Boston has the marathon, yes this is true, and I've heard all about the crazy time that day entails. But after yesterday, I'm pretty sure that San Francisco's Bay to Breakers 12k Run takes the cake when it comes to America's No. 1 street party.
Sunday morning rolled around and upon waking up at 6:30 I was having second thoughts. Even though I was registered and everything, first glance out the window looked ominous (it seemed on the verge of raining), I was warm and comfy in bed, and so going out to run 7 miles just didn't seem that palatable. I went into Karen's room and we agreed not to go.
Ten minutes later I hear someone knocking about the apartment so I get up and it's Karen, all showered and eating breakfast. "I think we should go," she said over some porridge, her hair wrapped in a towel.
"Me too."
Done. We got into our running clothes and headed towards BART where we sat alongside other runners, pirates, a giant chicken, and someone dressed up like a Muslim lady drinking a latte with a straw threw her burqa. We got off BART at The Embarcadero, greeted by tens of thousands of the other participants. One look down the wide boulevard yielded crazy people, naked people, floats, kegs, hooting, costumes...oh, and the sky was filled with flying corn tortillas.
FILLED with flying corn tortillas.
Karen and I looked at each other with that unwritten gleam that meant, "Holy shit! We're really glad we got out of bed for this!"
We crossed the start line and it's probably no surprise that someone had to pee, and that someone was NOT Karen. Of course, we had passed a row of port-o-potties like 2 minutes ago. But there's no turning around at Bay to Breakers; there's just too much fun stuff always ahead.
So we decided to hop into a bar so I could go...and of course, that became the secondary reason for being at the bar. We downed a pint and headed back out there.
Time? 8:15am.
And by 11 we had been treated to numerous free jello shots (some with whipped cream!), a dance party, beer from a giant red Smurf mushroom hut, another dance party, an old man's wrinkly penis, a ski shot (shot glasses attached to a ski--a group activity), people holding signs of lists of stuff that "God hates" (including, apparently, fun), the world's smallest penis (I swear to God), a marching band, balloons, beads, a lot of stuff I can't remember and...another dance party. We literally couldn't believe it wasn't even noon yet, and at the same time literally impressed that we had even made it 4 miles. (To our credit, we insisted that any sort of forward motion must be "on the jog.")
We eventually met up with the whole gang and preceded to set up camp somewhere in Golden Gate Park (the exact location of which escapes me) where, well, lots of stuff happened, none of which can be best described on a silly blog. Let's just say it seemed that the entire city of San Francisco thought making out in "the woods" was a good idea.
By 2pm things were winding down as a whole and the course had been closed; it started drizzling and most people decided to head home.
But not the ladies of 3646! Karen, Leigh and I decided it just wasn't "right" not to finish the run...what with how far we'd come and all. We said goodbye to the crew and headed, on the jog, to the Pacific Ocean.
Drunk, delirious, and down-right dirty we made it to the beach--the literal edge of America--and hopped in the frigid water, celebrating all we had accomplished. We washed our spirits clean and baptised ourselves in the merry attitude of California, finding joy in every thought and so thankful to be in a place where...
Then the beach police made us get out. In hindsight, I suppose it just wasn't "safe" for us to, well, be playing around in the freezing cold ocean drunk.
That was this year. Who's down for next??
22.5.06
18.5.06
finally, an answer?
Growing up moving every 2 years has always made it hard for me to answer the normally-easy question, "So, where are you from?"
But after this survey, I think it's pretty darn clear:
"You know you're from Pennsylvania if:
-You refer to Philadelphia as only "Philly."
-You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA" (pronounced Pee-ay).
-The first day of buck and the first day of doe season have always been school holidays in your town.
-You can use the phrase "fire hall wedding reception" and not even bat an eye.
-At least 5 people on your block have electric "candles" in all or most of their windows all year long.
-You know what a "Hex sign" is.
-You know what a "State Store" is, and your out-of-state friends find it incredulous that you can't purchase liquor at the mini-mart or beer at the grocery.
-It wouldn't be weird if you owned only three condiments: salt, pepper and Heinz ketchup.
-Words like "hoagie", "crick", "chipped ham", "sticky buns", "red-up", "pierogies" actually mean something to you.
-At least five of your friends' last names end in "-baugh" or "-berry."
-You've not only heard of Birch Beer, but know it comes in several colors: Red, White, Brown, Gold.
-You know several places to purchase or that serve Scrapple, Summer Sausage (Lebanon Bologna), Ring Bologna and Hot Bacon Dressing.
-You know the difference between a cheese steak & pizza steak sandwich, and know that you can't get a really good one outside PA.
-You live for summer, when street and county fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season.
-You know what Blue Ball, Intercourse, Climax, Bird-in-Hand, Beaver, Moon, Virginville, Paradise, Mars, and Slippery Rock are.
-You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth is.
-You identify drivers from New York, New Jersey, or other neighboring states by their unique and irritating driving habits.
-You know that a traffic jam in Lancaster is ten cars waiting to pass an Amish buggy on the highway.
-You know several people who have hit deer more than once.
-"Yous guys" is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men & women.
-You know how to pronounce Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill, Bala Cynwyd, Monongahela, and Susquehanna
-You actually understand these questions and are you sending them on to other Pennsylvanians.
But after this survey, I think it's pretty darn clear:
"You know you're from Pennsylvania if:
-You refer to Philadelphia as only "Philly."
-You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA" (pronounced Pee-ay).
-The first day of buck and the first day of doe season have always been school holidays in your town.
-You can use the phrase "fire hall wedding reception" and not even bat an eye.
-At least 5 people on your block have electric "candles" in all or most of their windows all year long.
-You know what a "Hex sign" is.
-You know what a "State Store" is, and your out-of-state friends find it incredulous that you can't purchase liquor at the mini-mart or beer at the grocery.
-It wouldn't be weird if you owned only three condiments: salt, pepper and Heinz ketchup.
-Words like "hoagie", "crick", "chipped ham", "sticky buns", "red-up", "pierogies" actually mean something to you.
-At least five of your friends' last names end in "-baugh" or "-berry."
-You've not only heard of Birch Beer, but know it comes in several colors: Red, White, Brown, Gold.
-You know several places to purchase or that serve Scrapple, Summer Sausage (Lebanon Bologna), Ring Bologna and Hot Bacon Dressing.
-You know the difference between a cheese steak & pizza steak sandwich, and know that you can't get a really good one outside PA.
-You live for summer, when street and county fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season.
-You know what Blue Ball, Intercourse, Climax, Bird-in-Hand, Beaver, Moon, Virginville, Paradise, Mars, and Slippery Rock are.
