Whenever I started at any new school, one of the orientation checklist items was a tour of the library. Every time, the method the librarians would use to make sure everyone knew how to use the microfilm/microfiche was to find the front page of a newspaper from the day we were born. In my case, it wouldn't have mattered what newspaper I'd chosen, it was always the same thing: "Nixon in China." There have been stories this week about that historic trip to China, because it happened 35 years ago. It's been a reminder to me that I'm also coming up on a milestone birthday.
I love my birthday. I love being the center of attention (those who know me shouldn't be surprised), and I don't have any hangups about getting older. While still in high school I remember finding a couple of gray hairs, which I loved. I forgot about them when I dyed my hair black, so they disappeared. Nowadays, when my hairdresser finds a gray hair on my head, she'll stop mid-sentence, pull a tiny pair of scissors from her tray and snip it off at the root, whispering, "I'll just get rid of that for you..." The whispering reminds me of people who used to whisper the word "cancer" years ago.
Much of the hair on my head is now (and has been for quite awhile) artificially colored, so I'm sure I'll continue to have a majority of non-gray hair for a long time - and yet there's a part of me that is looking forward to the time when I've got a full head of long white-gray hair. When I put my hair up this morning, three days from my 35th birthday, I found three grays and just smiled. At some point, my hairdresser's clipping efforts are going to be futile.
22 February 2007
20 February 2007
Miscellaneous
After seeing "Letters From Iwo Jima" last night (thus completing the task of seeing all five films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar), I think "Letters" should win. I doubt it will, but it should. I won't be unhappy if "The Departed" or "Little Miss Sunshine" wins, though. I think I'd only be unhappy if "The Queen" wins. It's nowhere near a Best Picture nominee, even if I did enjoy it.
If you're a Portlander and you've not yet eaten at Ken's Artisan Pizza, do yourself a favor and get over there. I've waxed poetic about Apizza Scholls in the past, and I still love the pies there, but Ken's has risen to the top in my book. What I don't get is the phenomenon of pizza places in this town not taking reservations, thereby requiring patrons to queue early and often, but when you've got the winning formula of an excellent product and word-of-mouth buzz, you don't need to bother with reservations. The place is always full. It's not just the pizzas that are worth waiting for, either - each appetizer and dessert I've sampled has been top-notch. They even make their own gelato every day. When Chris & I went this past weekend, Ken himself was there holding the door open for people coming in. You've gotta love a place where the owner doubles as a doorstop.
If you're a Portlander and you've not yet eaten at Ken's Artisan Pizza, do yourself a favor and get over there. I've waxed poetic about Apizza Scholls in the past, and I still love the pies there, but Ken's has risen to the top in my book. What I don't get is the phenomenon of pizza places in this town not taking reservations, thereby requiring patrons to queue early and often, but when you've got the winning formula of an excellent product and word-of-mouth buzz, you don't need to bother with reservations. The place is always full. It's not just the pizzas that are worth waiting for, either - each appetizer and dessert I've sampled has been top-notch. They even make their own gelato every day. When Chris & I went this past weekend, Ken himself was there holding the door open for people coming in. You've gotta love a place where the owner doubles as a doorstop.
18 February 2007
Catching Up with Euro Sports
The Tour of California started today, for which I am incredibly thankful. It's a relief to have race commentators back on talking about racing and only mentioning doping scandals in passing, as opposed to scandals dominating the whole friggin conversation. My darling Ivan is down there, and even though he didn't do anything spectacular today, I'm sure he'll show himself to be in good form later in the week... Or at least later in the season. He is, after all, apparently riding in a supporting role to Levi Leipheimer this week. And that's fine. A little humility will only make him more adorable. I'll be blogging about the race over at the Cycling Logue, if you're into that kind of thing.
Over to Italian soccer, which suffered a blow recently with the death of a policeman in an after-match riot in Catania. Soccer-related riots are nothing new, though sadly it apparently takes a death for officials to take security measures seriously. Here's hoping the changes they make now will keep such a thing from happening again. On a lighter note, the Italy site under The Offside umbrella found a couple of videos featuring Italian soccer clubs singing their little hearts out. Who knew, apparently these guys can sing, too!
Over to Italian soccer, which suffered a blow recently with the death of a policeman in an after-match riot in Catania. Soccer-related riots are nothing new, though sadly it apparently takes a death for officials to take security measures seriously. Here's hoping the changes they make now will keep such a thing from happening again. On a lighter note, the Italy site under The Offside umbrella found a couple of videos featuring Italian soccer clubs singing their little hearts out. Who knew, apparently these guys can sing, too!
16 February 2007
Is it possible to have too many shoes?
Now, I'm no Imelda Marcos, but I do have a thing for shoes. I've got shoes stashed in three places around the house, and yesterday while shoe-shopping I actually had one of those moments where I picked up a pair of cute mules and, as I was trying them on, thought, "Wait, do I already own these?"
Rather than pass up a good deal, however (they were $20, marked down from $65!), I bought them and figured I'd return them if they were duplicates. I'm happy to say they weren't duplicates, so now I just have to find a home for them in my overflowing closet; them and the new heeled boots I bought as well. And as if those two goodies weren't enough, I got a free bag just for making a purchase. After not being able to do any "fun" shopping for a long time now, it was nice to treat myself again.
And just in case you were wondering, the response to the question in the title isn't just no, it's hell no.
Rather than pass up a good deal, however (they were $20, marked down from $65!), I bought them and figured I'd return them if they were duplicates. I'm happy to say they weren't duplicates, so now I just have to find a home for them in my overflowing closet; them and the new heeled boots I bought as well. And as if those two goodies weren't enough, I got a free bag just for making a purchase. After not being able to do any "fun" shopping for a long time now, it was nice to treat myself again.
