Heads! . . . Heads! . . . Heads!

On Saturday, I went to see Tom Stoppard’s play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at DC’s Studio Theater. This play fit in very well with our ongoing Shakespeare project, since the main characters are two minor characters in Hamlet who aren’t mentioned often but do have something integral to do with the plot. They are old friends of Hamlet’s who are sent to keep him company and find out why he is behaving so oddly. They play delves quite a bit into the nature of life and death, while giving a backstory of the types of characters who are usually just afterthoughts in plays.

It was a very funny production in a very intimate setting, and the actors gave a wonderful performance. The gentleman who portrayed “The Player,” reminded us very much of Peter O’Toole. My friend thought that the main characters should have been played a bit more vaudevillian-slapstick-y, but I’m not so sure.

If you get a chance to see this performed in your area, do go. There’s lots of great dialogue to sink your teeth into:

Rosencrantz: Do you think Death could possibly be a boat?
Guildenstern: No, no, no... Death is "not." Death isn't. Take my meaning? Death is the ultimate negative. Not-being. You can't not be on a boat.
Rosencrantz: I've frequently not been on boats.
Guildenstern: No, no... What you've been is not on boats.

*****

Rosencrantz: Life in a box is better than no life at all, I expect. You'd have a chance, at least. You could lie there thinking, "Well. At least I'm not dead.'

********

[Guildenstern is pretending to be Hamlet]
Rosencrantz: To sum up: your father, whom you love, dies. You are his heir. You come back to find that hardly was the corpse cold before his young brother pops onto his throne and into his sheets, thereby offending both legal and natural practice. Now... why exactly are you behaving in this extraordinary manner?
Guildenstern: I can't imagine.

Now on to Macbeth!

Eight Random Things About Random Kath

Steve G. at Philosopher’s Playground tagged me for this meme, so here it goes . .

- Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
- People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
- At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
- Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

1) I had perfect attendance all through school, up until my senior year of high school when I had to miss days to go to my Grandpa’s funeral.

2) Since high school, all of my best friends have been guys. I’m just not really girly. I think it has to do with my inferiority complex – I always think other women must think I’m deficient in some way, that I lack some female companionship gene that allows me to have womanly conversations. Now I have lots of women friends, just not really best friends.

3) However, I only had one other real boyfriend before I met Mr. Random, and that was when I was 24. I was more of a “little sister” type, which was fine by me. Besides, I never really wanted to date any the guys I was friends with – I knew them much too well and saw how they acted around actual girls. One of my friends actually said “don’t date me or let any of your friends date me.” It turned out to be great advice, since he was such a hound. The nicest, most congenial guy you’d ever meet though. Great to go to happy hours with, just not very good at handling serious relationships.

4) I don’t like eating mushrooms. The whole fungus thing freaks me out.

5) I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the drums. Percussion sounds like it would be such a stress reliever, to be able to bang along on something.

6) I enjoy discussing topics with people face to face, even though I feel that I am horrible at speaking. Often I can see in my head what I mean, but the words just don’t want to come out. I talk with my hands a lot . . . too much sometimes. I often have to remind myself to sit on my hands, so they don’t become distracting to others. On the other hand, I probably should learn sign language at some point – where hand gestures are encouraged and useful . . .

7) As much as I love teaching ESL to adults, I don’t know if I’d ever like to do it professionally. All the paperwork and rules would just drive me crazy. Teaching on a volunteer basis, there's no real pressure and I can tailor the lessons however I want. I like the low key-ness of it all. Now, I am very rigorous and organized in how I teach and I make sure that everyone understands the concepts that we are trying to impart over a semester, but teaching once a week is different from teaching five days a week.

8) My favorite type of ice cream is cinnamon.


I’m lousy at following meme directions, and I think most people have done this one, so I am not going to assign this to anyone else. If you are moved to do it, though, please let me know!

Party of One

As a child, I often tended to sit alone, away from all of the other kids. I wasn’t the most social of children. It wasn’t that I didn’t like people or enjoy the company of others, but I just never really liked dealing with groups and group behavior. I somehow seemed to learn early that people act differently when you are talking with them one on one than when they are hanging out with a group of people. I grew up surrounded by a gaggle of loud, boisterous cousins and I wasn’t a fan of the noise and the ruckus and the mess.

You could always find me off to the side – sitting quietly in the corner or tucked away at my desk – with a book. I loved to read, and I read everything I could get my little hands on. The world was full of interesting things, and since as a child I wasn’t going anywhere, the easiest way to escape was to read. It was a comfort and a crutch. Books don’t hurt your feelings the way people do sometimes, and they tend not to disappoint.

So as my life went on, I found that I wasn’t exactly comfortable in most social situations. One on one, yes, I can be myself, but in groups I tend to just sit back and be an observer. I never knew what to say anyway, and I didn’t want to sound stupid. That’s a recurring theme in my life – not wanting to let people down and not wanting to appear stupid.

Even today, at lunchtime I don’t seek out people to eat with – I always eat lunch at my desk and then go for a walk. When Mr. Random and I worked together, we would always eat lunch together and then go for a walk. For five years, it was quite a blessing to have that time and that give and take in the middle of the day. But now that he’s gone, I’ve reverted to my natural state. Now, folks in the office peek in on me from time to time – they were all so used to me and Mr. Random hanging out in a collective unit – and making sure that I’m OK. I’ve never been a social person at work – I tend focus on the tasks I have to do, although I am sociable and am always there to help folks with their projects and offer advice – both professional and personal (I’ve always been kind of an informal life coach/resume consultant to all of my friends.)

I guess what got me thinking about it was that in a group conversation while waiting for a meeting to begin (because meetings at the Random Non-profit always start late), someone was talking about remembering the weird kid that sat off by himself at lunchtime in school – and I thought, “hey, I was a weird kid!” I was happy being the weird kid – I didn’t notice otherwise – but I guess other people don’t see it that way.

One day I was home watching a Gilmore Girls rerun, the episode where the principal makes Rory act more social at school and so she starts eating lunch with a group of girls who eventually end up getting her almost suspended in her efforts to fit in. The story ends with Rory standing up for herself by saying that she has a pretty full life outside of school – lots of friends and activities and even a steady boyfriend – and so the principal really didn’t need to be worried about her being anti-social . . .

I guess I can say the same thing – I have a lot of very awesome people in my life, and many fun and exciting things to do outside of work, so I don’t feel compelled to hang out at work – I just want to get my work done and go out and get to do my fun stuff. Now, I do “work and play well with others,” but not as much as one does when one is say, 23 and going to happy hours all the time.

Did this post make any sort of sense? It’s just been on my brain for the past few days because I guess it’s been bothering me somehow. I do miss having Mr. Random with me at work, but I also like my quiet lunch hours too . . . I just don’t like feeling like I’m being a pariah on top of all of my other issues going on right now . . . Oy!

Happy Friday, everyone . . .

Feeling in the Raw

I’ve been rather quiet for this past week, both out of being busy but also out of not knowing what to say. I have not been responding to your great comments, but they have been read in snatches of time here and there.

I don’t want to sound whiny or miserable, so I’m just trying to get through each day as I best can. My boss was out in the field this week, which left me to have to handle some things in the office alone which turned out to be way over my head. It has been a very discouraging time and I am very happy that this week is almost over.

To go to happier topics, I am going to the theater on Saturday and am really looking forward to being out with a friend and having lunch and generally doing things that I adore doing, and wish I could do more of, more often.

In Friday’s Washington Post, there was a review of the version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that my friend J and I are planning to see sometime in the next month . . . it’s going to be “Costume Free”! If that link doesn’t work, there’s more information about it here.

At first, I was wondering if I could really handle watching something like that live – this theater is really small and intimate, so you are pretty close to the action on stage no matter where you are. But I figure, after 15 20 minutes or so you’ll get used to it and won’t even notice anymore, really . . . AND you’ll definitely be paying attention to the words, since you won’t have costume cues to let you know who is who. I’ve taken several drawing classes with live models, both male and female. Once you get over your initial 12 year old kid reaction, you move on and pay attention to the details . . .

