Battleshots and Local Leafs

It was an eventful few days.  I've been celebrating my 30th birthday for over a month now, and this Saturday I had a birthday party.  Good friends came, Friend Sarah gave me a hot pink immersion blender, and Battleshots went over gangbusters.  I've got a leftover growler full of Washington Apples shots that are just going to have to get drunk, oh noes.

BATTLESHOTS.

Friend Neilbert brought me these lovely fleurs from his own garden.  Yes, that is a very happy carrot in the background.

Getting ready for a party is always daunting, but Ted is a good husband and he cleaned the entire house. In return, I brought him Greek food from the last day of the St. Nicholas Greek Food Festival in Oakland.  SO FUCKING GOOD.  The next Greek food festival is in the North Hills and starts on the 24th -- I'm planning a tiny road trip.

How do you know it's Greek? Columns.

Lamb, chicken, pilaf, green beans, spanikopita. Not much to look at, but so damn good. There were also amazing pastries.  HONEY. WALNUTS. GLORY.

Sunday was sort of a day to recover.  I wasn't hungover but I was exhausted, because the last guest left at 4:00, and then we couldn't find Matilda.  We combed the entire house, and then, fearing she'd escaped when a guest came in or out, Ted went to look outside.  An hour later she emerged, we still know not from where, looking at us like nothing was amiss, even though we'd been calling her and calling her and she hadn't even come out when Ted opened a can of food.  Kids.  Sheesh.

She looks so innocent. :-/

An Irish Boxty from Piper's Pub helped me right myself on Sunday.

Today I went out with my mom to celebrate Mother's Day.  We went to lunch at Jimmy Wan's over in Aspinwall, which has a nice lunch special, and then went to see Dark Shadows -- her pick.  It wasn't very good.  I think Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are just doing things to amuse themselves now, without consideration of, y'know, movie audiences.  After that we stopped by the first Monday of the East Liberty City Farmers' Market.  This time of year it's a lot of leafs, but leafs are tasty.  I came away with  Swiss chard, red kale, beets, potatoes, onions, asparagus, and the most delicious little strawberries.  Now I have to look up what to do with Swiss chard and beet leaves; I'll let you know what I find.  Finally, Mom and I went to Casbah for a happy hour drink -- mmm, gin and tonics.

The Farmers' Market haul.

Tomorrow I've got nothing in particular planned, though I think I'm going to take a trip to the Strip District for a few non-vegetable groceries.  I'm looking forward to a basically unstructured day; last week was busy and this week is busy, too, and I have yet to start a single project besides, predictably, the Summer Reading List.  Tomorrow I also plan to start Ian McEwan's Atonement -- I'm sure you'll hear about that when it's done.

Oh, and as a kitty update, Chief is still snorfley, but his follow-up vet appointment out at PVSEC is on Thursday, so perhaps while we're there we can get some help with that.  And I'm pleased to report that Floyd -- who spent the entire party hanging out with everyone on the couch -- made friends with Friend Mark J., who is a gentle and patient soul, and who I think is an excellent choice for Floyd to bond with.

Aren't they cute together?

A River Runs Through It. Plus: I Hate Making Things

Yesterday evening after meeting Friend Gerry for a few beers at Sharp Edge, (and after he loaned me a nice Soviet book on how to learn to read Russian), he escorted me down to Space Gallery where Friend Katie was hosting a "preview party" for Cosmopolitan Pittsburgh, which is a big annual fundraiser for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  The whole affair was a little more "yuppie networking" than I usually roll, but there was free wine and yummy snacks, and this happened:

Belly Dancing.  Sweet.

Today started off nice and productive.  First things first: I wrote a somewhat lengthy blog about Crime and Punishment which I published on my other blog.  You should read it here.  I also wrote a second quick recipe blog that I've schedule to post Monday there, wherein I muse on the proper preparation of mushrooms.

