Horse head pillow And if I'd only found out about this BEFORE Christmas!

I'm at the airport! I'm waiting for my plane! I'm wireless! Whee!

I had no idea PDX had wireless internet. Bruce, the darling man, gifted me with a wireless card and HOORAY I am using it right now. I have books to read on the plane but I hate starting my Plane Reading while in the terminal. It's like cheating - or eating your popcorn before the previews begin at the movies. So I WAS typing up my diatribe in Word and planning to upload it to Blogger tonight, but voila! I can do it here!

SO:

I’m at the airport. Waiting. It’s annoying, this waiting. I spent the morning rushing about, packing and repacking, moving boxes up to the attic (I shipped six boxes of books to Nebrasky yesterday and the remainders will live in my parents’ attic for a few more months) and general stressing. What could I be stressed about, you ask? Well, I packed an ancient suitcase full of letters and some books and am worried that it will not make the trip without exploding. I wrapped straps around it but it’s not like baggage handlers are known for their gentleness. Gah.

It wasn’t until I arrived at my parents’ house and started unpacking that I noticed my checked bag had been sorted through without my knowledge. When did they start doing that? Everything that I packed so neatly was smushed and thrown about. Banana bread mashed. Panties rifled through. Presents poked at and jumbled. If they are going to take the time to open your stuff they should also take time to put things back. Or, they should do their prodding with me there so I can fix everything. So we’ll see. I got through security without my carry-ons being ransacked or my body wanded; maybe luck is on my side.

So after the rush rush of the morning and the traffic en route, I sit and wait and watch. The airport is always a prime place for people watching. When I picked Kristin up from the airport a couple months ago I sat by a woman who didn’t know what a taco was. Later I saw a lady go through security who had on bright pink patent leather boots and a brighter pink belt. I guess we just don't have such style mavens here in Oregon; people here look pretty normal - like they need a coffee, but normal.

I am so excited about my Airplane Book. It was the perfect find - Sarah wanders innocently around the Hawthorne Powell's and OH! comes upon a new, unexpectedly new (the best kind), book by a favorite author. It is Carnet De Voyage by Craig Thompson, a graphic novel artist/writer who [bonus] lives in Portland. The book is a travel journal of his time in Europe while he was doing research for his next book.

My mom packed me some food for the ride. If there are no screaming babies on board, things should be swell.

A man just zoomed by hanging onto a leash connected to a harness attached to a small boy of five years of age who was pushing luggage piled on a Smarte Carte and yelling. Young man in a TOOL hoodie is sitting across from me. A white Boston Terrier just passed by. A woman bought enough stuff at Coffee People to warrant a giant paper bag (we're talking something that could hold two shoe boxes) with the company's name on. Man with pink backpack with pink Nalgene bottle attached. Girl in white tank top, pajama pants and dirty fake Uggs boots. I hope she's flying to California. And to finish, a three-person reunited lovefest. Ah.

I had the great experience of spending an evening with Lori and JulieD Tuesday night. We are all now relatively grown up, gainfully employed and involved in Serious Relationships (JulieD is now technically JulieR), but things still feel the same. I just don't laugh like that on a regular basis. At one point, I looked up through my own wet eyes to see both Lori and JulieD squeezing ha ha tears out of their own. Seeing them and talking - even just BEING there, made me feel more me. Relaxed, silly, no censorship around these people - direct from brain to mouth, filtering not required.

It was very good.

This is my last night here in Oregon; tomorrow it is up up and away to Omaha, back to Bruce and Keaton and my car - in a very particular order. I fear that Keaton will not know me after ten days of acting as Bruce's shadow. I also hope he hasn't picked up any bad habits from Bruce. Eating junk food. Belching. Sleeping all day long. Etc.

Laundry's done -

I think instead of growing in maturity I am just getting more neurotic. Is that normal? Is my life more complex and therefore deserving of irrational thoughts and behavior?

The fam went out for lunch last week, all of us. We talked about where we wanted to be this time next year. Eddie wanted to be employed in his field of study. He has a degree in fisheries and wildlife management but is working as a surveyor right now. If Susie isn’t done with her thesis by the end of next year she’s going to need therapy. Mom wants to put on five more pounds. I don’t know what my dad wants.