-You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth is.
-You identify drivers from New York, New Jersey, or other neighboring states by their unique and irritating driving habits.
-You know that a traffic jam in Lancaster is ten cars waiting to pass an Amish buggy on the highway.
-You know several people who have hit deer more than once.
-"Yous guys" is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men & women.
-You know how to pronounce Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill, Bala Cynwyd, Monongahela, and Susquehanna
-You actually understand these questions and are you sending them on to other Pennsylvanians.
4.5.06
miscellaneous...thursday?
Here are the big updates in my life:
-I got a new cell phone. No, not a new number. Just a new phone.
-I am working on a life-plan map chart.
-Brad came to visit last weekend and we had a great time. We played tennis, went to a Giants' game, laughed, went to Zeitgeist, saw a movie, went to the Secret Beach (where, accidentally, there were about 100 naked gay men lying around with their asses sticking up in the air. Sorry, Brad!), laughed, drank bloody marys.
-I am obsessed with tennis.
-Mohommed has almost got his vowels down pat.
-Spring lacrosse coaching is done.
-I changed my sheets to spring linens.
-Zacarias Moussaoui got a life sentence and oil prices continue to skyrocket.
Here are other miscellaneous things:
-This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my entire life.
Ok, it was just one.
Sorry I haven't blogged as much lately!
-I got a new cell phone. No, not a new number. Just a new phone.
-I am working on a life-plan map chart.
-Brad came to visit last weekend and we had a great time. We played tennis, went to a Giants' game, laughed, went to Zeitgeist, saw a movie, went to the Secret Beach (where, accidentally, there were about 100 naked gay men lying around with their asses sticking up in the air. Sorry, Brad!), laughed, drank bloody marys.
-I am obsessed with tennis.
-Mohommed has almost got his vowels down pat.
-Spring lacrosse coaching is done.
-I changed my sheets to spring linens.
-Zacarias Moussaoui got a life sentence and oil prices continue to skyrocket.
Here are other miscellaneous things:
-This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my entire life.
Ok, it was just one.
Sorry I haven't blogged as much lately!
7.4.06
is the golden rule ridiculous?
The Golden Rule sucks. No, for realsies.
Sometimes it just gets the best of me.
Not that I'm some angel of niceness, but unfortunately I was bestowed with an awareness of how to lend a helping hand to--or to be thoughtful for/mindful of--others, most of the time. And so I find it difficult sometimes to deal when I'm confronted with others' inability to do the same.
I know, I know.
This seems like a silly thing to get frustrated about, and perhaps a smidgen contradictory to the underlying premise of the golden rule (which I will now de-capitalize out of disdain)--which is to simply do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.
No strings attached, right?
Well, psychologically I think it is impossible to do good without a nano-percentage of that being "for you." Even if it's the feeling of gladness for doing that thing, helping that person, or saving those whales, you still got gladness in return. So, admittedly, actions of good have personal rewards.
I don't think, however, that that necessarily affects the sincerity of the action(s), nor does it make them selfish.
On top of that inherent 'goodness,' I can't say I don't want a taste more in return...say, understanding. To be more specific, it's nice when people don't act like your requests are ridiculous.
For starters, do you really think I'd ask something "ridiculous"?? If so, why? And what is ridiculous, anyway?
Also, don't you think that if I am asking such things, that I would be OK with a similar request from you?
Get off of your fucking high-horse about things and try to see why I might even think to ask you...or suggest to you...or request...or say...whatever it is that you've deemed "ridiculous."
And so I hate the golden rule. Sometimes.
Maybe I just hate when people are so quick to label me/things about me as "ridiculous."
If you're actually being serious, then to me that's the ultimately most-uncompassionate thing you could ever say to me.
Sometimes it just gets the best of me.
Not that I'm some angel of niceness, but unfortunately I was bestowed with an awareness of how to lend a helping hand to--or to be thoughtful for/mindful of--others, most of the time. And so I find it difficult sometimes to deal when I'm confronted with others' inability to do the same.
I know, I know.
This seems like a silly thing to get frustrated about, and perhaps a smidgen contradictory to the underlying premise of the golden rule (which I will now de-capitalize out of disdain)--which is to simply do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.
No strings attached, right?
Well, psychologically I think it is impossible to do good without a nano-percentage of that being "for you." Even if it's the feeling of gladness for doing that thing, helping that person, or saving those whales, you still got gladness in return. So, admittedly, actions of good have personal rewards.
I don't think, however, that that necessarily affects the sincerity of the action(s), nor does it make them selfish.
On top of that inherent 'goodness,' I can't say I don't want a taste more in return...say, understanding. To be more specific, it's nice when people don't act like your requests are ridiculous.
For starters, do you really think I'd ask something "ridiculous"?? If so, why? And what is ridiculous, anyway?
Also, don't you think that if I am asking such things, that I would be OK with a similar request from you?
Get off of your fucking high-horse about things and try to see why I might even think to ask you...or suggest to you...or request...or say...whatever it is that you've deemed "ridiculous."
And so I hate the golden rule. Sometimes.
Maybe I just hate when people are so quick to label me/things about me as "ridiculous."
If you're actually being serious, then to me that's the ultimately most-uncompassionate thing you could ever say to me.
5.4.06
misc. wednesday
-I feel like the only real blog posts I do anymore are misc. wednesdays...I wish I had more in me than that.
-Today on my lunch break I went to Old Navy (yeah, there's a shopping "complex" near my work. mer bear would be jealous. I shouldn't tell her there's also a ROSS.) I bought myself a pair of bermuda shorts (I might go there some day, so I thought I'd be prepared) and a self-proclaimed "sun-kissed polo." I mostly sat in the dressing room laughing to myself at the sun-kissed polo tag. When the hell did polo shirts need to be sun-kissed, and who thought of that anyway?? It conjures up a fresh field of polo shirts blowing in the breeze, bees buzzing around the collars trying to pollinate in vain, and small asthmatic blonde children sneezing their small asthmatic blonde-children sneezes. I mean, is this the next step in the evolution of clothing nomenclature, begun by those wizards over at J. Crew who invented another color spectrum, the likes of which include "mariposa" and "creme fraiche-nougat balsa"? Even L.L.Bean ca. 1993 seems ghetto with polo-shirt lines such as "sun-kissed."
Sure is soft though!
-Speaking of marketing gimmicks, another thing I noticed was the lotion industry's obsession with both Scandinavia and/or Switzerland, which begs the question: Are the Nords really better at lotion-making than, say, Africans? And at which point did we all start accepting this as truth?