I also read Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It, which Friend Mark J. lent to me, as it is one of his favorite books.  The language was straightforward and elegant, while the narrative was oblique.  Maclean's appreciation of the natural world was moving.  I found the depiction of rural, small-town life sad -- the tiny, constricted theater in which the problems of Maclean's brother are enacted seems airtight and exitless, making a turn away from those problems impossible -- but that could also be an opinion inflected by my own unhappy experiences in small-town living.  In any case, I must return to the adjective "elegant" to describe the prose, particularly those scenes in which Maclean details the art of fly fishing, the sermons of his father to his sons, and the times in between which Maclean encounters his brother.  The writing is at its weakest when Maclean's brother, Paul, is in the scene: the descriptions of Paul's addictions and weaknesses are blunt and obvious where the rest of the book is delicate and careful.  Perhaps that is because it is true what Maclean writes: that he did not understand his brother, and could not help him.  Years later, in recounting the story, it is clear Maclean still does not understand, and so cannot help Paul's character become clearer through craft; whereas other characters are rendered deftly and briefly, Paul, although often present, remains an obscure presence in the book, as though seen only out of the corner of the reader's eye, and tinged with a kind of menace for that.  But these are small notes of discord within the otherwise beautiful narrative, corresponding to the discordant notes of Paul's life.  It was a lovely book, and I understand why Friend Mark J. likes it so well.  It sort of made me want to fly fish, right up until the moment fish killing becomes necessary -- I think I'd throw my trout back.

Otherwise, though, today was frustrating.  We're trying to get ready for my birthday party tomorrow night, and Ted put me in charge of getting the Battleshots board ready, after he put the hinges between the wooden boards.  I wish he hadn't, because I hate making things like this: things that have to be precise.  My board was off by 5/16ths of an inch or some ludicrously bullshit amount, and so then the grid didn't line up ... frustrated, I finally had to turn the project over to him to complete.  I'm all for things like crocheting cupcakes and drawing pictures, but if 5/16ths of an inch makes a difference, I'm not your girl; this is why I love to cook but hate to bake.  Making everything just so is tedious and frustrating and counter to my nature.

Ted was also frustrated by my imperfect grid.

So, anyway, to sum up: go read my blog on Crime and Punishment at S&S Blog.  I recommend Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It.  And here are some cute pictures of my cats, including one wherein Floyd got his head stuck in an "empty" container of sour cream, after he and I shared some Doritos for lunch.

Chief is in a box. Kitties + Boxes = Happy

George is hiding and you cannot see him.

NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM. Then he had to clean all the sour cream off of his face.

Fried Rice, TV, "Spring Leaf", and a Nap Party

I didn't blog yesterday.  I felt like absolute hell and accomplished precisely nothing, so at least you didn't miss anything.  I haven't been hungover twice in one week in probably years, but there we were yesterday.  I don't think it's bad -- getting drunk and screwing is probably the appropriate way to celebrate one's anniversary -- I just didn't have the ability to like, do stuff.  Like type.  For what it's worth, when I went to pick up my laptop today, I discovered a cat had puked on it.

The fact that I accomplished nothing yesterday didn't mean that nobody did; my mother came to visit and painted my bathroom.  She repainted all the rooms in her house a few years ago and now considers herself a pro -- who am I to argue?  We went with Glidden's "Spring Leaf".  I tried to take a picture, but my phone's camera couldn't get the color right, so here's a link to "Spring Leaf".  Imagine it in a very tiny bathroom.

Today I got up and cleaned up last night's dishes and made myself fried rice with some leftover brown rice that was in the fridge.  It turned out fine but not right.  I think maybe brown rice isn't the best for frying.  And man, did shit get stuck on to that skillet.  I don't look forward to washing that at all.

I would call today's lunch "adequate". At least the rice got used.

It's not entirely true that I did nothing yesterday -- I did finish the last 30 pages of Crime and Punishment.  I hope to write a lengthier blog on it tomorrow, which I'll post to my other blog, which I share with Friend Sarah, where I put real things that aren't me rambling about what I had for lunch.  I asked and was welcomed to submit a blog to @yinzrreadin's website wherein I will discuss children's books that particularly affected me.  I intend to talk about the moments in my young life in which books helped me to learn that the world was unfair and people were basically cruel and selfish.  So tomorrow should be a fun day of blogging!  Crime, punishment, cruelty, despair ...

