit her dad and family for Spring Break
Got a summer job with the Institute of Reading Development
Started a design and style blog which has been really fun (and fairly popular) with Kathayoon
Officially became a vegetarian a few weeks ago

ROSS AND HAYLIE TOGETHER:

Are hoping to have some adventures this summer
Are planning a co-op garden with some friends (who have a yard and a baby on the way!)
Can't wait for it to get warmer
Are really sad about a certain family moving to Seattle :o(
Miss all of you West Coasters an awful lot

Love,

Haylie et al

happy valentine's day

2011-02-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

Heart attack, by Creature.

Happy Valentine's Day.

leona and george

2011-02-11T05:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day weekend (more Valentine's posts to follow: I'm a sucker for the V-Day).

launch

2011-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

Hello all. This isn't the update I'm sure you were hoping for. I apologize for my lack of blogging recently. New job responsibilities + new classes + trying to squeeze as much spouse time as possible = scanty blogging. I'm working on it.

In other news, though, I have been involved in a new project with this girl:

Her name is Kathayoon, we're zoo buddies, and just for kicks we started a design/style blog for people with I Am A Greedy Girl dreams but graduate school budgets. It's My Cherry Amour, and I modestly think that it's pretty awesome... check it out!

but i still love her

2011-01-25T05:56:00.000-08:00

tuesday morning bummer

2011-01-25T05:52:00.000-08:00

As you may know, given our studio's lack of doors and our cat's penchant for late night festivities, Creature sleeps in the bathroom. Normally this is fine. Not so much this morning. Something happened to poor Creature Cat in the night, and when I stumbled into the bathroom there was poop EVERYWHERE. No, really. All over the floor, all over her, in the sink, on the toilet lid... everywhere. It was a poop explosion. And it gets better. Because while Ross was cleaning it all up, Creature was too scared to go back in to the bathroom, and so she pooped (again) on the carpet under my desk. Poor Kitty. Poor Spouse. Poor floor.

cinderella story (well, kind of)

2011-01-13T08:49:00.001-08:00

This morning as I was running to catch a Metro train a man accidentally stepped on my heel so that I lost my shoe outside the Metro just as the doors were about to close. I swore (not meanly, just impulsively) and bent over. "No, no, no," he insisted as he grabbed my shoe and placed it so I could step into it. The doors closed. "That was almost an unfortunate situation," he said (in a British accent no less!).

This event was exactly as charming as it sounds.

Note: My apologies for not blogging lately. It's the first week of school and I've been busy applying for, interviewing for, and receiving a new job (plus a bonus interview at the Maryland Zoo tomorrow). More updates this weekend... maybe even New York pictures.

it is fill-in-the-blank in our house

2011-01-08T10:17:00.001-08:00

It is sleepy in our house right now. Ross is currently sleeping on the couch (he's sick). Creature is sleeping on the bed (I know... high-larious). I'm doing nothing of great import on the computer in preparation for school. It is scholarly in our house. Later tonight we're hopefully going to happy hour at P.F. Chang's (they have a GREAT happy hour) and then to see The King's Speech, which is about English history, is getting excellent reviews, and stars Colin Firth. Oh, my. Later later tonight we'll probably come home and watch Buffy while I finish knitting my first ever scarf. It is nerdy in our house.

Most of all, it is Saturday in our house. Happy weekend.

UPDATE: So. Good. Soooo good.

addendum

2011-01-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

Festive photo from our New York trip. More photos to come, promise.

I've thought of two other resolutions to add to my list (bringing the total to a pleasing 10):

9. Carry less heavy s*** every day. Actually, I feel like this one simple (and yet oh so difficult!) change could improve my overall well-being more than almost anything else. Remember my backpack? The trouble is, I have to be on campus all day. Ergo, to make sure I'm using time well, I end up carting a veritable library (plus water, lunch, clothes for the gym, and whatever else I need) back and forth every day. Hopefully, however, all this will soon change... hopefully I'll get that most coveted of possessions for the non-officed: a locker. That would be a New Year's miracle.

10. Record our life. I love this blog, and I especially love it when I write a lot. So my goal is 20 posts a month. That's a sufficiently arbitrary number, don't you think? This is obviously for me more than it is for you (although I LOVE that people actually read this thing). I appreciate the way the blog represents our lives... it's not like a journal, where it's all about what we did and when we did it. It's more like a time capsule, and sometimes when I'm reading old posts it takes a second to remember why the hell I wrote such-and-such. Then I remember everything I was thinking that day, and what was going on, and I love that. But the "what we did" factor is nice, too, so along with blogging I want to start keeping an index card journal, like this one here. As an extremely delinquent journaler, I'm totally on board with the idea of keeping a journal every day, but only having to write enough to fit on one line of an index card.

Anyway, I think that's really it. I drank my full 64 oz of water today, which made me feel like a rockstar. Or maybe a superhero (I doubt rockstars are all that hydrated, at least with water). I am AquaGirl.

resolved

2011-01-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

Photo by Anne Marie Musselman, a Portland photographer. Love.

First of all, thanks so much for your wonderful response to yesterday's maudlin midnight post. I was feeling pre-tty glum, but your encouragement cheered me up considerably, as it always does. So today I thought I'd return with a slightly more positive spin on the New Year. Like I said, I love making resolutions. Remember the week of living resolutely last spring (it was sadly truncated by bike accident #1)? Well, then some of these goals will look mighty familiar. We're all works in progress.

RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR (or "New Year's Resolutions"):

1. Drink enough water (64 oz. daily) This has always been and probably will always be on my to-do list, but I continue to get better. Incrementally. Sometimes.

2. Exercise three times a week. My newfound (and totally unexpected) fondness for the gym will hopefully make this doable.

3. Be on time for the important stuff. I tend to be staggeringly early to class and late for just about everything else.

4. Make time for adventures. Part of the reason why Ross and I were excited about moving here was because of the chance to explore new places. Lately, the cold weather has put the kibosh on that plan (warm weather = cheap entertainment; cold weather = expensive). Once it gets warmer I want to resume our hiking/exploring/camping/getting to know DC adventures.

5. Take better notes in my school books. Yes it makes my books messy, and yes, I often blush when I stumble across some forgotten and inane marginalia. But when it's paper time, those scribbled notes (of which I did not make nearly enough last term) are a godsend.

6. Find a summer job that I won't hate. This may be nearly impossible, as nothing could ever, ever compare to the bliss that is the Oregon Zoo, and I'm worried that, in spite of my best intentions, I'll spend the summer thinking of what might have been. But that's why we make resolutions, right? To try to overcome our worst impulses.

7. Make time for hobbies. Ross gave me a knitting book for Christmas, and I've been reteaching myself how to knit (I quasi-learned in college). I'm even halfway through a scarf! This fall I really missed my hobbies. Without NW 23rd, many of our friends, and Portland, Ross and I both kind of forgot to keep up with the things we liked to do. In 2011 I want to make those things a priority (especially for the spouse, who really neglects his interests without prodding)... yoga, cooking, knitting, and maybe even some gardening for me, frisbee and other running-around activities for Ross.

And finally:

8. Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other... well, you know how I feel about you. Happy New Year.

midnight missive

2011-01-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

Hi, friends. I hope you're well, wherever you are... I can't sleep. I apologize for the lack of posts since Christmas. The truth is, I've been feeling somewhat less festive than usual. Most years, the New Year's Eve/Day duo is my favorite holiday. I'm a sucker for the promise of new beginnings that the new years holds, and I'm a passionate resolution writer. This year has been different, though. Christmas was fine... we missed our families quite a lot, but since Ross and I are also our own small family it was all right. But New Year's--the holiday that is perhaps most dedicated to friends--was extremely lonely.

