Random End of October Update

Mommanator has been wondering where the heck I’ve been, and I’ve been wondering that myself. I haven’t been keeping up with the blogging, but Random Kath’s world has been chugging along at full speed and I only have a few moments to catch my breath . . .

Here’s what’s up:

School: I am still taking my Econ Money and Banking class. Lots of reading and writing. Constantly need to monitor current events since the economic news seems to change every hour on the news of layoffs, or mergers, or bank failures, falling stock markets or or financial calamity. Like I said before, it’s an exciting time to be studying this stuff, but for all of the wrong reasons . . .

Teaching: I have a class of 17 this semester in my Tuesday night ESL class, which is a very overwhelming number to me. I am very happy that they keep coming back each week, but it is much harder to gauge how everyone is doing, and a lot of the learning tasks take longer since so many people need time to finish. My challenge this semester is to figure out fun group projects for people to do so that (a) they can practice speaking English to each other and monitor each other more effectively and (b) I don’t have to be standing up front most of the time and let them take more ownership of their learning.

Church: I’m on the search committee to find a new Pastor. Because I have nothing else to do. No, just kidding – I’m actually very interested in this process and I’m looking forward to helping the church figure out what it wants to be. I am a bit annoyed with some of the folks already because someone scheduled the first meeting without asking anyone about their schedules and of course it is on the night I teach class. I have made it very clear that I am willing and available ANY NIGHT EXCEPT TUESDAYS – so of course, let’s have the meetings on Tuesdays. Arrgggh! In my irritation, I said that I really wanted to be a part of the process, but if they are going to schedule the meetings like that then find someone else. So we’ll see what happens.

Job: I am formulating an exit strategy after a scare I had a month ago. I’m not going to be laid off or anything yet, but I do need to get on the ball and start doing proactive, positive things. I’ve started setting up lunches with friends of mine who I’ve worked with in the past, to get a sense of what’s out there. Once I started doing that, I started feeling better about myself and am not quite so depressed and despondent. Yay! I’m not a loser! I also need to take better advantage of the College’s career center – I may be a special case as an older student, but they should be able to point me in some sort of direction.

Grandma: She’s still plugging along at age 90! Mr. Random and I still go down to visit her every other Sunday. She’s getting a bit slower, but is still in pretty good health. My mom and dad are talking about trying to arrange a daily visitor for her, someone to look in on her and make sure she’s eating a least one good meal a day and taking her medications properly. This would be a great load off of my mind if it happens, but I won’t hold my breath. I am becoming more comfortable with the fact that I can only do what I can do and that my grandma appreciates seeing me as often as she does. If anything happens, I will know that I did my best and not beat myself up for not doing more – especially since she has 5 children and umpteen other grandchildren who aren’t coming to see her. I still have issues with my whole family over this though . . . and I’ll have to work through that as best I can.

Mr. Random: He’s doing well. He completed his *sixth* Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, which is always awesome. He’s super sore and walking funny these days, as can be expected. The Random Publication he works for has been super busy, what with the elections coming up and all of the congressional trials. He’s going to be working all through Election night, so I won’t see him until the next morning. It will be so strange to spend such a historic evening without him but I’ll try to find something else to occupy myself with that night.

His grandmom had a fall and was hurt for a while and decided on her own to move to a group home. Mr. Random’s mom is going back and forth to help sell the house and make sure her belongings are accounted for. It is a pretty rough time, but his grandmom is happy with her new surroundings. It helps that it was HER decision . . . I just hope my own grandma will willingly make that decision at some point – she’s still being very stubborn about wanting to live independently.

My Army Sister: My sister has decided to stay in the military, which was a shock to me, but she’s going to try to work in one of the research facilities. If she does that, she won’t get deployed, which *whew!* There aren’t that many research facilities, which means there’s a good chance she could be posted somewhere in the DC area, which would make me SO happy. She also had been having trouble with her legs since she's been back from overseas, but it turns out nothing is seriously wrong, which is also a blessing – we were worried it might be MS or arthritis or something.

Culture: Goodness, I haven’t been good about keeping you apprised of what I’ve been seeing! I saw two versions of Romeo and Juliet – one all male version, one all female version. Both versions were excellently done and both had very standout performances. I also went to the Phillips Collection a couple of weeks ago and saw all 40 panels of the Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series exhibit. You might remember seeing some his paintings on The Cosby Show. I am so glad I was able to see the full exhibit before it closed this Sunday.

What else? My friend J and I took a trip to New York City this past Saturday to celebrate my birthday. I will post a few pictures later this evening. It was one of the most fun trips I’ve taken in a very long time! We were only there for the day – took the train up very early Saturday morning and came home around 1 AM Sunday. Lots of walking around and looking like tourists. Seeing lots of sights that one usually only has seen in pictures or on TV. I loved the energy and the vibe and wish I could go back more frequently. The trip out of town was very much needed, if only for a day. I was exhausted when I got home, but in a good way.