Yesterday I also finished watching The Tudors, which I've been watching on Netflix over the last several months.  I liked the show a great deal and would really recommend it, though bear in mind that it's completely up my alley to begin with: there are period sets and costumes, accents, unnecessarily complex political machinations, and wildly inaccurate history, which are all things I love. I started watching Borgia today as a replacement, and though it has all of the above mentioned traits as well, it didn't grab me the way The Tudors did.  Still, I'm only one episode in, so I'll give it a few more to see if it gets better.  Also on my "to watch" list is Downton Abbey.  Why people pay fifty-some bucks a month for cable when you can spend $8 a month for Netflix Instant Streaming I'll never understand.

Today I'm going to meet Friend Gerry for a beer at Sharp Edge's happy hour, and then I'm heading Downtown for an hour or so to an event Friend Katie is hosting on behalf of the Cultural Trust.  That's a little more yuppie networking than I usually roll, but I hear there will be free booze and snacks.  I'm gonna wear a pair of shoes that aren't flip flops or Chucks, so as to better blend in.  Five bucks and a slice of cake says I'm the fattest person there -- good thing I'm down with my #obeselifestyle.  Or should I say ... oBEST??

Today I plan to start A River Runs Through It, lent to me by Friend Mark J. and next on my Summer Reading List.  My little bookworm bookmark is already under the cover, ready to go.  I also have to hit the pharmacy on the way to happy hour -- guess who's thyroid died a little more, so her synthroid dose was too low.  Come on, guess.

Oh, and in kitty news, poor wee Chief is all snorfly -- he seems to have caught a wee cold.  Chief has a herpes-like virus shacked up in his upper respiratory system.  There's nothing to be done for it, and it's not uncommon in cats with dicey pasts (other cats get it in their eyes, and some unfortunate kitties get it in their lower respiratory systems -- my mom has one such).  It flairs up when he's stressed out or when his immune system is low for other reasons.  The prescription is usually Extra Love, which Chief exploits wildly, unless things get too bad and a secondary bacterial infection moves in; then the prescription is Extra Love and antibiotics.  My poor buddy -- he's had the worst week!  I'm still really thankful, though, that his neurological symptoms turned out to be something that wasn't life threatening.  It'll be Extra Love and snorfles for many more years for Chief, God willing.

NAP PARTY. Clockwise from left: Chief, George, Skyler, Matilda.  Poor Floyd is never invited. :(

Don't think Floyd doesn't get naps in, though.

Chief of My Heart

I don't know that I've got a ton of blog posting in me today: I feel like butter spread over too much toast, to paraphrase a beloved hobbit.  (Did Bilbo treat an emotionally overtaxing day with cheap white wine?)  But I felt I should post something as an update for Chief.

We went to the kitty neurologist today in the morning, and I can't say enough good things about Dr. McKillup at PVSEC: he was very smart, very empathetic, and very thorough, but also cost-conscious. He examined Chief and was great about explaining everything he was doing and considering, without being condescending; Dr. McKillup assumed I already knew big words, and I like that about a person.  Ted was there too: he decided to take the day off to go along with Chief, and I think Chief really appreciated it -- he seemed very glad to have both of his people there, and spent all of the explanatory time in both of our laps.  (Yes, Chief managed to be in both of our laps simultaneously.)  Dr. McKillup also couldn't believe how sweet and docile Chief was throughout the entire exam: the doctor did a lot of things to test Chief's reflexes and responses, and Chief let him do everything without complaint.  Dr. McKillup seriously seemed like he couldn't believe how sweet Chief was -- he asked if all our kitties were like that.  Four out of five, and Floyd has an excuse; that's what happens when you dispense kitty snuggles every day on demand for years and years.

"ZZZZZZZZZZ." Chief in less trying times.