FOR THE NEW YEAR.
I want to get back to writing. That would be quite good for my mind and well being. Also, to keep reading – read more books than I read last year. But do not purchase as many. This is hard when my present library system does not satisfy my reading needs. Not that I dislike HAVING to purchase books to read but it is not efficient when I have so many unread books on my shelves. Er, on my floor. All Sarah needs for Christmas is bookshelves. Sooo, how to make that work? Alternate? A limit? I must read so and so percentage of To Be Read Pile books? I’ve tried rules like that before and they don’t stick. I hate making a hard and fast rule that prevents me from picking up a great find at the used book store. So…a moratorium on brand new books?

This is such a losing battle.

Of course, if my biggest New Year concerns revolve around my reading, my life must be pretty good

Arg - I wish this wasn't so washed out. I've been scanning some photos this week and saving them on CD. I'd be better off scanning the negatives...

Today my mom and sister and I drove into Portland. Lunch at the Cricket Cafe on Belmont, one of my favorite restaurants, and then over to Hawthorne to browse and make small purchases. It was sunny and dry and I left my camera at home, of course. Tomorrow I will not forget. I promise.

Today marks my second trip to Powell's, the Hawthorne store. I went to the Beaverton store last week and tomorrow is the BIG store in PDX. Is good.

Later, my dad took me out for a beer at The Grand Lodge and talked lots. It was a nice way to end the day.

Susie heads back to Bellingham tomorrow, by train. Her foot looks swollen and gross from the bunion surgery and she can't wait to buy new shoes. I think she's had her share of Oregon for a while...

I've been meaning to post this:

From: Leda Schubert
To: Subscribers of ccbc-net
Date: Mon Dec 06, 2004 08:58:29 AM PST
Subject: [ccbc-net] best of the year

Anita Silvey and I did a mock-Caldecott at Simmons College on Saturday (Hi, Melody!). These are the results, chosen by a discerning bunch of picture book enthusiasts:

Caldecott: Kitten's First Full Moon, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
Honor books: Sidewalk Circus, by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes (Candlewick)
Sequoyah, written and illustrated by James Rumford (Houghton)

I've been drinking up the green here - not that you can tell from this photo; it looks more appropriate for Halloween. The green is so different and refreshing after the bare brown of Nebraska. We put the tree up today, which means going behind the house and picking one out of what has become a forest. My parents used to do pretty good business with Christmas trees, but now most of them are huge and not able to fit inside buildings. Churches, yes, but not much else.

The whole family is here, though. Eddie drove in this morning with Duke the Big Dog Who Can't Sit Still. Susie is limping around on her new bunion-less foot. It's been a long time since we were all under the same roof.

I am back in Oregon. Things are wet but going well. Tonight we had a group of daughters and mothers together. Lots of alcohol was consumed and lots of stories were told. Susie took 42 pictures of she and I close up.

I forgot how nice it is to have someone else make you a sandwich just because you say you are hungry, Moms are cool.

I’ve got The Wizard of Oz on. It just struck me that the Tin Man reminds me of my friend Julie’s husband, Andy. Maybe it is his voice?

Tonight I almost lost my cat. It all started when Bruce went to the store to get groceries. I made grilled cheese and tomato soup after he got back with the food. We ate and watched The Simpsons. It was delicious; I’ve been craving grilled cheese and tomato soup for a week. Never did it occur to me to wonder where Keaton was – he conks out and sleeps for hours sometimes.

Suddenly I heard a wild scrabbling noise from the sliding door. My first thought was that the squirrels had gone mad and were attacking the screen door (at night?) demanding more food. Then I saw a flash of yellow high up through the glass and realized it was Keaton’s collar. Terrified, I rushed out and snagged him, poor guy. His heart was beating like crazy and his fur smelled cold. He couldn’t wait to get inside; it’s freezing out there.

I can only imagine he snuck out the front door when Bruce brought the groceries in and spent a jolly hour or so running around the house. Luckily, he’s not stupid. Climbing the screen (looking in mournfully at me walking from the kitchen to the living room and back again) was the best thing he could have done.

This morning I finished reading The Dream Watcher by Barbara Wersba. I bought it (under Susan’s supervision in Denver) because the blurb on the back said, ”Originally published in 1968—the same year as Paul Zindel’s The Pigman and the year after S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders—The Dream Watcher heralded the beginning of books written specifically for young adults." I’d never heard of it and Bloomers never mentioned it in YA. It was dated – a touch of propaganda in reference to the Vietnam War here and overuse of the verb DIG there. At first I couldn’t stand the main character – very self-conscious young man somewhat like Holden Caulfield except with a sense of humor. Kind of like The Diary of Adrian Mole and follow-ups, too. The end was predictable but not unpalatable. Good for the YA shelf.