In the beginning of 2010, Ross and I were surrounded by an embarrassment of truly wonderful friends and family. Never in my life have I felt so blessed by the people around me. What's more, we had the world at our feet: we were waiting to hear back from grad school, Ross was satisfied with his job (and I, of course, can't ever fully describe how much I loved mine), and we lived in Shangrila (if Shangrila has no parking, which I suspect it doesn't). 2010 stretched out before us, full of mystery and opportunity and the promise of a good time had by all. 2011 seems a little less sparkly in comparison. A little predetermined. A little lonely. It's not that I'm not looking forward to my classes, to Ross' continued increase in job satisfaction, or to the as-yet-unforeseen surprises of the New Year. I am. It's just... it's just (this was all much more eloquent in my head, before I sat down to write)... it's just that I miss you, I guess. We miss you. Zeta Chi and Annette and Christian and Donilee and Jessi and the aunts and the vast Dewey clan and Tanna and Ben and everyone else in Portland whom we love. My Dad and family in Northern California, Mom and Mark in Silverton, the Southern California contingent, and everyone in Utah. Washougal. Chicago.

I'm not good at saying good-byes. So many people have come and gone (and often painfully) in my life that I tend to steel myself against farewells, not truly feeling them sometimes for days or weeks or months. But eventually, inevitably, the brutal realization of how much I miss you (all of you) penetrates my defenses. And it hurts like hell. So (to try to put a positive spin on this Debbie Downer of a post), my New Year's message to you is this: know that you are missed, know that you are loved, and that my wish for the New Year is that is has you in it.

merry christmas!

2010-12-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Haylie, Ross, and Creature! We just got back last night from a trip to New York, which I kept forgetting to mention we were planning... surprise! We had a fabulous time, and I'll post pictures soon. In the meantime, have a very merry Christmas/holiday. We love you and are so grateful for your friendship and general awesomeness (slash awesomeocity/awesometude). You are very, very missed. Love.

the eye of the tiger

2010-12-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

Nobody likes to oversell their home movies. So I'll only say that this took several days of dashing for the camera before we finally got the following footage, and that I haven't laughed this hard in a really long time. But that could also be the post-finals hysteria... whatever. I love it. Enjoy.

2010-12-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

i get to go to bed...

2010-12-16T20:10:00.001-08:00

Zoo friends will recognize that this mandrill is not actually yawning, but displaying aggressively.

I feel that either interpretation is appropriate to my current state of mind.

When I get five pages written for my last unwritten paper. Or at 2 am. Whichever comes first. I'll let ya know how it goes.

woman on wire

2010-12-15T11:15:00.000-08:00

This guy is this guy

I just have to keep it together for two more days. Just two days more, man.

indeed

2010-12-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

Dory

Hey Mr. Grumpy Gills... When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do?

Marlin

I don't wann know what you gotta do.

Dory

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

What do we do? We swim, swim,

HO OH OH OH HO HO

I love to swiiiiiiim

8am contradictions

2010-12-14T05:14:00.000-08:00

Photo from here, a new, curiously addicting blog discovery

On the one hand: I still have about 26 pages to write before I'm done with the term. For the next three days I'll be stuck here, in front of this desk, hour after hour, typing my sweet silly brains out. I'm still waking up every morning before my alarm with feelings of panic, and I'm not sure how my grades are going to turn out.

On the other hand: There's a beautiful (but mercifully thin) blanket of snow covering the parking lot outside. The sky is the palest of blues, the trees are bare and lovely, and I can actually see through them to the river. Creature is sleeping on her bed right next to my on my desk, we already have a festive pile of Christmas presents, and I'm nursing a hot cup of tea. I just enjoyed my breakfast ritual, and yesterday, I wrote every single page that I was supposed to. I've never felt so disciplined or in control of my work habits.

Someone tell me how I'm supposed to feel about this day.

speaking of animals...

2010-12-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

Today Ross reminded me that it's been a while since I've featured Creature on the blog. That's a shame. Unfortunately, though, there is a zero-tolerance policy for paparazzo in our house.

Seems like her diva phase is just about coming to a middle.

Happy Friday night from Creature!

the shark and the sea lion: a parable

2010-12-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

Some days you're the shark.

Flying high, eating well, exercise, fresh air, a sense of accomplishment, cool adaptations like cartilage. The Discovery Channel wants to profile you for an entire week and Planet Earth turns you into veritable nature porn*. Somewhere in Oregon a bunch of zoo nerds dress up like you and throw a (really great) party.

Some days you're the sea lion.**

It sucks to be the sea lion.

Which are you today?***

*I talk about porn kind of a lot on this blog. What's that about?

**These are sea lions, right? I can't see the flippers well enough and I can't remember... forgive me if I get it wrong.

***I think today I'm the ocean... I was ebbing and flowing until all of a sudden everything exploded. Soon I'll ebb and flow again.

the weather outside is frightful... the end

2010-12-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

Photo from Cerloz via Cup of Jo

So... it's cold here. Really, really cold. Everyone said that it was colder in DC than Portland, but apparently I don't listen very well. I was utterly unprepared for how truly, face-numbingly, bone-chillingly cold it really is. It happened unexpectedly. We went from weeks of relatively balmy, sunny, fifty-degree weather to high-of-forty, forty MPH winds virtually overnight. And it's been that way for days!

I realize I've already covered this, but it really is cold. That is all.

Somewhere, far, far away, a Kathayoon is laughing.

like the lotus

2010-12-05T17:38:00.001-08:00

Thanks so much for all the advice, everyone. I'm doing much better. Your suggestions (as well as some grudging but extremely helpful time at the gym) have made a huge difference. Not that the above picture should be taken as representing how I actually feel, of course: it's more like how I'd like to feel. You know, some day. But I'm closer than I was a few days ago, so thanks ever so much for that. Aaaaand back to work.

the nuclear option

2010-12-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

For the last week or so, I've felt like I have an iv in my arm feeding me essential oil of adrenaline. This is not a good feeling.

I haven't been this stressed out for years, and maybe not ever: I'm tired but can't sleep, or else I have moments of crashing where all I can do is sleep. When that happens, I have uncomfortably vivid dreams so when I wake up it's like I haven't slept at all. I'm sitting perfectly still, have been for hours, and my heart is pounding. I feel vaguely sick pretty much all the time. Not sick like having a cold sick, but that horrible pit-of-the-stomach sick feeling you get when you know something really bad is going to happen soon. This is a brand new kind of stress, and friends? I don't like it one bit.

I realized last night, tossing and turning in bed, that this is not sustainable, so I'm going to try to deal with it. I'm hoping to actually drag my sorry butt to the gym today, for one thing, and I'm trying to manage my time more efficiently, since the slow accumulation of things checked off the list is one of the better stress relievers I know of. But I'm not sure it'll be enough... what do you do when you're so stressed out it's making you sick? Put another way, what is your stress-relieving nuclear option?