So Chief got a series of tests, including a CAT scan and a spinal tap.  It turned out that there was nothing wrong with his ears at all: they were perfect, and had never been infected.  As it turned out, today's visit was more about eliminating possibilities than it was about affirmatively diagnosing things.  No ear problems, no brian problems ... so what's the deal?  Barring test results from the spinal tap on Monday, which could reveal horrifying things like Feline Infections Peritonitis and cancer, Chief has been diagnosed with Idiopathic Vestibular Disease.  Long story short, it's an untreatable condition, but it should resolve itself.  Idiopathic, of course, means that it's not known to anyone what causes it, but it's also a well-known thing.  Chief will suffer through his symptoms but come out OK: the disease won't shorten his life, and though it will likely leave him with a permanent head tilt, he'll be OK when he finally recovers.

But I won't relax until after Monday, when we know for sure nothing truly awful is wrong.  Good news is, the vet really thinks those are outlier possibilities, and that Chief really probably has IVD.  In the meantime, he's on some steroids, to tamp down his symptoms and make him feel a little better.

I've gotta tell you, today was awful.  We got up at 8:00, took him to the vet, didn't leave until noon.  I ate a big breakfast at Pamela's because it seemed like it would be soothing, and then I went home and went to sleep for three hours, because I haven't slept for two days, basically, over all of this.  Then we went back out there at 5:00 and waited ... it's over.  God willing, Monday's call will reveal nothing bad, and Chief will just need snuggles until he's better.

The whole affair cost $943, which is less than Floyd's bad ear cost a month ago.  Please, seriously, do not think we have a lot of money -- we are broke as hell.  Mom helped us by paying for Floyd.  Chief we charged.  It's worth anything because I love him and he's as much a part of our family as I or Ted are.  But jeez, y'know?  On the other hand, I left wondering why, if Chief's neurologist consult cost less than $1000, why my neurology appointments cost eleventeen bajillion dollars.  I literally can't think why.

Anyway, I'll calm down on Monday, but hopefully Chief has been diagnosed and he'll be OK and I'm going to sit on the couch drinking tonight because holy hell, people, I was (and to an extent, still am) so scared for my wonderful wee Chief.  The vet couldn't believe how wonderful he was!  Come on, that's a good kitty!

This happened at the vet today.  I'm pretty sure this is racist.  Also, animal abuse.

Fresh Herbs and Wee Chief

I think I'll blog early today, as I'm going out late tonight.  The Event I thought was this afternoon is next Thursday, turns out -- good thing I checked.

Today I went to the grocery store, and there bought a box of basil, so I spent some time with my food processor when I got home.  As Friend @javelinwarrior has lamented with me lately, basil never keeps, so I thought it best to use it at once.  First I made some green curry paste.  In the past, I've used lemon peel instead of lemongrass in my homemade curries, because lemongrass isn't very conveniently obtained.  But lately the Whole Foods has been keeping it regularly in stock, so I thought I'd give it a crack this time.  I made a paste out of a small white onion, several square inches of ginger, several garlic cloves, a lemongrass stalk, about a third of the box of basil, a good handful of cilantro, and the rind and juice of a lime -- kaffir lime leaves are still hard to come by.  It's in the fridge, awaiting use.  Nota bene: I kept the top of the lemongrass stick, as it can be used to flavor the curry additionally as it cooks, like a bay leaf.

Green Curry Making

After that I rinsed out the food processor and turned the rest of the basil into pesto, with garlic cloves, parmesan, olive oil, and walnuts instead of pine nuts because pine nuts cost a fortune.  That's chilling in the fridge now too.  Both pastes I pressed down and covered with plastic wrap before I put the lid on the little Pyrex container, to keep the air off them so they won't turn brown.

Pesto

Warm weather and fresh herbs just seem to go together.

After this project and lunch, I watched The Hulk, which I hadn't seen before.  I liked it, I think more than I liked any of the other Avengers movies, except for Iron Man, which is just ridiculously kickass. I think I mostly liked the hulk because of Edward Norton, who is The Dreamiest.  Seriously.  If Ted ever leaves me, I will accept no replacement but Edward Norton. The whole thing made me want to watch Fight Club again soon.

After that it was book readin' -- Crime and Punishment is still happening to me.