Ah, yes – the sacrifices one makes to become a sophisticated theatergoer!

Also, the show schedule is out for this year’s DC Fringe Festival – July 19-29. Lots of interesting choices there, lots of really odd stuff, too – it wouldn’t be called “fringe” if it didn’t have shows like this or this.

Today’s Audience Participation Question is:

Looking at the Fringe schedule, what shows do you think I should go see? Include any shows that you’d personally want to see, or shows that you think look SO ridiculous that I should go to just to see how they turn out.

Feelin' Groovy

Just wanted to highlight two really great musical posts today:

• One can be found in today’s Jefitoblog: the Chartburn post for this week highlights music and videos from, David Lee Roth, Marcy Playground, Nicolette Larson, and the Zombies. If you aren’t reading this series regularly, you totally should, if only for the memories and the snark value. Also, check out his Idiot’s Guides . . . I learn SO much from them . . .

• The other great post is Jason Hare’s weekly Chart Attack: This week features the top ten songs from the week of June 26, 1982. I remember those songs much too well, being the Top 40 junky that I (and my whole family, actually) was back then. Come for the Chart Attacks and stay for the weekly Adventures from the Mines of Mellow Gold. My favorite one so far featured Seals and Croft’s Summer Breeze. I like trying to sing it, but I know I maul it terribly . . . This also serves as a shout out to my good friend, J – Re-live your prom theme!

Other thoughts:

***Is it just me, or does Rhianna pronounce “Umbrella” really strangely in that new song of hers? By the way, I heard that song THREE TIMES yesterday afternoon in the space of two hours. That and the new Maroon 5 song, which totally sounds like it needs to be played at a roller rink. (Insert mental image of people grooving along to the songs while skating in circles and doing splits-like moves.) Once each when I got into the car to drive to the doctor’s office. Once each when I drove from the doctor’s office home. And then again, a half hour later, when I drove to pick up Mr. Random from work. Jeez, talk about heavy rotation . . .

***Whenever I think of the Marcy Playground song, “Sex and Candy,” I always only remember the words to the parody song that came out around the same time, having to do with the whole Bill and Monica thing. It was played often on WHFS that summer, and I think one of the DJ’s (Wes Johnson?) did the Bill Clinton voice that sang it.

Ok, I just typed out the words to the parody, but I don’t think I’ll put them up – suffice to say, they aren’t family friendly, but did fit the whole Ken Starr investigation vibe to a tee. How I long for the days when THAT was the biggest problem we had going on . . . good grief!

***Mr. Random recently downloaded a couple of Cake albums and they are rather growing on me. The lead singer has such an interesting voice – well, not really melodious, but it does stay with you. And I love the horns and the bass guitar (at least I think it’s the bass guitar . . .)

Just felt like sharing . . .

Spring 2007 Culture Post Mortem

Summer’s finally here!

While at this time of year most people tend to put up a reading list of what they want to read for the upcoming Summer season, I’m going to be a wuss and just note what I finished reading this past Spring:

• Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
• Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
• Sons and Lovers – D. H. Lawrence
• Good in Bed – Jennifer Weiner
• 2 Noam Chomsky books (One was 9-11, the other title escapes me at the moment)

. . . And the following Shakespeare plays (along with the accompanying overview chapters in the Marjorie Garber book):

• The Tempest
• Coriolanus
• Love’s Labors Lost
• Titus Andronicus
• Twelfth Night

Gee, that doesn’t seem like a lot, does it? But if we add in all of the newspapers, magazines and blogs that I read on a daily basis, that pushes the reading count up quite a bit!

However, I can quite happily say that I have seen the following plays performed live: Edward III, Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus, Love’s Labors Lost, and The Tempest.

I carry around Adam Gopnik’s Paris to the Moon in my purse to read while I’m waiting for stuff, so that should be finished soon. I know that I will be reading Hamlet and Macbeth pretty soon, since I’m going to see those plays within the next month or two.

I hope that my end of summer list will be a bit fuller and have a bit more variety, but I also am really excited that I will also get to see some more live performances.

Does anyone have any Spring accomplishments they want to boast about?

It's So Hard Admittin' When It's Quittin' Time

My boss, seeing my frazzled, exhausted state the past few days, told me to take the rest of the week off. That was awfully kind of her, and I eagerly took her up on her offer.

However, I’ve spent most of today checking my e-mail waiting for a coworker to finish editing a document so I can post it to the field, and writing up a few things that someone else asked me to help them with. Well, at least I’m at home on my couch . . .

The Random Cat spent the morning glued to the balcony window, watching all of the birds flying around and perching in the trees that are left standing near out condo. She sat hunched and ready to pounce, probably ardently hoping that I would open the screen door and let her prowl. There’s no chance of that – I can just see the Random Cat leaping off of the balcony, in a very ill-advised attempt to capture a bird, and while it would provide a moment of comic relief, having to go downstairs and pick up a splattered kitty does not appeal to me at all . . .

So, I’m still on edge . . . tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment for a yearly check-up, which means I will have to drop Mr. Random off downtown and pick him up from work so I can use the car. I will also have to go into the office briefly to do something – I hope I can get there early enough to avoid people! So I’m thinking tomorrow won’t yield much rest either . . .

Maybe Friday? Fingers and toes crossed . . .

Tuesday Random Lunchtime Tunes

Today’s random song sampling:

Pick Yourself Up – Anita O’Day
No Pain, No Problem – Eddie From Ohio
Sisters – The Puppini Sisters
Satin Doll – Duke Ellington
Let Me – Sergio Mendes
Hey Eugene! – Pink Martini
Tango Suite: Allegro – Yo-Yo Ma
Doce de Coco – Yo-Yo Ma (different album)
A Mi Manera – Gipsy Kings
Brandenburg Concerto #2 in F: 3. Allegro Assai – J.S. Bach

Started off peppy, then went to mellow and stayed there. I really need more peppy music - the heat today is bringing me down, big time!

UPDATE: The little earbuds are hurting my ears - they hurt when I'm trying to take them out. Note to self: need to buy little felt things to put over the earbuds. Why wouldn't Apple have little felt things on their earbuds already installed? That's just being cheap . . . and people have to pay enough money for these things as it is? Things are never as simple as they seem . . .

The Past is Prologue

Thanks to everyone for the lovely responses to my post about my Grandpa. I am glad I was able to convey my feelings about him to the world. There are many people we meet in this life who are cool people, but who never get the recognition that we think that they should . . .

***
In my quest to continue to become a member of the 21st century, this weekend I finally got an iPod. Mr. Random had been encouraging me to get one for months, and yesterday – needing a bit of retail therapy – we went on down to the Apple Store and got one. I was filled with much anxiety about it, though – that’s a lot of money for what’s basically just a fancy gadget. (Gee, do I sound like a cranky old man?) I spent a good chunk of yesterday evening uploading half of my CDs and now have 499 songs at my fingertips.

It may just have been the luck of what I uploaded, but I seem to own a lot of really mellow music – a lot of folky stuff, a lot of classical, a lot of jazz, a lot of old standards. I like good voices, good stripped-down instrumentation and good lyrics. I do have a lot of upbeat, pop stuff . . . but, it is all on cassettes! Because my formative music-buying years were in the late 80’s/early 90’s, I have a lot of really cool music that I would love to have uploaded to my iPod so I can channel my inner 18 year old again, but doing so would be quite a pain . . . unless anyone knows of a cheap way convert them?

***
The reason I finally bought the iPod, was that I needed a bit of retail therapy. Mr. Random and I were supposed to take my parents to dinner at a local barbeque place in honor of Father’s Day, and we were going to give my dad a present of 4 tickets to a Washington Nationals game in really excellent seats. (We were giving him the tickets because we can’t use them on that date, but he doesn’t need to know that.) My Dad cancelled at the last minute, since had had to go out of town to a funeral a few days last week and wanted to help my mom get ready for her business trip to Florida for two weeks. Which, I guess is valid, but it did hurt my feelings. I actually had been looking forward to the dinner, since I hadn’t seen my folks since Mother’s Day. Also, my dad cancelled another time we had invited him to dinner while Mr. Random’s Mom was here – so there was a bit of a history. I’m probably making too much of this and I’ll get over it . . . I’m still debating whether to still give him the tickets, though . . .