Seriously. I really want to know.

it's a new day

2010-11-28T20:54:00.001-08:00

Well, it will be by the time I post this, anyway. It's nearly midnight. I just finished and posted my four-page essay prospectus to Blackboard, and it feels pretty good. I still have 60 pages of essay to write in about two and-a-half weeks and the bulk of Christmas to construct, and I'm still working a job that gets progressively more stressful, but I'm significantly less panicky. Granted, that might be because Ross is sleeping next to me, and nothing says "it's all going to be okay" better than a person (or pet... I'm not particular) that you love sleeping next to you. Also, some super friendly notes from Colleen and Kathayoon helped, too. Anyway, here's a thoughtful rabbit (I beg your pardon... thoughtful hare) from the National Gallery Sculpture Garden for your week. Hope it's a good one.

this is what panic looks like

2010-11-26T11:08:00.001-08:00

Panic sits in a ratty old robe in front of the computer thinking about how it has 60 pages of work due in three weeks and isn't that terrifying? and how is it going to get done as well as Christmas shopping? and oh-gosh oh-gosh and help.

Somebody (this girl) just looked at her calendar and realized she has to work a full week longer than anticipated, ergo leaving her less time to write, ergo panic.

Happy Black Friday. I'm off to breathe into a paper bag for a while.

give thanks

2010-11-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

Photo from here. It was the best nature photo I could come up with on short notice.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends. Apologies for the short post... I wanted to write something longer, something poetical and grateful and profound, but I have a headache from baking for eight hours (!!!) yesterday (it was so worth it) and I'm going to bed. I hope you had a wonderful day... we did. Love.

animal friends i miss

2010-11-24T05:06:00.001-08:00

Blurg. I was lying in bed last night when I realized I'd already missed a day of lovely planet posting. It was a busy day, although more because of some other things that came up than because of all the research I was doing. Again I say unto you, blurg.

Anyway, I thought I'd kick off day 2.5 of Thanksgiving week by acknowledging some of the non-human animal friends that I miss (don't worry, human-humans... I miss you, too). These animals were like my coworkers for four years, and I miss their furry, scaly, and feathery faces.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody (human and non-human alike) at the Oregon Zoo. Oh, and good luck to the Turkey Trotters! Um, run fast.

farmporn

2010-11-22T08:53:00.001-08:00

For day one of the week of Thanks-for-the-Earth-Giving (better name suggestions would be mightily appreciated), I thought I'd share some of my favorite farmporn. When their powers combine, these two farming blogs make me want to quit graduate school, buy some chickens, and move to the Carolinas. Oh, for a reduced carbon footprint and dirt under my nails. Enjoy.

Photo from Ashley's blog

First up, Ashley English's blog Small Measure. Ashley and her husband raise chickens, bees, and now a baby on a farm in North Carolina. Ashley has also written a series of gorgeous books which I deeply want. It would be weird to ask for Home Dairy or Keeping Bees for Christmas... wouldn't it?

Photo from Jenna's blog

Next, and fairly new to me, is Jenna Woginrich's Cold Antler Farm blog. Jenna also has some books which I want and have no use for, and she recently posted a thought-provoking article on why she decided to start eating meat again after a decade-long abstention (scroll down to Thursday, November 18, if you're interested). Basically, she argues that eating local, grass-fed, free-range meat is going to be the most effective way (more effective than vegetarianism) of sticking it to the factory farming industry. Interesting. Here's my trouble, though... I would love to have a farm with chickens and pigs and all sorts of living things, but I don't think I could ever have an animal butchered. Nope.

As a side note: If I seem more obsessed with animals than usual, it's because I'm deep in research for a paper on animals in early modern travel writing. It's good stuff.

for the beauty of the earth

2010-11-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Still from Earth, the movie. Also, I guess, the place.

We sang my very very favorite ever hymn ever in church today. You may know it, in fact:

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth,

Over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour,

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flower,

Sun and moon and stars of light,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise.

This Thanksgiving (and yes, I know it's not actually the day yet), I'm particularly grateful for the immeasurably beautiful planet on which we live. I'm grateful for the air we breathe, the water we drink, and especially for the plants and animals that enrich our lives. To that end, I'm going to try to post something celebratory about our world and wildness every day this week. Try is, of course, the operative word, but I really will. Promise. Because even though it's a cliche, and even though I hate turkey and other traditional Thanksgiving foods, and even though the holiday is historically suspicious, at best, we really do have so much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving Week, friends.

check out daisy, she's a proper cow

2010-11-19T05:02:00.000-08:00

So I often hesitate when I'm deciding whether or not to include videos on this blog. I admit, I sometimes roll my eyes when other bloggers post videos. I mean, seriously? Who has that kind of time? But I didn't hesitate for a second with this... it's an advertisement (an advert, if you will) for Yeo Valley, an organic farm in England. Friends will already recognize two of my very very favorite things right there. I spent some time on Yeo Valley's website, and as far as I can tell, they practice what they preach/rap. I'm sold. Seriously, guys... make the time. It's worth it.

apartment, part 2

2010-11-17T12:55:00.001-08:00

So our apartment is way up a flight of stairs. We have this tiny entryway (below), and then you go upstairs to the big open room. Creature loves our stairs. We love our green cabinet (in which we keep shoes), which Ross carried a full mile from the Georgetown Flea Market. Yeah, that's right. Suck on that, fancy design blogs.

Our living space, like I said, is one big room. I love it. We have white walls, which, bizarrely, makes everything else seem more colorful. Go figure.

This is the couch where you will sleep when you come visit us.

Yeah, I'm totally kidding. We have an air mattress. But you really should come visit us. Just sayin'.

For previous apartment pictures, see here.

blur

2010-11-17T05:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry, guys. I hate it when I fail to post for a while. But we have been really busy around here (hence the blurry, life-is-moving-too-fast photo). I promise to do better. In the meantime, and in no special order, here's a bullet point list of what we've been up to for your Wednesday.

A little while ago I started working at an after-school program for kids in an underserved community. It's a little overwhelming (and could not possibly be more different than the zoo), but mostly rewarding. In the process, I'm relearning middle school algebra and geometry, so that's cool.
Ross' job satisfaction continues to steadily increase, so that's good. He's a bridge designer for the Maryland State Highway Administration (in case you didn't know). When he says that I picture beautiful bridges over water, but it turns out that overpasses are bridges, too. There's no real glamour in life.
We miss our friends a lot and think about you all the time. I'm sorry I don't call more often... Because of the time difference, it turns out that the most convenient time for me to call the west coast is also the time when I'm commuting. So I'm still working on that.
Even though I'm terrible at blogging about them, Ross and I have had some excellent adventures. Highlights include: A camping trip in West Virginia; a trip to the Eastern shore; the Jon Stewart rally; and lots of exploration of DC museums (and gift shops: no purchases yet, though).
After some deliberation, we've decided to stay here for the holidays this year. But we're hoping to make a Portland/Sacramento trip in the spring some time. Because we miss you all (see above).
There's a kid crossing the street who looks just like my nephew, Max, only a little less cute, obviously. Heartbreak.
I've decided to specialize in medieval and early modern literature, which is kind of exciting, right? I'm excited, anyway.
I'm good. Ross is good. Creature is good. We're a happy family.

sistah sistah

2010-11-03T10:11:00.001-07:00

Bestest favoritest sister friends

Dear Cassidy,

So you're 21. Um, yikes.

Cassidy plus dolphin... when we were little she was obsessed with Keiko the orca

No, seriously. It's kind of freaking me out. Remember last year, when you turned 20? I was kind of weirded out then, but this is weirder.

All the cool people in this picture are wearing sun glasses

I think this is the part where I talk about how super proud of you I am, how smart and fabulous you are.

Cassidy with Grammy, another smart and fabulous woman.

And it's true: you are smart and fabulous and I'm super-duper proud of you.

Yow!!

I also miss your pretty face, like, an awful awful lot. I wish I could be with you on your birthday. I'd take you out to eat and probably embarrass you at some point. That's how we roll.