I think I'll take this opportunity to tell you about wee Chief, since he's going to the doctor early tomorrow morning.  Chief is one of my kitty cats; we have five cats, because although I hate kids and never want to have them, I do like having a big happy family.  Chief came to us five years ago, when we moved into an apartment in Wilkinsburg.  My friend Carrie was moving out the of the apartment, and we were taking her place with roommate Friend Roger.  A girl Carrie knew had dumped a cat named Lucca on her, but Carrie didn't want it, so we agreed to take up his care.  (At this point we had two other cats, George and Skyler, a brother and sister born in my mom's backyard a couple of years previous to this.)

A nervous-looking Chief, back in the Wilkinsburg days.

Lucca was cool with Roger, but he was mortally terrified of us -- and everyone and everything else.  I don't think he'd been well-cared for before he got dumped on Carrie; he was constantly panicked, and when you fed him, he ate like he'd never eaten before, sucking down the food so fast you could literally hear him choking on it.  He barely slept -- that's saying something, for a cat.  The slightest thing woke him, and he'd dart away in fear.

It was a long process of him first being comfortable in the same room with us (but on the far side of the room), then a little nearer to us ... he was as shocked as we were when, after a few months, he jumped on to our bed.  Along the way he got a new name when we were watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest one night, and we started calling him Chief because he needed a new name, anyway -- who names a cat Lucca?

Chief cuddling Matilda when she was a wee kitten.  They're good friends.

Point is it took a long time with Chief.  But I can tell you that he is now the cuddliest thing on Earth, at least as far as Ted and I are concerned.  He sleeps with us at night -- he likes for me to spoon him.  His favorite thing is to be between us, so he can put his back against me and his paws on Ted, while I hold his tummy.  If we won't make room between us for him, he pulls our hair until we do.

He's a weird little guy in a lot of ways.  He's very undersized for a male cat, but he's got the biggest meow, and it makes him sound like a complaining old man.  He likes to talk to his toys, little mice that he lies in bed next to and talks to for ten or twenty minutes at a time -- he's gentle with them, like they're little pets instead of toys.  He's definitely the smartest of our cats: he's taught himself to play fetch, he understands the most words and commands.  He might be a little in love with me.

I don't think anything's ever loved me the way Chief does.  Human love is complicated and hard, and often animal companion love isn't always entirely fulfilling because it's not clear the animal has the capacity to love completely.  But I know wee Chief loves me.  I love him.  He's a very good kitty.

"What? I'm shedding on Dad's dry clean-onlys.  WHAT IS YOUR POINT?"

In February, we woke up one morning and Chief could barely stand; he was weaving like a drunkard and I was practically hysterical because I was sure he had had a stroke or something similarly awful, and was dying.  We hurried him in to the vet.  She diagnosed him with an inner ear infection.  The pills made his symptoms go away, and for a few days after the pills ran out, he was fine.  We left one morning to visit Ted's parents in Cleveland, and when we got home, he was again barely able to stand he was so dizzy, his little eyes darting back and forth as he miserably clung to the bed.  More pills -- perhaps a very recalcitrant infection?  But this time it was clear that there was something more wrong.  The pills made him OK, but his head tilt and his wobbliness didn't quite clear up.

So now tomorrow morning he's going to a kitty neurologist.  Our regular vet says she suspects that he might have an inner ear polyp that's affecting his balance and causing his neurological-looking symptoms.  Hopefully this is so.  It will be expensive to remove, but once removed he'll be perfectly fine and back to normal.  But of course, one can't help but imagine the worst.  (Never mind how we're going to pay for this -- seriously, I have no idea.  Well, I do have an idea, the idea is credit.  Let me tell you sometime how much debt Ted and I are already in.)

So, anyway, that's the situation going in to tomorrow morning.  God willing, everything will turn out for the best.  Think on wee Chief fondly tonight and tomorrow for me.

Chief cuddling Matilda now that she has much outgrown him. Cuddling is a theme with Chief.

Today I Ate Curry and Watched Super Hero Movies

So remember how I talked about all of those summer projects I intend to undertake?  I didn't start any of them today.  And I might as well tell you that I'm not going to start any of them by the end of the week, either.  I've got so much on my plate, you see.  Ahem.