Next up is 48 Shades of Brown, by Nick Earls, which is also about a self-conscious young man. They may be related, except Dan, from 48 Shades, is in Australia and the guy from Dream Watcher was in the US.

Tomorrow I pack. Tuesday I fly outta the Midwest to the good old Pacific Northwest. Get my Portland fix, where you see people like this everyday outside the downtown Nordstrom's. I'll take lots of photos, but my parents have dial-up so they may not get posted until I'm back in Nebrasky.

Did you know The Munchkins were played by The Singer Midgets?

The post brought me a box o' fun from Dana yesterday, including this artsy poseable figure who now resides on top of the coffeemaker. (THANK YOU DANA!)

Dana has one of her own that lives in the dining room on one of the many bookcases. For some reason, back when we were roommates, we started "trading poses." I'd come in and find the figure in a position worthy of a double-jointed, gravity-defying prima ballerina. My response would be a dramatic "flinging of the arms across the face" with the legs running the other way. And so on. (FYI: Dana is double-jointed in her elbows.)

The best thing, and this is part of the reason I consider Dana one of my dearest friends, is that we never spoke about it, never referenced these actions. We never touched the figure when in the other's presence. I would come home from work and find the little guy in some comical position and change him before Dana got in. This went on for a few months before we did speak about it.

You can't plan that stuff; it just happens.

I just got an email explaining that my salon in Boston is no longer doing Ouidad haircuts - that's the only place that ever gave me a great cut consistently. Crap.

Well, things change fast. Last week, Bruce thought he’d be sent to Qatar (to finish training – they don’t have enough planes here) sometime in late December or maybe January. Then we talked on Monday while I was driving back from Denver. He said they’d moved people around and he was leaving Wednesday, as in the 15th. I was not thrilled with this info, but what can you do? He went in Tuesday to talk to the guy in charge and HE said things had changed once again, they wanted Bruce here because of some job shuffling with potential opportunities, and they would do some more switching and Bruce would stay here to finish his training.

Okay – that’s good; he won’t be GONE for a month or more, Keaton will be cared for while I’m in Oregon, and Sarah’s got transportation to and from the airport. And the plants won’t die. Hopefully. So that’s all good. But there is more to come.

This feels like a draggy, uninspired day.

Today I cut, burned and bruised myself, all within one hour, at work. Just feeling generally clumsy, I spose.

More about Coolorado. Is it just me, or does Colorado have a natural, essential coolness about it? I’ve always thought that, even though I’d never been there until recently. Maybe it is the outdoorsy things associated with the state - the snow, skiing, rock climbing, Jeeps, mountains. When I think Colorado, I think active sporty lifestyle. It is one of the “fun” square states. Wyoming – eh. Wyoming doesn’t free associate much of anything, except my knowledge of my brother’s friend Nick attending school there until he got his foot blown off by an exploding trap/mine thing. Utah is squarish and makes me think of Mormons and Moab. Salty lakes. I consider the Dakotas to be square states. They’ve got cold cold cold and few people and Mt Rushmore. Colorado wins.

And Denver wins because its roads are based on a grid system, it has many lovely bookstores, and overall, has a Portlandish feeling. It is a little dirtier than PDX, but I blame that on the snow and frigid temps.

Susan and Mike took me up to Red Rocks, which was practically in their backyard and AWESOME in the most rockin’ out sense of the word. I’ll have to take advantage of their hospitality and attend a concert sometime.

We toured through Golden, home of Coors, and strolled through Boulder, where I got to see the sorts of people Nebraskans gawk at (grungy college students, buskers, street math magicians, etc.). City People. You walk through downtown Omaha, you see folks who’ve come in from the sticks to the Big City to see the purty stores.

I’m so contemptuous. I sit on a high horse, yes.

Anyhow, I’m looking forward to going back in January, with Kristin, if Susan will allow. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. Friends are good; especially ones with skills - something I learned from Napoleon Dynamite.

And I guess he doesn't look like that in real life (not all the time, anyway), Susan. I'm glad.