I also took a lovely day trip to Harper’s Ferry a few weeks ago. I took a few pictures there too. It wasn’t for sightseeing but more to just drive and see the pretty landscape. The leaves hadn’t turned yet, which was a little bummer, but it was still quite gorgeous where the rivers came together.

Oh, that's right . . . Sunday was my birthday! I'm now another year older, and while there are some things I need to work on in my life, I'm pretty happy with the way I am at this stage of the game. This year, I'm going to not dwell on what I haven't accomplished yet but try to focus on what I *have* accomplished and what I'm doing now. Easier said than done, but you know, it's a goal . . .

Now it is back to the grind of work-school-teaching-church. I’m still having a bit of a struggle trying to balance everything, but so long as some fun is thrown in there once a week, I can keep an even keel . . .

So that’s what I’ve been up to! I’ve missed you all – I haven’t been blog visiting, but I’m going to try to catch up and say hi. Thanks so much for being patient and for being here and reading!

Warmly,

Your Random Kath :-)

Standing over a Subway Grate . . .

Hi, everyone!

Yes, I will do a proper post shortly, (I promise!) but to ease my way back into posting, here's an interesting little Quiz that's been making the rounds . . .

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be direct and clear


• * Listen to me carefully


• * Don't judge me for my anxiety


• * Work things through with me


• * Reassure me that everything is OK between us


• * Laugh and make jokes with me


• * Gently push me toward new experiences


• * Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

• * being committed and faithful to family and friends


• * being responsible and hardworking


• * being compassionate toward others


• * having intellect and wit


• * being a nonconformist


• * confronting danger bravely


• * being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn

• * the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind


• * procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself


• * fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of


• * exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger


• * wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right


• * being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

• * are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn


• * are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger


• * form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent


• * look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel


• * are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

• * are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty


• * are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence


• * worry more than most that their children will get hurt


• * sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Joys and Concerns

I’m an agnostic in the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition sense, “one who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable” – a state that can otherwise be known as “hedging my bets.” I actually, probably lean more towards atheist, but I do like knowing about other religions and I do think there is a lot of comfort and good that come out of them. (And a lot of really bad too, but we won’t even go *there* for today.)

However, I like going to church because: (a) I like singing, especially with choirs, and there are some hymns that are just so gorgeous and heavenly in melodies and harmonies that you can be SO transcendently moved. Soothing the savage breast and all that; and (b) there is just a whole community of (somewhat) like-minded people who are there to care and support each other, working together all for the purpose of what I call (probably very blasphemously) “putting on the show.”

The church I go to is one of the more hippie, liberal Protestant denominations, pretty close to Unitarian as you can get. Not a lot of decorations and doodads, communion is open to whoever wants bread and grape juice that day, and usual Sunday attire runs more along the lines of jeans/khakis/shorts/sandals – both guys and gals. Even before our pastor left, we had lots of “lay” participation and people in the congregation take turns running parts of the service and teaching Sunday school to the kids. We have a very energetic choir director, so we always have a (relatively) large amount of people in the choir, and on an off Sunday, the choir members look like they outnumber the people in the pews. On a good Sunday, we might have 45 people in the pews, on a summer Sunday we might have 15-20. We have lots of little kids in the congregation, most of whom are under the age of 8, so during the service before the kids get to go downstairs for Sunday school, there is always chaos of little ones running around and playing with toys. (Ours is not a “sit-down-and-shut-up” church for kids.)

Why am I writing this? I’m not sure, but I’m going with it. It seems to be the story I want to share at the moment . . .

Anyway, there is always part of the service, after the weekly sermon, called “Joys and Concerns.” This is when people can share any of their own joys or problems that they’ve been having during the past week with the rest of the congregation. It can be as innocuous as “My anniversary was this week!” all the way up to people talking about recurrences of cancer, job losses, sicknesses and deaths of family and friends, and heavy-duty personal struggles. The pastor writes all of these things down and mentions them during the closing prayers.

It is always amazing how much people feel comfortable sharing with everyone during these times – just letting a lot of raw emotion come out that has been stored up all week, trying to be brave. It is hard to describe. Sometimes it is very draining, but there is a wonderful, healing things that happens, when everyone’s heart goes out to the person talking, and the person feels like s/he is not alone in bearing his/her burden.

However, for me, there always seems to be a downside to all of the sharing – one that makes me feel . . . well, left out and apart . . .

You see, hearing about everyone else’s problems, makes my problems and issues seem *not very important.* Having money troubles? Well, somebody couldn’t sell their old house fast enough, was stuck paying two mortgages for a long time and is horribly in debt. Angst about paying for school? Some people can’t afford their courses any more and they have to drop out. Angst about horrible conditions at work? Someone has been out of a job for months. Not that it’s all a competition or anything, but how can you compete with that? So I keep my mouth shut, because my problems are not, relatively, problems. Even though they are, and they make me very unhappy. But I feel like I have to suck it up. Which makes it less of a safe space for me. But . . . who can help me, really? Where can *I* turn when I’m feeling bad, without feeling like I’m whining?