St. Ives boasts "original Swiss formula" and includes one special "whipped silk" in its product line, which claims the ancient power of...moisturizing?. Neutrogena has a navy-and-red-schemed design on a field of pure white decking out its straight-forward, no-nonsene, super-efficient-and-humorless bottle for its "Norwegian Formula" ('DRY-ROUGH SKIN ONLY!!!). Then there are all the wittle generic bwands on the far ends, meekly waving paper versions of their Aryan counterparts' national flags. "Compare to Neutrogena!" and "Same Active Ingredients As St. Ives!" they shout at the top of their water-logged lungs. But they're not fooling anybody except...well, mayhaps a few deal-sniffers or coupon-clippers.
Personally, I went for the Neutrogena.
-I once knew a man from Nantucket.
-R.I.P.: Carlisle HS German class's annual gingerbread-house-for-a-whole-month building. 1990-2006.
I guess the administration finally figured out that spending the whole month of December having students build a gingerbread house "just because it's kinda German-ish" wasn't the best use of time. Es tut mir leid, Frau Dete.
-Best pick up line ever, by Lizzy Wilmarth: "So. Slavery. How fucked up was that??"
-I'm gonna have to go ahead and say my favorite animal is the gibbon.
-What are you people doing this weekend?
-Today's Compare and Contrast: immigration debate and taxes
The ongoing immigration debate is interesting; taxes are boring.
-Today on my lunch break I went to Old Navy (yeah, there's a shopping "complex" near my work. mer bear would be jealous. I shouldn't tell her there's also a ROSS.) I bought myself a pair of bermuda shorts (I might go there some day, so I thought I'd be prepared) and a self-proclaimed "sun-kissed polo." I mostly sat in the dressing room laughing to myself at the sun-kissed polo tag. When the hell did polo shirts need to be sun-kissed, and who thought of that anyway?? It conjures up a fresh field of polo shirts blowing in the breeze, bees buzzing around the collars trying to pollinate in vain, and small asthmatic blonde children sneezing their small asthmatic blonde-children sneezes. I mean, is this the next step in the evolution of clothing nomenclature, begun by those wizards over at J. Crew who invented another color spectrum, the likes of which include "mariposa" and "creme fraiche-nougat balsa"? Even L.L.Bean ca. 1993 seems ghetto with polo-shirt lines such as "sun-kissed."
Sure is soft though!
-Speaking of marketing gimmicks, another thing I noticed was the lotion industry's obsession with both Scandinavia and/or Switzerland, which begs the question: Are the Nords really better at lotion-making than, say, Africans? And at which point did we all start accepting this as truth?
St. Ives boasts "original Swiss formula" and includes one special "whipped silk" in its product line, which claims the ancient power of...moisturizing?. Neutrogena has a navy-and-red-schemed design on a field of pure white decking out its straight-forward, no-nonsene, super-efficient-and-humorless bottle for its "Norwegian Formula" ('DRY-ROUGH SKIN ONLY!!!). Then there are all the wittle generic bwands on the far ends, meekly waving paper versions of their Aryan counterparts' national flags. "Compare to Neutrogena!" and "Same Active Ingredients As St. Ives!" they shout at the top of their water-logged lungs. But they're not fooling anybody except...well, mayhaps a few deal-sniffers or coupon-clippers.
Personally, I went for the Neutrogena.
-I once knew a man from Nantucket.
-R.I.P.: Carlisle HS German class's annual gingerbread-house-for-a-whole-month building. 1990-2006.
I guess the administration finally figured out that spending the whole month of December having students build a gingerbread house "just because it's kinda German-ish" wasn't the best use of time. Es tut mir leid, Frau Dete.
-Best pick up line ever, by Lizzy Wilmarth: "So. Slavery. How fucked up was that??"
-I'm gonna have to go ahead and say my favorite animal is the gibbon.
-What are you people doing this weekend?
-Today's Compare and Contrast: immigration debate and taxes
The ongoing immigration debate is interesting; taxes are boring.
28.3.06
I need a drink
emily meehan's latest installment of "Act One" in the wall street j
somehow, my point about having a budget came across more as me having a drinking problem.
somehow, my point about having a budget came across more as me having a drinking problem.
22.3.06
misc. wednesday
-Went to Belle and Sebastian last night. I had great company, it was a great show and they are one of my favorite bands, but I must say that, save those of independent hip-hop or music festivals (OK, OK, or Indigo Girls), I'm a tad over concerts in general. They are fun and it has nothing to do with the music, but sometimes it's weird to just stand there and watch the people perform. I like going to concerts and hanging out, but it gets odd when you can't really do that because the venue or crowd mood and you're just kind of standing there watching from a distance a band that is playing pretty much the exact stuff on their albums. With the hip-hop, the bluegrass, the music festivals, (and the Indigo Girls), there is usually improvisation and crowd engagement/dancing. But especially the indie rock I've noticed, it's a hilarious bunch of indie hipsters standing like statues facing forward, kind of swaying. Cracks me up.
-Song Du Jour: No More Drama by Mary J
"It feels so good/when you let go of all the drama in your life/Now you're free from all the pain, free from all the games/free from all the stress/to find your happiness."
-Started coaching lacrosse at Mercy HS. It’s so interesting to see how new the sport is out here on the west coast, but how enthusiastic kids are to learn it despite the fact that it was never one of those sports they grew up with, like soccer or softball. The girls are so excited to learn even though they've lost their first few games and keep getting called for rules they don't know yet. I'm looking forward to their progress.
-Also finishing up training this week for ProjectRead, the adult literacy program at the SF library. I really can't believe how many adults out there can't read or write, and, even more interesting, how they got to that point. Some just fell through the cracks and made it through the school system--diploma and all--but can't read above second grade. Others never got to go to school past third or fourth grade because of family problems or moving. Whatever the reason, they've decided to get help, which is where PR comes in. We work with the learners as their learning partner to get them to where they want to be. That could be as simple as wanting to know enough just to fill out a job application, or as long of a journey as getting to college.
Just in the training, which has been a few weeks, 6 hours a week, we've learned so much ourselves. From how and why the learners are where they are, to how we fit in to getting them to achieve their goals, to seeing how complex reading and writing actually is when taken in the context of someone who can't. I've learned that there are a million things I take for granted everytime I read something as simple as a menu or write an email. Good stuff.
-Congratulations to Brad who got into a lot of his top choice of grad schools, including Yale and the Fletcher School at Tufts.
-I was talking to my friend Molly from home yesterday and she's been back there for about a month just chillin' as a Carlisle townie for a bit. She was telling me all about her townie life and how she hangs out with some guys from our high school class--they were never 'best friends' or 'not friends'--just friends. She said her and one of them "go on bike rides." I was laughing out loud because only in Carlisle would two people who happen to be there at the same time start hanging out regularly and go on bike rides through the country.