***
Went to see The Tempest on Thursday. It was a good production, but I was thrown off by some of this company’s interpretations of the plot. They left out a few of the not-so-minor characters, who actually added some important elements to the plot, and portrayed Caliban as mentally disturbed and hearing voices in his head to replace the characters. I wasn’t real thrilled with that . . .

Next play up for me to see: Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Wooohooo!

***
I’m doing more ESL subbing this week, this time for a drop-in conversation class. I’m used to having a set bunch of people to educate for 10 to 12 weeks, so this is a new experience for me – I don’t need to do as much lesson planning and the key is to just have everyone talk and practice their English in a non-threatening environment. Very low key . . . perfect for me to do during the summer . . .

***
The weather is going to be DC summer hot this week. I’ve already received more mosquito bites this season than I’ve received in the past 5 years: This past week brought seven mosquito bites on my legs and thighs. I now have a bottle of OFF tucked away in my purse, along with a tube of sunscreen. I will not be caught off guard again!

OK, the last few songs on my iPod have been by: Allison Krauss, Fiona Apple, Paul Simon, Eddie From Ohio, and Diana Krall. Yes, I really need to finish uploading some other albums on here or this machine is going to put me to sleep . . .

The last two CDs I bought were The Puppini Sisters’ Betcha Bottom Dollar and Pink Martini’s Hey Eugene! What does this say about me?

What are you all listening to these days? I’m looking for ideas . . .

Ode to My Grandfather

I just wanted to share this with everyone. It is neither a meme nor a Scribblings Challenge, but a short essay I had to write for an application I submitted this week. You all probably heard this story before, but this time I actually had to make it coherent. With Father's Day coming up, it just seemed to fit . . .

The Topic: Describe an event or individual that has been instrumental in shaping who you are. Tell us why this event/person has been significant in your life. (In less than 500 words)

***********

Grandpa Henry was a big man. Not only big in relation to an adoring granddaughter, but at over six feet tall and roughly 300 pounds, he always made a big impression when he walked into a room with his charisma and booming infectious laugh.

Whenever he was around, I felt special. On both sides of the family, I was one of many grandchildren and tended to get lost in the hustle and bustle at large family gatherings in my hometown of Philadelphia. However, Grandpa would always take time to try to play with me and talk to me. Every so often, he would give my mother money to buy books that she thought that I would enjoy. He was proud of my schoolwork and always encouraged me to do my best.

After my family moved to Virginia in my junior year of high school, I did not get to see him very often. Occasionally, I spoke with him on the phone, but long-distance phone calls were expensive. During this time, unbeknownst to me, Grandpa became sick with an aggressive form of cancer. The last time I spoke to him was during a phone call in February 1987. He sounded very tired, but wanted to hear how I was doing. My high school graduation was coming up and I wanted to make sure he would be there. “You’re coming to my graduation, right Grandpa?” I asked. I did not notice at the time, but now I will never forget, he hesitated a bit before answering. “Of course, Kitty, I will be there.”

My mother received a call on St. Patrick’s Day that Grandpa died in his sleep. He was only 62 years old. I was devastated and sleep-walked through the funeral. I finished the school year but cried bitterly on graduation day because he was not there.

Later, it came out that Grandpa had been functionally illiterate. My grandmother and mother had covered up that fact from everyone for many years. Growing up as an African American in rural Alabama in the 1920s did not afford him the opportunity for a good education. He wanted to make sure that I took advantage of the opportunities that he did not have growing up. As an adult, I realize what a gift he gave me, and I wanted to honor his memory by sharing his gift with others.

A few years ago, I started volunteering with the [local volunteer group] as an English as a Second Language teacher. In my classes are people from all walks of life who are trying to learn to read, write and speak English to secure a better life for themselves and their families. I enjoy teaching these classes and seeing the triumph in students’ eyes when they figure out some difficult grammar or turn of phrase. In my teaching, I hope Grandpa Henry would be proud of me for helping to give others chances that he did not have.

Forty Years Ago Today . . .

Today, I want to honor the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that 31 years later allowed Mr. Random and me to be married in the State of Virginia:

LOVING ET UX. v. VIRGINIA

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

388 U.S. 1

June 12, 1967, Decided

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WARREN delivered the opinion of the Court.

. . .

Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," fundamental to our very existence and survival. To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.

. . .

Read the full decision here

It is so hard to find someone to love in this world . . . May the next few years bring the end of ALL discrimination in marriage, and may our LGBT brothers and sisters be able to exercise one of the basic civil rights of man, according to the requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Here is a picture of me and Mr. Random (having some serious bad-hair days.) We don’t have a better picture yet – so it’ll only be up for a day or so . . .

[Addendum: Today on NPR there was a segment about this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10889047]

I'm No Virginia Woolf, That's for Sure

Other Random reflections:

• I’ve never watched the Sopranos. I’m always behind the curve on those sorts of things. Or rather, I hate watching overly-hyped stuff. Besides, I can always read the recaps in the paper and be just as informed without having to sit through the show.

• However, I do like some types of purposefully cheesy TV. I love “The Starter Wife” and I’m actually glad it is only 6 episodes long – kind of like a British series. It’s fun, it’s frothy, and it will be over soon.

• The Random Cat is now down to 8 pounds, which is her ideal weight! She lost 4 pounds over the course of the year. The “cat-kins” diet worked! The vet was very happy and very surprised. However, now she feels free to try to grab food directly out of your plate if you aren’t paying attention closely enough. She’s getting pretty sneaky . . .

• Thought while watching MTV today: No one should wear bright yellow stretch pants, no matter how skinny you are. They are just hideous looking. They’re YELLOW for goodness sake!

• I broke down and created a MySpace page. My sister is Iraq kept insisting I should do it, so I did it. I guess now I am fully a part of the 21^st century. It just seems like another thing I have to check and keep semi-updated, and I’m already falling down on the job with the blog here . . . and I actually LIKE doing the blog (and keeping up with you guys, of course!)

• I really want to travel somewhere this summer, but won’t be able to unless I go by myself. Mr. Random can’t take much time off this year, with grad school and the new job and all. I, on the other hand, am going stir-crazy. I feel really bad about it too, but I hate staying still. I HAVE to explore . . . for some odd reason, it is in my blood and won’t go away . . .

• Mr. Random is itching to look for a new house right now. I am too, but I don’t think we can really afford to move right now and there is much too much going on in our lives to throw another jumble of uncertainty into the pot. I would like a bigger place with a small yard and room to entertain – we can’t really invite many of our friends over now and it is killing me – but now is just not the right time. Mr. Random is calling the mortgage guy anyway to see what we possibly might be able to afford nowadays, but I’m thinking that it wouldn’t be much more than what we have right now . . . spring certainly brings house envy, though . . .

• The good thing about being at the conference for most of the week is that I didn’t have to see or read any of the Paris Hilton nonsense, although many people were commenting in disgust asking why it had to appear on the front page of the Washington Post AND on the first page of the Style section. That’s just really sad . . .

• I wish I had better hair. It’s just slightly too short to do anything fun with, and it isn’t growing fast enough. I want Beyonce hair – but then, Beyonce doesn’t even have Beyonce hair . . . I do believe that she pays good money for such nice pieces . . .

• I can’t wait to see The Tempest at the Folger Theater this week . . . yay!

• I love watching the Tony awards every year, but I’m always sad because I never get to see any of the cool plays or musicals. It takes forever for anything to come to DC, and even then it really isn’t the same show – it has an all new cast, which may or may not do it justice . . .

. . . Just wanted to share my random thoughts today – feel free to share your own!

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

I had a dream last night/this morning that kind of disturbed me:

I was in what seemed like an old house or old building of some sort, and I was trying to take a shower, but for some reason I had to do it in the middle of the room where people where coming in and out and just sitting around. I was trying to find a closet to shower in, but there were no closets. So I was standing in the middle of the room, with all of my stuff around me but far enough away so that they didn’t get wet from the showerhead in the ceiling, trying to take a shower while wearing a bathing suit. Of course this was not working well, but I was really frustrated because all these people were walking in and out. I was trying to suds up while wearing the bathing suit, feeling stupid wearing a bathing suit, and feeling so embarrassed just for being there . . .