So I’m reaching the point where I’m getting pretty tired of the stuff I’m doing. I just see miles more road to travel to get where I want to go and I’m sick of traveling, but I’m also tired of where I am. It’s nice to have the blog as an outlet, but then I actually have to take the time to write all this out. So here I am.

My joys right now: my friends and family, having fun Saturdays, being able to go see plays, taking my college class.

My concerns right now: My Army sister (who is having problems with her legs), my grandma (who really needs someone to look in on her once a week, since she’s living alone and is now taking a lot of medications due to a hospital scare two months ago), Mr. Random and his family (mom, grandmom and sister – all having issues), my job (more people leaving, office is unstable, and I am unhappy every single day), money (Mr. Random’s student loans, pressure because of job uncertainty and debts), school (taking one class a semester is not getting me very far, will take me at least 3 or 4 years at this rate, plus it adds stress in dealing with work).

What are your joys and concerns at this time? Let’s lift them up and share!

I'm Still Here!

It’s been a while, but it has been a super busy time. I’m trying to get back into the swing of writing again, but there are a ton of other assignments and reading I have to catch up on. I’ve also discovered the joy of feed readers – what an awesome time suck they are! Of course I have loaded mine up with more blogs than I can possibly keep track of at any given point, so the totals always are taunting me: I always seem to have over 1000+ posts in the box, and no amount of marking “all read” helps me catch up. However, it does make it a lot easier to see when my favorite bloggers have updated posts – now at least I can get out of habit of clicking on people’s blogs 10 times a day to see if they’ve updated. The only problem now is that it is hard to keep up with the comment threads . . .

I promise to write more soon, but until then I’ll leave you with this picture of my Army sister and I hanging out this past 4^th of July with the dearly departed dog, Lady. (I'm the one in the blue jacket.)

This picture will disappear within a few days, so enjoy it now . . .

--->Picture went POOF!!<---

2008 Fringe Festival Experience - Part 1

The 2008 Capital Fringe Festival officially started on Thursday, but Saturday was the first day I was able to see any performances.

J and I went to the Rude Mechanicals’ staging of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus . This staging was remarkable in that it packed what was originally a 3 hour play into 75 minutes. (In doing so, they had to cut out a lot of the battle scenes.) The situation was updated to the present day, thus alleviating the need for major costumes. The opening of the play was a bit uneven, and some of the actors in smaller roles were really, really bad – but the actors in the main roles were quite good, especially the actors who played Menenius, Coriolanus and Coriolanus’ mother, Volumnia. In fact, the performances that linger for me were those of Menenius, who had long gray hair in a ponytail and a long, scraggly beard, and of Volumnia, who portrayed her passionate, possessive emotions very convincingly. The fight scene at the end was well staged and definitely left a lasting impression.

So for a scrappy group working with minimal props, sets and a mountain of material, I give that show a definite thumbs up.

Adding to the Fringe experience, before the play we found what can best be described as a “Mozambique-an fast food” restaurant on 7th Street. Yes, really. It was mostly some sort of rotisserie chicken in a flavorful sauce (which you could ask for in varying degrees of heat) and some healthy and tasty sides, such as Butternut Squash with Corn. We’re trying to eat healthier, so this definitely fit the bill until we got to the desserts, which were a very chocolate chocolate cake and a generous scoop of chocolate ice cream with a little spiciness to it. Yummy!

After the play, the Fringe has a patio area where you can get snacks, beverages of many types and bratwurst. Sine it was still rather early in the day, we got sodas and water but definitely tried the bratwurst. The patio seems like it would be a chill place to hang out in during the evenings after a play, mingling with other Fringe-goers and Fringe performers. As it was, we were there so early that we were the only ones occupying the tent for a while, but we could see the potential of the space.

Tonight, I’m going to another Fringe event and I hope to have something fun to report tomorrow. This is going to be a super busy week for me of evenings filled with both Fringe and non-Fringe related activities. There is much for me to look forward to and help keep my mind off of the many other things pressing on my brain. I’m hoping the creative activity nudges me towards thinking of creative solutions to what’s been keeping me stuck . . . we’ll see!

Trying to Count Blessings Instead of Sheep

There is so much going on that it is hard to even figure out where to start, so I’ll just throw some words down and see what follows from there.

My parents’ dog has been having seizures. She is 16 years old, which is very old for a dog. When I came home to visit on the Fourth of July, she was not able to do her usual glad-to-see-me jumping up and down and barking. She is on lots of medication. It made me very sad to see her this way. I gave her many hugs and kisses, since this may have been the very last time that I ever see her. If she has another seizure, they are going to put her to sleep. I am so upset about this . . . I know it is time, but she’s the first pet I ever really had (even though technically it was for my youngest sister.)

