Friday, December 08, 2006

sewing shermy.



hee hee hee. My shermy, he's a seamster, and he didn't even know it. Actually, he was trying to catch a ladybug. I've only had him for a short while, three months or so. So he's still totally cute and kittenish. He's got some bad habits, he chews on the plugs at the outlets, and he's terrible about knocking things off the coffee table- he also thinks the pin cushion is a toy. But all in all, he's a totally good investment. he comes running to say hello when i get home from work and he doesn't eat any sort of people food. He's stopped peeing on the floor, and he's not a scratcher or a biter. I love my shermy the cat.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

if you haven't got anything nice to say...

don't say anthing at all.

this is a lesson i learned when i was a child- literally. i was perhaps five or six when my dad first said this to me. FIVE OR SIX. so naturally i am surprised when people say rotten things to one another. I'm even more surprised when i'm the recipient of rotten sentiment.

picture it- workplace, october 31, 06. three of us embark on what seems to be an inoccuous enough conversation about a particular hair product we've all tried. it's billed as a leave-in conditioner, but as it turns out a person has to apply heat to attain it's full benefit. Upon learning this, i mention that this is not a route i'll go, so it really wasn't too appealing to me. upon speaking these words, VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES quips, "Yes, and everyone knows that we can't get Ms. Kris to expend more than three steps for her hair".

sorry, but back the bus up. that just isn't ok. Firstly i do not leave the house looking like a bag lady, nor do i leave the house with uncombed hair. secondly, with those two salient points established, telling someone their hair is wrong is on the same level as telling them they are too fat!

What boggles the mind and hacks me off the most are three thoughts: one, this person thinks i'm too stupid to pick up what they're laying down; two, this person thinks it's ok to pick on other people (essentially being a bully); and three, this person thinks that since i'm lower on the work totem pole, i have no recourse (essentially i'm an easy target).

At what point are people going to be responsible for their own actions? I wonder why lots of other people in the world expect that they can say whatever comes to their lips with no consideration for its result and repercussions? Aside from the idea that insulting people, no matter how playfully is delivered is RUDE; Self preservation at least should cause a person to think before they speak- note that now i'm even less inclined to work with this person than i might have been before, because now i realize that they are kind of a jerk. who wants to work wih a jerk?

my personality is to be pissed off and hold a grudge. this is not something i will forget easily. but i will not pass it on. i will not stoop to the lowliness that got me into this snit in the first place. my dad's life lesson is one that i live by, and continue to strive to achive. If i haven't got anything nice to say i won't say anything at all; because no one likes a punch in the nose.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

it is voting day in massachusetts,

get out there and vote dammit!

I wish i had a dime for evry person who said, i don't vote, nothing changes. my vote doesn't actually mean anything. or i'm too busy to vote. i don't believe in voting. i don't vote, i don't own my home, i just rent.

pardon me, but if you don't vote, then you have NO SAY whatsoever! you have left the decision to others- and if some texan with ideological plans for the middle east, impossible plans for education, and absolutely no grasp of the actual economy and job market ends up as president because he's hoodwinked thousands of others who DO vote, your non vote means more!

too busy to vote, come on- the polls are open from 7.00 to 8.00 even in my small town. stop in on your way to or from work. it takes longer to park at the mall than id does to mark a few boxes.

i don't believe in voting. why not? if you belive in your freedom of the press, your freedom of speech, or your right to bear arms you shold believe in voting. you can't have freedoms like those and not have a certain amount of responsibility.

you don't vote because you rent your apartment? that is absolutely ridiculous and preposterous and all of those words that mean dopey.

to be an american means you live in a democracy. the reason everyone wishes to live in a democracy is because you get a say. Exersise your right to vote. For that matter, exersise your responsibility to vote. if you don't vote, you forfeit your right to complain about inadequate government.

Monday, September 11, 2006

so today is an anniversary

do you call it an anniversary, though? i always thought an anniversary was a cause for celebration. not one of inherent heartbreak. it seems so preposterous, for me to be so upset, i didn't know anyone personally, who died, nor even through six degrees. but i simply cannot help but feel heartache just the same. I teeter back and forth- trying to forget, and hoping to never forget. if i am not careful, i will work myself into such a state that i'll really need medical attention. then i wish and wash back and forth between guilt over my complete fear of remembering and fear of forgetting.