I woke up feeling very . . . unsettled . . .

So here I am. Lots of things going on in my life and I guess I am feeling kind of exposed (as my amateur dream analysis tells me) and embarrassed and naked . . .

Reflections from the past week:

The conference came off all right – a lot of things could have been done better, and there were two days straight when my entire food intake for breakfast and lunch was a bottle of water and a handful of cheddar cheese Combos. It was non-stop meetings and talking to people and being “on” and two days later, I am just SO exhausted . . .

It was not as weird as I thought without Mr. Random there, if only because I was so busy from the time I got there until the time I left. The only thing I missed was the ability to leave right away – Mr. Random had to come and pick me up each evening. I tried to get some rides home, but no one ever was able to go my way . . . even the woman who lives a few blocks over from me, usually had to go somewhere else after work. Luckily, I brought a book with me, but sitting in a hotel lobby is never fun when all you want to do is go home . . .

Next year, if they are going to cut back on anything, it definitely should not be the meals. The one meal a day thing was horrible, and most days it was just the “continental breakfast” – which is basically just some rolls and coffee. I don’t do well with just carbs in the morning – it makes me very cranky, and some folks have dietary restrictions in which they can’t eat that stuff. Restaurants are also really expensive in the area we were in, and we weren’t reimbursing folks – and a lot of our constituents come from struggling organizations and states and the cost of the hotel was about $250 a night alone. You would think that being in the field we are in we would know better, but nope, being cheap trumps all . . .

The high point of the conference was the last evening, which is our organization’s closing night dinner. Here we give out awards to several inspiring young people, ages 13-26, who are doing amazing things in our field. Listening to them tell their stories always energizes me for a little bit – they, and others like them, are exactly the reason I put up with all of the crap at the Random Non-profit. The fact that they things we do are helping to improve their lives, it makes it all worthwhile. If we could just get our acts together, stop the internal dysfunction and fulfill our movement’s TRUE potential, just think of the change we could make in the world!

Now after those four days of pure adrenaline, I need a long, long nap . . .

Counting Down to Four Days of Fun

Conference starts tomorrow. Nervous upon nervous. Still fighting writer’s block for this other project I have to finish this week. It’s just stress city today . . .

The Random Non-profit got rid of its meeting planner, so we are all flying by the seat of our pants. We have much less staff now, trying to put on a conference over four days. Not that many people are coming either, in comparison to years past, since DC is extremely expensive. We are also cutting back on the number of meals that we will be providing, which kind of sucks – food is rather expensive near the hotel and there aren’t that many alternatives . . .

It’s also a big bummer that Mr. Random won’t be at the conference with me this year – he helps calm me down when I go too stressed out or too annoyed by random staff members who feel they are too good or too high up to help out. That drives me crazy – if something needs doing, I just roll up my sleeves and do it. We are down more than 10% of an already small staff – every little bit helps. Someone higher up once told me that if I wanted to advance seriously, I needed to stop helping out on administrative tasks. I can’t bring myself to do that. I remember how worn and tired and angry I felt when I had to assemble or collate some large project that was dumped on me at the last minute and then no one would help me. They would just sit there and read or go get coffee as I was sprawled on the floor trying to get everything straight. I know how it feels much too well – it was not too long ago. Also, I know quite a bit about event planning and conferences, so it seems silly to have people reinvent the wheel . . .

Anyway, I know I should have some interesting stories when this is all over. I hope everyone is having a good week . . . Wish me luck . . .

Article: Revisiting Fahrenheit 451

Found in today's ArtsJournal: Interesting article about Ray Bradbury and how his novel, Fahrenheit 451, has been misinterpreted all of these years:

http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/ray-bradbury-fahrenheit-451-misinterpreted/16524/

It's not really about government censorship - it's more about censorship by groups coupled with the rise of television.

Do give the article a read and let me know what you think . . . I'll have to re-read this book this week - it must be about 20 years since I last read it . . .

Monday Morning Kvetch and Moan

I’m dragging my feet on something that I really need to finish in the next two days. Once I finish it, I can let the chips fall where they may – however, I am petrified of finishing it because if I finish it, it means I may be rejected, and I hate rejection . . .

Wait. As I was writing that sentence, I realized how stupid and silly that was – if I get rejected, I’ll just move on to something else. I may feel a bit ashamed that others may know about my failure, but in the grand scheme of things, that is really not important. I mean, this step will allow me to move forward and if I don’t do it, I’ll NEVER move forward.

I have to finish by tomorrow night. I’m writing this for all and sundry to see.

Yes, this is horribly vague – all will be revealed in time, I promise!

I am really dreading this week – I’m really dreading this conference and being “on” all the time and being exhausted at the end of 14 hour days. I will be so happy when Sunday is here. What happens after the conference? Well that’s another kettle of fish I’ll have to deal with then . . .

I had a very busy, but cranky, weekend. I needed to do some shopping on Saturday, but Mr. Random had the car all day due to some miscommunication about scheduling on our parts. Went out on Sunday and got a few things, but I’m just going to have to cobble some outfits together for the conference and hope I don’t look too worn and haggard . . .

Man, I’m just a bundle of joy today. This waking up earlier thing has thrown off my whole internal body clock . . . I’ll just have to get used to it . . .

I did a trial run of walking to work and back on Saturday afternoon. Wearing t-shirt, shorts, sneakers, and only carrying a small bottle of water, it was a very hilly path and I was hot and worn out by the time I got to the office. If I do this during the workweek, it will probably be to just walk home, because walking to work on these humid DC summer mornings will just mean Random Kath gets to work a sweaty, smelly mess. There is also a bus route along the way that only costs $1 each way, so if worse comes to worse I could do that. Mr. Random also said I could drive him into town and drop him off and just come get him in the evenings, which would save on the parking costs (his new office is not near the metro at all). That is also an option . . .

I’ll try to have a more upbeat post later this evening, when I’m procrastinating horribly . . .

What’s So Funny about Peace, Love and Misunderstanding?

Last Friday night, Mr. Random, my friend J, and I went to see Love’s Labors Lost at the Carter Barron Amphitheater in Northwest DC. The play is this year’s Shakespeare Theater’s “Free for All” performance.

It is a re-performance of the play they did last year on the main stage, where the twist was that this was set in 1960’s India, with the King of Navarre being an enlightenment guru and the “noblemen” are staged as a rock band coming to study at the feet of the master – kind of like the Beatles did.

It is a very fun and accessible play that made good use of the new setting. Instead of the noblemen dryly reading the sonnets they had written to each of their fair ladies, they sang the words while playing whatever instrument they play in the band. (Those actors could really sing and play too – especially the drummer!) The part of Costard was played as a burned out hippie guy, which lent a lot of comic relief to many of the scenes – especially one scene where the main characters were talking (and it was a boring exchange), in the background you could see the Costard character quietly and slowly taking out a baggie and carefully and slowly rolling a joint on stage . . .

The amphitheater is in Rock Creek Park, in an area I never even knew existed before – it’s like you aren’t even in the city, everything was so lush and green. It was a beautiful evening for a play outside – not too hot or humid with clear, starry skies. There were lots of families there and several middle school groups came as a class trip. For an introduction to Shakespeare, this play was an excellent choice, since it had music and frames a reference that most kids and parents could relate to. Although there was one part of the play where the guys were supposed to be disguised as Muscovites – so in the version, they were in space suits with “CCCP” across the front and carried the flag of the USSR. Several little kids around us asked what that stuff meant. I began to feel really, really old . . .

Another notable event: I received my first mosquito bite of the season! I forgot it was getting to be that time of year and while I sensibly wore a sweater and capris, I forgot to spray insect repellent around my ankles . . .

The “Season of Shakespeare” will continue in a couple of weeks when we go see The Tempest at the Folger Shakespeare Theater. The Folger is set up similarly to the old Globe Theater, so I can’t wait to see it. Have to start reading the play very soon, so I will know what’s going on . . .