My sister in the Army came to town for her month-long leave on Thursday. Mr. Random and I picked her up from the airport and took her out to dinner. Two things kind of threw me for a loop there: (a) She now has a tattoo on her left arm, midway between her shoulder and her elbow, kind of like an armband in a Greco-Roman pattern. I know it’s kind of a military thing, but you never expect your 34 year old sister to show up with a tattoo. My other, 24 year old sister, yes, but not the 34 one. (2) She is applying for Officer Training School – she finds out in October if she gets in. If she does get in, she’s staying in. If not, she’s out in December. This threw me because I thought she just wanted out, out, out as the rest of us hoped she would be, but it looks like maybe not. So I have to reconcile the reality of who my sister is and what she might want for herself with the false impressions I guess I’ve been building up in her absence. I also have to look at myself and see if I’m projecting my own hopes onto her. Very unsettling . . .

Fourth of July, as I mentioned before, we went down to my parents’ house. My sister bought fireworks (they are legal in my parents’ county) and we spent the afternoon and evening hanging out until it got dark, then my sister and dad put on a little fireworks show in the driveway. Some people in the neighborhood had driven to South Carolina and bought some heavy duty fireworks, and so we watched them for a little bit, semi-afraid that one of the rockets would land in my parents’ trees or on their roof.

More people are leaving the Random Non-profit, some not of their own accord. The numbers dwindle further. It is very stressful to be here.

This is the last week of ESL classes. Yay! I teach tomorrow night and then there’s an End of Semester celebration on Thursday night. However, my ESL work isn’t over since I volunteered for a committee to develop some new resources and a new ESL teacher training class for new volunteers. I’ve never done something like this before and I thought it would help me develop some new (marketable) skills while doing something worthwhile for the organization.

Saw Get Smart over the weekend and was plesantly surprised. My expectations were low, but I am always amazed by how Steve Carell has blossomed since his days as "Produce Pete" on the Daily Show. Also, it was great to see all of the references to the old TV show sprinkled throughout the movie, although I don't think that some people in the audience knew about/understood them, which makes me feel really old . . .

Went to visit Mount Vernon yesterday with my friend J. We had been there before 8 years ago, but they’ve added some new museum spaces with a lot more short movies to watch on George Washington’s life. I don’t know if it is because we’re both kind of cranky people, but we found all of the new stuff to be completely without nuance. They did have a little exhibit on slavery at Mount Vernon, but otherwise it was all overtaken by how awesome George Washington was at all times. He almost didn’t seem human – Did he crack jokes? Did he have a sense of humor? Was he wracked with doubts? I mean, I know that Martha burned all of his letters to her after his death, but there needed to be some sense of conflict, of humanity, of doubt, of anger, for me to think that I actually learned something there. Oh, and the gift shops were really cheesy too.

I joined Facebook over the weekend. I finally succumbed to the peer pressure. It’s fairly addictive, I must say, but it is something else that has to be checked and maintained all the time. Also, I’m fairly skeeved by all of the personal information that corporations must be gathering on all this online activity, but I guess we’re all going to go down one way or another, so might as well have fun while we can.

The DC Fringe Festival starts this week and I’m seeing my first show on Saturday. I will do my usual Fringe Updates on the experiences I have at the various shows. It’s always an experience, let me tell you . . .

There’s more stuff, but I’ll stop there. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying your summers . . .

Random Pop-In

Quick hits:

*I came down with an awful cold over the weekend and am still trying to get over it. I slept for pretty much three days straight starting on Sunday and am looking forward to another weekend of much needed rest.

*My sister landed in the U.S. at 5 AM on Saturday and the first thing she did was call me at home. I didn’t pick up the phone in time (um, because it was 5 in the morning), but was glad to hear her cheery message. Spoke to her a few evenings ago and my parents and younger sister went to her home Army base to meet her. She had four days of leave, so she hung out at the hotel with my family, just shopping and eating and hanging out. I’ll be able to do the same with her when she comes to visit around the 3rd of July. Yay!

*Only three more weeks of teaching ESL. Yay! It will be nice to have one more evening free . . .

*This weekend, I’m going to see a play – will let you know how it turns out.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Keeping the Spark

Let’s see . . . what’s been going on in the Random world since I last wrote?

I’ve had several very lovely weekends since the graduation. Even this past weekend, with all the rain and the hail on Saturday afternoon, had some definite awesome parts. Some crappy parts too, but the lovely outweighed the crappy. I like wonderful weekends . . . they make getting through the rest of the week so much more bearable . . .

