Saturday, February 28, 2009

25 Things You May or May Not Want to Know About Me

  1. This past summer, I was obsessed with Facebook for a couple of weeks. Then school started back and I've only checked it a few times since then. I wanted to spend some time on it today, and discovered the 25 Things list.

  2. Sometimes I fall asleep watching Colbert on Comedy Central and end up sleeping on the couch all night. Then, around 3-4 in the morning I start to have dreams about Girls Gone Wild.
  3. My dog, Dobby, licks me all the live long day. I must have bacon coming out of my pores, which is odd, since I’m a vegetarian. It must be the peanut butter.
  4. I’m afraid of falling, but not afraid of heights. Flying? No problem. Climbing down a ladder? Panic attack. When I was in high school (before I knew my limits), I got stuck in various places and had to get people to help me down. For example: in a pueblo in New Mexico on a trip with my family, at the top of the Statue of Liberty on a chorus trip, and (most embarrassingly) on a bunk bed during a trip with my youth group.
  5. I didn’t start coloring my hair because I was going gray, but because I’ve always wanted red hair. I usually choose neutral colors for everything but now I have a dark red bedroom, cell phone, and purse. Of course, now I am going gray.
  6. Ironically, I was a huge Carolina basketball fan until I started college and lost interest in basketball. Oh, it’s ironic because I want to Carolina and lived right next to the Dean Dome. This drives my sister crazy, who still calls to invite me to watch big games on her big screen and I say, “Oh? I didn’t know they were playing.” This relieves my husband, who went to State and hates Carolina. It’s nothing against basketball or Carolina, which is still my favorite team – I just don’t care anything at all about sports. I enjoy Wimbledon every couple of years, but that’s about it.
  7. I have a Journalism degree with a focus in Visual Communication. The only things I use this degree for anymore are making fake baseball cards for my husband’s baseball card blog and taking pictures of my nieces/nephew and dog.
  8. I have an “I Want to Believe” poster behind my desk at school just like the poster behind Mulder’s desk in the X-Files.
  9. Sometimes I get really obsessed with something for a day or two - I don’t eat or sleep or shower. It usually happens during the summer when school is out and I get bored. One July I spent two days shopping for my Halloween costume. Eventually, I’m going to post a list of these little obsessions on my blog for posterity.
  10. I own more pajamas than regular street clothes.
  11. I thought U.S. History would be my least favorite subject to teach, but this is the first semester in five years I’m not teaching it and I kinda miss it. Apparently, I’ve grown attached to Gilded Age political cartoons, Imperialism report cards, and Great Depression bingo. But I never miss teaching World History to average ninth graders who can barely read and write and don’t even find WWII interesting, much less the Dynastic Cycle or the Enlightenment.
  12. After I read Bridget Jones’ Diary, I thought in a witty British accent for two days.
  13. The library near our house sucks, but I still love going there and looking through books for hours. I bring home a whole bag of books that I may or may not read, but it doesn’t matter because they are free. Even $14 in late fees is cheaper than buying one book.
  14. We get Molly Maid to come clean our house once a month. It’s not so we can get a break from cleaning ourselves, it’s so it gets cleaned at all.
  15. There are these roasted red pepper hummus and pretzel chip snack packs in the prepackaged salad and fruit section at our Super Target. I love them with all my heart. Some weeks they aren’t in stock, and when they are there they don’t have enough for me to buy in advance. I can get the big package of hummus and the big box of pretzels, but I need the portion control and convenience of the snack pack.
  16. I’m terrible at checking my email, voicemail, and calendar. Sometimes I forget to check them for several days in a row.
  17. I heart Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy/Angel, Firefly, and now Dollhouse. I’ll even read comic books if he writes them. I wasn’t sure about this new show (not crazy about Eliza Dushku’s acting), but I wasn’t sure about Firefly at first either and ended up adoring it. He’s certainly earned my trust.
  18. I misplucked my left eyebrow two years ago and it's never grown back.
  19. Gandhi is my hero. Ever since the ninth grade when I watched the movie at home alone on a Friday night. When it was over, I rewound it and watched all three hours over again. Then I checked his autobiography out from the library and read it cover to cover. A couple of years ago I got a Gandhi plush doll for my birthday!
  20. A few years ago I joined the NC Master Chorale in Raleigh. I hadn’t sung (other than in my car) for about ten years. We sing with the NC Symphony several times a season, as well as the Carolina Ballet. If we ever sing Carmina Burana with the ballet again, I’ll advertise. No tutus. And even though it’s in Medieval Latin, its all about temptation and sex.
  21. My first few years of teaching, I used to wake up in dread every morning. I would actually be happy when I got sick so I could stay home.
  22. I have these book/journals called This Book Will Change Your Life and This Book Will Change Your Life Again by Benrik. Each day is a different set of directions and a place for you to write notes about the experience. Easy: “Today, decide what you’d prefer to be reincarnated as.” Intermediate: “Today, make your own super fresh pair of jeans and wear them proudly.” Advanced: “Today, topple a dictator using only the internet.”
  23. I haven’t been to church in almost ten years. I never miss it, even though I grew up voluntarily going 3-4 times a week.
  24. I wanted to go to Wake Forest for college but couldn’t afford it, so I went to Carolina. I wanted to go to Carolina to get my masters in education but ended up going to Wake Forest instead because it was free, thanks to a fellowship program and very generous friends who let me stay with them.
  25. Today is my birthday. Technically, though, it’s not for another three years. I wrote this list instead of grading papers. Now I'm going to go eat Indian food with my family!