Then i wonder how here at work we can be so blasé about the whole day- today we have a sales meeting. can you belive it? a meeting dedicated to figuring out way in which we can sell people more product which they truly do not need. But what else can we do? we have to live, we cannot buckle. people have birthdays today. people have wedding anniversaries today. those are real celebrations.

I just cannot get my head around that anyone would want to do something like that to any one. Aside of the fact that it was America who was attacked; September 11 was horrible. the subsequent bombings in madrid were horrible, the bombings in london were horrible, and the recent foiled plan in london were horrible. the situation in lebanon and israel is horrible, and the war in iraq is horrible. the bottom line is that hate breeds hate, and if allowed to continue, human kind will cause its own destruction.

if september 11 taught us anything, it is that we are never ever going to share the world's ideals. nor is the world interested in sharing ours. so what of that? how do we move on from the mutual exclusivities? Can we move on from them? All i can do is make my best effort to do so. i can learn about people, and i can learn to appreciate and celebrate such differences. surely that is possible? if i cannot celebrate a difference, then i can work to understand it and accept it.

i suppose my efforts are just one drop in a bucket, but i am going to make them anyway. and you can't stop me! You can join me if you like though. i wish you would in fact.

the little girl on 60 minutes last night said it best- you cannot kill love.

Friday, September 01, 2006

now hear this!

dunkin donuts drive thrus are for COFFEE ONLY!

when i'm behind you, and you are ordering your effin' bacon egg and cheese on a lightly-toasted poppy-seed bagel and your copilot's steak and egg sandwich on a croisant; plus three coffees: two medium with splenda and skim milk, and one large extra cream and four sugars; oh, yes, and three jelly sticks too please...

bear in mind that i'm behind you and i haven't had coffee yet! for the love of god and all that is holy! DON'T BRING THAT ORDER TO THE DRIVE THRU! sweet jesus, would you just go into the effin store!

the poor kid behind the mic is going to screw it up, and the rest of us have to wait while the dam thing is made, and then for it to be corrected when you aren't satisfied.

you know when you see that big long line at the drive thru? that's because some jerk brought a stupid food order to the drive thru!

coffee only!

Monday, July 31, 2006

Butch Walker....

and the lets go out tonights!

so i've had this question in my head lately, since i'm a singleton; worse, i'm a thirty-person. which is less cool? going to a rock and roll show alone, or skipping it altogether? my research indicates that it is WAY worse to skip something you dig than to go alone. if you dig it, go to it. if you enjoy going to a ball game, then go to a ball game. anyway, you might have a better chance of getting a single seat at fenway than if you have to get one for a sidekick.

so i went to see Butch Walker at axis the other night. i timed it perfectly, i arrived just in time for the last set change, so i didn't have to see the openers or sit through the awful set changes, which i swear bands intentionally make long. and then out come seven people. seven! and they've all got the ridiculous 80's get ups on. it was very funny. i was a bit nervous at the beginning, there was a lot of sort of dorky things; like tossing the pick into the air and all that hokey stuff. but i realized it was part of a little schtick. and it was a short lived schtick, and we soon got down to business of rockin.

the thing i love about this guy butch walker is that his stuff is really like these little stories and anecdotes and a little bit of poetry. it's sound really queer, but his stuff is this really emotionally charged material. even when he was with marvelous 3, the material was full of this sort of truth. i told my friend eric that i would swear his guy writes his stuff whilst spying on everyone's life, though it's probably about his own life mostly. on the album Letters, there are three songs in particular, Mixtape, Best thing you never had, and Maybe it's just me; that every person in the whole world can apply to their own life. everyone! and on a marvelous 3 album there's a song called Beautiful that every girl dreams about some guy dedicating to her.

so this show was full of all this ridiculous emotion, and energy, and tangible, palpable truth and realism. at one point walker sat at a piano all by himself and sang three of the most heart wrenching songs i've heard in a long time. complete with sorrowful back stories. that really is a ballsy move for a musician- who knows if the crowd is going to tune in on the sorrow behind it? and you know, and that certainly does reduce the pace of a show to a crawl. who knows if they'll be able to recover from it? it might be hard to get the rockin energy back. but it was perfectly seamless. such a good part of the show.

i have no idea if it was the end of the tour or the middle, but it hardly matters, because it could have been on my living room with 5000 close friends. it was such a good show, and i would have been so mad at myself if i talked myself out of going simply cause i had no companions.