This weekend will be low key, since next week is going to be brutal. It’s conference time, which means I will be working from 7 in the morning through 9 or 10 at night for four days straight – ugh! I get weary just thinking about it . . .

Any good plans for the upcoming weekend?

Scorpio In Transit

Things are weighing heavily on the brain this week, as Mr. Random starts his new job at what shall now be known as the Random Publication.

It’s a very big transition – so big that we won’t be sure what it all means for several weeks. We have to wake up much earlier, since Mr. Random now has to drive into town. I arrive at the Random Non-Profit much earlier, since Mr. Random drops me off in the morning. Lunch will probably be me wandering off to the strip mall or me huddled by my desk. I’m really not that social at work – having Mr. Random there at least allowed me to interact with folks on a looser basis. I’m not very chit-chatty – I just like to do my work and go home. I’m helpful and friendly as I can be, but I just have a lot of stuff to do, stuff on my mind.

It’s causing me to reflect a lot on my relationships with people. Now that Mr. Random is not close, that means we see each other much less, and with him going to graduate school for another year, it means many evenings of him studying and me off reading somewhere or watching TV during the week. My teaching is ended for the summer and does not start again until fall. Many of my friends are busy with families and/or work and/or traveling. One sister is in Iraq and not accessible. The other is off being 23 years old somewhere . . .

Usually I am so busy, but I do value having other people around, having people to talk to. Not small talk-y stuff though – I just have so many questions right now and not many answers . . .

Transitions are not easy. Mr. Random has such much to deal with and my grumbling – my whining, my complaining, my bitching – would not be very helpful to him.

It is a gorgeous day here in Northern Virginia – summer is almost here. Everything is green and the sky is blue. There is much to be thankful for and happy about. I need to remember that and keep it close right now . . .

Kvetching Allowed

Philosopher’s Playground has a really good post today about the differences between whining, complaining, bitching and kvetching.

I am trying to analyze which of those I do most here on the blog. I always hope it’s kvetching, but it often does seem to devolve into whining and bitching.

I bitch about the admin guy all of the time – especially to Mr. Random, who in a highly entertaining way can also do a spot-on impersonation of him.

I whine about a lot of things, because I guess deep down I want someone to go “oh, poor Random Kath . . . there, there now.” I mean, in a way it’s human nature to want to have your misery validated. Who wants to think they are paranoid for no reason? Who doesn’t want some love shared their way?

One thing that I do not do a lot is complain. If I see something wrong, I try to fix it myself. If I go to a restaurant and there is a little puddle of schmutz on the table, I’ll just get a napkin and wipe it off myself – I’m used to cleaning up myself and other people – it takes more time to flag down a busy person and make them get a wet towel to wipe off a little spot. I’ve been on the other side in similar situations and no one is perfect, so I try to cut others some slack. If I can’t do it myself, I ask for help – then half the time people take over the task anyway. . .

~ Time passes ~

Oh, I’m back. I went away for a while – not that anyone would have noticed – to participate in Mr. Random’s good-bye party here at the Random Non-profit. I was the one assigned to keep Mr. Random busy until the party, which was pretty easy since he had to show me a few office procedures this morning and that activity took up over an hour. He was very surprised! I took many pictures, however I was not able to immortalize the look on his face when he walked into a room full of people with balloons, confetti and silly string. He received many cool going away gifts and started choking up when he was asked to give a speech. I started crying too . . .

This day has been quite surreal for the both of us, and I don’t think either of us will fully realize that he isn’t working here anymore until a couple of weeks from now. A chapter of his life is ending and a new one is beginning – very scary and exciting stuff!

I guess today is a lame posting day – I’ve been pretty low on sleep – but I’ll try to do better next time . . . But my Question of the Day is this: Of kvetching, whining, bitching and complaining, which of those do you find yourself doing most often?

My Throbbing Brain

I hate going a week between posts, but I’ve been trying to get a lot of work done before the Memorial Day Holiday weekend.

I have a huge headache though . . . I’m pretty sure it’s stress . . .

My first night of subbing last week went really well – everyone was really responsive and seemed to get a lot out of the class. I don’t know how well I’ll do tonight, although the adrenaline does do wonders for my teaching abilities. I can feel flat out horrible, but somehow seem to get it together long enough to last 2 hours . . .

I will try to update you on Mr. Random’s last day at the Random Non-profit as soon as I can . . .

Enter Messenger with Two Heads and a Hand . . .

Last night I went to see “Titus Andronicus” at the Shakespeare Theater Company in DC. (http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=97&source=l)

It definitely wasn’t a play for the kiddies – lots of blood and gore, more like a slasher film really, but with a slightly better plot and spoken in iambic pentameter. It is a play I highly recommend reading before you go to see it, if only to (a) be able to follow along a lot easier, and (b) know when the sick and bloody parts are coming so you can turn your head away.

It was great (if queasy) fun to watch. When I saw “Coriolanus” at the Kennedy Center, some of the people sitting in front of me noted that before someone in the play would get stabbed, he or she would always be found wearing a white shirt or dress. “Titus” definitely proved that rule . . .

I am truly enjoying the Shakespeare project that my friend, J, and I are doing. It is so much fun to read a play, get to see it performed, and then be able to discuss it later. The last two plays have been rather expensive, but worth it. I enjoy being a theater-goer and I hope to be able to continue the streak – there are a few more plays left in the Shakespeare in Washington series, plus some other plays coming up later in the year that look really interesting. If I can see one a month, I would be quite the happy camper . . .

That reminds me – the DC Fringe Festival is coming up in July! I don’t think that I’m going to volunteer this year, but I do want to buy a several play pass so that I can go see more than one performance. If you have a Fringe Festival in your community, I say GO! It’s a great way to see a lot of the performing arts for very cheap prices . . .

It’s been a long week, but I just wanted to share my Theater experience with the world. I start my two weeks of ESL subbing tomorrow night, and I was at a conference for most of the day today, so I better go to bed soon before I pass out from exhaustion . . .

Coming Up for Air

I haven’t dropped off the face of the Earth . . . It’s been super busy this week - there’ve been a few new developments in the Random Household that have kept my attention . . .

The first announcement . . . Ta-Da! Mr. Random has found a new job and is leaving the Random Non-profit! The new job is a very exciting position in the field that he is currently going to graduate school for. It is not much more money, but it has a lot of potential for growth. He will also be working in the downtown DC area, but in a not very Metro accessible section, so we will need to work out how were are going to handle our work commutes.

We are both very excited and very sad. Mr. Random has worked here for more than a decade and has a lot of history here – he was working here when I first met him and this place has been an integral part of his make-up. You can say in a way that he grew up here. But we both know that this place is not good for anyone, and that it was time for him to move on. It will be weird not having him walk into my office every few hours, or having lunch with him, or just checking in with each other during the day. It will be weird to everyone else because he was the person on staff who had been here the longest and he just knows all and has always been around . . .

The staff is planning a big shindig for his last day – everyone adores him and wants to wish him well, they know this is a great move for him. I am trying to keep minimally involved, so as not to accidentally spill the beans about something. I will let you know how it goes – his last day will be the Wednesday before Memorial Day . . .

*****

The rest of what is going on is just random stuff. Both my boss and our admin person are out most of this week and all of next week, so I am the only one in the department having to respond to everything and go to umpteen meetings – also meaning that I can’t get MY work done. I’ll probably have to come in on Sunday and do some catching up. This would not usually annoy me SO much, but the admin guy very slickly did not let my boss know that he would be gone for two whole weeks . . .

You see, he told my boss in February that he needed the two weeks off for a vacation with his parents, but she told him then that he couldn’t have the second week off, because she was going to be first, at her daughter’s graduation in Illinois for a few days, and then traveling on work visits to some of our sites that next week, and she didn’t want me to be here alone for a long period of time. He then insisted that his parents had already paid for the tickets (mind you, this guy is 29 years old), but my boss said, “well, you are just going to have to work that out yourself.”