I can't say I don't miss it:)
-When two people created between them, over the years and perhaps unknowingly, a crappy, unhealthy and untrusting relationship, it is really hard for them each to get to the point where each of them is comfortable and wants to establish a friendship. There is no fault; it just happened that way. To some, it might be 'sad' that it is that way, but that is not the way I see it. I see it as a huge learning experience that couldn't really have happened either way. In exchange for the heaps of personal lessons gained, a friendship may have been sacrificed. A friendship is carefree, loving and fun. I feel none of these things. At least not yet.
-Today's Compare and Contrast: Apples and Oranges
Apples are either red, green, yellow or a combination of the three. Oranges are orange or red, and can also be a combination of both. Apples can be sweet, tart, or both at the same time. Oranges can claim the same flavor spectrum. Apples and Oranges are both juicy and have seeds and stems, but Apples have cores, which Oranges don't. I've never come across a mealy Orange though. Both have peels, but it is easier to remove an Orange peel than that of an Apple.
Underpaid Central-American migrant workers usually pick both, sometimes within the same year.
-Song Du Jour: No More Drama by Mary J
"It feels so good/when you let go of all the drama in your life/Now you're free from all the pain, free from all the games/free from all the stress/to find your happiness."
-Started coaching lacrosse at Mercy HS. It’s so interesting to see how new the sport is out here on the west coast, but how enthusiastic kids are to learn it despite the fact that it was never one of those sports they grew up with, like soccer or softball. The girls are so excited to learn even though they've lost their first few games and keep getting called for rules they don't know yet. I'm looking forward to their progress.
-Also finishing up training this week for ProjectRead, the adult literacy program at the SF library. I really can't believe how many adults out there can't read or write, and, even more interesting, how they got to that point. Some just fell through the cracks and made it through the school system--diploma and all--but can't read above second grade. Others never got to go to school past third or fourth grade because of family problems or moving. Whatever the reason, they've decided to get help, which is where PR comes in. We work with the learners as their learning partner to get them to where they want to be. That could be as simple as wanting to know enough just to fill out a job application, or as long of a journey as getting to college.
Just in the training, which has been a few weeks, 6 hours a week, we've learned so much ourselves. From how and why the learners are where they are, to how we fit in to getting them to achieve their goals, to seeing how complex reading and writing actually is when taken in the context of someone who can't. I've learned that there are a million things I take for granted everytime I read something as simple as a menu or write an email. Good stuff.
-Congratulations to Brad who got into a lot of his top choice of grad schools, including Yale and the Fletcher School at Tufts.
-I was talking to my friend Molly from home yesterday and she's been back there for about a month just chillin' as a Carlisle townie for a bit. She was telling me all about her townie life and how she hangs out with some guys from our high school class--they were never 'best friends' or 'not friends'--just friends. She said her and one of them "go on bike rides." I was laughing out loud because only in Carlisle would two people who happen to be there at the same time start hanging out regularly and go on bike rides through the country.
I can't say I don't miss it:)
-When two people created between them, over the years and perhaps unknowingly, a crappy, unhealthy and untrusting relationship, it is really hard for them each to get to the point where each of them is comfortable and wants to establish a friendship. There is no fault; it just happened that way. To some, it might be 'sad' that it is that way, but that is not the way I see it. I see it as a huge learning experience that couldn't really have happened either way. In exchange for the heaps of personal lessons gained, a friendship may have been sacrificed. A friendship is carefree, loving and fun. I feel none of these things. At least not yet.
-Today's Compare and Contrast: Apples and Oranges
Apples are either red, green, yellow or a combination of the three. Oranges are orange or red, and can also be a combination of both. Apples can be sweet, tart, or both at the same time. Oranges can claim the same flavor spectrum. Apples and Oranges are both juicy and have seeds and stems, but Apples have cores, which Oranges don't. I've never come across a mealy Orange though. Both have peels, but it is easier to remove an Orange peel than that of an Apple.
Underpaid Central-American migrant workers usually pick both, sometimes within the same year.
17.3.06
um, yeah...not so much.
That was one of the worst basketball games I've ever seen in my life.
And I only got to see the last five minutes.
I'm sorta torn between my loyalty to Syracuse and completely dissing them for one of the --if not THE-- most pitiful and lame performances in their entire history.
Moving on, though...
Happy Saint Patty's Day!!
And I only got to see the last five minutes.
I'm sorta torn between my loyalty to Syracuse and completely dissing them for one of the --if not THE-- most pitiful and lame performances in their entire history.
Moving on, though...
Happy Saint Patty's Day!!
16.3.06
my bracket
Atlanta:
First Round:
Duke
George Wash.
CUSE
LSU
West Virginia
Iowa
Cal
Texas
Oakland:
Memphis
Bucknell
Pitt
Kansas
SDSU
Gonzaga
Marquette
UCLA
D.C.:
UConn
UAB
Utah
Illinois
Mich. State
UNC
Seton Hall
Minneapolis:
Tenn.
Nova
Wisconsin
Nevada
BC
Wisc-Mil
Florida
Georgetown
Ohio
Sweet Sixteen:
Duke
CUSE
Iowa
Texas
Memphis
Kansas
Gonzaga
UCLA
UConn
Illinois
UNC
Tenn.
Nova
BC
Florida
Georgetown
Elite Eight:
CUSE
Texas
Kansas
UCLA
UConn
UNC
Nova
Florida
Final Four:
CUSE
Kansas
UConn
Nova
Final Game:
CUSE
UConn
Syracuse wins 86-84
First Round:
Duke
George Wash.
CUSE
LSU
West Virginia
Iowa
Cal
Texas
Oakland:
Memphis
Bucknell
Pitt
Kansas
SDSU
Gonzaga
Marquette
UCLA
D.C.:
UConn
UAB
Utah
Illinois
Mich. State
UNC
Seton Hall
Minneapolis:
Tenn.
Nova
Wisconsin
Nevada
BC
Wisc-Mil
Florida
Georgetown
Ohio
Sweet Sixteen:
Duke
CUSE
Iowa
Texas
Memphis
Kansas
Gonzaga
UCLA
UConn
Illinois
UNC
Tenn.
Nova
BC
Florida
Georgetown
Elite Eight:
CUSE
Texas
Kansas
UCLA
UConn
UNC
Nova
Florida
Final Four:
CUSE
Kansas
UConn
Nova
Final Game:
CUSE
UConn
Syracuse wins 86-84
10.3.06
your input
So over the next month or so I'm gonna vamp up my blog and hopefully start a podcast. Of course, this is contingent upon a lot of things, but still. It's a big fat goal I have.