Monday, July 24, 2006

now i can accept paypal!

I'll probably get smoked with some sort of horrible per use fee, but who cares! I just want other people to be able to buy some of my products! and I want it to be easy for them. It really is a pain in the neck to have to jump through hoops to make a purchase from an online up and comer. so I don't want to be one of those artists.



if you have a bit of time, go have a visit to my on-line shop! i Think you'll find something you like!

www.violetgarden.etsy.com

Thursday, July 20, 2006

so, I've got an esty shop!

here is my newly opened esty shop.
  • Violet Garden Gifts

  • I'm planning on selling the things i make, bags and accessories. i'm planning on offering coin purses, messenger bags, mini and regular size, belts, key chains, and travel pouches.

    I've only just opened the doors, so there's a tiny bit of construction still going on. Paypal will be up and running on Monday; and a more extensive product range witll be available. If you need a gift for someone, or you want to give yourself a well deserved present, stop on by.

    see you there!

    Monday, July 03, 2006

    oh how i hate aol!

    aol is the most ridiculous thing on the planet! and shame on them for tricking people into thinking that aol for broadband is some kind of great thing. here's a newsflash everyone! your online experience is no safer by using aol! rememebr that aol is time warner, and time warner is the most giant company in the world right now, with their shjitty little fingers in every pie imaginable. from entertainment to banking to communication and probably to cars and energy too. make no mistake, they share your info, because privacy laws allow for sharing info between divisions of companies. so where's your safety, really?

    and then i could go on and on about the horrilbe interface they have. they make everything so effin cutesy, that you can't find the effin send button! and downloading a file? who knows where it goes, when you really just want it on your desktop so you can move it to the proper folder yourself.

    i am on vacation this week, but i need ed to check on thestatus of a proof for work. so i'm using my sister's computer. a computer geek like myself can't fault her, she dosen't make her living electronically. so she hasn't realised yet how aol is a complete disservice to her and to her family too. none of her kids have any internet smarts, and they can't even get to the effion bbc news site, because phrases like "raised fears" send the aol safety flares off. on top of that, aol has shitty attachment features, so sending and receiveing attachments, (if they are permitted)is clunky, and cumbersome. if you want to go to a yahoo mialbox, and you type www.mail.yahoo.com in the aol search engine bar you get a new window! irritating! and then if you decide you're done in yahoo mail, you go back to the url bar, and put www.boston.com, another window! and it's not even the same one as when you were in yahoo mail! DUMB! and all that extra shit that aol offers- buddies, and instant messenging, and favorites, some sort of search list- all these things are are little more than desktop clutter!

    Clutter on you pc desktop is no better than on your desktop desktop! it's littele wonder that america's children are geting less and less cerebral as the days go on. so when they go to college and find that www.yourcollege.edu doesn;t run like aol. they'll be in trouble. that is why those IT guys will always be in jobs, they'll always have to pick up the pieces of aol.

    Tuesday, May 23, 2006

    my ten month plan....

    ...to get out of credit card debt is going along quite nicely, thank you very much. Provided i don't need to use it for anything i should have those bums at Chase paid off in January. Though I am remarkably fortunate that i didn't fall into the the horrible cc debt that some college kids do, i did crank up my share of debt. the highest my balance ever was was $4500. but i have never ever, since graduation in '97, had a true $0 balance. I came close about two years ago, but my foolish brother needed to charge his car insurance, and it was all downhill from there.

    here are my tips for soon to be grads or recent grads. i'm no suze orman, but i have learned a thing or two since college.

    1. Do not get that perfect car right out of college. drive a few years in a banger. you will save on car payments and you will save on car insurance. Car loans are a sure way for you to get in over your head before you are ready.

    2. Do not over spend! It seems so trite and obvious, but it is not an easy thing to do. Do your best to ask yourself, do i want or do i need that item? is it a good investment? will i get true value from it?

