My Yahoo! Horoscope for the day reads:
So I guess I should interpret this as a strong hint to add another blog entry, right? Seems only logical to me, really. Or does it mean that I should email my one brother, even though I know he won't get the email until tonight, when he's back home? Or does it mean I should G-Chat with my other brother, even though I talk to him all the time? Oh bother.
Nah, I'll stick to this entry, and then go for a walk. Then do a bunch of work. Then, per
Today is a very special day in my family, as my great aunt turns 99 today.
Yes, 99. And while arthritis has slowed her to the point that tortoises move faster and farther than she does, and while her "forgetter" tends to work more than her "rememberer," this woman is amazing. Yes, there is someone who comes in 4-5 days a week for a few hours a day, and she probably needs to be put in a place where there is 24-hour care, but at the same time when she has a good day you hear about long-lost
For the completely ignorant, there is a vote going on...well, later tonight...regarding the institutionalization of a type of national health care system. To put it mildly, it's a hotly debated topic. We Americans have a very strong sense of "I am my own person"--basically, we are a wee-bit leery of people, particularly big governments, telling us how to live our lives. And yet we also are concerned with the "common good," such that we really don't want our fellow Americans to suffer and we r
I have no idea why, but lately I've gotten into the habit of reading my horoscope in the morning. Actually, I have a clue as to why: I love to have a giggle in the morning. Seriously. Today's Yahoo! Horoscope for Capricorn:
Is it just me, or are those two statements a bit contradictory? I mean, things are going to go my way, but there could be a problem? Be cautious, but share the good times with others? Huh?
Can I share the good times with my cat? Or do I have to include the p
I dislike Daylight Savings.
No, really, I dislike it. I still don't see the point in it. Maybe for some there's a savings in electricity bills or some such thing, but honestly, just turn a light off every now and then. It helps.
The first couple days of the spring-forward instantiation, I'm always off time-wise. I wake up 'late' in my mind, even though it's my normal time to wake up. I mean, my body tells me it's 7 or 7:30, but in fact my clock says 8. It takes a couple of days f
There once was a point in my life that I really didn't care about going out. Well, that's what I thought...in reality I was lonely, but also in denial about said lonliness, so as far as I was concerned, hitting the town with friends was no big deal. Sure, it's fun, but I wasn't concerned that I was missing out on the grandest of times.
At the time, I was living in Austin, working on my degree and, frankly, not very happy. Oh, I loved the city, loved the university...just hated the state (
February...what the hell! Ya flew by me without a bye or leave. Then again, it's probably for the best, as it sets up a first half of 2010 that is keeping me busy. Pedal to the proverbial metal.
And this is all leading up to... *cue the trumpets* my trip to Italy! Yes, the Motherland is calling me, and I am heeding the call. Well, my parents, my godmother and her kids are, too. My parents will be there a total of 5 weeks, me only 2, but oh what a 2 weeks. My parents are renting a vill
Well, I guess I should explain my absence and lack of participation. To say the least, I've been a very busy doc.
It breaks down like this: I've been doing more, although I haven't exactly been paid any more, but with the added responsability comes recognition and, hopefully, something more permanent. There were late classes thrown at me, various curriculum and planning duties. I do love it...I'm back to teaching an intro to linguistics class, which I haven't taught in over 10 years, alon
Thanks to last year's baseball excursion, I had a $300 voucher to fly anywhere in the continental US on American Airlines, and decided a while back to use it to go down to San Antonio and Austin. Outside of a trip back here 2 years ago to defend the dissertation--when I was so focused on that one element that I didn't do anything else--I haven't been back since I left 4 years ago. There are a lot of people here that I came to care about, and I wanted to visit them. And, well, Austin is an out
What is it about relationships that are so amazing, yet so unpredictable? I mean, you date for years and years...you make some connections, but nothing that sweeps you off your feet for the majority of the time. You put yourself into periods of drought...and then you meet someone who seems to understand you so completely, so quickly...well, things just seem to fall into place.
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My brother Matt proposed to his lady, a
Whew. I made it! Well, ok, it's not quite done yet; next week is finals week, and I still have plenty of work to do before I leave for San Antonio and Austin on 4 June, but one class is completely closed for the spring, and the other two will be shortly. I'm telling you, I didn't think I would get so slammed with work.
Just a couple of random musings:
[*]MSNBC is reporting something that I've heard rumors about in some of the publications I get, that more and more 'traditional' 4-ye
Don't you love it when you hear a song that you love, and it happens to fit your life in some way or another?
I was driving to work this afternoon when that lovely Smiths song came on. The funny thing about the Smiths (and Morrissey) is that I never am totally sure what the title of the song is, but I always end up singing the damned thing. Very good songs, very catchy...and very silly.
"Panic on the streets of London
Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life
...and Tuesday, and Wednesday...well, you get the drift.
Yes, it's been about 3 weeks since I've had time to sit down here and update...actually, it's been almost 2 weeks since I've had time to log into the site. So, just to catch you up....
Honolulu was absolutely spectacular...but 4 1/2 days isn't nearly long enough. Love it, loved spending my time doing exactly what I wanted to do, nothing more and nothing less. Wish I could do this vacation thing more often.