Whatchoo people want? Please let me know what you think would be cool. Any suggestions welcome.
Thanksers!
Whatchoo people want? Please let me know what you think would be cool. Any suggestions welcome.
Thanksers!
9.3.06
just kidding, south dakotes
Yesterday I compared you to Puritan New England, based on your recent banning of abortion. I didn't mean this as a complete insult (there were some good/fun things about Puritant NE), and I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate what you're doing out there on the prairie.
You see, our system is designed for this kind of thing. So just as I have the right (well, at least for now) to go get my uterus gutted, you have the right to try not to let me. We battle it out--exchange words and perhaps slap one another with gloves or silly-sloganed picket signs--and then we hire our best minds to take it into the courtroom for final review.
And so far, you're up.
And you know what? You just might win. We did in the 70's and...I understand the ebb and flow of victory. I mean, just three years ago the Orangemen were on their way to winning the national championship and...well, let's not talk about that right now.
The point is, you have every right to try to ban abortion. Good for you, if that's what you believe in. And if you win I guess I'd come over and shake your hand.
Of course I'd then wash mine of any responsibility for turning back the clock of modernity. But still, "Good job," I'd say. "You deserve it."
Because you'll deserve the back-alley abortions, the unwanted children, and the financial backlash and strain on your one-zip-coded system that comes along with such an antiquated law.
You see, our system is designed for this kind of thing. So just as I have the right (well, at least for now) to go get my uterus gutted, you have the right to try not to let me. We battle it out--exchange words and perhaps slap one another with gloves or silly-sloganed picket signs--and then we hire our best minds to take it into the courtroom for final review.
And so far, you're up.
And you know what? You just might win. We did in the 70's and...I understand the ebb and flow of victory. I mean, just three years ago the Orangemen were on their way to winning the national championship and...well, let's not talk about that right now.
The point is, you have every right to try to ban abortion. Good for you, if that's what you believe in. And if you win I guess I'd come over and shake your hand.
Of course I'd then wash mine of any responsibility for turning back the clock of modernity. But still, "Good job," I'd say. "You deserve it."
Because you'll deserve the back-alley abortions, the unwanted children, and the financial backlash and strain on your one-zip-coded system that comes along with such an antiquated law.
8.3.06
misc. wednesday
-I think that if a relationship starts out complicated, it will exist as such.
On a related note...if it starts out easy, it will exist as just that.
And it is.
-My new favorite Mozart song is Symphony No. 40 in G Minor: Andate
-A good passage:
"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate."
-Bernard Mickey Wrangle, aka, The Woodpecker
-The rest of that quote to follow at the appropriate time.
-The more I do sudoku, the more I can't stop doing sudoku. It's a vicious cycle, much like sudoku itself.
-Is it just me, or does the L Word completely suck this season? And the Oscar DOES NOT go to the chick that plays Moira. Are you f-ing kidding me?? Any Moira scene last week was like a horrible afterschool special.
That being said, I always look forward to the next episode with mucho delightio. My prediction is that Tina will end up with sex-changed Moira/Max because T-Bone's fiending for the magic stick. [Credit for this prediction given to my L-Word watchin' crew as a whole]
-I think I have a two-year plan. I've never had a two-year plan.
It's exciting. Inquire within.
-Ali Lee's in town...woohoo!
-Not sure if you caught Marketplace yesterday, but about 23:30 into the program they played a 10-second snippet of a song by the South African band 'Freshly Ground' related to a story on the SA clothing company Loxion Kulcha. Mmmhmm...song suggestion courtesy of yours truly and Kar-Bear Weidert!
-Today's Compare and Contrast: South Dakota and 17th-Century New England
Same.
On a related note...if it starts out easy, it will exist as just that.
And it is.
-My new favorite Mozart song is Symphony No. 40 in G Minor: Andate
-A good passage:
"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate."
-Bernard Mickey Wrangle, aka, The Woodpecker
-The rest of that quote to follow at the appropriate time.
-The more I do sudoku, the more I can't stop doing sudoku. It's a vicious cycle, much like sudoku itself.
-Is it just me, or does the L Word completely suck this season? And the Oscar DOES NOT go to the chick that plays Moira. Are you f-ing kidding me?? Any Moira scene last week was like a horrible afterschool special.
That being said, I always look forward to the next episode with mucho delightio. My prediction is that Tina will end up with sex-changed Moira/Max because T-Bone's fiending for the magic stick. [Credit for this prediction given to my L-Word watchin' crew as a whole]
-I think I have a two-year plan. I've never had a two-year plan.
It's exciting. Inquire within.
-Ali Lee's in town...woohoo!
-Not sure if you caught Marketplace yesterday, but about 23:30 into the program they played a 10-second snippet of a song by the South African band 'Freshly Ground' related to a story on the SA clothing company Loxion Kulcha. Mmmhmm...song suggestion courtesy of yours truly and Kar-Bear Weidert!
-Today's Compare and Contrast: South Dakota and 17th-Century New England
Same.
23.2.06
darcy o'brien
When someone so young passes her time on Earth, I think it hits every single person right smack in the heart with the fact.
That life is precious.
Even though Darcy was not my immediate friend, Colleen and her family were integral to my life since I first plopped down in Carlisle. Their steadfast and down-home hospitality, friendship, and support were unprecedented blessings after having grown up constantly on the move, and I've never lost my gratitude for how they have enriched my life.
And so I grieve hard, but simply, for the loss of Darcy.
Simply.
I simply cannot imagine how it must feel to lose your daughter.
I simply cannot imagine what is like to have your only sibling taken away from you.
And I simply cannot fathom losing your best friend, just as your adult lives were taking off and you were going in different directions with different ambitions.
Knowing that you would always have your best friends by your side--step by step--until the day was done.
And suddenly that day comes for one of you.
To Colleen, Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien, and the rest of the O'Brien family and Darcy's friends--many of whom are also my own best friends' younger sisters--
I am so, so sorry for your loss and I offer my deepest sympathy and love for you during this time.
You are in my thoughts and heart.
"And so we know we're all right;
life will come and life will go.
Still we feel it's all right
cause someone gets a letter to your soul.
When your whole life is on the tip of your tongue,
empty pages for the no longer young,
the apathy of time laughs in our face...
Each life has its place."
-IG, 'virginia woolf'
That life is precious.
Even though Darcy was not my immediate friend, Colleen and her family were integral to my life since I first plopped down in Carlisle. Their steadfast and down-home hospitality, friendship, and support were unprecedented blessings after having grown up constantly on the move, and I've never lost my gratitude for how they have enriched my life.
