First Daylily

The daylily bushes in front of our house are full of flowerbuds. This is the first one to open:

The first daylily to show its face this year

I really hope the rest of the flowers open at the same time - I'd love to have the fireworks show of all those red and orange lilies bursting open at once.

Proust on Travel

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust

I stumbled upon this quote the other day while poking around the 'Net, and it reminded me of this earlier post. I like the philosophical discussion the quote starts in my head...

Roses are Wet

After the rain on Monday, I took a couple pictures of roses out in front of my office. I love the red one...

Teabag Tag

"We lived for days on nothing but food and water."
W.C. Fields

MIT Blogging Survey

Photo Friday: Orange

Orange is my favorite color, so I've been snapping pictures of orange things all week... I thought about piling all the orange things I own and taking a photograph of that, but I've decided that might make people think it's more like an obsession... So, the only thing I own here is the shoes. And aren't they great?!?





Orange assortment - poppy in Cannon Beach, fun fur pillows, Tillamook Cheese, Orange Slice, two shots of quilt fabric bolts, and my fantabulous shoes

China: Tentative Itinerary

So, I've sent off our tentative itinerary to Nina. Here 'tis:

Sept. 16-18: Shanghai
Sept. 19-20: Suzhou
Sept. 21-23: Xi'an
Sept. 24-26: Beijing (flying home on the 27th)


Man, it's a big country... Picture from here

I'm excited to hear back about hotels, guides, transportation, etc. I've printed this itinerary out on a calendar, and just having done that it feels more real. My Type-A side (which is threatening to take me over entirely) is very happy with the calendar, as it means we're no longer talking about this nebulous trip that seems only to exist in a vacuum.

Dragonfly Pictures

These are the pictures I took with the SLR. I'm so glad I took the time to get out the Macro filter, too, because you can really see the detail on the bug's back.

Emails to Nina

I've been exchanging emails with a woman called Nina who's a travel agent in China. I got their email from a fellow traveler on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, and so far she's been great. We're still not set on the itinerary for September, or even how many big our group will be in any city (either two or four people - we'll probably travel a bit with Chris' coworker & her husband). But Nina's confirmed that she can not only book hotels and transportation for us, she can also book English guides for us in various cities.

I've never used a local travel agent before (I've rarely used travel agents), and I've never hired a local guide before. I've gone on tours of sites, but I've never had someone who was dedicated to our trip for a day or two... I'm still sort of unsure how it'll play out. It actually feels a bit strange to be putting all the arrangements I'm used to making myself into someone else's hands, but it's not a terrible feeling! I'm enough of a control freak that I've asked Nina to send us hotel choices so we can pick from a list. (I must just be a pain in the ass for people to work with!)

Anyway, I'm an admirer of Rick Steves, who is a big proponent of travel agents. He says they can help you out if something goes wrong during the trip, which certainly none of the online ticket sellers are interested in doing. I see his point, and I guess for some the question is less about having someone to bail you out than having someone else do the legwork. For me, however, the legwork (otherwise known as research) is part of the fun. I'd have a very hard time passing all of it on to someone else without feeling more than a little jealous...

So, I'm still perusing our China guidebooks, and will certainly become a pain in Nina's side before September (I'll be polite, I swear). I must say, part of the relief of having her organize this trip has to do with me being so unfamiliar with China. We'll see how I feel after this one - whether I feel like taking the reins myself next time, or whether this changes forever the way I approach travel.

Addiction Analyzed

When I sent a friend an email this morning before even eating breakfast, I asked that there be no comments made about being addicted to the Internet... This is the response I got:

I sometimes think that the internet is the human equivalent of those psychological experiments they run on rats, where the rats are presented with two levers, one to give them food and one to give them cocaine...and the rats end up starving to death because they only press the cocaine lever.

How true, how true... Now, where's that lever?

