Now for some randomness. Just yesterday the little man declared a moratorium on sandwich slicing. For the time being he would like his PB&Js to remain whole and unmolested.
Thursday night NYC’s MooShoes will be the place to be, what with their 5th anniversary and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World release party and all. Now that’s a book I need (in that I want it, badly) but don’t need. Know what I mean?
This just in - how to Make A Cylon Jack-O-Lantern, via neongreen. Oh hell yes! Especially with our pumpkin carving party just around the corner. Also Halloween-related…the little man did finally settle on Luigi, even though he went with a Mario costume last year. Now I have to step up to the plate and decide whether I’m going to do it up half-assed, wearing the headpiece from his old lion costume, or if I’m going to go whole hog, so to speak, and seek out a pink prom dress at Ragstock so I can be Princess Peach. Ack. At least Chuck-o has a blonde wig (or two) he could loan me. Not sure about the tiara though. Hmmm.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Took a few vacation days last week, but I haven’t been relaxing exactly. I’m not so good with the sitting still. I haven’t had a quiet night at home since last Monday (not that I’m complaining). Let’s recap.
- Wednesday night: Was still in Duluth. The delightful Starfire and V-Nick invited me over to their amazing new a-frame house. We watched Project Runway with their peeps, ate vegan pumpkin pie, talked about next month’s NaNoWriMo and more. A perfect evening!
- Thursday night: We came back from Duluth just in time for me to catch Andrew Bird’s free show/interview at The Whole. There was a mob behind me, but capacity was reached not long after I squeaked in through the doors. Sometimes my luck is actually on the good side. During the interview the Birdman’s neuroses really shone through, in the most delightful ways. Very very glad I went. Oh, and another local flickrite snapped off this most awesome polaroid that night.
- Friday night: I found myself attending my high school reunion, despite the fact that I’ve kept in touch with just a handful of my former classmates, and I rarely go back to the town I grew up in (when I do, it’s only to take the little man to the apple orchard). It was a surreal evening but there were some high points. One of which was, well, I walked away from it realizing how much I love my life. Sure, it has its challenges (whose doesn’t?) but I really am happy with where I’m at right now and I have no regrets.
- Saturday: It was a full day with the little man’s swimming lesson, some errand-running, and a family dinner at Sambol, for my brother-in-law’s birthday. We topped it off with a vegan birthday cake from the Chicago Diner. The husband’s family isn’t vegan but they are super vegan-friendly, a fact that still blows my mind regularly.
Bonus: Enjoying Be Your Own Pet today. Especially their song Bicycle Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle - with the line “Have fun, and be safe with it. Just kidding, fuck shit up!”
Plus: In news of the annoying, this news story about a stolen laptop? Yeah, my luck was on the bad side this time. My freaking personal information was on it and that really sucks ass. Thank you Allina Healthcare, you incompetent bastards!
And: In happier news, American Hardcore is playing at the Lagoon. I really need to see that. Soon.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
We’ve temporarily relocated to Duluth and guess what? We do have wi-fi up here. So much for unplugging from the matrix. But we packed and left in such a rush I left behind some crucial items. Such as:
- The book I’m reading
- The Thank You cards, from the little man’s birthday, that I still need to finish up and send out
- My sunglasses (prescription, of course)
- Sugar for my coffee
- A hairbrush or comb
- My hairdryer and flat iron
- Vitamins
And lastly and most importantly:
- The power cord for my powerbook
I’m already in the red zone, folks. Thankfully the husband brought his laptop…with its power adapter. At least I remembered to recharge my camera batteries before we left. Soon I’m off for a solo photowalk in and around Duluth, while the boys stay behind to chill out and geek out. And when I return to them, I will come back bearing Pizza Luce.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
As a long-time vegan (read: dirty hippie) I’m sure I fit the profile…of a Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap user. Admittedly I have bought the stuff before. Mostly for the entertainment value of the crazy label (he called it “the moral ABC”). But now someone has made a documentary about the man behind the vision(s). It should be fascinating. Watch the trailer here.