Today my mother came to visit.  I like seeing my mom, but whatever my usual routine is, her visits tend to disrupt them, since they're all-afternoon affairs.  Still, the day was "productive" in its own way.  For one thing, we tried a new Thai place.  I live a few blocks away from Pusadee's Garden, which has the best Thai in the city, and so despite my love of Thai food (I've even worked on cooking it myself, inspired by Sarah), it's hard as hell to get me to try new Thai.  Frankly, it's more than that -- I'm a creature of habit. What can I say, I take comfort in knowing what to expect.

Anyway, we went to The Smiling Banana Leaf in Highland Park.  The fresh spring roll was good, but not as good as the ones at Tram's; the green curry was OK, but not as good as Pusadee's.  The Shrimp Red Chili, though, was very good.  I'm not sure it's fair to review a restaurant based on one visit, so consider this just first impressions -- I wanna go back to try their massaman curry, which I'll likely end up doing, since Pusadee's has decided it's only open for lunch on the weekends now.

Look, it's what I had for lunch today. Most of the photos on my phone are of food and cats.

After that Mom and I watched Captain America and Thor.  Neither of us had seen the captain, and Mom hadn't seen Thor; tomorrow I'm going to watch The Hulk, which I haven't seen, and maybe revisit the Iron Mans, and all of this is in preparation to go see The Avengers.  I liked Captain America; man, we Americans never get tired of killing Nazis, do we?  Even seventy years later!  Probably because all of our wars since have been tragicomic misadventures in Red Scare hysteria or neocon overcompensation.  But I digress.

Seeing Thor again, I was struck by the same thing that struck me the first time watching it, which was (Spoiler Alert!) the way Loki gets short shrift.  Or actually, what I really want to ask is, why do we hate Clever?  From the beginning of the movie, the character of Loki is set up to be a diplomat and a smooth talker -- "What's the matter, that silver tongue of yours turn to lead?" another character taunts him -- a soft-spoken and clever man.  His godly power involves making false copies of himself.  Of course, by the end, he turns out to be a schemer, a betrayer, a manipulator.  (And the movie does everything it can to make you forget that his father has lied to him his entire life, concealed the truth of his identity, all the while favoring Thor in little soul-destroying ways because for reasons that Loki wasn't made privilege to and are not his fault, the benighted dark-haired brother of Thor can't be allowed to sit on the throne of Asgard.  Because mulling on that might make you, the viewer, feel bad for Loki.)

Now, Thor's got character faults: he's arrogant, short sighted, and a bully.  Of course, by the end of the film lessons are learned and he becomes a noble, thoughtful leader.  But let's look at how this is set up: we've got a big, brash, handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, muscular, super-white guy who's Got Lessons to Learn but turns out to be the hero who makes his father proud in the end.  We've also got a slim, dark-haired, dark-eyed, quiet young man who's thoughtful, cunning, and clever, who's willing to deceive to win.  Put aside the plot -- we already know who we're supposed to root for.

But why?  Why isn't being clever, thoughtful, and cunning a virtue?  Why aren't we on the side of the guy who can talk his way out of trouble instead of having to hit everyone with a giant hammer?  Well, there's a lot of reasons why.  My point is to invite you to think of what it says about us that this is the case.

I'd also invite you to think about what it says about us that the hero is a big ol' Aryan and the secret villain is a little dark guy.

Anyway.

After all that it was burritos for dinner.  Tomorrow I'm going to watch The Hulk -- and then I have An Event.  More on that later.  Then Friday is a big traumatic day for me and my kitty Chief.  Chief is going to the kitty neurologist.  More on that later, too.

Wee little Chief. Last time I saw a neurologist it cost $50,000. Let's see what Chief's charges.

Imagine Me Tapping a Microphone

Hello, yinz.  It's been a while since I've blogged regularly.  I do have another blog - the S&S Blog, which I share with Friend Sarah - but upon consideration, it's not quite right for the project I'm embarking on, so I've created this space.  (I'm new to Blogger, by the by, so bear with me if the page is homely or underfunctional.) Anyway, let me explain the project.