    3. Set aside part of your paycheck every week to a SAVINGS ACCOUNT. for instance, if you take home $525 every week, then set aside $25 of that to a savings account. (it's very easy to do this if you can get two direct deposits. one to your working ckng acct and one to your svngs acct.) this is a key to saving! $25 clams is not that much! a person can live quite comfortably on $500 take home a week. (i know, i have been living on $472 weekly take home for the past six years) If you deposit just $25 a week from the moment you graduate, then in ten years time, you have $12,000! that is a down payment on a house! I cannot stress that you must start saving little by little right away!

    4. pay your bills on time and faithfully. aside from what i see as something akin to a moral obligation to do so (you did sign whatever contract you did to get the account in the first place, and signing the contract is an agreement and promise to pay the money you are credited, or paying for the service rendered) Aside from this, if you pay things late, or go over your balance, you are punching yourself in the financial gut every time! every time! Credit card companies do a happy dance every time a peson pays late. A late fee is found money for them, then on top of it you have to still have to come current. if you don't come current by the next statement, another punch in the gut. you can see how shit might roll down hill on this.

    5. Don't over draft your checking account, and don't skate the lines of postdating or paying with a check before the funds are actually in your account. A bounced check just ain't cool. (refer to tip #4. bouncing your payment or bouncing a check at a store results in late fees and usually bounced check fees from the payee, and from your own bank too). also, passing bad checks is fraud. and if the company thinks you've done it intentionally or too frequently, you can actually be arrested and prosecuted. Again, shit rolls downhill on this one

    All i can do is tell people be smart. have a sense of balance in your finances. have a sense of your actual balance, have a sense of what you've already paid out, and have a sense of what your actual style of living calls for. Be sure to weigh purchases as investments- what value are you getting for what you are paying. as long as you feel you have gotten good value when you make a purchase- big or small, you are ok. remember carrie bradshaw from the surprisingly insightful hbo show sex and the city. she had 100 pairs of $400 shoes. lets all do the math-$40k.
    That's a lot of money invested for squished toes.

    Monday, May 15, 2006

    well, at least it's also raining in dublin

    i simply cannot believe the rain! it has rained here almost non-stop since wednesday. it's monday now, and the forecast shows that the ran isn't supposed to end until tomorrow afternoon. then wednesday it's not supposed to be nice, but cold and gray and not good weather for picking up the pieces after a terrible rain storm. nothing will dry properly.

    ugh. we haven't played a softball game in weeks, and now we are running out of time. there's graduation coming up, abbots farm day, and class day too, plus the league requres that all the games are completed by the 31st of may, but you can only play four games a week. Though i think we still should be able to fit it properly, it will still be very tight.

    plus, there hasn't been red sox baseball for days either. i had to find something to watch on tv over the weekend. but luckily i worked a long day on saturday, and i didn't need to find too much tv. i watched that movie wimbledon with handsome paul bettany on saturday afternoon, and again on sunday, because my mom came over for mother's day scones and tea, and we watched handsome paul bettany.

    it was sort of nice to have a weekend burrowed in my apartment like a little raccoon, though I can only have that opinion because i didn't actually have any emergency associated with the rain. but i'm dreading the sun to come out, the world is going to look a mess.

    Saturday, April 15, 2006

    Medical info

    This is my medical info, should i fall and be knocked out cold. There's a silly bracelet on my wrist that has this link.

    so here goes:
    i use insulin, i use humalog(or novolog) on a sliding scale according to carb counting

    Breakfast and Lunch: 1:10 (1 unit insulin for every 10 grams carbs)
    Dinner: 1:8 (1 unit for every 8 grams)

    I use Insulin glargine (lantus or Levemir) at bedtime
    22 units at or around 10.30 pm.

    I do not use other medicine. I do not have allergies to medicine, but i do wear contact lenses.

    My doctor can be reached at the Joslin Clinic, in Boston, MA. 617-732-2400 You should speak with Liz Halprin, Liz Blair, or in a worst case scenario, Lori Laffel.