An old friend of mine has moved back to the area after a several year absence and we briefly caught up on the phone on Friday. He and his wife just had their second child, a little boy, and their daughter is almost 3 years old. He works for one of the many defense-contracting firms in the area, doing things I probably don’t want to know about. I actually felt a bit sad and disappointed talking to him, because he didn’t really sound like himself – or at least the person I knew a decade ago. He has many more responsibilities and now and isn’t quite the same bubbly, happy-go-lucky guy anymore. I know we all change and grow, but it felt like something was lost there and it made me feel very sad. Some of my friends I have had for years, and while they have changed and grown too, they are still pretty much the same as when they were young and single. My friends, the R’s, have a boisterous little boy now and it is fun to see how these two people who we adore and who we’ve pretty much grown up with navigate their life changes while still maintaining their humor and personality. Even though I don’t have kids, we can still hang out and have fun and great conversations (although we have to keep looking out for the little one and making sure he isn’t tormenting a cat.) There are some people . . . that the spark is just gone. And it hurts when it happens, but it’s part of life and I should be used to it by now . . .

I found out that I received an “A” in my spring Microeconomics class. That was rather unexpected, since my final paper was dreadful upon dreadful, but I’ll not look a gift horse in the mouth . . .

I will be at a conference beginning Wednesday morning through Saturday evening. I am not looking forward to it, but at least it will be something different.

In service of my ongoing Shakespeare project, I’m going to see Julius Caesar in a couple of weeks, and hope to see Antony and Cleopatra soon after that. Yay! And this year’s Fringe Festival is coming up quickly (mid-late July) and I’m always pleasantly surprised by that experience.

My ESL class is humming along. Some of the students have dropped off for life reasons, but the core group I still have are very lively and interested. They always ask great questions and make me want to try to figure out more effective (but fun!) ways to teach the material, which can be deadly dry at times . . .

Just wanted to update you all quickly and let you know I’m still puttering about!

Tuesday Random Twenty - Post Graduation Edition

Thanks so much to everyone who responded with congratulations for Mr. Random’s graduation. It was a very happy and proud day for the Random Family (if a bit soggy due to soaking rain off and on during the whole day.) It’s been a hard road.

I’m feeling rather melancholy after the graduation and the Random Mother-in-Law coming and going, so rather than bore you all with my current angst, I’m going to do that reliable blog standby – the list of Random Twenty Songs I’m listening to at the moment!

In the Palm of Your Hand – Alison Krauss
Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.
Every Day You’ve Been Away – Bebel Gilberto
Shooting Stars – Mosquitos
Spider – They Might Be Giants
Paper Bag – Fiona Apple
No Business – Bonnie Raitt
River – Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mood Indigo – Duke Ellington
Get Rhythm – Johnny Cash
Passion – Gipsy Kings
Take the A Train – Duke Ellington
Syracuse – Pink Martini
Stand – R.E.M.
Orchestral Suite #3 in D: 1. Ouverture – J.S. Bach
Everyday I Write the Book – Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Sitting Still – R.E.M.
A Foggy Day – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
Is That Love – Squeeze
Bitch – Meredith Brooks

Looking at the list, the music was firmly in “mellow” for a while and then started to ramp up a bit. Freaky, huh? How did it know that was just what I needed?

Is anyone listening to anything interesting these days that you’d want to recommend? You’ve seen some of my taste in music . . .

My 7 Minutes of Fame or “I’m Ready for My Close-up, Mr. DeMille”

THIS is what I did this weekend.

If you get a chance to participate in your local area, you should definitely get involved! It was a total blast, although I definitely learned how the hurry-up-and-wait conditions on a movie set can be quite exhausting. Mr. Random served as the film editor and my friend J and I helped write the script and had sizable acting roles. The acting was unintended on my part – I had thought I’d be an extra in a crowd scene or handling the boom mike. But no, my character is rather integral to the plot and I even had a couple of lines and a close up shot.

I don’t know if I will ever post on this blog the resulting 7 minute film, because that would blow my little bit of anonymity to heck. If it gets YouTubed or something I might put it up for a very limited time, but under the condition that you realize the whole thing was done in two days, so don’t expect art, decent camera work, a linear plot, or even good acting.

This week, they are showing all of the films created in our city at the American Film Institute Theater in Silver Spring, Maryland. Unfortunately, our film is going to be shown in the Friday night group, and we already bought tickets to take Mr. Random’s mom to see a play at that exact time. Bummer! I really wanted to see what the other entries looked like . . .

Maybe after the judging is over with this upcoming week, I’ll let you know how our film did. I doubt we’ll get any awards though, the actual photography was kind of spotty and the plot-as-scripted and the plot-as-edited in the film are a bit different. (Now I see why screenwriters are a bitter and cranky bunch.)

Name Those Random Lyrics!

This is a fun meme that’s making the rounds and I just felt like trying it. It was that kind of day. The rules are:

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike through when someone gets them right
Step 5: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING.