And just in case you were wondering, the response to the question in the title isn't just no, it's hell no.
14 February 2007
Happy Valentine's Day!
I have to teach tonight, so this Wednesday isn't unlike any other Wednesday this term, but that's okay. I'm sure it'll be a smaller class tonight (most of my students are women, and a few of them already told me their husbands had plans for them on Valentine's Day), which is also okay - it's easier to teach to 10 than 20. I've got a little chocolate treat for those who do show up, too, so we all get something out of it.
Whatever you're up to today, I hope you've had a good Wednesday.
Whatever you're up to today, I hope you've had a good Wednesday.
08 February 2007
Plugging Along
Wow, it's almost been a week since my last post here... It's weird, I write so much for work now, I forget that I haven't put anything up on this blog. Well, rest assured, my absence isn't due to sickness or a sudden holiday (damn) - it's just me being busy.
The only new thing going on with us is Chris' newest toy - and this time it's not a car. He bought a projector for the home entertainment system, mainly for when we have "movie night" or something like that, but he's also been playing with it since it arrived, so we've been watching some things on a giant screen in the living room. The silly part is that when he puts the screen away, our 42" television looks tiny...
Otherwise, life is going on as usual. Which, all things considered, isn't a terrible thing.
The only new thing going on with us is Chris' newest toy - and this time it's not a car. He bought a projector for the home entertainment system, mainly for when we have "movie night" or something like that, but he's also been playing with it since it arrived, so we've been watching some things on a giant screen in the living room. The silly part is that when he puts the screen away, our 42" television looks tiny...
Otherwise, life is going on as usual. Which, all things considered, isn't a terrible thing.
02 February 2007
Keane at Portland's Roseland Theater
I know I'm a bit late in getting to this review, since the show happened on Monday... But it's been a busy week...
Anyway, Chris & I went to see Keane at the Roseland Theater on Monday, and it was a fantastic show. I was expecting to enjoy myself, but I wasn't expecting to be as impressed as I was. Keane's music is great on CD, and Tom's voice is lovely, but I'm a fan of singers who can make that same magic live - and I'm always ready to be disappointed by vocalists who use studio tricks and then can't carry it off live. Tom isn't that kind of vocalist. He's even better live, as he's got a ton of energy behind that voice. I swear, he was drenched in sweat by the middle of the first song from all the leaping around he was doing. (It was great to see Tom so energetic, especially as their last Portland concert had to be canceled due to his brief stay in rehab last year. He's lost weight, it appears, and seems really happy to be back on the road.)
The other guys are no slouches, either, though in my eyes the biggest round of applause is due to Tim, the keyboardist. This is a band made up of a singer, a keyboardist and a drummer. I was convinced they'd bring out a guitarist or another keyboard player to back them up live, to make the live show sound more like the recordings, but I'll be damned - the three guys in the band are the only ones who make all that noise. Granted, much of the music is probably computer-based now and controlled by Tim at the keyboard, but still. I was impressed. I've also never seen a keyboard player move quite as much as he did, while never straying from his spot behind the keyboards.
The boys had apparently had a day off prior to the Portland show, and said they'd made a day-trip into the Columbia Gorge, which was fun to hear. I'll bet they don't get much time to actually see many of the places they visit on tour, so it's fun to know they've got more than a concert memory of Portland. There are photos from their trek into the Gorge (including one shot of the band and their tour manager in front of Multnomah Falls) at their website.
I got a few pictures of the show, although because it was general admission and I'm, well, short - they're not fabulous. There are, however, some good pictures of a few of the band's recent concert appearances here. I look forward to their next Portland show - this is a band I think both Chris and I will be happy to see live again.
Anyway, Chris & I went to see Keane at the Roseland Theater on Monday, and it was a fantastic show. I was expecting to enjoy myself, but I wasn't expecting to be as impressed as I was. Keane's music is great on CD, and Tom's voice is lovely, but I'm a fan of singers who can make that same magic live - and I'm always ready to be disappointed by vocalists who use studio tricks and then can't carry it off live. Tom isn't that kind of vocalist. He's even better live, as he's got a ton of energy behind that voice. I swear, he was drenched in sweat by the middle of the first song from all the leaping around he was doing. (It was great to see Tom so energetic, especially as their last Portland concert had to be canceled due to his brief stay in rehab last year. He's lost weight, it appears, and seems really happy to be back on the road.)
The other guys are no slouches, either, though in my eyes the biggest round of applause is due to Tim, the keyboardist. This is a band made up of a singer, a keyboardist and a drummer. I was convinced they'd bring out a guitarist or another keyboard player to back them up live, to make the live show sound more like the recordings, but I'll be damned - the three guys in the band are the only ones who make all that noise. Granted, much of the music is probably computer-based now and controlled by Tim at the keyboard, but still. I was impressed. I've also never seen a keyboard player move quite as much as he did, while never straying from his spot behind the keyboards.
The boys had apparently had a day off prior to the Portland show, and said they'd made a day-trip into the Columbia Gorge, which was fun to hear. I'll bet they don't get much time to actually see many of the places they visit on tour, so it's fun to know they've got more than a concert memory of Portland. There are photos from their trek into the Gorge (including one shot of the band and their tour manager in front of Multnomah Falls) at their website.
I got a few pictures of the show, although because it was general admission and I'm, well, short - they're not fabulous. There are, however, some good pictures of a few of the band's recent concert appearances here. I look forward to their next Portland show - this is a band I think both Chris and I will be happy to see live again.
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