Cassidy with cousin Afton (or, as we like to call her around here, mini-Katie)

Anyway, lady lady, I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday in a public fashion. You're kind of the best.

Bringing sexy back since 1989

Happy birthday, sweet sister of mine.

Love you lots and lots,

Haylie

how do i do this?

2010-10-29T08:01:00.001-07:00

Hi friends. Because I'm absolutely sure that some of you out there (and apparently there are a lot more of you than I thought) know how to do fancy things on Photoshop (Brit, I'm thinking of you), I was hoping you could tell me how to do some things. I'll send you a postcard as a reward.

Problem a: The fancy white background collage with photos and dresses and lots of different things.

Problem b: The photo collage.

Problem c: The simple linked photo (I'd love how to do two and four photos like this).

Thanks in advance to whoever bails me out. I've been wanting to know how to do this stuff forever and I finally have access to Photoshop, hooray!

the revenge of the pb & j

2010-10-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

This morning I got to the library at 8am and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It took me down, hard. I fell asleep and had my craziest library dreams to date. First I dreamt that I had a really awkward (and disturbingly realistic) conversation with my favorite professor, who I really want to impress. Then I dreamed that a huge group of students were in the gym (which I've never been to... I know) getting their pre-Rally game on. They were singing a catchy Rally song, which unfortunately I no longer remember. Then I dreamed that it was 10:00am and I still had a short paper to write prior to my 2:00 class so I woke up. Now I'm writing on my blog instead. Guess I should get on that paper thing.

You got me this time, pb & j.

apartment, part 1

2010-10-27T06:58:00.001-07:00

This is our house (part 1). I've cheekily divided it into rooms, since it's, you know, a studio.

Part 1a: The bedroom

Part 1b: The kitchen

I painted the apple above the sink when I was in Kindergarten. Clearly I missed my true calling as an artist.

super double bonus

2010-10-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Miss Jessica (and Mr. Chris)

Miss Amanda

Today I got not one, but TWO missives in the mail from two of my favorite people, Miss Amanda and Miss Jessica. Whoa. It was a loving friend mail palooza. Miss Amanda sent a postcard from the Chicago Zoo and Miss Jessica sent a Portland mug and some other goodies from my much-missed PDX. Each was sweet and wonderful on its own; the combined effect was AWESOME. Dear friends, I love you So. Much. (Also, thanks to Donilee for the card she sent me weeks ago that I kept meaning to mention here and never did). Anyway...I just got home after a long day and need to eat, but wanted to mentioned the best mail day ever. Thanks, ladies. I sure like you.

insomnia

2010-10-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

I have never struggled with insomnia... until recently. I've been sleeping more fitfully in general since moving here, but for the last few days it's been really bad. Ross falls asleep almost immediately, and I lie there thinking about, oh, everything. Money. Marriage. Religion. What I'm going to put on my Rally To Restore Sanity sign (I'm thinking "Grad Students for a Hermeneutics of Reasonable Discourse," although I think that might be redundant...). Stuff I didn't get done that day. Stuff I have to get done the next day. But it gets worse. For the past few days, at least, I've been having incredibly vivid and anxiety-producing dreams. Last night I was failing grad school. And then I wake up at 4:30 or 5:00 (although thankfully I'm able to go back to sleep). The sum total of all of this is that I wake up feeling like I've been thinking the same stressful thoughts all night long. The irony is that I usually have time for at least a quick nap during the day, so I'm not physically tired. But mentally I'm exhausted. Maybe I'll take up classy, Netflix-style yoga again.

ANYway, I don't mean to bum you out. Happy Friday!

joy to the world, indeed

2010-10-20T19:34:00.001-07:00

1. White Christmas
2. White Christmas (part II) featuring Saori Yuki
3. Shchedryk (Ukrainian Bell Carol)
4. Santa Baby
5. Elohai, N’tzor
6. Little Drummer Boy
7. Congratulations – A Happy New Year Song
8. Do You Hear What I Hear?
9. La Vergine Degli Angeli
10. We Three Kings
11. A Snowglobe Christmas
12. Ocho Kandelikas (Eight Little Candles)
13. Silent Night
14. Auld Lang Syne

I am anticipating a very merry Christmas.

P.S. For those not in the know about Pink Martini, check them out. They're only our favorite band. Ever. As in, in the past, present and future. They are the best.

Really.

this just in...

2010-10-20T07:31:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I like to semi-joke that Ross upstaged me at our wedding. Well now, thanks to my good friend Kelly, I have proof.

100

2010-10-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

This is my 100th blog post. That seems like kind of a big deal, right? So I googled what other bloggers have done to celebrate their 100th; apparently, it's "traditional" (snort) to post 100 things about yourself. No thanks. Instead, here are 10 of my favorite things instead. You're welcome. And, by the way? Thanks for reading :o)

Succulents. I adore them. They're perky and happy and remind me of places that are warm. Too bad I can't seem to keep them alive.

Eating outdoors. I don't care if it's a picnic, a reception, or a fancy catered party. Everything tastes better outside.

NPR. I just learned about the NPR calendar, in which artists from across the country produce work that typifies NPR for them. How come I didn't know about this until now?

Museums. And also, museum gift shops (P.S. The best museum gift shop I've ever been to was at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London).

Lanterns. And Christmas tree lights. And fireflies. And anything else that sparkles at night.

Animals. Duh.

Gardens in Unexpected Places. Like roofs. Or back alleys. Or cities. The garden pictured above is okay, but veggie gardens are the best.

The Fall. For all the reasons you love it, too.

Roger Ebert. The master of movie criticism. An inspiring writer and person. True story: Sometimes (like, really often) when Ross and I decide to watch a movie I'll first read his review, then I'll watch the movie, then I'll read the review again.

Bookstores. Especially ones with really, really tall shelves and narrow aisles. Oh, Powells.

Happy 100th post, blog!

fail

2010-10-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

Two anecdotes to share from this morning:

1. We have finally found NPR, and this morning as Ross drove me to the MARC station we listened to a short news clip about tennis camps, super intense camp for kids in whom some nascent tennis talent has been noticed and who must, therefore, be not-too-gently nudged into greatness. Actually, the story was about a new camp started by some famous tennis person who has a different philosophy and doesn’t feel that 10-year olds should be told to focus on only one sport and leave their homes for long training periods. A different tennis camp person disagreed with him, arguing that for talented kids to succeed they have to be absolutely immersed in the tennis world.

2. Later this morning I got onto the Metro and found myself standing next to a gentleman and a kid (I couldn’t tell what their relationship was, but the older guy didn’t know if the kid had an X-Box or not, so they weren’t father and son… it seemed like a mentor-type relationship). My zoo camp senses tell me that the boy was about ten. Both were wearing crisp suits, and the kid was wearing extremely shiny black dress shoes. It was a little difficult to figure out what they were talking about (the kid was going to interview somebody), but here are some of the conversation’s buzzwords: “New Media.” “The market.” “Philanthropy. ”

Not to be crude, but both of these events (especially coming so close to each other) made me want to barf. Is this really what we want? I get that it’s a big, scary, competitive world out there. But if the world is really such that we have to return to a Victorian model of the-child-as-miniature-adult, don’t we have bigger problems than finding Junior a future job? If job training has to start at eight, isn’t that maybe a sign that there’s something wrong with the way we’re approaching life? I don’t know, friends… just a thought.

train of thoughts

2010-10-08T18:07:00.001-07:00

The Laurel Train Station, which makes Laurel seem more quaint than it really is.

P.S. Laurel is where I live.