This is going to be interesting, since some songs I listen to have been covered a billion times, and some songs are fairly obscure. Also, I was working off the lyrics as I actually heard them, so there might be some slight discrepancies, but nothing too bad. Do try to guess! In fact, you don't have to guess them all at once, just ones you recognize will suffice.

I’ll post the answers in a couple of days . . .

1. I got the heebies, I got the heebie jeebies
2. River full of stones when there is no rain
3. I can’t forget the night I met you
4. Papa come quick, Jody’s gone to the city
5. Looking out on the morning rain
6. I went out walking through streets paved with gold
7. Heaven . . . I’m in heaven
8. Whatcha gonna do with all that junk?
9. No, I would not give you false hope
10. The charter bus ride is getting to me
11. T’was just a garden in the rain
12. I’m undecided about you again
13. Call out the instigators because there’s something in the air
14. Oh yeah I tell you something I think you’ll understand
15. You’re older than you’ve ever been and now you’re even older
16. When we were young we pledged allegiance every morning of our lives
17. Same old place, same old city
18. My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue
19. This old house has been boarded up
20. I can hardly bear the sight of lipstick on the cigarettes here in the ashtray
21. This shirt is old and faded, all the colors washed away
22. I don’t want you, but I hate to lose you
23. How glad the many millions of Jonathans and Williams would be . . . to capture me
24. Nothing’s impossible, I have found
25. Got my work clothes on for love, sweat and dirt

A Fun Moment From My Childhood

Just to liven things up a bit, let's turn back the clock and revisit one of my fave Sesame Street characters: Roosevelt Franklin.



Bonus: The outdoor shot of the school looks a lot like my alma mater, Doogie Howser MS/HS.

Coming Up on the Ides of April

This week I was wicked sick and home a few days with a massive headache and flu. I'm doing better now, but it wasn't pretty for a while.

On the happy news front, I got an A- minus on my last Econ exam. Yay! Still don't know much Micro econ, but hey, at least I'll have a decent grade in the class . . .

I'm going to be teaching ESL for the Spring/Summer semester and won't take another College class until the Fall because I need a bit of a break. It will be nice to read books for fun again . . .

Mr. Random is still on track to graduate next month - he's just finished his comps and now just has a few more weeks of class to go. His mom is coming out for the graduation, which means that I have to get hopping on making party plans and cleaning up the condo - at least the guest room.

I hope you all are doing well . . . hope to be able to write more soon . . .

Random Cultural Show and Tell(er)

So here's some of what I've been doing . . .

Teller at the Folger

Teller, the normally silent half of Penn and Teller, was in town at the end of February to discuss his co-directing duties for the production of Macbeth that is currently running at the Folger Theater, and which I’ll luckily get to see next week (the full run sold out really quickly!) The discussion was held the night before the play opened and we were able to grab a quick and grainy photo at the end of the hour. I had never head him speak before and he seemed extremely bright and witty, and we could have sat and listened to him discuss Shakespeare and magic and other things all evening if possible.

Chicago 10

This part documentary/part animated film did not really fulfill the potential of its premise very well. It tried to do a lot of things and most of them not very well. It is a good jumping off point for a lot of good discussions and further research for the background and history of the 1968 Democratic Convention, but I wouldn’t advise any young people to watch it as a stand-alone history piece.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

This is one of the few movies that I’ve ever attended where the audience burst into applause at the end. After a few months where most of the movies I’ve seen were either deep, bloody dramas or political documentaries, it was such a breath of fresh air not to leave the theater feeling emotionally drained. A funny, poignant film that I highly recommend you go see if it’s playing in your town – it definitely deserves wider notice.

Major Barbara

I saw this George Bernard Shaw play at the Shakespeare Theater Company last Thursday. It is a wonderful production which was only marred by the fact that the play ended at 10:50 PM and the nearby parking garage closed at 11 PM – therefore we could not really pay attention to the last 10 minutes of dialogue because we were freaking out, ardently hoping the play would end in time for us to run the three blocks to retrieve the car. We didn’t even stay to applaud the actors: as soon as the scene ended and the curtain went down, we hightailed it out of our row, down the steps, out of the theater and ran like heck. Of course, because Mr. Random has been running forever, he was able to zoom ahead easily, while me and J . . . well, we were a bit slower. We did make it to the car with a few minutes to spare, but the moral of the story is to always check a play’s running time before you find a place to park.

More to come . . .

Random Muddled Day After Thoughts about the Oscars

I’m exhausted and babbling, but just wanted to share . . .

***I saw There Will Be Blood on Saturday. And wow. I think I really liked that movie. Yes, it is very dark. And there are a lot of people who are very mean and nasty to each other, but I really don’t think that the main character was the pinnacle of evil as everyone thinks he is.(a) because a lot of the other people around him are pretty sneaky and selfish and (b) I could kind of see where the main character was coming from in some of his actions. You may not like him, but you can see the thought processes there and they are pretty rational. There is a scene that is shown in commercials for the movie that comes off totally quite differently in the context of the film – the scene is actually slightly funny and scary.