Bonus: I am a compulsive message editor. I read emails five or six times before I send them, and sometimes I even read them again from my Sent box. This is the third time I've updated this list today.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

The Year of the European Vacation

After 12 years of saving change in a jar, we only have enough for about 1 plane ticket to Europe with the cost of air travel these days. Luckily, that's not our only source of funds for the trip. And thanks to several generous gifts for Christmas, we are looking pretty good for a 10 day stay this coming summer. Even if airfare doesn't come down and the dollar doesn't go up, though we're really hoping they do.

I've done lots of research and planning over the past year, mostly with the help of family/friends' advice and Rick Steves books and videos. There were some earlier and much more expensive versions of our itinerary that also included some combination of Switzerland/Germany/Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, and a Mediterranean cruise from Greece to Israel and Egypt! With so many desirable locations, I finally had to just make a list of priorities. For us, art and history is the main attraction, not food or nightlife. And we can get more than our fill in the big three cities without having to spend thousands more adding other countries. Here's the plan thus far, with plenty of room for spontaneous additions.

Day:

  1. Arrive in London in the morning, ride a double-decker bus, and visit the Tower of London.

  2. Bus tour daytrip to Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Oxford; return to London and see a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theatre.

  3. Visit Westminster Abbey and the British Museum, then take the Chunnel to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower at night.

  4. Boat tour of Paris, visit the Louvre, etc.

  5. Day trip to Versailles, then return to Paris for dinner.

  6. Visit Musee d'Orsay, etc. before taking night train to Rome.

  7. Bus/boat tour of Rome, then visit Colosseum and Forum.

  8. Visit the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica and catacombs.

  9. See the Capitolini and Pantheon, etc.

  10. Depart from Rome and return home.

Monday, December 1, 2008

A Few of My Favorite Things

  • Brand new school supplies
  • Warm toasted Pop-tarts
  • Holiday socks and pjs
  • Monopoly money
  • Afternoon naps when it’s raining
  • Honey bear bottles
  • Having my hair washed and dried for me
  • Comfy blankets and pillows
  • Halloween costumes
  • Spoonfuls of peanut butter
  • Scented candles
  • Crossword puzzles I can finish
  • Apple pie a la mode with caramel
  • The post-headache/nausea/stuffiness euphoria
  • Chocolate anything
  • TV/book/movie marathons
  • Singing in part harmony
  • Back, shoulder, neck and head rubs
  • Homemade Chex mix
  • Sassy, snarky characters
  • Modern ballet
  • Cherry preserves
  • Stick figures
  • Planning European vacations
  • When Dobby snuggles up to me
  • Cheese, spicy Mexican/Italian/Indian food
  • Mini Coopers
  • New York City
  • Warm baths with lots of bubbles
  • Creamy ice cream and icing
  • Scenes from the next episode
  • Green beans and fried okra
  • Red
  • Newborn babies sleeping on my shoulder
  • Russian tea
  • DVRs and iPods
  • Old records
  • Peach and blueberry cobbler mixed together
  • Little kids’ artwork and writing
  • Seedless, pre-cut watermelon
  • Music mixes/playlists
  • Good laughs and cries
  • Bear hugs
  • Roasted red peppers
  • Ping pong
  • Buying new clothes after losing weight
  • Egg drop soup
  • Having someone clean for me
  • Mark’s sense of humor
  • Frozen lime margaritas
  • Creating something useful or enjoyable to others
  • Caffeine
  • Taking pictures of nieces/nephews and doggies
  • The beach in the early am or late pm
  • Family events when everyone gets along
  • Being a regular somewhere
  • Floral patterns, arrangements and designs
  • Going to bed sleepy, waking up refreshed
  • Midnight movies
  • Banana, chocolate and peanut butter smoothies
  • Lists
  • Writing on a thick stack of college-ruled notebook paper

Saturday, November 1, 2008

What I would do with $___

$1 – Reese’s peanut butter egg

$10 – Susan Elizabeth Phillips paperback

$100 –
Massage

$1,000 –
Home décor (end tables, lamps, pictures, curtains, rugs, plants)