I had a picture of Susan here, but she thought it was "sick" so I replaced it with a shot of me looking soulful and twiddling the sticks. You can still see Susan's pic (and MORE!) on my Flickr page - there's a Coolorado photoset if you want to see.

I came back yesterday, driving from Denver straight to work. The drive was not half bad - I listened to a book on CD - From a Buick Eight by Stephen King. I'm not a huge King fan, except for his Dark Tower stuff, but the narrators for this book were excellent and the story held my attention the whole time. Despite the story takes 12 CDs to record, I didn't finish the book and still have a chapter or two left. Part of the reason work sucked yesterday (besides being tired and facing chipper librarians) was that climax of the story was just winding up when I had to stop and go to work. I hate that - feels so incomplete! So everyone is asking, "How was your trip? Did you have fun? What did you do? How was the drive? Were there serious wind gusts?" and I just growled responses because I wanted to go back into my car and find out what happened to that Buick 8. Argh.

And now I'm overwhelmed with things to get done. Bruce might be leaving tomorrow or next weekend or who knows for overseas, which sucks. I don't know what to do about my cat and then the plants and bills because I'm leaving for Oregon next week. Unpacking from a trip is no fun and there is lots of laundry to take care of.

More about Denver later - the bookstore rocked.

Once again, it is Friday and I am alone in the library. In approx an hour and a half I'll be on the road to Denver. Then I will be on the road for a long long time. Then on the road some more, and then a while longer, and still longer, and then I might be at Susan's. Yay!

Bruce gets the whole house to himself this weekend. His mom sent a box of Hickory Farms sausages. He says he's going to chew on them while he watches football. Oh yum.

Steeling Rainbows
Originally uploaded by arahsae.

Pretty!

I'm supposed to be packing for Dever. I also have to use the bathroom really bad but there's a nice warm kitty on my lap...

Okay - nature wins (as usual).

This Is Broken - Signs I've come across lots of sites documenting signs lately. I like the walking man who's not following the arrow. Marches to his own drum, he does.

Austin Craft Mafia. Another installment in my quest to solve your gifting problems. Also good to get ideas for your own artistic tendencies. It's like nine stores in one! (I wish they were reimbursing me for this advertising.)

Errands accomplished today include returning the overpriced shampoo and conditioner I unthinkingly bought Monday (hair trauma does strange things) and dropping off some Holga film for development. I plan on scanning pictures when I'm in Oregon for Christmas so I can post them on Flickr. Stay tuned!

Speaking of travels, I'm off to Denver to visit Susan this Friday. I am SO VERY excited. So excited that I even had a (bad) dream last night that I went and Susan wouldn't let me stay because of some creepy family ritual that was to be held. Her mom said it was "only for family" so I had to leave. My feeling were extremely hurt. I wish I knew what they were going to do. T'was a gothic dream in a rambling, empty, ill-lit house - which is odd, as Susan's family is not only the farthest from gothic one can be but, also, far far away in Massachusetts. Nevertheless, I have a handful of books on CD checked out from the library to keep me from getting bored on the drive. Right now I've got Michael Dorris's A Yellow Raft in Blue Water in the car and I'm not sure I like the reader enough to keep going. (Hee hee - what if it was a blue raft in yellow water?) Hopefully, Susan will not turn me away at the door.

On the musical side of things, I've been obsessed with The Dresden Dolls ever since Bruce stumbled across them last week. One of their albums is on iTunes; I bought it and have been listening nonstop. SADLY, they are a BOSTON band! I never knew about them until now! Have any of you heard of them? Check out the video for "Coin-Operated Boy" on the website. I know what Susie is going to say, but just give them a chance, dear sister.

Welcome to Robert's Snow: An Online Auction of Artist's Snowflakes for Cancer's Cure. Wow - check out the eBay auction. All proceeds go to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Chris Van Allsburg, Trina (I bet her's goes for a lot), David Macaulay, Peter Sis, Mordicai Gerstein, David Shannon, Eric Rohmann, Jane Yolen and so many more - what a lineup.

Kinuko Y. Craft's is one of my favorites. Gorgeous.

Ian Falconer did an Olivia one and it is past $1500 already.

Urchin in Hat
Originally uploaded by arahsae.

This photo is self-explanatory.

Maybe if I looked like this in the salon, they would have given me a refund, or, at least another shot at making me happy.