    My mom's telephone is 978-568-1483, her cell is 978-790-7732. Heidi's home is 978-568-8551 and Colleen's Home is 978-952-0144 her cell is 978-790-8576

    Thursday, March 23, 2006

    well, tomorrow is 30 days

    tomorrow is exactly one month from when we landed home after our trip to ireland. when i go away, i like to go to the shops that people go to to get things they need- we went to eurosaver and to Dunnes Stores and we also went to Spar, and of course we went to marks and spenser. we also went to Boots. i got things a person needs in boots. Shampoo and conditioner, hand cream and things like that.

    when i was in portugal last summer i went to Pingo Doce to get groceries and things like that. it was very funny on the check out, the cash girl offered me a laundry soap trial size. now you must understand that i went to portugal i selfishly went haardly knowing the language at all. i could say Olá! and Obrigada, and Boa Noite, Boa tarde, Bon Dia. oh and Bem Vinda, Mas o menos and Nao. so clearly you can tell that my two weeks in portugal would be an adventure indeed. so back to the girl with the free sample. she tells me al about the great things, the words wash over me like a tidal wave, and my friend sofia translates for me. i was so embarrassed. then to make matters worse, cash girl told sofia, i was trying to decide if i sould speak french or english to her. AH! how doubly embarrassing! imagine she could choose from three languages! i'm so inadequate!

    but the greatest thing about going to portugal, and to scotland in '99 is that i got to stay with families of friends. i got to really be a regular person. In scotland i watched TV with Brian and his mom and dad. their dog would chew on the crushed stone from outside, then bring them in and leave them all over the kitchen floor. by the end of the trip even i knew the standard scolding: jezzie! stop bringing those in, you're making a mess!

    When i visit Ireland with my mom, we try our best to look like natives. though i'm sure we don't we just think we do. but our skin tone and our hair and eye color and also our physical build makes us look like we might could be natives, clearly our silly oohs and Ahs give us away, but not like in portugal, where no matter how hard i tried it was like i had a sign on "tourist"

    I like being a tourist. i just like to do it not so conspicuously. i love being american. i love the fact that i can actually belive that my government is inept. i love that we have baseball. i love that i have what i have here, my family, my friends, my health, my resources. i don't live on easy street, I'll be paying CardmemberServices until 2008 for those four days in dublin, But i am a lucky american girl, it's just that i would like to give it a go being an irish girl, or a portuguese girl, or even a canadian girl. just to try it on. you know, for adventure's sake. Today i used the shampoo from ireland. the smell brought me right back. Perhaps the idea of the adventure is better than the actual adventure is. maybe just daydreaming about it is a better plan.

    Monday, February 20, 2006

    time to go!

    So today is the day my mother and i leave for Ireland. I'm leaving right from work. i hope i have everything i need. i'm catching up on junk and tying up loose ends here. i hope i remember to do everything, so when i get back next monday i won't have some shitstorm to sort out.

    So this is our rough itinerary. we have lots of things to to. everyone says, boy that's a long flight for a short trip, but it's really not, the flight is only about 5 hours. the flight to orlando from logan is 3.5 hours. and i don't mind saying, if i'm gonna shell out $1500 for a vacation, it won't be orlando.

    02/20/05 Depart from logan

    02/21/06 Arrive in Dublin
    Spend the day shopping. Go to Arnotts and Boots, Perhaps go to Dublin Public Library, see what has replaced Bewleys. Go to Christ Church Cathedral to look around. Go to the National Gallery or The National Museum. have pub supper or
    perhaps get supper ready made at Marks and Sparks.

    02/22/06 Spend the day in Dublin
    Go to have coffee, and perhaps a curry. Go to Easons and the GPO.At 13.00 there is a guided tour of the Chester Beatty Library. in the afternoon, see about a matinee of the play with Ralph Fiennes, or see if there are any games being played at Croke Park this week. Wander around St Steven’s green. Go to Hickeys Fabric Shop and Marks and Spenser to do real shopping. Supper at a nice little place like that italian restraunt.

    02/23/06 Take the Bus to Glendalough and Wicklow mountains.

    02/24/06 Side adventure out of town
    Early in the morning, take the Dart Train or Bus to Malahide Castle, then come back and go to the Winding Stair.Then later in the afternoon, take the Dart Train South to Bray to go to the fabric shops and yarn shops. Perhaps have supper or tea in Dun Laoghrie on the way back.

    02/25/06 Fly Home (Booo!)