Dragonfly: Questions Answered

I love the Internet. Yesterday afternoon I Googled "dragonfly" and found these folks. I emailed them the digital pictures of the visitor we had, and got a great reply. I'm told that what we had on our hanging basket was probably a teneral (young) Rhionaeschna multicolor (Blue-eyed darner), and I found this picture of an adult on the website:


Rhionaeschna multicolor - male, photograph by Greg W. Lasley

I'm also told that whatever it was, it was "certainly teneral, and that is why it stayed perched in the same spot for so long." I did get some really lovely shots yesterday with my SLR, which I will scan this afternoon (I hope). It's too bad it wasn't an adult - I love that blue head! - but the only reason it stood still long enough for me to get as many pictures as I did is because it wasn't an adult. It was pretty cool either way.

(Oh, and he wasn't there when I got home from work, so I'm really glad I stopped long enough yesterday to get pictures!)

Dragonfly Visit

When I went out on the deck to water the flower basket last night, I found this guy (gal?) hanging onto one of the flowers.

I rushed inside to grab the digie so as to capture some images before he (she? it?) flew off. So I was surprised when not only did he (she? it? - oh, nevermind) not fly away, he was still there this morning when I went out again. I got a bunch of pictures with my "real" camera, and will post any that turn out well. In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out if he's alive or dead or what. Anyone know anything about dragonflies?

Glen Phillips Timeline

Glen Phillips, photo from his website

Tuesday, June 21:

• 10:07 - Jess forwards email to Chris about Glen Phillips' new website, but doesn't look at website
• 10:43 - Chris responds after looking at website, noticing that Glen is playing Portland that night
• 11:06 & 11:08 - Jess responds, frantically hunting for the venue name and location, as they're not readily available on Glen's website
• 11:17 - Chris sends an email saying it's tempting to go, despite the fact that Jess has a class until 8:45, as the show starts at 8:00 and he has an opening act
• 11:35, 11:41 & 11:55 - A series of emails that run from thinking it sounds tempting, to deciding we'll go

And that is how we ended up wandering down N. Mississippi last night at 9:05 trying to find the Mississippi Studios. We found the place, opened the door, and were immediately ushered outside by the guy who took our money and told us there were still two seats right in front. Mind you, we were anticipating a bar with a stage, something noisy (or at least sort of noisy) and dark. What we got when we walked back into the room was a tiny wooden stage in the corner, and seats set up around it. On the stage was a stool, a microphone, and Glen playing guitar and singing. Thankfully, he was only on song #4, so we didn't miss much. It was quite intimate - there were, perhaps, 50 people there. And, at times, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop - even during the songs. I've not been to many live shows with as much intensity, and where the performer was so exposed and vulnerable. It only made us respect his artistry more.

So, I'm exhausted today, but it was well worth it.

Welcome to the world, Kayla!

I didn't get a chance to post this last week (read: I forgot), and I now have a picture to go with it. This is my friend Sharon's new baby, Kayla. She's beautiful! They live too far away for us local folk to see them, so I'm really thankful Sharon's already been online to post some pictures...


Kayla goes home at three days young

Moral Dilemma?

This just happened, seriously, not five minutes ago. A woman who also works for my boss (but not for the company I work for - long story) just came in to hand me her newest invoice. She then told me a story about how, when she was printing up her invoice and putting it in an envelope, her husband had said that she shouldn't bother with the envelope if she was just coming in to work today since she could just hand me the invoice. Her response? "Why are you being such a Jew about an envelope?"

My face froze in a pained smile... I'd heard of those kinds of comments, but no one had ever said anything like that around me before. Clearly she has no idea that I'm half-Jewish, or (I hope, anyway) that she'd have thought better of telling me that story. And I'm left with this dilemma - how do I tell her that her comment is not only not funny, it's offensive (potentially very much so, depending on the audience), without making her feel worse than she needs to? In other words, it'd be best if it were a "teaching opportunity," as it were, rather than a scolding. And I have no earthly idea how to do that.