I’m sitting on the Marc train as I write this (but not when I post it, since the Marc train doesn’t have wireless, which is just as well). The Marc (I think it’s supposed to be MARC but I feel it’s impolite to scream at my readers) is my favorite part of the commute. Sometimes I listen to This American Life and stare out the window, but mostly I just read. Today I’m writing a blog post.

Today was a mixed day, although I’m not sure how much to tell you about it… I would love to restrict my readership, like some of my fellow bloggers have done, but I’m not quite sure who reads this blog and I don’t want to accidentally shut anyone out. Instead I’ll just try to be tactful, which isn’t nearly as much fun.

Break for announcement: The conductor just got on the loudspeaker to say that if Alaina Efstein is on the train she should come speak to him. But get this: the same announcement was made this morning. Alaina Efstein, where are you? Announcement concluded.

The morning started well: I got a job! I already have a job, actually… I’m doing some exceptionally boring (not tactless, just true) freelance writing for Bull Run Media, a company that produces a series of industry magazines. Once a week or so I’ll receive an email containing a digital file of an interview (nope—I don’t do the interviews. I just write the story. Living the dream) from which I construct a 500-800 word article profiling the company featured. My first assignment came this week. It was awesome. The gentleman in question (whose company really does need to remain nameless) was an extremely taciturn, one-word answer kind of guy. The most animated he got in the whole article was when he was describing how “Obamacare” is going to ruin small and medium businesses. Not quite the angle we’re going for. I’m told that most interviews are much easier. Let’s hope.

Anyway, that’s not the point. Today I got another job, with a non-profit called Kid Power DC. I am thrilled. I’m going to be working with underserved middle school kids in the DC area, and it sounds really open-ended. I’ll help tutor, but I also get to supervise and plan events. I’m thinking we stage The Tempest. Kidding… kind of. Kid Power also has this fabulous program set up called “Veggie Time,” where the kids work in community gardens and sell their produce at local farmer’s markets. Um, where do I sign up?

So that was a pretty good part of the day. But every story must have a villain, and this one appears in the guise of the Graduate Fellowship Office, which is trying to rescind my Federal Work Study award. Fetchers. Apparently, I’ve had the award too long without using it, so they’ve given it to someone more deserving. Trouble is, I didn’t really find this out until I’d accepted the interview. So I explained everything to everybody and I might get a new award. Fingers crossed on that, okay? Because I really, really want this job. And by the way? I could not be more pissed about the whole situation, but I have to be nice, because I need these people to fight for me. Bummer.

Time Lapse

Anyway, that's as far as I got before we got to Laurel. The rest of the day (after the Graduate Fellowship Office, before the train) was okay... I had lunch with a new friend, and went to my really awful Literary Theory class (awful because of the structure, not because of theory itself). Then I came home and Ross and I went shopping for our camping trip tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward to. The end!

we're still here...

2010-10-06T07:47:00.001-07:00

Hi folks! SO good to put "we" in a subject line. Ross and I made the epic 2,800 mile journey with, honestly, no hiccups whatsoever. It was almost disappointing, actually: no flats, no tickets, no close calls, no getting lost... even Creature was well behaved. It was the most uneventful cross-country road trip ever. However, we got to see Miss Amanda in DeKalb, which was a super bonus. Like the kind you get when you find a green toadstool in Super Mario.

ANYWAY... in other news, Ross is starting his new job in B'More today, last week the delightful Mrs.Hamlet came into town for Folger frolicking, and this weekend for our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY (um, whoa) Ross and I are going camping here:

I'm back, loves. Stay tuned.

i changed my mind...

2010-09-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

... THIS is what fall looks like. See you soon, baby.

skepticism

2010-09-22T06:25:00.001-07:00

This is what fall looks like (in France, at least)

Everyone in the blogosphere (and oh how I hate that word) keeps talking about how "fall is in the air." Don't get me wrong: Autumn is my absolute favorite season E-VER, and I'm as eager for it as the next blogger. But come on, kids: I'll believe it when it's not 92 degrees outside (the forecast for Friday). Maybe I'll experience some fall in Portland on Saturday.

some things i can't find

2010-09-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

EDIT: After posting the below Ross called me with an update.

I have to hand it to Ross: he did an exemplary job of packing up our house, fitting everything we owned into a tiny little pod, and doing it all with no small amount of organization. Good job, spouse. But, as is always the case with these situations, there are still some things I can't find. Here they are:

kitchen sponges Ne'er to be seen again... who moves sponges, anyway?
laundry hamper Still in OR, but that's ok, because I have my VERY OWN washer and dryer
can opener This one really is buried in a box somewhere
stereo FOUND
hand soap To be bought
laundry soap FOUND
dishwasher soap Also to be bought
Creature (just kidding, although don't think Ross didn't think about it) Still kidding about this

Shopping List:

Kitchen sponges
Hand soap
Dishwasher soap

There... wasn't that productive?

gold star... yes!

2010-09-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

clicky to make biggy

Maybe I freaked out a little bit when I saw this in an email from one of my professors. Maybe I've still got a big goofy smile on my face. Maybe.

Also, maybe I need to go back to work on my paper, now.

you stay classy, maryland

2010-09-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

There's a couple yelling at each other in the parking lot behind my apartment. Classy.

That is all.

take it down a notch for america

2010-09-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

I know not everyone will agree with me here, and that's fine, but I am so incredibly excited for this.

what's in your backpack?

2010-09-18T14:54:00.001-07:00

This is my backpack and my water bottle.

Note: The text says The Graduate Programs At GW. It was free.

This is how my backpack looks when I open it up. It's very, very heavy.

These are the things inside my backpack. The big blue book is very, very, very thick and full of early modern travel writing and criticism. Good times.

Note: The books vary, of course, but this is a fairly representative sample.

Second note: I took a ridiculously long time on Preview annotating this picture (twice), but both times Preview crashed when I hit save. Sorry for the lack of labeling.

Conclusion: I need to carry less stuff.

home

2010-09-16T18:22:00.001-07:00

"Home" may be my very favorite word.

guuu-uuuuys

2010-09-14T20:55:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

Please imagine the above post title spoken in an extreme whine.

But seriously... Guys (and, in the vernacular, gals)? Can we talk frankly for a minute? Here's the thing - I'm worried I'm not up for this. Graduate school, I mean. It's not that I don't want to do it; I simply wonder if I'm up for it. Every class I feel blown out of the water by the sheer depressing intellect of my fellow students. The level of conversation is - not beyond me, quite, but much faster than me. I keep up, but not immediately. Does that make sense? By the time I've processed something someone has said and formulated a response the discussion has already veered off in a different direction. When I do speak I usually feel shot down - never unkindly, but shot down nonetheless. I spend a long time crafting written responses to readings only to feel after I've posted them that they're childish.

I have never felt this way before in my entire academic career and it's scaring me.

Anyway, I'm sorry. I promise not to make this blog into a LiveJournal (why is it that LiveJournal is synonymous with awkward emotional sharing, anyway? Is it because that's what we all did in college? Or was that just me?). I just needed to express some anxiety before going to bed. I hope you're well, wherever you are.* I miss you, friends.

Love,

Haylie

*Maybe especially Mr. Chris who is just starting grad school in Corvallis. Let this be a cautionary tale, young man.**

**Just kidding. You'll be great, of course. Just like Miss Amanda.

as heard in the library

2010-09-14T12:41:00.001-07:00

The study rooms at the Gelman Library are supposed to be silent, and as far as talking goes, they really, really are. So here are some things I can hear instead:

The hissing of the air conditioner, which I would like to throw out the window (because of the cold, not the sound)

The clacking of keyboard keys

A pencil tapping an even rhythm on the table

Pages turning

A sigh and yawn

A quiet murmur of voices from the street, five floors down (although interestingly, no cars)

An airplane

Doors opening

Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you: The Library, by Stomp

some things i'm reading

2010-09-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Marmion by Sir Walter Scott

The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Who The Frack Knows?