    I'm going to try to post a web journal at cybercafes and what have you, but i might not be able to do so. one thing i like to do is send a post card to myself every day of the trip. you know, write it at the end of the evening, andthen post it the following morning, that makes a nice travel journal, and then you know you'll get at least one good photo a day.

    more news later!

    Monday, February 13, 2006

    yippee! spring is here!

    it's truck day! It's truck day! it's truck day! that is the sox equipment truck is leaving fenway today with all those bats and balls and uniforms and pitching machines and extra bases and bat donuts buckets of david seeds. for the treck down to fort myers.

    how fitting that the truck leaves the day after a gigantic snow storm. there really is light at the end of the winter tunnel, and it's not a train, it's the red light on the top of the pitching machine!

    hoo hoo hoo! five more days until pitchers and catchers, such as they are and then the rest show up a few days later. buy me some peanuts and cracker jack, i don't care if i never get back! PLAY BALL!

    Wednesday, February 01, 2006

    it's just that i think George W is inept.

    i just don't get the impression that he's actually in touch with reality. i really wonder if he actually reads the reports or actually listens to msnbc or wbz 1030.

    it's just that i really wonder how he plans to get things accomplished. Sure, medicare part d works, but it only works because dedicated staff at the pharmacies and insurance providers have spent long hours on the telephones figuring the shit out.

    the dependency on oil has been exacerbated by politicians (republians especially) for decades. just now there is a project proposed for a wind farm off the coast of cape cod massachusetts
  • called the cape wind project,
  • that is languishing in beauracracy, red tape, the courts and all that crap that nobody understands. I realise that checks and balances prevent the president from interfering with the courts, but come on, it would be a sparkling reccomendation if the president gave his endorsement to the project.

    no child left behind is a joke. this plan hasn't actually made students smarter or more qualified, it makes them able to pass dot tests. whoopee. did you know that in my niece's school system they no longer teach phonics? The tool they teach the children is the idea that "if i know how a word begins and ends then i just put those letters, and that will be ok." well, actually love, that is a spelling mistake, and it's not ok. c-a-t spells cat, not k-t.

    on top of these, i really wonder if he is reading the same newspapers we are when he hears about the war in iraq. it really dosen't take a mental giant to realise that the war is not going as planned, and it's not going well. the soldiers are up shit's creek, for lack of a better term; and we can't keep shovelling good money after bad trying to dig ourselves out of the mess into which we were hoodwinked. At some point the well is going to be dry.

    three or so years ago, my company was going inventory the day bush decided to move the war to iraq. i vividly remember my coworker Ed say to me, "kris, it's situations like this that you have to trust your president. That is why he's the president and we aren't. he's better equipped to deal with this sort of problem than we are." At the time Ed explained it, he made it sound so sensible and logical. and when i listened to him i decided he was right. and i figured that George W had more info than i, so of course he was making a well informed and well thought out decision.

    I have to confess though, i'm just not so sure any more, and the more i think about it, the more i really have to come to the conclusion that Geoge W. Bush really has no blessed idea about much of anything. He's full of bluster and hot air, and piss & vinegar, but empty of diplomacy, foresight, or real skills.

    In short, we are in for a long three more years, and buckle your seatbelt it's going to be a bumpy ride.

    Thursday, January 19, 2006

    bah! i missed out!

    can you believe it! i never went to the theater to see harry potter, walk the line or the constant gardener! and i'll probably not get to see munich while it's still in theatres. i'm so dumb! now i have to wait until they are on dvd before i see them, and i'll have to watch them on my tiny television!


    bah! the movie i did go and see lately is dumb jarhead. it just wasn't very good. it wasn;t bad, but it kept teetering on really good action, but then it chickened out. the same thing with the emotionality of it. it kept teetering on the edge of mental breakdown, but never really going the distance. it was sort of like the movie got all the way to the three yardline and then went three and out. just kind of ot complete.

    there are a few movies i need to get for my collection: Enigma, Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious, french kiss, the bourne Identity (not the supremacy) Strange Days, and ocean's eleven. also i think i will probably purchase HP 4 and perhaps even the constant gardener. i'll borrow WTL and Munuch from the library, but the other two i'll probably buy. I like to only buy dvd's that i know i'll watch over and over again. for instance, i have watched midnight in the garden of good an evil so often that now i just quote some of the lines. that jim williams done shot a man... Canape? i have to be able to get a good cost per view ratio for dvd's i purchase.

    i wonder if i could bring my knitting to the movies. i knit on a loom. i wonder if there would be enough light to do so easily? i'll have to consider that.