Update (11:54am): Chris sent me an email about this post and rightly pointed out that the best - and easiest - time to address these things is, of course, in the moment. It gets harder as time goes by because then you have to "have a talk." I completely agree. I have no idea why I didn't say anything in the moment. The only thing I can think of is that I was so stunned. I mean, if she had used the "N" word I'd have said something (I have in the past to others) - because in that case it's not about me, but about what's right. In this case, it'd have seemed like it was about me, and maybe that's the problem. I don't want it to seem personal - the reason it's offensive isn't because I'm half-Jewish. It's offensive because it's a racial/religious slur. The point here is that I'd like to think she'd think twice about saying it again regardless of the audience, and not just when there are Jews around.

Lightning & Rainbows

The storm that was predicted for Sunday finally came at dusk, and after such a brilliantly sunny day it was quite amazing. As the first blasts of lightning shot through the sky outside our living room window, this double rainbow appeared. (The second one is to the left of the main one, and fairly faint in comparison, but it's there.) The main rainbow was so intense - perhaps the most intense in terms of color and brightness that I've ever seen - and these photographs don't do it justice at all. The best part came when a shock of bolt lightning that looked like a spider (eight legs of white light coming from the sky) sliced the rainbow in half for a split second. Extremely cool... We turned off the television and watched the sky for awhile.


Double rainbow

Band Reunited

On Saturday the three other members of the band I once sang for came over for dinner. It'd been awhile since I'd seen a couple of them (at least five years in one case), and even longer since all four of us had been in the same room at the same time.

In the pictures below, from L-R: Rob (drums), Mark (bass), Ken (guitar), and yours truly. Ken's friend Juliana came, too, and as she's a photographer, we have her to thank for the pictures below. And yes, Ken is always like that in photos.

Back to Business

I'm finally all caught up reading Conor's blog (you have no idea how long that took - unless, of course, you're Chris and you experienced me carrying around the laptop like a dog-eared book for the last two weeks), so I'm back to thinking about this blog. To that end, here are some pictures from Dad's 70th birthday party on the 11th.


There were balloons hanging all over the place that had "70" written on them... And then, because Dad's an engineer working with more engineers (many of whom were at the party), there were a bunch more balloons that had various odd equations which I can only assume added up to 70. Gotta love engineer humor.


These days it feels like we have to take advantage of every opportunity where my brothers and I are in the same place at the same time and there's a camera available. To that end, this is me with my two brothers, and then with Dad thrown in for good measure.

Hot Flashes

My endocrinologist is messing with my thyroid medications. Okay, perhaps "messing with" is a bit strong, given that he's the expert. Whatever, the end result is that I'm having freaking hot flashes at age 33... Last night in conversation class I was roasting. Walking out, I said to Chris, "Wow, was it hot in there, or was it just me?" I expected him to agree. Instead, he looked at me sideways and said, "Uh, it was apparently just you." At 10pm I wanted to eat dinner on the balcony to get some air, and despite the late hour I was still too warm outside. I have six weeks to be on this new strength of medications before my next appointment, by which point I hope I'll either have gotten used to it or he'll say, "My, that's really the wrong dosage, isn't it? Let me fix that for you..." In the meantime, I'm praying for cold weather.

Shmeadlines

A friend just told me about her second blog, which I think is pretty amusing.

I was never any good at sports...

...especially anything that involved that crazy concept of "coordination" - but I've been passed this virtual baton by Jim, and who am I to refuse?

1. Total number of films I own on DVD and video.
25 on DVD, 41 on video.

2. Last film I bought.
I think it was "The Station Agent."

3. Last film I watched.
"Finding Neverland" - and I loved it. Bawled my eyes out at the end... (And at least in this case, that's a good thing.)

4. Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order).
Not being a real cinema buff, it's hard for me to make a list of five movies that I love now, I've always loved, and I always will love. Chances are, this list would be different in a year if you asked me this same question. Be that as it may, here's the snapshot for now.