***Daniel Day Lewis totally deserved that Oscar for Best Actor. (Just as Javier Bardem totally deserved Best Supporting Actor for No Country.)

***This year I actually saw 3 of the 5 Best Picture Nominees. (Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood.) I felt so proud about that – I very rarely get to see so many films in a year.

***And yes, I watched the entire Oscars ceremony and I thought that Jon Stewart did a great job as host. And yes, I remember the Billy Crystal years but I’m more of a Stewart-humor type of gal.

***Tilda Swinton was way too pale for that sack of a dress she was wearing. I could think of a lot more styles and colors that would have been more flattering.

***Why don’t people write down who they want to thank anymore? I know the nominees don’t want to see presumptuous, but there were way too many people who stood up there and their minds went blank from absolute shock and amazement.

***The couple from Once was quite adorable and I thought it was wonderful that Jon Stewart brought back the woman to be able to say her piece. I thought that they were hustled off the stage rather quickly and unfairly compared to other winners.

***I also was kind of sad that the song from August Rush didn’t win. That little 11 year old girl could SING! But I also think it’s awesome that she got an extra 3 minutes on stage to do some bit with Jon. I’m sure she’ll remember that night for the rest of her life.

***As much as I hate the idea of giving out awards to people just because they are now really old, instead of for the particular work, I do think that Ruby Dee should have got something . . . just because . . .

***Jennifer Hudson’s dress was rather unfortunate too, in my opinion.

For better, hardcore Oscar blogging, do check out TWP’s post today.

The Smell of Jasmine Flowers

My friend J and I saw the movie, Persepolis, on Saturday – If you haven’t seen it: RUN, don’t walk to your nearest theater, it is so awesome! I read Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel first and while the plot of the movie is slightly different it still effectively captures both the main plot and the tone of the graphic novel. If you aren’t moved by this film, check your pulse! I have read that they are coming out with an English dubbed version (the movie was made in French), but the version with English subtitles worked just fine for me, and I really can’t imagine it in English now. Also read the book if you can – it is definitely a work that makes you rethink your concept of what a graphic novel can be.

For the Oscars, Persepolis is nominated for Best Animated Film, but probably won’t win because it is up against Ratatouille and Surf’s Up, and it is just a travesty that it is being put against those “lighter entertainment” movies.

I have my Econ mid-term tomorrow, so I’m a bit tired and a bit numb. I met with my professor on Tuesday and while he is still on the extreme leftist side, he genuinely seemed very nice and accommodating and was quite a dear in spending time in answering my questions and working through problems. I was incredibly anxious beforehand, but I do feel a bit better about the class and where I am in it now. I’m still glad I got in another discussion section, I’m certain it will prove helpful in the long term.

I’ve been feeling kind of restless and down in the evenings, not being able to concentrate very well, doing lots of sleeping, having trouble being fully awake in the morning - even after an hour of reading the paper, showering and getting ready. I get to work very early now, since Mr. Random drops me off on his way in to his office, and I end up staying late waiting for Mr. Random to come pick me up. Like I said in an earlier post, I would gladly walk home, but it isn’t the safest neighborhood to be walking in alone at night. I feel slightly better on days when I go to school, and on weekends, since I’m usually out and about doing things I like doing.

There was a meeting at the Random Non-profit yesterday in which the guy in charge said he didn’t know why everyone was walking around so traumatized. Aren’t we starting to do some great things? You shouldn’t complain unless it is to someone who can do something about it, like him. Oh, by the way, he knows that we are down a lot of staff members and we are overburdened with work, but we should figure out on our own what we can stop doing. Oh, another by the way, another staff member is resigning as of the end of this month . . .

Gee, why would I feel so down?

On the happy side, next week starts the play-going season again in earnest. Yay! Going to see Hedda Gabler and Macbeth and maybe even Major Barbara .

What else is going on? I finished reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food , which is something else I highly recommend folks check out. It doesn’t say anything really that we don’t all know deep down in our hearts, but it does make you want to internalize it a bit more. It has managed to do for me what reading Fast Food Nation didn’t, and I think that’s a good thing. It’s so simple: Eat food. Not much. Mostly plants. Then you realize how easy it is to NOT eat real food, how much of what we eat in the name of eating healthier and low fat/low cal isn’t real food at all but stuff full of all sorts of chemicals and syrups that mimic real food . . . and how we really aren’t that sure how good that stuff really is for your body.

I know that COTW at A Little Off Kilter already has this way of eating down pat. If you read her blog for any length of time and look at the pictures of some of the meals she’s had – yum! She makes eating healthy look sooo easy and sooo tasty. That’s definitely what I aspire to . . .

I’m sorry I haven’t been “blog traveling” that much lately, but know that I read your comments and they bring me great joy! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still kicking around and thinking of you. I hope everything is going well for everyone . . .