Got back, and had
On the island of Oahu there is so much to do, so much to see, but the one thing that is a must is to hike the Diamond Head Trail. Diamond Head is a crater from a volcano that blew many thousands of years ago, and is now by far one of the most spectacular views on the island. Sure, it's a bit rocky, and there are quite a few stairs (the US used it as a lookout in WWII), but once you get tot the top it's so worth it.
Today is my first full day here, and I wanted to really start my vacation her
Hmmm...perhaps the title should be instead: Mai Tai Ville?
Tomorrow morning I'm off for a 4+ day holiday to Honolulu...a long overdue return to that special place. Oh, sure, there are other areas in the Hawaiian Islands that I want to explore. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I want to see all of them. However, Dad's in Honolulu for 3 weeks, and I decided that I would join him.
This trip marks the first big trip of 2009 for me...and it won't be the last. I know I'll be going to Aust
So here I am. I caved in. I am a weak individual who could not stand to be on the island anymore.
Which island, you ask? The one where people refuse to purchase let alone use some sort of PDA.
Yesterday I went into my cell-phone-carrier's store, wanting to ask some questions. After getting my answers, I also inquired about a notice on my account which declared that I was eligible for a big device upgrade. The guy looked up my account and, to his surprise, it was true. When I asked what
Taking Bella to her yearly examinations is oh-so-much fun. Like many cats, she hates her carrier, hates car rides, and really hates the vet. Nevermind that her vet is very nice, gentle, and knows what she's doing. Nope, Bella will have none of it. She, um, always provides a fecal sample, shall we say? She's very clingy, and sheds all over the place. Nope, she's not a happy camper there.
Due to a clerical error, Bella didn't get her annual vaccinations at her exam, so we scheduled them
Spring has hit fully here in lovely California! Baseball is in the final tuning before the season starts, March Madness has hit the populace (and, yes, I got my brackets in...my normal one on Yahoo and another that I got dragged into). Hockey and basketball have hit their home stretches...and the playoff-bound teams are trying to jockey for position while the others are just trying to finish the season on a non-negative note. For a sports nut like me, this is one of the best times ever.
March is an amazing month here in Baghdad-By-The-Bay. The weather is either rainy (but not cold...55'F or so) or gloriously sunny. It seems like we're done with the rain for about a week, so I spent much of the mid-morning and early-afternoon outside. Bella was all too eager to join me, and was ecstatic to be outside again. I don't know who had more fun: her going all over the backyard as I cleaned up the debris from the neighborhood trees, or me playing with her. She took several naps in t
This week has been utterly brutal. Actually, the last few weeks have, and it wasn't until Thursday that it all came to a head.
I teach an 8am class 3 days a week, on a campus that's 25 miles away. For us 'round here, well, that's not much of a commute, and I really don't view it as being far away. But an 8am class, that means I need to be on campus by 7:30 to get last minute stuff done, which means I have to leave the house no later than 6:45. Originally I thought I had to leave the hous
Wheeeeeeeeeeee! Spamalot is coming to San Francisco!!! Oh how I've waited for this to happen! When Las Vegas got a hold of it, the deal was that the producers wouldn't show any version of it west of that happening light-tropolis, so that we would have to go to the desert and get bamboozled just to see our silly English knnnnnnnnnnigits. But no! I did not give in to temptation! (Mostly because Vegas doesn't do much for me.) And now I, like many others, have been richly rewarded--Spamalot w
Well, after more than 3 years of waiting, plus another year of paperwork SNAFUs, it's now official. I am both an Italian and an American, as are my brothers and my mom. I can proudly wear the red-white-and-blue and the tri-colori and not get ripped for it. I can go in the short line when travelling through European customs; I can stay in Italy and other EU countries for longer periods of time (watch out, European UNRV members!), and grant-funded trips to EU countries, from what I hear, will n
As I drove to work yesterday, the sun slid over the eastern horizon like a welcomed old friend. Sure, it was quite a bit cooler at night than it had been lately, but the daytime temps creeped up towards an almost spring-like level. Welcome to February in the San Francisco Bay Area--it could be pouring, or it could be brilliantly sunny.
Mt. Hamilton has a few specs of snow on its cap, which should go away before our next blast of precipitation this weekend. People were outside, sunning thei
Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the return to waking up at the butt-crack of dawn after 5 days to the contrary, but today I'm beat. I can't seem to stay awake. When driving up to work this morning, I could feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Once I pulled into the parking lot, I had an extra 20 minutes, so I took a quick nap in the car. It did me well for quite a while, but now I'm in office hours having the same problem. However, unlike earlier, I don't have time for a nap, as
Valentine's Day is a bogus holiday, as far as I'm concerned. Why do we need one day for women to expect to be lavished with gifts, making their men suffer as far as what to do next? I really never did like the day; I'd rather celebrate with the one I love all throughout the year. And while in recent years I haven't had a person to share this pitiful day with, it never ceases to amaze me how many hoops men will jump through, and how many hoops women will put up for them.
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