My Kid Ethnic crush has just hit new highs. Saleem made a short video:
“The name? ‘Sushi Time.’ I do not kid. Chock full o’ half-Chinese dudes, British Indians, Scots, Americans, Japanese, and, uh, me.”
In other news, Milk and Cake is in the market for a shiny red bike and I’d love to sell her mine (if she weren’t so far away). I should have known better when I bought that big bike. Yeah, it’s hella cool. It is a Nirve/Paul Frank cruiser, after all. But it is just too big and heavy for little ole me. What I really need is a little dirt bike, like I had back in the day. I rode my brother’s hand-me-down Huffy everywhere for years and years. But what the little man needs is a solid three-wheeler. And the Torker Tri-Star looks like one sweet ride. But winter is on its ways so this is a topic that will need to be revisited…many many months from now.
Things could be much, much worse. We are okay. Life is just going to be a little extra complicated for a while. But we will break on through to the other side. Not that I expect it to be all rainbows and prancing unicorns when we do, but it will all work out in the end. Still, many thanks to all the well-wishers…it means a lot.
So…I had a particularly odd Friday the 13th. I was under the weather and cranky. And crankier still when I found out that Andrew Bird was playing the Bryant Lake Bowl that night, but it was sold out. Grrrr. I also skipped the Art of Horror opening reception. And I’ve already gotten behind on the new season of Battlestar Galactica. And I read this really well written article: How childbirth went industrial. But it was disquieting, horrific even, to read her description of performing a c-section, being as I’ve been under the knife (a No. 10 blade apparently) for two of them now.
But the weekend improved. Saturday was a fine, Fall day. We took the little man to an apple orchard, to pick out pumpkins. And I took the lad to the St. Paul Art Crawl for a bit. Back at home he played outside with neighbor kids. Saturday night a friend and I caught a double feature in the Heroic Grace series at the Walker. And Sunday the husband (I can still call him that, for now, but may need to go back to “J”) and I went out to dinner before seeing Fearless.
And now we have a short work week ahead of us, as we will be taking our annual trek up to Duluth mid-week. So yeah. It’s not all bad. Some of it is even good.
Well, the husband is moving out. I love him, and he loves me. But we’re giving in to the inevitable. There was no shouting or screaming or hysterics. Nothing so dramatic. Just some quiet discussion and teary-eyed hugs. This has been a long time coming and I think we’ll be much better off as friends than spouses. It isn’t anyone’s fault that our marriage has leaned too much towards the “for worse” end of the spectrum and hasn’t seen enough of that “for better” business. Life threw us too many curveballs. And even if it hadn’t, I don’t know that we could have made it work. Our differences are just too great.
This is all going to hit the little man the hardest, and that is what hurts the most. I wanted so much to give him a stable family. I wanted him to have a strong father figure and siblings to grow up with. But that’s all fiction. It’s not the story of our lives. Thankfully the husband won’t be out of the picture entirely. He is a good, kind man and will remain a close friend…to the little man and I both.
In the mean time we have a thousand and one mundane details to take care of here. He’ll have to figure out when he’s going to move and where. And our CDs and books and DVDs are all jumbled together. And all the good kitchen gear is his. And now I need a car, again. Life is messy and difficult but we’ll get it sorted. Despite my apprehension and fear, I feel relief. Like I can finally stop holding my breath and let the freefall begin.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
I’ve gotten a little behind on boing boing this week, but Maria sent me this link. It raises some interesting questions about disorders in human behavior. “
Remember my sad little recipe page? Today marked the first snow of the season and prompted me to make, and post the recipe for, seitan stew. It’s one of the few meals the husband and I both enjoy and it really hit the spot today.
Bonus: Halloween is right around the corner and the little man is still changing his mind about costumes every other day. His latest notion? Luigi. Even though he was Mario last year.
Plus: It’s high time for another European vacation…especially since Morrissey is touring there this winter. Hey, a girl can (day)dream.
And: Wishingfish just launched a baby shop, and now I’m bummed out that the little man never had a Rody Horse. Who am I kidding? I’m bummed that I never had one!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Interactions with the neurotypical neighbor kids have been improving. The little man is putting himself out there more. And I’m hovering less (but still watching anxiously from afar). And it seems to be going well. But I worry they’re just using him for his light sabers.