Professing Literature: An Institutional History by Gerald Graff. Don't click to look inside.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This is not for class.

More interesting posts coming someday! Promise!

missed, among others

2010-09-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

lost and found

2010-09-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

The best part of my day was when I found two bags of the best tea ever hiding in my backpack.

A not-best (although not worst, sadly) part of my day was when I discovered that all my pens and highlighters have disappeared. Pilfering niece and nephew or a grown-up protecting them from the former? Only time (as in, the time between now and tomorrow, when I get a chance to ask) will tell.

star trek... in the park!

2010-09-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

I was going to write about how the loneliness I'm experiencing while I'm here is completely different from any loneliness I've ever experienced before, seeing as how this loneliness stems from a clear and palpable absence (of Ross, friends, and cat). But instead of that, please enjoy these pictures of Star Trek in the Park, which Ross and I very much enjoyed in Portland on August 1st.

Spock looks wise.

This couple's clear enthusiasm for Star Trek is exceeded only by their enthusiasm for Ginger Snaps.

Khan (as in, The Wrath of Khan) has his way with Lieutenant McGivers (the episode was Space Seed, by the way. I highly recommend it for the camp-factor).

Khaaaaaaaaan!!!! (Please note the delighted faces in the crowd)

Til later, Trek-meisters. Live long and prosper.

no, really

2010-09-05T19:50:00.001-07:00

not to be cryptic, but...

2010-09-05T19:47:00.001-07:00

I need tomorrow to be a significantly better day than today. The. End.

a hippo for hope

2010-09-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to downloading my photos tonight, only to realize that I've taken very, very few photos since I've been here. This is just further proof of something I've been suspecting since I got here: I am a completely different person than I was before I got married. I used to be really awesome at doing things alone. Even when I was dating someone, I could still rock the old alone time. I traveled alone, I went to movies alone, and I took a lot of photos alone. And enjoyed it, too; in fact, I'm not even necessarily saying that doing all of those things with a spouse/partner is better than doing them solo. Just that I have apparently lost my capacity.

Anyway, I digress. For your viewing pleasure, here's some proof that I'm actually here:

1. I ran into this big white building one time.

2. It was being guarded (partially, not exclusively, although wouldn't THAT be hilarious) by these nice gentleman and horses, whom I caught in a pleasingly Norman Rockwell-esque moment.

3. And then one time I saw the Washington Monument, which is just as phallic in person as it looks on film.

4. So although GW's official mascot is The Colonials, its unofficial mascot is a hippopotamus because of this statue, which was given to the university as a gift by... someone very important, I'm sure. Legend is that hippos use to frolic in the Potomac, much to the delight of George and Martha Washington, whom you may have heard of.

5. This is the plaque that accompanies the hippo statue. It might also be my new motto. In fact, definitely.

Love and colonial urban legends,

Haylie

P.S. Politics for beauty??

plagiarism

2010-09-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

From The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

I've completely stolen the idea of this post from my dear friend, Amanda, who is pursuing a M.F.A. in Acting at Northern Illinois University. You got this, Miss Amanda. Anyway, I thought it'd be nice to give you an idea of what I'm actually working on, too. Note: Italicized sections are verbatim syllabus.

19th Century Seminar

This course looks at the careers of three canonical figures of the Romantic period: Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott. It interrogates assumptions about Romantic-era literary and social history by considering how the productions of these authors respond to their historical moment and how they both perpetuate and challenge notions of 'Romanticism'. We will discuss cultural stereotypes and literary popularity within the context of historicist consciousness and trans-historical appeal.

Summary: Even though I'm not exactly sure what "trans-historical appeal" means, I'm super excited for this class. Jane Austen + Me = Double-plus good. Every time.

Becoming Indian in Early Modern Travel Writing

In this seminar, we will read a rich variety of early modern travel writing about Europeans and Indians in the Americas and Asia. Our primary goal will be to understand how early modern Europeans apprehended otherness, and the modern knowledge formations - anthropology, ethnography - that their writing engendered. We will also consider the literary forms - epic, romance, satire - to which these writers resorted in chronicling a wide variety of "Becomings-Indian."

Summary: Apparently, this class requires an absolute tidal wave of reading. I quote: "If you're hesitant about the prospect of tackling 150-200 pages of sometimes very dense early modern writing, theory, and criticism a week, this seminar may not be for you!" (My favorite part is the friendly exclamation mark) Still, though, I'm excited about this course. My professor is like a Monty Python character (and British, to boot!), so that's cool.And we get to read cool stuff, like The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, in which a person who may or may not have been real writes about monsters and, famously, men whose heads grow beneath their shoulders. His book was later used as a reference manual for Columbus (who's travels we're also reading) and Shakespeare (pretty sure it's referenced in Othello). Good times.

Introduction to Literary Theory

Yeah... this class doesn't have a description. It's a basic literary theory survey course, covering such topics as Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, Queer Theory, Postmodernity, and Historical Materialism. Every other person (except me, of course) in class has already taken a theory course in undergrad. Guess I have some catching up to do (this is a good place to imagine me speaking in a tone of unmistakable nervous hysteria)!

So that's my schedules, folks. Currently I have class Wednesday and Friday and am still looking for work. In other news, we move into our new place on the 16th (at least tentatively... I'm signing the lease on Tuesday). Go team, go!

2010-09-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Saw this StoryCorps video about Danny and Annie tonight and it reminded me of oh so many things: my grandparents; my step-brother and his husband, who were a joy to behold as they supported each other through a difficult time; various other friends and family members. But mostly, it reminded me of the way I feel about Ross. 'Cause you know what they say: Being married is like having a color television set--you never want to go back to black and white.

squirrel racist

2010-08-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

I saw a black squirrel today (I didn't have my camera, though, so this isn't my picture, and because it's a picture of, you know, a squirrel, I feel it would be silly to cite my source). I've never seen one before. Apparently, they're a melanistic subgroup of the Eastern Gray Squirrel (according to Wikipedia). They do well in the Northeast because of their increased cold tolerance, and they're unusually common in DC. Anyway, I never knew they were a thing, and did a total double take when I saw it, which made me feel a little bit squirrel racist. "Doesn't mean [I] go around committing hate cri-i-imes...*

In case you're wondering why I'm dwelling on this (which you're not, but I'm going to tell you anyway), it's because I had a crap-tastic day and seeing the squirrel was the best part. BUT. Never fear. Tomorrow is sure to be better, for tomorrow is Apply For An Apartment Day! Hooray! Stay tuned.

*This is from "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" from Avenue Q, P.S. I haven't completely lost it. It was a relevant digression.

looking forward

2010-08-29T21:25:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when I feel a little bleak about leaving our incredible apartment (and sometimes, I feel a little bleak about leaving our incredible apartment), I try to remind myself that there are even cooler places that we could someday aspire to live. Like, for instance, on a houseboat in Amsterdam with a tiny blue bathroom and ducks for neighbors.

Just sayin'.

facts

2010-08-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is me.

This is my family.

These are some of my friends.

This is where I used to live.

And this is where I live now (well, sort of).