And so I grieve hard, but simply, for the loss of Darcy.
Simply.
I simply cannot imagine how it must feel to lose your daughter.
I simply cannot imagine what is like to have your only sibling taken away from you.
And I simply cannot fathom losing your best friend, just as your adult lives were taking off and you were going in different directions with different ambitions.
Knowing that you would always have your best friends by your side--step by step--until the day was done.
And suddenly that day comes for one of you.
To Colleen, Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien, and the rest of the O'Brien family and Darcy's friends--many of whom are also my own best friends' younger sisters--
I am so, so sorry for your loss and I offer my deepest sympathy and love for you during this time.
You are in my thoughts and heart.
"And so we know we're all right;
life will come and life will go.
Still we feel it's all right
cause someone gets a letter to your soul.
When your whole life is on the tip of your tongue,
empty pages for the no longer young,
the apathy of time laughs in our face...
Each life has its place."
-IG, 'virginia woolf'
22.2.06
misc. wednesday
-I have developed a strange affinity for english breakfast tea with sugar and cream, thanks in part to my co-worker Margarete. A regular coffee drinker, I sometimes tried my hand at teas, but usually ended up feeling like a poser.
Either that, or I would just secretly want it to be coffee the whole time.
But with the english breakfast, I feel naturally satisfied. Not like a pretentious herbal tea drinker that I sometimes "want" to be after listening to Jewel (I do not listen to Jewel! I just mean, that feeling of thinking about Jewel and how it made you want to be all cute and sensitive) or when I see the Yoga Journal in the check-out line at Whole Foods. No, english breakfast tea skips all that secret confidence/inconfidence and just...does it for me. Of course, I get an afternoon coffee anyway.
But for the morning hours, I'm refined, classy, and British.
-Anne Taintor is brilliant.
-Also brilliant:
-Go see Emily Morrison in her new play--showing for the next two weeks!
-I am addicted to Sam Cooke's greatest hits album.
-5 fun things about last weekend:
1) out-of-town visitors
2) grey's anatomy/L-word party
3) "westwood!"
4) The Maids play, starring Linnea Wilson
5) laughing for 4 days straight
-This point does not have a point.
-Today's Compare and Contrast: burritos from different places
I was recently discussing with my good friend Molly H., how if she came to visit me in SF, that she would never be able to once again eat at Taco Bell. Of course, knowing Molly H., I should have expected that she would quickly stop me dead in my pretentious-SF tracks, which she did. Tracks, I must point out, that I didn't even know I was in and still don't think are part of my overall being...but that's not the point. The point is I live in SF and I thought, for a split second, that something I know as true and good about SF is better than something outside of SF, which has historically given SF a pretentious reputation it finds hard to shake, and which also pisses off my grandmother.
She says: "T-Bell cannot be compared to other Mexican places. There are different levels of Mexican food, and one cannot compare, say, a T-Bell with a Chipotle, just as one cannot compare a Chipotle with a decent sit-down Mexican restaurant." She continues to say that to do so would be to compare "apples and oranges."
At first this seems like an admirable point--simply admitting that they are all in different leagues and thus why create a headache for yourself?
And I agree that each one 'is what it is,' and to go into a T-Bell with Papalote-like expectations would be merely foolish, if not depressing.
But one must wonder--nay, SHOULD wonder--aren't they all shooting for the same Tex-Mex moon? And if so, is it really that ridiculous to suggest that a bean burrito from one sucks, when compared to one from another?
I guess the trick is not to compare at all.
And I guess I can do that if I throw all my principles out the window, toss my beliefs aside, and settle for mediocrity.
Or just get really drunk.
Either that, or I would just secretly want it to be coffee the whole time.
But with the english breakfast, I feel naturally satisfied. Not like a pretentious herbal tea drinker that I sometimes "want" to be after listening to Jewel (I do not listen to Jewel! I just mean, that feeling of thinking about Jewel and how it made you want to be all cute and sensitive) or when I see the Yoga Journal in the check-out line at Whole Foods. No, english breakfast tea skips all that secret confidence/inconfidence and just...does it for me. Of course, I get an afternoon coffee anyway.
But for the morning hours, I'm refined, classy, and British.
-Anne Taintor is brilliant.
-Also brilliant:
-Go see Emily Morrison in her new play--showing for the next two weeks!
-I am addicted to Sam Cooke's greatest hits album.
-5 fun things about last weekend:
1) out-of-town visitors
2) grey's anatomy/L-word party
3) "westwood!"
4) The Maids play, starring Linnea Wilson
5) laughing for 4 days straight
-This point does not have a point.
-Today's Compare and Contrast: burritos from different places
I was recently discussing with my good friend Molly H., how if she came to visit me in SF, that she would never be able to once again eat at Taco Bell. Of course, knowing Molly H., I should have expected that she would quickly stop me dead in my pretentious-SF tracks, which she did. Tracks, I must point out, that I didn't even know I was in and still don't think are part of my overall being...but that's not the point. The point is I live in SF and I thought, for a split second, that something I know as true and good about SF is better than something outside of SF, which has historically given SF a pretentious reputation it finds hard to shake, and which also pisses off my grandmother.
She says: "T-Bell cannot be compared to other Mexican places. There are different levels of Mexican food, and one cannot compare, say, a T-Bell with a Chipotle, just as one cannot compare a Chipotle with a decent sit-down Mexican restaurant." She continues to say that to do so would be to compare "apples and oranges."
At first this seems like an admirable point--simply admitting that they are all in different leagues and thus why create a headache for yourself?
And I agree that each one 'is what it is,' and to go into a T-Bell with Papalote-like expectations would be merely foolish, if not depressing.
But one must wonder--nay, SHOULD wonder--aren't they all shooting for the same Tex-Mex moon? And if so, is it really that ridiculous to suggest that a bean burrito from one sucks, when compared to one from another?
I guess the trick is not to compare at all.
And I guess I can do that if I throw all my principles out the window, toss my beliefs aside, and settle for mediocrity.
Or just get really drunk.
15.2.06
misc. wednesday!
-Congratulations to Ms. Leigh Carter, who today got a job. All I have to say is it's about freaking time someone hired your smart and talented ass!
-I really should work on eating more slowly. I just killed that whole thing in like 5 minutes.
-5 favorite local foods and who introduced me to them:
1) super bean & cheese burrito from Papalote (me)
2) an It's It ice cream thingy from the corner store (leah)
3) chicken wings from Capital in Chinatown (karen)
4) falafel deluxe from Truly Med (nicole)
5) the cheap beer that keeps showing up in our fridge (?)