Because All I Have Time for Are Random Memes

You Are Ginger

Like ginger, you are a total shape shifter. You can be sweet, spicy, mellow, or overpowering. You are both soothing and unique. You are popular... yet you are often overlooked.

What Spice Are You?

What Time of Day Am I?

You are 10:02 a.m.

You are breakfasty, like a pile of pancakes on a Sunday morning that have just the right amount of syrup, so every bite is sweet perfection and not a soppy mess. You are a glass of orange juice that's cool, refreshing, and not overly pulpy. You are the time of day that's just right for turning the pages of a newspaper, flipping through channels, or clicking around online to get a sense of how the world changed during the night. You don't want to stumble sleepily through life, so you make a real effort to wake your brain up and get it thinking. You feel inspired to accomplish things (whether it's checking something off your to-do list or changing the world), but there's plenty of time for making things happen later in the day. First, pancakes.

Mid-Week Random Mind Dump

I have been trying and trying to write a proper blog post about what I’ve been up to over the past week. As I am dutifully accomplishing other tasks, beautiful paragraphs flow from my brain, all wanting desperately to be put down on paper.

Now that I actually have the time to do so? Nope, nuttin’ coming out. My brain is clogged – clogged I say! How very disappointing, since there are very cool things that went on last week. I shall try my best to impart to you some of what happened as best I can . . .

Item One: Back in the Saddle! I started teaching my ESL class last night and I am very pleased with the lively group that is in my level. I had 7 students in my class last night, all very advanced for our program, but still eager to learn and hone their English skills. I will definitely have to do more interactive conversation activities with this group and get in a lot more reading and writing practice than in other levels. I will have to get myself to a library to see if there are some DVDs that I can show in class to help supplement discussion – make the class more lively. The students I have are from all different backgrounds – from South Korea and Japan, from Venezuela, Columbia, Chile and Nicaragua, and one from Ghana. This is great because no one language really dominates and everyone is fairly comfortable trying to converse with each other in English. Yay!

Item Two: A Random Shakespeare Experience. Last Friday night, Mr. Random, J and I went to see a friend of ours in a play that had been enigmatically titled “The Christmas Show.” All we knew about the play is that the audience was restricted to 15 people and that we would have to dress warmly. Dress warmly? Huh? So we get there and everyone is sitting around the lobby (which was decorated like a living room at Christmastime, complete with lights and tree and Christmas records playing), and actors are passing out cups of hot chocolate to members of the audience as they arrive. (yes, the cocoa WAS tasty.) After everyone arrived, the play, just sort of began in the middle of the room. And shortly thereafter we realized that “The Christmas Play” really was . . . Hamlet! A very innovative portrayal of Hamlet yet, with us following the actors all around the theater building - through storage rooms, to the back alley, and even in the men’s room – to follow the action of the play. It was very cool and interactive and made the play come alive a bit more than usual. As J said, “It’s something to have Hamlet emoting while standing right next to you.”

Item Three: Super Bowl Hopes Dashed. My friend J almost got to go to the Super Bowl, but unfortunately the Packers lost. Big bummer! It was going to be ridiculously expensive though, so J is slightly relieved not to have to spend the money. So now I have no idea who to root for . . . I just go to the parties for the food and the hanging-out anyway.

Item Four: More Theater on the Horizon. In February, planning on going to see Hedda Gabler, then Macbeth in April (this version directed by Teller, of the magicians Penn and Teller). Yay! Things to look forward to!

Item Five: Mr. Random Rules! Mr. Random had his first performance review at the Random Publication and it seems that he is doing smashingly well. They didn’t know what to expect when they hired him, so mostly anything he does is considered an improvement on what they had before. This is also Mr. Random’s last semester in Grad school before he graduates in May. He wants a party of some sort, so I have to figure out what to do for that.

Item Six. Econ Class Countdown. Our final Econ paper will be due on May 2. There will be no final exam. Yay! I just have to get through the semester. The professor is waaaaaaaay left of even being a Marxist. I’m pretty liberal but even I have to cringe at some of his ideas. At least the class discussions are going to be lively . . .

So right now, that’s me in a nutshell. Hope you all are doing well – I’ve been lousy about blog visiting, but know I’m thinking of you.

Waving and smiling . . .

Happy New Year!

Today turned out to be a busy day, since the lunch I went to turned into a rather lengthy excursion to the Thrift Store and to the Mall, to help a friend pick out some stuff for a project they are working on . . .

When I got home, Mr. Random was watching the "Biggest Loser" marathon and then we watched tonight's Couples episode and got a bit inspired.

I took tomorrow as a vacation day to allow myself a little more breathing room before I get back to the work-a-day grind. It's just one way I'm trying to start off the year with a healthy, non-stressed perspective on things . . .

I hope your first day of 2008 went smashingly well!