Now, a normal person would have taken that as “No” and not gone on vacation. However, I can see how there was a teeny-tiny bit of wiggle room in that last response – but still! So on Wednesday, when I was meeting with my boss before she left to see her daughter, talking about the things that I would have to cover in her absence, and then I also mentioned that admin guy was going to be gone all next week too. “Oh, no – he’ll be back on Monday,” she said. Um, no . . . he told me he’d see me in two weeks. She looked stunned for a moment and said, “What?” Then we both ran into his office to check his calendar, and sure enough, he marked that he would be gone until the 21st. My boss was livid and we have to figure out now what we are going to do when he gets back . . .

I’m already ticked off because he left a huge project sloppily done, which I then had to spend all day Tuesday redoing and sending out. I also have to do all of the follow-up that he is not here to do. We had moved this particular project over to him for this quarter, since I was taking on a few larger projects, but it has turned out that I still have to shepherd this thing through myself. Arrgh!

*****

I also just found out that I will be subbing for some evening ESL classes in the next two weeks. I had decided not to teach over the summer, but I told folks I would be willing to sub . . . and of course, they actually do need me to sub. Why, the nerve! (just kidding) It actually shouldn’t be so bad – the main teacher will have already made up lesson plans, so all I’ll have to do is show up. Knowing me, however, I might think up a few little fun things to supplement each class – but that won’t take much time. I was going to miss teaching a little anyway, and this will allow me to get it out of my system before my brain gets fried again . . .

*****

Going to see another play next week, too: Titus Andronicus, which is one of Shakespeare’s most violent plays. It will be very interesting to see how all the blood and gore will be portrayed – I may spend half of the play looking through my hands . . .

Just a whirlwind of activity going on the next few weeks . . . what will you guys be up to?

The Random Vanity

Finally . . . Here are pictures of the new bathroom vanity that it took us forever and a day to get installed.

The bottom picture is of the new mirror we bought to match the dark wood of the cabinet. It is still in the "packaging" because we need to still buy special wall screws in order to install it. We don't want it crashing down on the Random Cat one day while we're out . . .

Also, you might be able to make out Yours Truly in the mirror. I had to stand in the shower to take the pictures . . . our bathroom isn't very big . . .

Do the Limbo Rock!

I can’t wait for this week to be over. Tonight I’m going to see the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Kennedy Center, which I have been looking forward to ALL week. However, the rest of the week? Ugh.

Mr. Random has a final exam on Saturday and also has a final project due, so he is beyond stressed out right now. I just try to stay quietly out of the way . . .

I’ve been having mini-anxiety attacks every morning this week. I am trying to figure out why – is it that I just need some time off? There’s nothing too horrible happening at work at the moment, although a lot of things do weigh heavily on my brain – too much to do and no motivation . . .

Last night I had choir practice and I hadn’t been in two weeks. I felt like I really didn’t need to be there, my allergy was affecting my throat, and I wasn’t really feeling the songs. It was very disappointing – I was hoping to be very happy to see everyone, but there was something missing that I could not put my finger on . . .

O Spring! What am I looking for? What am I waiting for?

I’ll try to be peppier next time. I’m just in an odd mood today, but I wanted to say that I’m glad you all come by and comment. It does perk up the day a bit . . .

Let's Dance Around the May Pole

It’s May already! April went by so quickly . . . too quickly. There was a project that I meant to finish last month, which I had not yet started on. I definitely have to finish it this month or else I won’t have certain options available to me in the Fall . . . options that might be able to get me away from the Random Non-Profit sooner, rather than later . . .

My thoughts today go out to all those folks who lost their businesses in the fire at the Eastern Market on Capitol Hill yesterday. As much as I disliked the place, it was a DC icon and many folks loved its traditional ways. I was reading in the paper how for many years people wanted to upgrade the place, but the community wanted to keep it the same un-air-conditioned, un-improved building. In being resistant to change, those intentions may have contributed to its destruction since the place did not have sprinklers. I do hope the building can be saved and the place is rebuilt – I would definitely go to a new iteration of the Market.

I had a very lovely weekend. On Saturday, my friend J and I went to Goodwill and I found an awesome sweater for $4 and some great, comfy jeans for $6 (and these jeans are usually a LOT more than that!) I also saw a Michael Kors long grey pinstriped-skirt for only $5, but darn it! It was too small. It was spring cleaning day, so the Goodwill parking lot was full of cars and people dropping off clothes, furniture, books and other stuff, so I should go back in a few weeks and see what other goodies I might find there . . .

On Sunday, I went to visit my Grandmother out in the boonie-ville part of Virginia. She is always very happy to see me and Mr. Random, and this time I brought a homemade tuna casserole for us to have for dinner. She lives alone and doesn’t cook for herself much anymore, so she mostly microwaves dinners. She really enjoyed the dinner, which made me very happy. I wish she didn’t live so far away – it is an hour and a half drive down – otherwise I would be able to do more stuff with her.

I am overwhelmed with stuff I don’t want to do. Ugh! It is much too nice outside. I am lacking motivation . . . other than the need to get paid. What do you all do to pick up your spirits? I need some ideas fast . . .

Scribbling: Wings

(Today I felt like trying another Scribbling Challenge. I’ll only get better at writing if I keep practicing . . .)

Moving out of my parents’ house was the best risk that I have ever taken.

Yes, I was a hopelessly naïve 23 year old, renting an attic room in a city I was unfamiliar with and with very few friends nearby.

Yes, I spent many evenings crying from loneliness.

Yes, I was horrible at managing my meager salary, often scraping together rent money at the last possible moment, eating ramen for dinner and vending machine food for lunch.

Moving forced me to learn how to live on my own, to put myself out there and make new friends, to go out on the town by myself and explore the world outside my door.

My parents loved me very much, but as their oldest daughter I was eager to please them. I never dated, never went out, was always at home trying to be helpful whenever I wasn’t spending long hours at work. My father is a very controlling sort of fellow, so I never wanted to test the boundaries at home. I mean, I was staying there rent free . . . and they were my parents . . .

But I was stifling there. I HAD to move out. There was a world out there I wanted to see . . . and besides, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to date anyone under the watch eyes of my dad – as protective of his “little” daughters as he was . . .

So one October weekend, I packed up my stuff into a small van and threw myself out on my own, jumping out of the warm, cozy nest, hoping that I could one day spread my wings and fly.

Fast forward almost fourteen years, and here I am. I’ve still got a lot of work to do in the confidence department, but somehow I managed to eventually get my own apartment, go through a few jobs, meet some amazing people, do some fun and fascinating things, get married to a very cool person, and have a pretty easy-going, interesting life.

Having wings means being open to risk – to put yourself out there high in the air with nothing but hard ground below and just see what happens. To thrust yourself out in the world with an idea of where you are going, but depending on which way the wind blows, you could end up anywhere. Sometimes you fall – and that really hurts! A wing breaks and you have to put yourself through the hard work of healing . . . and then somehow work up the nerve try to fly again.

It may be easier to stay in the nest, but in the long run it is always better to use those wings and try to fly.

Attention: Book Lovers!

Hello, everyone:

I just read Scott McLemee's article in Inside Higher Ed about the National Book Critic Circle's campaign to save the Book Review sections in newspapers around the country.

As someone who reads both the Washington Post's and New York Times' sections religiously every week and always finds at least a book or two to add to my growing list of "must reads," I know that I would be rather lost without them. I cannot imagine a paper getting rid of them, but many are . . .

I know many of you are huge readers (and some of you are actually writing books too!) - So please do what you can to spread the word and keep this community asset in your papers.

Some simple things that us little folks can do are:

**Go to the Critical Mass blog and get the lovely beige sticker to put on your blog.

**Write to your local newspaper’s publisher to express support for its book coverage. (It lets the paper know that people do read it and care about it.) And if your paper doesn’t have such a section, ask why not.

**Spread the word to other folks who would also care.

Thanks so much for your time and attention. We will soon go back to my usual random mutterings . . .

Oh, Yeah . . . It's Poetry Month Again!

Noting that my blog is over two years old now, I realized that I forgot to mention that this was National Poetry Month. Two years ago, Justrose over at the Anonymous Rowhouse had been sharing her thoughts on the month which, in turn, served as the nudge to start my own blog. That year, I think I showcased other people’s poems that I thought were interesting . . .