-At the current time, I'm not affiliated with AudioLuxe. The details aren't important, but I just wanted to "announce" that, so when you hear about me volunteering/taking up new activities/etc. you don't think I'm completely crazy for doing a "billion things."
-On that note, I'm really excited about starting a second life as a volunteer. More to come, I'm sure.
-Kelli Johnson was a damn good friend; she is still missed greatly.
-I'm really enjoying this nice weather (70s & sunny), but it's weird not having to have earned it by enduring months of gray winter. Don't fuck with me, California.
-Places I want to go in the next five years:
1) Oktoberfest (beer + Germany = ja voll)
2) Hawai'i (it's so close!)
3) Anywhere in Latin America already...jeez!
4) Yosemite NP
5) grad school
-"3 Feet High and Rising" is still one of the best albums ever made.
Today's Compare and Contrast:
-I think I prefer four-tined to three-tined, forks.
Why? Well, when it comes to tines, it's all in the food-stabbing ability. Obviously the fourth tine allows for a broader bite than one with just three. That's obvious.
In addition, I find my eating is more assertive when I eat with a four-tined fork. With three, it's like, the food could just jump off the plate and eat me! That's not a way to enjoy one's dinner.
Oh yeah, and a four-tined fork makes a more muted "dook" sound if it actually finds its way to the plate without having caught any food. Which sometimes happens. Sometimes I miss the food on the plate. The last thing I need is a fork that's always pointing it out.
To three-tined fork's credit, though, at least it's better than a spork.
OK, well, a three-pronged spork.
-Mr. Cheney:
Love hurts and all, but at least Ennis didn't shoot him.
-I really should work on eating more slowly. I just killed that whole thing in like 5 minutes.
-5 favorite local foods and who introduced me to them:
1) super bean & cheese burrito from Papalote (me)
2) an It's It ice cream thingy from the corner store (leah)
3) chicken wings from Capital in Chinatown (karen)
4) falafel deluxe from Truly Med (nicole)
5) the cheap beer that keeps showing up in our fridge (?)
-At the current time, I'm not affiliated with AudioLuxe. The details aren't important, but I just wanted to "announce" that, so when you hear about me volunteering/taking up new activities/etc. you don't think I'm completely crazy for doing a "billion things."
-On that note, I'm really excited about starting a second life as a volunteer. More to come, I'm sure.
-Kelli Johnson was a damn good friend; she is still missed greatly.
-I'm really enjoying this nice weather (70s & sunny), but it's weird not having to have earned it by enduring months of gray winter. Don't fuck with me, California.
-Places I want to go in the next five years:
1) Oktoberfest (beer + Germany = ja voll)
2) Hawai'i (it's so close!)
3) Anywhere in Latin America already...jeez!
4) Yosemite NP
5) grad school
-"3 Feet High and Rising" is still one of the best albums ever made.
Today's Compare and Contrast:
-I think I prefer four-tined to three-tined, forks.
Why? Well, when it comes to tines, it's all in the food-stabbing ability. Obviously the fourth tine allows for a broader bite than one with just three. That's obvious.
In addition, I find my eating is more assertive when I eat with a four-tined fork. With three, it's like, the food could just jump off the plate and eat me! That's not a way to enjoy one's dinner.
Oh yeah, and a four-tined fork makes a more muted "dook" sound if it actually finds its way to the plate without having caught any food. Which sometimes happens. Sometimes I miss the food on the plate. The last thing I need is a fork that's always pointing it out.
To three-tined fork's credit, though, at least it's better than a spork.
OK, well, a three-pronged spork.
-Mr. Cheney:
Love hurts and all, but at least Ennis didn't shoot him.
14.2.06
valentine's day
misc. wednesday will return tomorrow, but in the meantime I just wanted to say that I just had the best Valentine's Day in my entire life...and it's only 11:30 am.
27.1.06
a good proverb
"with money you can buy a house, but not a home.
you can buy a clock, but not time
a bed, but not sleep
a book, but not knowledge.
with money you can buy a doctor, but not good health
you can buy a position, but not respect
sex, but not love.
And you can buy entertainment, but not happiness."
you can buy a clock, but not time
a bed, but not sleep
a book, but not knowledge.
with money you can buy a doctor, but not good health
you can buy a position, but not respect
sex, but not love.
And you can buy entertainment, but not happiness."
25.1.06
misc. wednesday
-I just met author Amy Tan and brought her to Studio A. On the way up from the lobby, she told me all about her new orthopaedic shoes, which looked like lunch-lady shoes with one big spring as the heel.
-After giving it a lot of thought, I would have Kraft Spirals 'N' Cheese and a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice as my last meal.
-The world is celebrating Mozart's 250th birthday this week, and suddenly he's all popular and crap. All I can say is...who had THEIR favorite part of Sonata for Piano No. 11 in A Major-Rondo Alla Turca: Allegretto this time one year ago?
-Yeah, that's right.
-
-I think "the Epic of Gilgamesh" is more important to read now than it ever was. I mean, it's the first written story in human history and is from the Middle East.
-I have a new girl in my life. Her name's Leah and all I can really say is that she is completely awesome.
-Although they smell quite similar, I think I prefer Bath & Body Works' Coconut Verbena Lime body lotion over their Rich Citrus Cream. Why? Well, for starters, the word "verbena" is fun to say...even in one's head. I mean, mostly just in one's (ok, 'my') head because it's not like I talk a lot about these kinds of things out loud.
Secondly, the coconut offers a beach-ful and buttery quality unmatched by simply adding a "cream" chemical to the 'rich citrus' make-up of Rich Citrus Cream.
Additionally, I find the focus just on lime to be theoretically more classy than simply bunching all of the citrus fruits together, as if they aren't individuals. Essentially, if you treat them all the same, that's how they'll end up.
In conclusion...whereas Coconut Verbena Lime is a more-focused and deliberately-scented product, I find Rich Citrus Cream to be simply a haphazard and lazy afterthought of a body lotion.
Good thing they were two-for-one.
-After giving it a lot of thought, I would have Kraft Spirals 'N' Cheese and a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice as my last meal.
-The world is celebrating Mozart's 250th birthday this week, and suddenly he's all popular and crap. All I can say is...who had THEIR favorite part of Sonata for Piano No. 11 in A Major-Rondo Alla Turca: Allegretto this time one year ago?
-Yeah, that's right.
-
-I think "the Epic of Gilgamesh" is more important to read now than it ever was. I mean, it's the first written story in human history and is from the Middle East.
-I have a new girl in my life. Her name's Leah and all I can really say is that she is completely awesome.