"Mindwalk" will always be on this list, unless I hear something really scandalous about it that makes me lose faith in all mankind. It's not available on DVD, sadly, but I have the VHS. (And my brother was kind enough to have a friend burn it onto DVD for me, which is wonderful.) It's essentially a 2-hour conversation between a poet, a politician and a physicist (and I remember this every time because they all begin with P!) that takes place on Mont St-Michel in France. And before anyone likens it to "My Dinner with Andre," let me tell you I finally saw it and I can tell you "Mindwalk" is nothing like it. One of the things I like best about "Mindwalk" is that I learn something every time I watch it - usually about physics - and yet it never comes across as a boring or educational film. Besides, who can beat Mont St-Michel for a setting?

"The Wizard of Oz" is my childhood favorite. I hated "The Sound of Music" (still do), but "The Wizard of Oz" still brings back the fondest of memories.

"Lord of the Rings" trilogy: I know, I know - it sounds geeky, but it's true. I loved these films. I'd never read any of the books before, and after seeing the first film twice I thought, "Y'know, if the movies are this good, I'm sure the books are, too..." And so I read them. And any movie that can get people to read three enormous volumes is a good movie. An element that I really adore from the story (film and book alike) is the theme of 'friendship,' and all the forms it takes. It's palpable, and even those of us without pointy ears or overly hairy feet can relate.

"All the President's Men" was a favorite of mine long before Mark Felt came out of the closet (so to speak), really. I love spy stories, and as the saying goes - truth is stranger than fiction! This film captures one of the more interesting 'spy-like' stories of our time. And it doesn't hurt that it stars one of the movie hunks of our time, either. (Redford, not Hoffman, silly!)

"The Usual Suspects" is what turned me on to how amazing Kevin Spacey is. I love this film, absolutely adore it. And I can say no more, for fear that someone out there hasn't seen it (sacrilege!) - I don't want to spoil anything for you...

5. If you could be any character portrayed in a movie, who would it be?
I agree with Jim, this is the most interesting question of the bunch. And I'm still mulling it over. The title character from "Amelie" would be a fine choice - the impossible-to-suppress will to do good deeds, lovely Paris apartment and cafe job, adorable boyfriend (not to mention her own adorableness)... Then there are the strong/quirky female leads who always intrigue me - the most recent favorite being Kate Winslet's Clementine in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (a film that got completely shafted at the Oscars, thankyouverymuch) - not that I generally like all of what happens to these women, or the choices they make, but that they possess a strength (or at least an "I really don't give a shit" attitude) that I sometimes think would be fun. I could never pull it off, but it'd be fun to give it a go... And if we're stepping outside the boundaries of gender, I'd have loved to have been the kid in "The Black Stallion" - just to have been able to ride that magical, beautiful horse... But I think the one that resonates with me most (at least right now) is Scarlett Johansson's Charlotte in "Lost in Translation," a young woman still trying to figure out what her life is going to be - but at least she's getting to travel a bit, right? Really, it would be interesting to be back at that point in life, when you're done with the things you have to do (school) and now you're stuck making up your own rules. Charlotte's not having an easy time of it, to be sure, but I suppose I like the idea of being able to do it all over again.

Teabag Tag

"If we are strong, our character will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help."
John F. Kennedy

And my only excuse for not attending to this blog lately is that I'm addicted to reading Conor's blog... It's about travel, so perhaps I can chalk this up to research?

Surprise!

Saturday was Dad's 70th, and his wife had planned a surprise party for him. I was convinced he'd have figured out something was up by Saturday, but he doesn't have a suspicious mind. When he arrived back at his house, he was genuinely surprised. The bagpipes playing, "Happy Birthday" finally gave it away as he walked around the garage... (His first comment was, "I didn't know you could even play "Happy Birthday" on those things!" Frankly, neither did I.)

The best part of the event, from my perspective, was that I had been able to find a long-lost friend of Dad's (Google is amazing, really), who was able to come to the party. Dad looked like he had a blast. Oh, and his favorite present - I kid you not - was the cane someone gave him. I swear, I think the person who gave it to him thought of it as a gag gift... But Dad immediately gushed over it. There's nothing like having no shame. Way to go, Pops.