$10,000 –
Summer trip to Europe

$100,000 –
Pay off credit cards and equity line, upgrade home décor and lawn, replace second car, get monthly cleaning services, travel overseas, invest

$1,000,000 –
Pay off credit cards and mortgage, build a custom home and upgrade furniture, replace cars, get weekly cleaning services, travel once a year, invest

$10,000,000 –
Pay off credit cards and mortgage, take a year off to travel and build/decorate a custom home, replace both cars, hire a full-time maid/cook, found a charter school and work on PhD in education

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

I Heart Halloween

One of my all-time favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the only Halloween episodes of the series (because in the Buffyverse, it's the one night of the year vampires stay home and don't make trouble). But this particular night, a chaos-worshipping warlock casts a spell to change people into the costumes they chose for themselves from his costume shop.

Shy Willow attempts a sexy look but ends up covering herself in a ghost sheet. Xander, who struggles with his relative lack of strength and ability, goes with tough soldier guy. Unfortunately, Buffy decides to dress up as an 18th-century noblewoman because she wanted to be more like the women Angel (her 200-year-old vampire-with-a-soul boyfriend) used to date when he was human.

So when children turn into real monsters and violence erupts, the Slayer is helpless. She faints at the sight of a car and refuses to fight because she is a proper lady, meant only to look pretty until she gets a husband to take care of her. Roles reversed, Willow the ghost and Xander the soldier have to take charge. Not only is Buffy of no help in reversing the spell, but they now have to protect her from the vampires who learn she is without her powers and plan to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill her.

The lesson isn't to be careful what you wish for. It is about being yourself. The hardest thing I've had to do in my life is to become comfortable in my own skin. Sometimes a costume helps us explore aspects of our personalities that we usually keep hidden - either because we are stuck in a rut or are afraid of embarassment. Buffy's tale reminds us that living behind a mask is dangerous not just because it can stifle our true selves but because it can actually turn us into someone we're not.

As we were going through boxes preparing to decorate for Halloween, I found some of my favorite costumes and made a little display by the front door to remind me of the fun I had making and/or wearing them. At Top: Native American costume my mother made when I was little, part of a set she made for the whole family. Beside it is a roll of masking tape that says, "Batman," in homage to a costume Mark's mom made for him. Bottom Left: The Shoveler and Blue Raja from Mystery Men. Dobby was Mr. Furious (no costume, we just made him really really mad). Bottom Center: Scully and Mulder from The X-Files. I am extra proud of the fake FBI badges I made in Photoshop. Bottom Right: Harry, Hermione, and Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter. And yes, that is first and last time we make the dog dress up.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Movie Matchups II

DOUBLE FEATURES
Fairytales for Grownups: The Princess Bride and Enchanted
Cutie Pie Robots: Short Circuit and Wall-E
Drew Berrymore and Adam Sandler: The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates
Gender Roles in English Theatre: Shakespeare in Love and Stage Beauty
Sex Toys: Lars and the Real Girl (Clean, trust me) and Secretary (Not so clean)

TRIPLE FEATURES
Hugh Grant:
Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary, Two Weeks Notice
Mockumentaries: Wating for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind
Charlie Kaufman: Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Bio-fiction: Immortal Beloved, Finding Neverland, Becoming Jane
Meg Ryan and Nora Ephron: When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail

MARATHONS
Dance: Footloose, Dirty Dancing, Billy Elliot, Center Stage
Spielberg: E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Amistad, Schindler's List
Superheroes: Mystery Men, Spiderman 2, The Incredibles, Batman Begins
Light Shakespeare: Much Ado about Nothing, 10 Things I Hate About You, A Midsummer Night's Dream, She's the Man
Food: Mystic Pizza, Chocolat, Pieces of April, Waitress

Friday, August 1, 2008

Fantasy TV Lineup

PRIMETIME
Mon - Northern Exposure, Pickett Fences, West Wing
Tue - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly
Wed - Smallville, Bones, House
Thu - Ugly Betty, Arrested Development, My Name is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock
Fri - Wonderfalls, Joan of Arcadia, Veroncia Mars
Sat - Ballykissangel, Da Ali G Show, The Office (BBC),
Six Feet Under
Sun - Grey’s Anatomy, Alias, Lost

Bedtime
The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Sex and the City, Coupling (BBC), The X-Files
Asleeptime
The Dead Zone, Wonder Years, Wings,
Designing Women, Murphy Brown
Morningtime
Clean Sweep, Mythbusters, Movie & a Makeover
Daytime
Gilmore Girls, Everwood, Felicity
Dinnertime
Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld, That 70s Show, Scrubs, Will and Grace
Wintertime
Kyle XY, Psych, Monk
Summertime
Eureka, Battlestar Galactica, Rescue Me

Giveitsometime
Samantha Who?, How I Met Your Mother, Pushing Daisies, Life