The back looks awful; I'm used to the front

There are other, more "normal" shots on my Flickr site.

Vintage T-Shirts, Funny T-Shirts at The Cotton Factory As a service to the community, I thought I'd give a boost to people who are still searching for a holiday gift for that special someone. These guys have some hilarious stuff.

Hair looks no better this morning. Perhaps some funky barettes/hair clips would help?

There's a book sale going on at the library this week. It is made of books donated to the library that we didn't need/want and books culled from the collection. I was helping Jenette look through books last week and found, of all things, a bookmark! Not impressed? I was surprised to recognize that this very bookmark advertized the Paperback Booksmith in Woburn Mall, Woburn Mass. The font is the same as the Brookline Booksmith and its sister bookstore, Wellesley Booksmith. Dana, do you know anything about this?

I'm not in the sub system yet. Today is cloudy and cold. The squirrels are reworking their master plan to bring down the bird feeder on the back porch. Smarter than the average bear, they are.

I should just stop trying. The percentage of stylists capable of cutting AND styling my hair to my satisfaction is incredibly low. Like I've had ONE, outside of my mom.

After a shower and my own efforts, it looks like the cut itself isn't that bad - it's the default boring "short hair" cut I can't seem to escape. She blew it on the styling part. I looked like I had a nest of fine barbed wire on my head. Then I blindly bought some overpriced conditioner I don't want (and they better take back) and rushed out. I nixed my plans to run errands after my salon visit because I couldn't bear to be seen. She did not know curly hair. She did not know of the following Laws of Curl Management.

1. Don't shampoo daily. Shampoo two or three times a week, max. You need those oils!
2. Don't comb hair unless it is sopping wet. That breaks up curls into FRIZZ and you want to keep the curls together.
3. Apply product to individual curls if possible. Curly hairs are gregarious and don't like being on their own. They tend to panic and frizz.
4. The more you mess with it, the worse it looks.

Gah.

I lost the post I wrote last night. It was here this morning. Now it is gone, never to be repeated. Crap.

I tried posting this yesterday but got server errors in response. This is a basic but informative site on some of the photo stuff I am interested in. FreeStyle Photography carries a Polaroid back for Holgas so you can use the instant film with a Holga camera. I'd love to try some of the Polaroid manipulation techniques with a Holgaroid. I did not make that title up. The only downside is the Polaroid back is $99. I think this would pay off in instant gratification points.

More in film news, I've decided to keep the tripod I got at Buy.com. Incidentally, that is a business I will no longer frequent. Are these two facts connected? Yes. Can I get my wonky tripod adjusted? Yes - I just have to send it to the manufacturer.

So now I have the foundation to do long exposures - I just need to make the Holga tripod-friendly. This means attaching a piece of wood and drilling a hole in it. Very hands-on DIY photography.

I saw the new Bridget Jones movie last night with Teresa. It was funny but not as good as the original. We went out for coffee afterwards and talked. I really enjoyed myself - she's the only friend person I've encountered so far. Where do the rest of my people hang out?

Rain is falling outside. Bruce's old pal Clark is supposed to be coming over. There's a batch of apple cider a la Dana brewing on the stove (the Dana part means you throw in a vey specific measurement of magic cider spices and let the resulting mix fill the house with gorgeous scent).

More later -

This site pissed me off: Parents Against Bad Books In Schools. How about we just read all those for the book club?

Great how they excerpt all the BAD parts (removing context) - makes it really easy for kids to find. No more paging through the books on their own!

Is "pissing" a bad word?

The Starving Artist's Way Cool stuff. Reminds me of ReadyMade Magazine. I need a workshop!

Accomplished things today. Bought toilet paper. Made a hair appointment. (I think I'm gonna have a lot cut off) Called the school district and I should be subbing soon, meaning I need to start going to bed at a decent hour. No more staying up late reading.

Has anyone seen the new Sierra Mist commercial with Michael McKean and Fred Willard? I love those guys.

Made pizza for dinner tonight and it turned out pretty good. Finished Light and it was pretty good. I'm feeling tired, which is not so good.

Things to Do:
1. Make hair appointment.
2. Buy toilet paper.
3. Figure out Bruce's Christmas present.
4. Buy newish teaching clothes.

How can it be December already? Just doesn't seem right.

I'm going to go tidy up and sing along to O Brother.

Okay, it is a start.

The web address is: bookspeak.blogspot.com