It's a good life. From sea to shining sea.

tonight*

2010-08-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

Tonight I rode home on the Metro with my head against the train window, staring at this obscenely sweet couple as they looked deeply into each other's eyes for twenty minutes, missing Ross. Oh, and listening to the soundtrack from My Best Friend's Wedding.

I hate it when my life is a movie cliche.

*Disclaimer: a lot of other really good things happened tonight, too, but I'm beat and only want to tell one story. More stories tomorrow. Love.

the uncanny valley

2010-08-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

I'm babysitting my niece and nephew this morning and we're watching The Polar Express, which is just as creepy as everybody says. For those not in the know regarding the Uncanny Valley, I quote your favorite research tool, and mine, Wikipedia:

The uncanny valley is a hypothesis regarding the field of robotics. The theory holds that when robots and other facsimiles of humans [Haylie's note: this includes digital animation] look and act almost like actual humans, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers. The "valley" in question is a dip in a proposed graph of the positivity of human reaction as a function of a robot's lifelikeness.

So we're freaked out by prosthetic hands, for instance, but not the Ceylons from Battlestar Galactica. Of course, the Uncanny Valley-ness of The Polar Express is legendary by now (it even features in an episode of 30 Rock, in which Frank tries to explain to Tracey why creating a pornographic video game is impossible by citing Jar Jar Binks and The Polar Express).

But the creepiness of The Polar Express extends far beyond the valley. At one point the kids wander around in an empty, Soviet-bloc-style North Pole, listening to a broken record echoing "Ring-a-ling... ring-a-ling... ring-a-ling... ring-a-ling..." At another, they spy on some elves watching kids (ostensibly checking them for "naughty-" or "nice-ness") on closed-circuit surveillance.

The key scene involves a screaming horde of screechy-voiced elves all clamoring for Santa like groupies. Or a cult. Given that they're nearly faceless and move like badly-operated puppets, I'm going with cult. A Santa Cult. Early one of the kids asked Tom Hanks, "Where are all the elves?" He said: "They are gathering in the center of the city!"

This movie is freaking terrifying.

some more quick thoughts

2010-08-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hi beloved friends, etc. No pictures still. Sorry about that. Maybe tomorrow(???).

Today was long but good. Yesterday: long but good. In fact, the days have been so long and action packed that I feel like I've been here significantly longer than I have.

I also feel bad posting this so late, but then I remember that all the people who might be reading it are three hours behind, so I feel better.

Today I went to Baltimore, which was fascinating, since it was totally intimidating (for instance, it has a ridiculously high crime rate), but also incredibly beautiful. Glorious architecture pretty much everywhere. I can't figure it out. How did such a lovely city get to have such a bad (and, apparently, deserved) reputation? It's very mysterious.

Since Baltimore is functionally out, I'm still trying to figure out where to live such that Ross can get to work and I can get to DC with a minimum of hassle and expense and bodily harm (as in crime). Any previous knowledge any of you might have about the area is abundantly welcome.

In the interest of, you know, finding a place to live, I applied for a membership with Zipcar today. I'm really excited about it. My affiliation with GWU got me a 50% discount on the annual fee, and there are tons of cars available in Foggy Bottom (which is where GWU is located, and which I can't ever write/think without giggling).

My SIL, Kimberly, is one of the Young Women's leaders for her ward, and tonight she invited me to go with them on a photo scavenger hunt at the National Mall. This was delightful in and of itself, since the Mall is beautiful and the girls were hilarious (and my team won). But a simple pleasant evening was transformed into a memorable event by one incredibly moment: I saw my first firefly. I have a life list of things I'd like to do (some items of which long time readers will remember), but the very top of the list for years has been seeing a firefly. It was very, very cool and made me feel much less stressed about this whole thing. Like a good omen.

That's it for tonight, folks. Thanks for your comments (here and on Facebook) and your thoughts. I miss you all lots and lots, but I'm doing well. Just send me some good apartment thoughts, ok?

Love,

Haylie

dc after fifteen minutes: some quick thoughts

2010-08-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

DC smells like: London

DC looks like: Battlestar Galactica (at least the Metro housing does)

DC feels like: Nervous (or maybe that's just me projecting)

DC has: A Starbucks next to the library with wifi

The Lincoln Memorial (briefly glimpsed from the car last night!!!)

A lot of people

Nice family

An interview waiting for me

DC lacks: SmarTrip card vendors

Affordable housing (Good morning, Baltimore?)

ROSS AND CREATURE

goodbye portland*

2010-08-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

*Things I said (maybe out loud, maybe while crying big wet tears) as we drove to the airport this morning

Goodbye NW 23rd

Goodbye Everett

Goodbye pedestrian Ross didn't stop for

Goodbye Burnside

Goodbye Fremont Bridge

Goodbye Broadway Bridge

Goodbye Mount Hood

Goodbye "Made in Oregon" sign

Goodbye dog park in the Pearl

Goodbye Willamette River

Goodbye OHSU hill

Goodbye Powell's (Oh! Goodbye Powell's)

Goodbye ghetto Gresham

Goodbye Rocky Butte

Goodbye bridge that looks like a fish on the way to the airport

Goodbye Max

Goodbye Portland Airport, voted the best airport in the country, like, ten times

Goodbye Powell's in the airport

Goodbye "C" terminal (the best terminal, since it has the aforementioned Powell's)

And some things I didn't say, but am saying now

Goodbye Yogi and Tazo teas

Goodbye Ken's Artisan Bakery

Goodbye Zoo

Goodbye rain rain

Goodbye apartment

Goodbye incredible neighbors: Heather, Patty, and Scott, the emperor of Portland

Goodbye tomato plant

Goodbye Whole Foods in the Pearl. There will be other Whole Foods, but they won't be the same

Goodbye Street Roots newspaper and salespeople

Goodbye lovely commute

Goodbye Central Library

Goodbye Creature

Goodbye friends and family

Goodbye Ross

See you later, alligators. I've got a plane to catch

waiting (and other thoughts)

2010-08-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ross and I are still waiting to hear about, you know, the rest of our lives. I feel an awful lot like the girl above (image found here), except more homicidal. More than anything else, I'm just really ready to start graduate school. I thrive in a college environment. I think I'll try to stay in one for the rest of my life.

Creature is recovering from her surgery, although not as quickly as I'd like. I fret about her, which has led me to an important realization about myself: much through I regret this, I'm pretty sure that if we have kids I'm going to be a worrying kind of mom. I just hope I have the presence of mind to let my kids do things (like climb trees and fall down and have adventures) anyway.

Zoo Camp continues to go incredibly well. Words fail me when I try to describe how wonderful my staff is, and I'm reduced to saying things like "Tiger B staff is awesome. They're really, really awesome. Just... awesome." The thing is, they really are.

Ross is organizing his music. In case you didn't know, he plays extremely well. Last year for his birthday I found the sheet music for the Amelie soundtrack online. It's out of print here, so our copy is in French, which is delightful.

Shhh - Birthday Secrets: I really want to get him the sheet music for the Fantastic Mr. Fox soundtrack for this birthday (which is in less than a week!) but haven't been able it find it. Perhaps that's just as well; I think there's more banjo than piano in the music.

Today I drove from the zoo to the Rose Garden, sight of my infamous crash (bike crash #2). I was following some bikers most of the way and realized that I may never, ever really get on a bike ever again. Just watching other people on bikes elevates my heart rate to a noticeable degree. Yikes. No thanks.