-Although they smell quite similar, I think I prefer Bath & Body Works' Coconut Verbena Lime body lotion over their Rich Citrus Cream. Why? Well, for starters, the word "verbena" is fun to say...even in one's head. I mean, mostly just in one's (ok, 'my') head because it's not like I talk a lot about these kinds of things out loud.
Secondly, the coconut offers a beach-ful and buttery quality unmatched by simply adding a "cream" chemical to the 'rich citrus' make-up of Rich Citrus Cream.
Additionally, I find the focus just on lime to be theoretically more classy than simply bunching all of the citrus fruits together, as if they aren't individuals. Essentially, if you treat them all the same, that's how they'll end up.
In conclusion...whereas Coconut Verbena Lime is a more-focused and deliberately-scented product, I find Rich Citrus Cream to be simply a haphazard and lazy afterthought of a body lotion.
Good thing they were two-for-one.
23.1.06
public radio and me
OK so as far back as I can remember...or atleast since my family returned to the states in '93...family car trips meant two things: my brother and I fighting over the arm rest, and public radio.
Ten years later, I've gotten over the arm rest thing, for the most part. Despite its convenient placement for a road-weary head (when pulled out slightly upright) or just a practical wall between you and the Scum of the Earth As You Know It (one's younger brother), I can actually say with confidence that I'm at peace with arm rests.
But if you know me, I'm far far away from being, in any sort of way, over public radio.
As of today, this 23rd day of January 2006 A.D., my career in public radio officially begins at KQED, Inc.
I can't really describe--especially on this silly blog--how good this feels. To be dramatic, I feel like I've been working my entire life for this to happen. Let me explain...
It all started, as I said, on family car trips. My parents would constantly scan the air waves for the local NPR station--easy to find on the lower half of the dial and marked by boring classical music and interrupted by the even-more-boring news.
I would literally stare out the window, envious of roadkill, and complain that "we already heard this."
I don't really know when it was that I realized I had it better than the roadkill and that this "NPR" stuff was actually interesting, but I did.
Throughout high school, I found an outlet for my explanatory tendencies (at one point, I had a very bad 'explaining habit') and love for putting stories together, at Herd TV--Carlisle HS's weekly student-run, school district news program. While most of my classmates were in Herd TV for the freedom (we were able to leave school to 'go out on assignment'--which usually meant going to Sheetz for a Schmuffinz or Rita's for a Mist-O shake), I was there for the thrill of the deadline!
The late-breaking news about Lamberton's MS's latest art project!
The intriguing way in which Cumberland County ran its waste-water treatment plant!
And Mooreland Elementary School's steel-drum concert!
Whoa!
In college I was a news slut, majoring in BJ. While we learned the 'commercial' way of doing news, I was the dork asking my professors if I could please do a 5-minute piece on gay adoption.
Please?
OK.
And while most of my classmates thought of Radio News Reporting (RTN345) as an annoying step toward our year of TV, I briefly mourned the passing from audio to video.
I say briefly because, quite frankly, who doesn't want to be on camera every week? But I knew in my heart that was all just fun and games and that the real stuff of life can be collected by microphone only.
This isn't to say I hold any disdain for TV peeps, nor my commercial news-minded counterparts; in the end, it's all part of the same waxey ball.
I guess it's just that I prefer ear wax.
So now, more than two years later, it's finally happened and it feels pretty cool.
This one might take a little longer than the arm rest thing.
Ten years later, I've gotten over the arm rest thing, for the most part. Despite its convenient placement for a road-weary head (when pulled out slightly upright) or just a practical wall between you and the Scum of the Earth As You Know It (one's younger brother), I can actually say with confidence that I'm at peace with arm rests.
But if you know me, I'm far far away from being, in any sort of way, over public radio.
As of today, this 23rd day of January 2006 A.D., my career in public radio officially begins at KQED, Inc.
I can't really describe--especially on this silly blog--how good this feels. To be dramatic, I feel like I've been working my entire life for this to happen. Let me explain...
It all started, as I said, on family car trips. My parents would constantly scan the air waves for the local NPR station--easy to find on the lower half of the dial and marked by boring classical music and interrupted by the even-more-boring news.
I would literally stare out the window, envious of roadkill, and complain that "we already heard this."
I don't really know when it was that I realized I had it better than the roadkill and that this "NPR" stuff was actually interesting, but I did.
Throughout high school, I found an outlet for my explanatory tendencies (at one point, I had a very bad 'explaining habit') and love for putting stories together, at Herd TV--Carlisle HS's weekly student-run, school district news program. While most of my classmates were in Herd TV for the freedom (we were able to leave school to 'go out on assignment'--which usually meant going to Sheetz for a Schmuffinz or Rita's for a Mist-O shake), I was there for the thrill of the deadline!
The late-breaking news about Lamberton's MS's latest art project!
The intriguing way in which Cumberland County ran its waste-water treatment plant!
And Mooreland Elementary School's steel-drum concert!
Whoa!
In college I was a news slut, majoring in BJ. While we learned the 'commercial' way of doing news, I was the dork asking my professors if I could please do a 5-minute piece on gay adoption.
Please?
OK.
And while most of my classmates thought of Radio News Reporting (RTN345) as an annoying step toward our year of TV, I briefly mourned the passing from audio to video.
I say briefly because, quite frankly, who doesn't want to be on camera every week? But I knew in my heart that was all just fun and games and that the real stuff of life can be collected by microphone only.
This isn't to say I hold any disdain for TV peeps, nor my commercial news-minded counterparts; in the end, it's all part of the same waxey ball.
I guess it's just that I prefer ear wax.
So now, more than two years later, it's finally happened and it feels pretty cool.
This one might take a little longer than the arm rest thing.
11.1.06
misc. wednesday
This misc. wednesday's theme is "why I haven't been blogging."
by Emilie Cole
-the holidays. Or is that hollydaze? I can't remember, really.
-As of now, I'm still technically a 'temporary' staff member here at KQED. They are beginning the interview process soon, so I should have some closure as to my immediate employment future in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I'm in this weird state of suspension and do not feel appropriate letting my creative juices flow. I'm not sure why this is--I guess I just need stability to be witty, funny and stuff.
-I'm over my own thoughts before I get to blog about them.
by Emilie Cole
-the holidays. Or is that hollydaze? I can't remember, really.
-As of now, I'm still technically a 'temporary' staff member here at KQED. They are beginning the interview process soon, so I should have some closure as to my immediate employment future in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I'm in this weird state of suspension and do not feel appropriate letting my creative juices flow. I'm not sure why this is--I guess I just need stability to be witty, funny and stuff.
-I'm over my own thoughts before I get to blog about them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