Gummy Goodness

I think it's been mentioned before on this blog that I love foreign candy. Chris & I went to Uwajimaya on Monday and spent way too much on snack foods... I picked up several bags of the gummy candies I'd discovered on our last visit. This time, however, in addition to enjoying the contents of the packages, I actually took a moment to enjoy the packages themselves.

On the Strawberry Gummy package:
"Kasugai's strawberry gummy, made from fresh strawberry juice, is a very delicious gummy. Please have a fun time with this strawberry gummy."

On the Apple Gummy package:
"Every drop of fresh apple juice, carefully pressed from the reddest apples, shining in colors of the cheeks of a snow-country child, is yours to enjoy in each soft and juicy Kasugai Apple Gummy."
[Honestly, likening these treats to the cheeks of a snow-country child makes them less appealing, not more... I don't want to be eating child cheeks, for crying out loud!]

On the Muscat Gummy package:
"Its translucent color so alluring and taste and aroma so gentle and mellow offer admiring feelings of a graceful lady. Enjoy soft and juicy Kasugai Muscat Gummy."

Random 10

It's Friday...

1. Prince - Kiss
2. Fountains of Wayne - Peace & Love
3. Rufus Wainwright - Imaginary Love
4. Yo-Yo Ma - Dansa Brasileira
5. Bee Gees - Jive Talkin'
6. Luna Pop - Questo Pianoforte
7. Fountains of Wayne - She's Got a Problem
8. Vasco Rossi - Cosa Vuoi Da Me
9. Diana Krall - I Get Along Without You Very Well
10. Neil Finn - Fall At Your Feet

Have a good weekend, y'all.

Photo Friday: Nerdy

So, this is my second Photo Friday submission, and so far they've both starred Brother Caleb. He's been both "Rare" and now "Nerdy." What does that say about him? That he's multi-faceted? I hope that's all it says.

Happy Birthday, Dad

My dad turns 70 on Saturday. For him:

"To be 70 years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be 40 years old."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
US author & physician (1809 - 1894)

My Fifteen Minutes of Fame

(Well, at least a few minutes of my quarter-hour, anyway...)

Last September when Chris & I went to Europe with my mother, we rented a car. We had some problems with the bill when we returned the car at the end of the trip, and I sent an email to Christopher Elliott (the trip-fix guy from National Geographic Traveler magazine). Much to my surprise, he not only responded, he fixed the problem. We never saw our story in the magazine, and didn't think anything more about it. Until today!

I vainly typed my own name into Google to see if this lil' blog would appear (it does, via ORBlogs), and found this article. I guess being vain was a good thing - at least today.

Mochi Goodness

Chris brought these goodies home from Taiwan. We ate the last of them after dinner yesterday. I'm not saying they're the culprits, but my tummy didn't feel right as I went to bed... Nothing came of it (thank goodness), but perhaps eating something with a cream filling that's been on an airplane for ten hours isn't a good idea... Anyone?

They sure were yummy, though...


Taiwanese mochi cakes

Teabag Tag

Another good one. I either picked a good box, or the Good Earth folks are on a roll:

"No man can get rich in politics, unless he's a crook."
Harry S. Truman

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, I'm thoroughly enjoying Coldplay's X&Y. I know it's getting mixed reviews, but I love these guys... They could practically read the phone book and I'd think it was great. So - unbiased? Certainly not. But I still like the album.

Memorial Day

Here's the cream of the crop of pictures I took while visiting Mom over Memorial Day.


(L) Welcome knocker on front door; (R) The flute I played as a kid, now art on the wall


I was lucky enough to be already focused on these little purple flowers when a bee came by for a snack...

Ladybugs - large and small, real and false...


Large iris in Mom's backyard - and playing with the macro filters...


(L) Clay pot on Mom's back deck; (R) Sign along Mom's gravel road