Last year, I inflicted my own horrible attempts at poetry on you all. I promise to NEVER, EVER do that again . . . because good grief, those certainly sucked a lemon . . .

This year, I was going to be more low key. I bought a book, Stephen Fry’s The Ode Less Travelled, as a way to learn more about the structures of poetry so I can begin to more intelligently appreciate poems and the ways in which good ones work.

I also bought The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, because he is a Harlem Renaissance poet that I really wanted to learn more about. In school, I only learned about a few of his poems, but those were only the tip of the iceberg of his body of work . . .

As you know, my month has been crazy busy (as usual) but I am still committed to this little project of mine. However, I’ve just started reading the Fry book and it will take me a bit to work through it. (I highly recommend the Fry book – it is very witty and readable . . . and you’ll learn a lot! It also helps if you can imagine Fry’s British accent as you read it – He is best known here in the States for playing Jeeves next to Hugh Laurie’s Bertie Wooster.)

Here are a couple of Hughes poems that struck me the first time I glanced through his book . . .

The Dream Keeper

Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers,
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.

Silence

I catch the pattern
Of your silence
Before you speak.

I do not need
To hear a word.

In your silence
Every tone I seek
Is heard.

Sleep

When the lips
And the body
Are done
She seeks your hand,
Touches it,
And sleep comes,
Without wonder
And without dreams,
When the lips
And the body
Are done.

I Dream a World

I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn.
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black and white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind –
Of such I dream, my world!

Flower Pictures

Over Easter, I took some pictures of the flowers that I had in the house.

I just feel like I need to add a bit of color to the blog today . . .

Contains Live Culture

On Sunday, my friend J and I went to see the Washington Shakespeare Company’s performance of “Edward III.” The WSC, for now, stages its performances in an old warehouse on the edge of town, next to a seedy looking motel (Bring your own Lysol, Raid and sheets!). Very bare bones setting – makes you feel like you are going to have some sort of an avant-garde, guerilla theater experience.

The bathrooms were kind of scary though – at least the ladies’ room was – the sort of ancient fixtures, stains and visual decay that I haven’t seen since being part of the Philadelphia public school system.

I thoroughly enjoyed the play, but the actor who played the French king, John, was much better than the one who played Edward III, so towards the end we were rooting for the French to win rather than the English. The actor had sort of a James Earl Jones heft to the role, and his lines were spoken with a believability and a fluidness that just made him a more accessible character. In the newspaper review of the play, he was not mentioned at all, which I thought was a great shame . . .

In a few weeks, Mr. Random, J and I are going to see “Coriolanus” at the Kennedy Center, which should be a really cool time. Mr. Random and I haven’t been to the Kennedy Center in years, while J never has been. I’m probably going to feel like dressing up a bit for such a fancy place, but not too fancy, because neither J nor Mr. Random are dress up people . . .

I still owe you guys pictures – the problem is that sometimes when I feel like writing these posts, I am no where near my photo files . . .

My allergies are wreaking havoc with my throat and my voice is now a low rasp. It’s such a shame because I love spring, but I seem to be feeling it more this year . . .

By the way, yesterday was the TWO year anniversary for this blog! Woo hoo!

I have more to write, but not much time to write it. How is everyone doing? I know Eric is pretty much finished with his book, and Virginia Gal is going to try to place herself in the sights of the newly single Prince William, and CS did EarthFest on Sunday . . . what else is going on?

Out of Breath

It has been a long, hard week. My Random Mom-in-law is still here, and we have spent every day since Friday out and about, trying to get in lots of sightseeing. It has not been very successful . . .

If you remember the last time she was here in town, it was that week in August that was the hottest, most humid week of the year. Random Mom-in-law was having a lot of trouble walking around and we all blamed it on the stifling heat and humidity (coupled with her non-stop smoking, but you know . . .)

Ever since then, she vowed to come back when the weather was a bit nicer. In the interim, she told us that she was starting to walk around a bit more at home and get more exercise . . .

Well, it seems that that was not entirely the case. She still smokes a great deal, about once every 50 minutes or so and whenever we leave a building or step out of a car. And she is not able to walk more than 20 feet without getting winded, even less if there is a slight incline. Since DC is a very walking oriented place, it rather limited our options on what we could see and how long we could stay. For example, yesterday we went to the National Cathedral and she looked like she was about to have a heart attack just walking the block towards the building. She was heavily breathing the whole 45 minutes we were there, and we were only able to visit the main floor and the gift shop – she was so worn out that we could not tour the rest of the building – before trudging back to the car to go to an early dinner. We had planned to visit another favorite haunt of ours, but she simply could not take much more walking and we had to go home.

It pains both Mr. Random and I to see this. We are both very concerned about her health. She is quite overweight, drinks a lot of white wine in the evenings and has a very nasty cough. It was quite a contrast when we went to visit my parents over the weekend – they are only a few years younger than she is – and seeing how vigorous and active they are compared to what she could do. Since she retired last spring, she stays mostly at home and is not interested in doing very much. She has very few friends outside of her old job . . .

We have tried to hint that she might like to move out here, where there is so much to do and a large social scene of people her age and with her background. There are many research opportunities here . . . and she would be a lot closer to her son and daughter-in-law. We are so afraid that she is not taking care of herself at all. Mr. Random’s sister still lives at home with their mom, but she does not seem to help the situation – for reasons I can’t go into right now . . .

I feel horrible because I want to be a good daughter-in-law and make sure she is happy, but I just get so . . . annoyed and impatient . . . with her in the condo, her presence looming and inert. I’m kind of an active girl, so not being able to go out and see very much drives me bats. Hanging out at the condo drives me bats too, because I can’t just hang out in my pajamas and read in a corner somewhere – I have to entertain, or at least not seem like I’m ignoring our guest. I was incredibly sick yesterday and wanted to stay home and sleep, but Mr. Random didn’t want to be on his own with his mom. I’m still not feeling well today, so he owes me big time when this is over . . .

I’m at work today and the weather seems nice, so things should be looking up for the rest of this week. I am resolved to try to salvage what I can out of this visit and try to make it a bit more positive, now that I have gotten my unhappiness off of my chest. Random Mom-in-law really is a cool person and I should try to focus more on what she can do, than what she can’t. Wish me luck for the rest of the week, and I’ll try to post more upbeat things later . . .

“I thought I’d stay home today and accept the things I can’t change.”

(Yes, yet another New Yorker cartoon tagline . . .)

No, I’m not at home today, but I really wish I was. Still have TONS of cleaning up to do before the Random Mom-in-law comes tomorrow, but I have a seminar to go to this evening which means I’ll be up incredibly late tonight – de-cluttering rooms, moping floors, changing sheets, and generally just freaking out big time . . .

We FINALLY had the new sink and vanity installed in our bathroom. Woo hoo! I can brush my teeth in the bathroom again! I will put up a picture of the bathroom once the new mirror is up and the new towels are in place . . . Um, yes, we did a little shopping this week for new stuff, in fact a little too much shopping . . . but with such a nice new thing in the bathroom, it just makes me want to spruce up everything. Last night we bought a new bathroom mirror (to match the dark wood of the new vanity), a colorful new comforter and sheets for the guest room (which can transition nicely into a kid’s room, if need be), new slipcovers for our sofa (which has seen better days), a new throw blanket for the living room chair (because a nice slipcover for the chair was WAY too expensive), and a new silverware tray for the kitchen (nice enough that I can gladly put my grandma’s silverware in it). The “new” towels aren’t really new – my grandmother bought all new towels for her new apartment so she gave us her old ones, which just happen to be close to the color of the bathroom . . .