Sunday night I made it to the TV on the Radio show at First Ave. Still need to catch up on some of the lost sleep, but it was well worth it. I neglected to take any photos (we were crammed onto the main floor like sardines) but it looks and sounds like the Chicago show was quite similar (and similarly awesome).
Rumors abound about my beloved Battlestar Galactica making a move to NBC. So far these allegations are unsubstantiated, but I have mixed feelings about the possibility. Yes, it would mean a wider audience, and I’d be able to see it more easily (our household is without cable) but the likelihood of the show jumping the shark increases tenfold.
Bonus: I wish I’d been in The Daily Show’s ticket line when Terry Gilliam was visiting (via Neil Gaiman, natch).
Plus: So far I’ve missed all of the Heroic Grace series at The Walker, but this weekend it’s going to be all about The Legendary Weapons of China. Honest.
And: Odd quote of the day…earlier I found myself exclaiming “but I don’t want zombie underwear!” Though I could go for some happy octopus action. Seriously.
Let’s back it up a bit. I neglected to mention…Thursday night I spent an evening with Neil Gaiman, at the Riverview Theater. It was lovely. He read some short fictions and wonders from Fragile Things. And after the reading MirrorMask was shown. I actually hadn’t seen it yet, and I’m glad I waited. Seeing it on the big screen at the Riverview, especially during this event, was really the way to go.
Friday the little man went back to swimming lessons for the first time in over a month. He was distracted by the new equipment in the pool, but still, it went better than I’d expected (as the lessons involve being told what to do by a grown-up). Later we ate dinner at Evergreen, even though my partially dried hair made me look like a wild woman. Me hungry. Food good.
In other non-news news, my organizational skills are clearly lacking. Clearly. The other night I decided to rip some old CDs that hadn’t yet made it into my iTunes library. While on my little scavenger hunt I found many I hadn’t been looking for. Like a bunch of Nick Cave and Morphine and Cocteau Twins CDs. And Arab Strap’s The Red Thread. And some Dillinger Four and Pixies and Broken Spindles and Hot Water Music and Ink & Dagger and more. But not the two discs I’d set out for in the first place - by The Murder City Devils and Sigur Ros, respectively. So very annoying.
Speaking of music, Andrew Bird has been recording in town and is taking a little break on October 19th…to be featured in the Making Music series at The Whole. It’ll be part interview/part performance, and all good. Oh, and it’s free too.
Bonus: This year’s crop of Spooky Sock Monkeys is already sold out! I’m partial to Snock and Noctu.
Plus: We missed Museum Day this year, but I’m glad Shokufeh made it out. In a similar vein, our local library systems have been promoting the Museum Adventure Pass. Use your library card to check out a pass good for up to four people at a whole slew of museums. I plan to finally take the little man to the Mill City Museum.
And: I’m skipping the Minnesota Comic Book Association’s FallCon this weekend, as there’s already been much too much going on and I shouldn’t spend any more money. But I wonder what’s in those “Gigantic Grab Bags” - oh well.
Saturday, October 7, 2006
What a day. Beautiful yes, but also draining. The little man and I started things off with blueberry pancakes, followed by a walk to the coffee shop and then on to the playground. And that was all grand but then we moved on to the tough stuff. The memorial service for Felix. There was something therapeutic about saying his name out loud. Closer to closure. Once I hit the one year mark, in January, well then I think I’ll be closer still.
The rest of the day has been more subdued. I finally got around to watching a movie Netflix sent me, oh, back in mid-August. It perfectly matched the mood I was in so I guess it was worth waiting for. Then I’d planned to take the little man to a bonfire, but he was being contrary. Turns out he’d rather dance around the house in his underpants while waiting for a batch of the husband’s cookies to come out of the oven, and then play video games. Little punk.
As for tonight, I have to figure out if my energy reserves will get me across town to the Yo La Tengo show at First Ave (or The Long Winters at the Triple Rock). Maybe I’ll just close my eyes for a little rest…and hope it’s not morning when I open them again. And if it is tomorrow, well, there’s always the TV on the Radio show.