    Monday, January 16, 2006

    I just have to share this with everyone!

    You must read this book!


  • It's available at Amazon,
  • and probably at your library. It's such a good book. It's at times so embarrassing that people could be so cruel and judgmental, yet on the other hand it's so uplifting and empowering that other people could be so strong and inherently good.

    Gosh it's fabulous. And on top of it, the plot follows three girls as they get a fledgling cafe off the ground, so it's full of scents and imagery and even imaginary pictures of delicious things to eat and remedies to make. The chapters are each preceded by recipes that figure in to the plot. One of them is for elephant ears! I hadn't realized that elephant ears were an Iranian specialty. John and Son's bakery used to sell them when I was a child.

    It really is a tremendous book. It's not really very heavy, insofar as the author sort of glosses over the revolution and its causes and the implications of it, but I think that was the plan, sort of like the characters kind of glossed over it as a way to cope; but the events weren't so trivialized that the reader is left in the dark as to what the horror actually meant. The opposite in fact, the reader can get a very real sense of the emotional repercussions if not the historical ones.

    This book is so very good, I have to share it with people. It's moving, empowering, chastening, educational, comical, and suspenseful all in one hard to put down quick-tempoed read. get a copy today!

    Tuesday, January 10, 2006

    well, that settles it.

    i cannot have a cat. i'm simply not emotionally prepared. i was driving to work today and there was a big pile of road kill near the cumberland farms. and as i drove by, i just had to look to see what it was, and it was a black cat! can you believe it? a black cat. i haven't seen my black olive in quite some time, since it got cold and snowy really, so i was hoping that he went south for the winter. but seeing the dead cat in the road makes me wonder. And it really makes me unhappy too.

    my last hope against hope is that it's somewhat far away from my apartment building, so maybe it's not him. but on the other hand, it's not really that far away, only 1/3 of a mile or so, so it's not too inconceiveable that he would go down there.

    oh gosh, i hope it's not my black olive. but then on the other hand, that just means that it's someone else's, and that doesn't make me feel one bit better. so today i am going to be an unhappy person, and it might be for nothing.

    So i can't have a cat. i don't want an indor cat, they stink up the house, and it really is clear that i can't have an outdoor cat on the road i live on. it's just too busy.

    sigh.

    Friday, January 06, 2006

    i want this teapot!

    i have been doing a lot of cruizing around online today, and i found some great things to add to my list of great things to get. when i get a bit more money

    first, this super teapot!


    isn't it so cool! the yellow is really appealing to me, even though it doesn't match my kitchen atall atall. i just love bright colors.

    and then the next item is this super de duper wrist watch.


    i had it once before, but it was stolen when some stupid kids broke into my car. can you believe it they took this great watch, and a few cds and baseball cards, and left the stereo and gas cards in the console. jerks.

    anyway, when i go back to dublin next month i'm going to look for the watch. i'm also going to get a tea pot of some kind, i would like an every day teapot, like people use all the time in dublin, but i wonder where i would get it. in portugal i would go to the supermercado, and in england i would go to tesco, but i wonder where in ireland.

    hmmm. a project for today.

    Tuesday, January 03, 2006

    hoo hoo hoo! ireland here we come!

    so my dad gave my mother and i tickets to ireland for christmas again. I am so grateful, yet i also feel so sheepish. i just don't think i'm worth such a super gift, but on the other hand i'm certainly not going to refuse it or regift it!

    so i just received word that there's room for us at the inn! We're staying at
  • the glen guest house;
  • it's a super b and b in Dublin 1, which is right around the corner from the busaras, and close to a dart stop also.

    it's also a short easy walk to o'connell street, and you come out sort of near the GPO.

    hoo hoo hoo! I just can't wait! i'm going to bring my resume so i can see if anyone wants to sponsor an american for employment!

    this is a good site to visit to start yuor ireland holiday planning:
  • ireland online
  • and this is where the hotel is


    it's just a few steps up gardiner street from where it intersects beresford place!


    yay! yay! yay!