And one last thing... Today I got a call from a town in MI. Having forgotten whether MI stood for Michigan or Minnesota (for which I hope to be forgiven), I was super excited answering the phone, only to be disappointed when a prerecorded female voice started talking to me in broken Spanish. Amanda, you're missed. The end.

whoa

2010-08-07T17:15:00.001-07:00

Dear Television,

Hello. As you may know, I usually regard you with mixed feelings. While I am, of course, a huge fan of some of your work (Shark Week, Life, Planet Earth, The Office, 30 Rock, and sometimes Glee), I take significant umbrage with your plethora of useless and intellectually degrading offerings (too numerous and depressing to list). Far worse than this, however, is the fact that you have offered me some of the best television shows EVER only to ruthlessly rip them away after a paltry few seasons. You took away Firefly, and that was bad enough. But you will never recover from the shame of losing Arrested Development.

However. I digress. I am actually writing to you today to thank you, for on Monday you somehow contrived to bring together two of the most delightful minds currently alive together for one (regrettably short, but still fulfilling) interview. The day that Mary Roach, author of Stiff, Spook, Bonk, and the upcoming Packing For Mars, appeared opposite Jon Stewart will forever be a memorable day in television for at least one skeptical viewer. So thanks, Television.

Love,

Haylie

P.S. But you're still not forgiven for AD and Firefly. Just sayn'.

monday confessions

2010-08-02T21:12:00.001-07:00

Inspired, one must acknowledge, by this

Even though I publicly chastise people who complain about Oregon's weather, sometimes I hate it, too.

If I could only pick one author to read for the rest of my life, I might pick Roald Dahl over Jane Austen.

I don't really cry when people leave, even some of my very favorite people. This makes me feel like a bad friend.

However, I wept through massive portions of the stage version of The Lion King.

Birth stories and newborn babies give me extreme anxiety.

Seriously. But introduce us when they're six and we'll be best friends.

I wish I had dark (curly) hair and dark eyes.

I also wish I had red (curly) hair and green eyes.

I'm irritated with women who constantly straighten their hair.

I would sleep with a DOT official if I thought I could get Ross a job in Maryland.

That's a lie. I wouldn't really.

Unresolved conflict makes me crazier than crazy.

I try to, but I don't really like opera.

I've gained ten pounds since getting married.

I'm good at relationships with animals, places, and books. I struggle with relationships with humans.

Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I'm pregnant and go into full panic mode until I get my period.

I put ridiculous amounts of sugar in my tea. No - obscene amounts. I'm okay with it, though.

summer loving, part 2: zion

2010-08-01T09:53:00.001-07:00

Shortly after leaving Las Vegas we met up with the Swenson family in St. George and drove to Zion National Park in Utah where we experienced some of the following:

1. We learned about coloration and camouflage.

2. We became one with the park (note the road WAY down below) as Ross and I hiked the Hidden Canyon Trail.

3. We were awed.

4. We found some BIGHORN SHEEP, about which I was ridiculously excited. We also wrote the following song (sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice):

Bighorn Sheep, Bighorn Sheep

See how they run over the rocks

They run so fast 'cause they're light on their feet.

They're light on their feet 'cause they're Bighorn Sheep.

They're Bighorn Sheep 'cause that's how they were born.

They're Bighorn Sheep.

Fade out

Bighorn Sheep... Bighorn Sheep... Bighorn Sheep...

5. We lost a tooth (Ross) and experienced great anxiety and worry (Haylie).

6. We got to use the words "brother-in-law" and "sister-in-law." Whoa.

Good times, family. Let's do it again some time... maybe here?

ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh

2010-07-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Jane Austen,

Thank you for always being there, in one form or another, when I need you.

Love always,

Haylie

P.S. Somehow, I can't get this video to conform to my blog's measly little size. Right click on it and hit "show all" to, well, show all. Love.

summer loving, part 1: vegas

2010-07-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal: This summer the Ross and I have been able to do a ridiculous number of really fun things, all of which I have utterly failed to blog about. But no more! I hereby resolved to catch up. Starting with Vegas, June 26th.

Time for a true story? We hated Vegas. The exploitation, the environmental atrocity, the whole deal. Hated, hated, hated it...

...except for the Bellagio fountains (and yes, I know all about the wasted water, but they're so lovely) ...

...and the MGM Grand lions WHICH, I was happy to learn, are rotated out very often, which made me feel a little better about there being lions in a noisy, chaotic casino. Still, though, my Zoo brain was reeling at the lack of any educational naturalist-type person.
After Vegas we hightailed it to St. George, UT, where we ran into Ross' sister-in-law from DC in what was the single most bizarre coincidence of my life.

Hasta la vista, Vegas. See you never.

quick story

2010-07-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

There's a group of guys who like to come and sing in front of my house. They're not busking, they're not selling CDs... as far as I can tell, they're simply doing it for the sheer joy of it (which I LOVE, no matter what the "it" is). They're each very different. One of them looks like a thirty-something hippy, and one of them looks like he does something technical at Intel. They sing old a capella standards and are very reminiscent of the Coats (formerly the Trench Coats). Anyway, as I was getting out of my car today I thought I'd let them know how much I appreciate them. I caught them in between songs and explained that I live right across the street and that every time they come to 23rd I open my window and sit and listen for a while. "You're the girl in the window," one of them said. "Yup," I said. "I'm the girl in the window. You guys are swell." As I walked away the big hippy said "Aww."

I love, love, love, love, LOVE this crazy, lovely life.

some reasons why deferring might actually be okay*

2010-07-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

1. Red Ape Reserve at OZ

2. Miss Anna's opera

3. Jaws at Flicks on the Bricks

4. Amazing apartment

5. REALLY amazing neighbors

6. Potential, West Coast-centric trips here, here, or here (words cannot describe how much I loved Costanoa)

7. The sheer wonder and majesty that is our fair city

8. The Vaux's Swifts coming to roost in the Chapman school chimney in September

*Just as a note, we have not officially deferred yet. We're waiting until the absolute last second (and Ross has an interview). All I'm saying is that if we have to, there is compensation.**

**But we'd still rather go.

i'm totally going to this

2010-07-11T19:07:00.001-07:00

July 24th. Be there and be square. We'll save you a seat.

rainy day girl and guy

talkin' 'bout a resolution

2011 in review

happy happy birthday, sister dear!

hey irene

sto lat, sto lat, niech zyje zyje nam

john brown's body is a-moulderin' in the grave

happy 4th of july

creature stuck in things

a downer, but with ducks

confirmation of here-ness and southern adventure

how to have the best day ever

writing day

acknowledgements

the big red button

update friday

happy valentine's day

leona and george

launch

but i still love her

tuesday morning bummer

cinderella story (well, kind of)

it is *fill-in-the-blank* in our house

addendum

resolved

midnight missive

merry christmas!

the eye of the tiger

i get to go to bed...

woman on wire

indeed

8am contradictions

speaking of animals...

the shark and the sea lion: a parable

the weather outside is frightful... the end

like the lotus

the nuclear option

it's a new day

this is what panic looks like

give thanks

animal friends i miss

farmporn

for the beauty of the earth

check out daisy, she's a proper cow

apartment, part 2

blur

sistah sistah

how do i do this?

the revenge of the pb & j

apartment, part 1

super double bonus

insomnia

joy to the world, indeed

this just in...

100

fail

train of thoughts

we're still here...

i changed my mind...

skepticism

some things i can't find

gold star... yes!

you stay classy, maryland

take it down a notch for america

what's in your backpack?

home

guuu-uuuuys

as heard in the library

some things i'm reading

missed, among others

lost and found

star trek... in the park!

no, really

not to be cryptic, but...

a hippo for hope

plagiarism

squirrel racist

looking forward

facts

tonight*

it is fill-in-the-blank in our house