Oh! The Good Friday service! This year's was not as exciting as last year – no real drama, just lots of readings. The choir sounded horrible because a few people showed up late who hadn’t practiced the songs very much beforehand. Since the choir was smaller than normal, the clunker notes stood out more. Also, we had one song cut at the last minute that we had practiced a lot on, and we were all rather miffed about that. The only moment of drama was at the end. At the front of the church, someone had built a little “cave” or “tomb” out of cardboard and fabric (which looked a lot better than I am making it sound), with a “stone” off to the side. At the end of the service, the pastor put a huge lit candle inside of the little cave, and placed the stone over the opening. At that moment all of the lights were turned off, and everyone was supposed to leave the church in silence. However, when Mr. Random saw that, he came over to me and (whispering, of course) began freaking out to me: “Isn’t that an open flame? Isn’t that thing flammable?” I was kind of annoyed at that point, since the choir stuff had gone kind of crappy, so I just kind of shrugged and said “they must know what they’re doing.” Although, it would be kind of funny in a sick way if the place had burned down because of it – with all of the weird theatrical stuff we try to do, it would just seem fitting that we’d be having Easter services in the ashes of our church . . . I’m just warped that way . . .

Easter service was not quite as annoying. The music we sang was peppy and uplifting, and our Music Director was really rocking out on the piano so I was having a good time. After the service, the church held an Easter Egg hunt for the little kids. Our the Kids in our Sunday School classes range in age from 2 to 12, with most kids being in the 2 to 4 year old range. Mr. Random and I went out to watch and we helped a little by pointing out where random eggs where to the little ones. They were so cute to see! Each child was only supposed to collect 7 eggs, so when each kid had reached their limit, they came up to every adult they could find and yelled, “Miss Kath, I found SEVEN eggs!” “That’s WONDERFUL!” I said with a huge smile. Many of them also wanted to show off the little toys that were in the eggs, so we were being dragged from one basket to another to see the little erasers and balls and toy watches . . .

After the service, we went home and I made a banana pudding to take to my parents’ house for dessert. At my parents’ house we had lots and lots of food. My other sister, J, came home from college and hung out with us a while. I took lots of pictures that I later uploaded and sent on to my other sister, who is now “safely” in Baghdad. I took lots of candid shots around the dinner table so that she would almost feel like she was with us . . .

Monday, I did the cycling class again. I had a lot of trouble adjusting the bike, so the teacher had to stop class to help me. I felt a bit embarrassed for a while, but eventually got into what we were doing. I think I’m getting used to the bicycle seat a bit more, which is a good thing. I’m still a bit sore today, and with the Random Mom-in-law here, I don’t know when I’ll be able to work out again, but I hope soon. We’ll probably be eating out a lot and I can already see myself expanding a bit unless we do some serious walking or something . . .

I hope everyone is doing well . . . just wanted to update you on what’s going on in the Random World. I’ll try to get some pictures up when I can, but the next few days are going to be super hectic. I’m thinking of you all and sending happy vibes out to everyone. Talk to you soon . . .

“It’s Bring Your Personal Demons to Work Day”

Isn’t that every day? (I do love my little New Yorker calendar – it reflects my sad brand of humor so well!)

For some reason I’ve been in a very annoyed mood at the Random Non-profit lately. I can’t tell if it’s because I’m tired and need a long vacation (which is true), if it’s because we are still rehashing the same discussions that we’ve been having for the 5 years I’ve been here (which is true), or if it’s because our workload keeps increasing with no end in sight or with acknowledgement that we are all having a hard time . . .

Layoffs suck. They suck for those laid off and they suck for those left behind. It doesn’t matter how hard you work, how loyal you are or how well you do your job – all that means nothing to the managers when it comes down to dollars and cents. That’s the reality of being in the workforce today and I’m not sure how well all of us are adapting to that reality. I’m trying to, but it is not very easy . . .

I am taking Monday off, but I’ll have to run a few errands and start getting ready for Thursday – that’s when Mr. Random’s Mom will come into town. We have a few things tentatively planned to do while she is here and the weather should be much better than when she was here in August. We will probably take her to the National Cathedral, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the campus of Mr. Random’s grad school. We are also going to try to find her a few events to go to – luckily DC is a mecca for free lectures and discussions . . .

I just got an e-mail from my sister, who is about to leave Kuwait and head on over to Baghdad. She said she was a bit nervous about the flight into Iraq because of what they’ve been hearing – and they have to fly in wearing all of their armor. Please send as many happy vibes my sister’s way as you can! There is nothing I can do to help besides be encouraging and supportive, I know, but I am not going to be able to sleep well until she is back home – hopefully, just a year from now . . .

Tonight Mr. Random and I are going to the Good Friday service at our church. There won’t be many other choir members there, which petrifies me – I hate being the only person singing my part. I don’t want my voice to stand out, I just want it to blend in with everyone else. I do hope this service is not a repeat of last year’s service when they made everyone walk up, one-by-one, and hammer big long nails into a symbolic log cross. Can you say creepy and sick-sounding? Yes, I get the symbolism, but you know it makes me yearn for the relatively reserved nature of a Catholic mass . . .

I am loving that the weather is back to being cooler – I’m not quite ready to get rid of my sweaters and layers just yet . . .

OK, now that I have shared my personal demons for the day, I hope that everyone has a great weekend. Enjoy some jelly beans, marshmallow chicks, crème eggs and chocolate bunnies on me!

Just Like Riding a Bike

I went to the Y yesterday and took my first cycling/spinning class.

I have always wanted to try biking, but have never been motivated to buy a bike. I’m a coward, you see. I’m afraid of falling and hurting myself. It is not an unnatural fear, since I have no coordination whatsoever – I can trip over my own two feet. I really don’t need to add speed to that equation . . .

I was one of the first people to sign up for that day’s class. When I walked in I told the teacher that I was very new to this. She was tall, really skinny, kind of ex-hippie aged with long stringy brown hair, wearing faded bike shorts and a baggy t-shirt. “Oh, it’s easy!” she says, “Do you ride often?”

“Um, no . . . I haven’t ridden in years.” Actually, I haven’t ridden since I was 13, but why should that stop me? They’re stationary bikes – in theory, I should not fall off and break a body part. Notice I say “in theory” . . .

So she goes about showing me how to adjust all of the little knobs on the bike: one to make the seat go up, one to make the handlebars go up, and one to move the seat forward. Oh, and then there’s the most important knob – the one to change the tension on the wheel to make it easier or harder to pedal.

All of the other people started trickling into the room. It’s a good mix of folks – men and women of all body types. Some look like they’ve been biking forever, some are a bit heavy but are ready to get into it and are pedaling slowly to warm up. This is a good sign of a good class, I think. People aren’t intimidated and all shaped and sizes seem comfortable. Yay!

The class begins. We start pedaling on low resistance. Well, this isn’t too bad. Then we start doing “hills.” Again, not too bad. I am keeping up. The small seat is bothering me, but that’s because I am not used to it. Also, part of the reason that I’m taking the class is that I think my own “seat” is getting a bit big, so I can deal . . .

The class is 45 minutes long. I am sweating up a storm and starting to get very tired. I am still keeping up the pedaling, but not as quickly and with as much resistance. That’s OK – it’s supposed to be at your own pace anyway. My legs almost want to stop working and my feet start slipping out of the little pedal harness things. I start to not be able to tell if the cool air I feel is from the fan or if I am about to pass out. Wait . . . yay! We can stop!

When the class is over, we do a little stretching and I wobble out of the classroom. I’m glad I took the class and I hope to do so again next week. There is another class on Wednesday nights, but I still have commitments for the next few Wednesdays.

I’m so glad I tried this! I’m not as sore as I thought I would be – except in the seat area, which feels like . . . well, this is a family blog, so I won’t burden you with too much information . . .

Having this sense of accomplishment is such a great way to start the week . . . I do hope the rest of the week turns out OK . . .

It's Not an Addiction, I Swear!

As promised, here are all of the books that are stacked up by my bed at the moment. Mind you, these are just the books sitting BY MY BED and not in the living room, den, guest room, and elsewhere in the bedroom that are also begging to be read - such as Mr. Random's major stacks.

When I was younger, I could tear through books in a few days - some in only an evening! - but these days with work and everything going on, my reading output has dwindled to a trickle. I blame the multitudes of interesting blogs for that . . .

Do you all have some interesting books waiting to be read? (and I hope your stacks aren't as big as mine . . .)