Starting today, I'm an unemployed academic.  By this I mean, I'm a university instructor, an adjunct, and so my employment is contract-based and per-term.  The spring term is up and there's no work for me this summer, though I'll likely get to go back to work full-time in the fall (God willing).  In the meantime, my husband, Ted, and I are broke.  I briefly considered trying to get some sort of hoagie-making-type employment, but two things stand in the way of that: 1) my spine has been subject to a couple of surgeries, one of which led to neuropathy in my left leg, and being on my feet all day in a service industry job doesn't make those body parts happy: last time I had a full-time, on-my-feet service job the bodily results were literally disastrous; and 2) my dignity is fragile, and the idea of being 30 years old with a master's degree from a prestigious university and making hoagies left me emotionally bereft.  So with Ted's blessing, I'm just going to be unemployed and broke.  Don't weep for him --  he gets a clean house and home-cooked meals and errands ran and all those other little-woman-at-home benefits.

This is what I had for lunch today. I was at Tamarind with Friend Mark. How fucking good is Indian food?  Seriously.

But you see, I've gotta fill my time, and I've gotta do it mostly for free.  So I've decided on some projects, one of which is blogging, likely mostly about the other projects.  In an earlier life, I was a writer.  That master's degree is an MFA from the University of Michigan creative writing program.  I have a whole thesis of short fiction sitting in a drawer in my bedroom, unloved by any but myself.  I couldn't figure out how to be a professional writer.  Hell, I couldn't figure out how to be an amateur writer -- I never much got past hobbyist.  I don't know how anyone who isn't already independently wealthy breaks into professional writing, though I have a strong suspicion that whoever isn't and still manages has more sticktoitiveness than I, and maybe writes things that aren't befuddlingly about sado-masochism or visions of the Virgin Mary.  ANYHOODLE.

The point is, I like to write, and while I'm not sure I've got anything too creative in me, I've certainly got the capacity to ramble about my cats.  And et cetera.  So here's a blog that I hope to update daily or at least semi-daily.  I promise to try to take pictures.

Blogging is not my only planned project.  For one thing, I've got a reading list.  Currently I'm half-way through Crime and Punishment, and from there it's on to a couple of recommendations from friends.  If you have any recommendations, particularly of any good history books, please don't hesitate to suggest them.

The Reading List so far: A River Runs Through It, Atonement, Eating Animals, Fathers and Sons, The Whisperers (Soviet history).  And Crime and Punishment.

I also plan to attempt to teach myself to read Russian.  I took some Russian language classes as an undergraduate, and while I did alright with the reading the writing, I was so abysmal at the speaking and listening comprehension that I never progressed much past basic Russian.  It occurred to me recently that I don't need to speak Russian, and also don't frankly give a shit if I can; but I'd be better at my job if I could read Russian (I work in a Slavic department, and while everything I teach is in translation for non-speaking undergrads, being able to read Russian commentary on the works would be helpful), so I've gotten some books and I'm going to take a crack at that.

What do you think my odds are?  Really.  I think they're actually "Slim".

I also plan to brush up on my Catholicism - I'm a convert, I have a reputation as being more knowledgable than born Catholics to maintain - and fuck around with an electric keyboard Sarah generously donated to me.  I'm not musical, but I know that deep down, Ted wants to start a garage band, so don't let anyone tell you I'm not a good wife.  Today I also bought a few drawing pencils, and there will also be cooking.  Trust me, there will be cooking.  Food is my vocation, and I'll have time to cook a lot of it.  Plus the farmers' markets are opening soon!  Oooooooo!

I'm skeptical about the little Silly Putty-type eraser, but we'll see.

Point is, here's the blog; there will be struggles with foreign languages and probably abortive attempts to bake bread and there will definitely be pictures of cats, because I'll be at home with a lot of cats.  I'll probably also occasionally rant about feminism or politics or being fat and proud, or something.  Good times!  So consider this a kick-off blog, and now I'm going to go read some Dostoevsky.  Enjoy your day.

Here is one of the cats! His name is Floyd. He only has one eye, so he is a Pirate Cat, which is awesome.