Last Spring’s cleaning was focused on clearing out the basement. This weekend I finally tackled the upstairs. The impetus? A potential roommate. One who would be a welcome addition to our household. So I dug my heels in and started de-cluttering, just in case things work out. If not, at least I accomplished something. Over the last two years the spare room morphed from an office/den area into the dreaded junk room. Recently I waded in and was dismayed to find stuff stacked waist deep. There was no free floor space to actually walk on. Climbing and stumbling was involved in any attempt to progress from one part of the room to another. But I’ve put in a good twelve-fifteen hours of work in there since Friday and can now see the floor. Entire swaths of it! The sorting takes the longest. Rifling through mountains of paperwork that had accumulated, trying to determine what needs to be kept, what could be recycled and what needed to be shredded before recycling. TEDIOUS. Some of the larger items were relocated and several boxes and bags of junk are ready to go to Goodwill. Forgotten tidbits turned up too. Among the items recovered:
- A Cocteau Twins CD box set
- Multiple USB cables that had gone missing
- One AA battery charger
- My old favorite belt
- Personal effects belonging to the ex (now boxed up and waiting for pickup)
- Jewelry I inherited from my grandmother, including a Wonder Woman-esque wrist cuff that I may actually wear. And a necklace a friend gave me years ago that I had never worn until today.
- An old backgammon set I didn’t realize I had and much much more.
There’s still some work to do yet, but such significant progress has been made I’m hoping it’ll be easy to keep up the momentum. Too bad I didn’t think to do before and after photos. I could do “in between” and after, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Bonus: Thousands of shoes “tie up” Miami freeway traffic - but no one knows where they came from. Super weird.
Plus: We splurged and picked up some Sweet & Sara vegan marshmallows yesterday. They were divine! And made most excellent smores.
And: Monotonix is returning to Minneapolis! Playing two nights in a row. Unfortunately I may be out of town then. Doh.
This holiday season had a few highlights, to be sure, but overall it was one giant clusterfuck. Still, I’m going to try to turn off my gloom and doom machine. Or at least hit the pause button. And since we’re only two days into 2009 I’m calling for a New Year’s Day do-over. Before I hit reset for today, there were three things that cheered me up last night:
- Watching clips of Irish comedian Dylan Moran on YouTube. In particular from his stand up routines Monster and Like, Totally
- I was all bent out of shape because my super shitty day had magnified everything else. Talking with the boyfriend (who is still not home yet) for a good long while helped calm my jangled nerves. He doesn’t think he is particularly skilled at cheering others up, but he is quite wrong.
- Talking with him alerted me to the existence of The Snuggie (the blanket with sleeves!) which is, apparently, a cheap knock off of The Slanket (the best blanket ever). While watching the infomercial, in particular the scene where an entire family of Snuggie wearers is roasting marshmallows, all I could think of was how dangerous it would be to dangle those long, wide sleeves near an open flame (this from the woman who lit sparklers inside her home on NYE). Instead I’ll just don the jalaba I picked up while in Morocco many years ago. Though I’m still kicking myself for getting it in burgundy instead of brown. It would’ve made for a great Jawa costume!
Bonus: Happy Birthday to my dear Emily!
Plus: An amazing portrait of the one and only Cat Woman, Eartha Kitt.
And: I’ve been too lazy/stressed/distracted to come up with my own best of lists for 2008, but I like Pink Tentacle’s.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Turns out the reprieve was only temporary. My deep dark mood has returned in full effect. I had a lackluster NYE, as expected, but I spent an unexpected amount of time pondering the cluelessness of men. Then to kick off my New Year’s Day I spent the morning on the phone with an old friend. One who is having her first child after years of fertility treatment. And the elephant in the room was actually acknowledged - my lost pregnancies. But it’s never easy to discuss. Afterwards I threw myself into some cleaning/rearranging in an attempt to snap out of my funk, but this afternoon I heard my son shout from downstairs. He’d managed to put his head through the front picture window. Remarkably he came away unscathed. But he was distraught. And I’ll be dropping a couple hundred dollars tomorrow to have the glass replaced. There go plans for a new TV to go with the Wii.
Hoping this dismal start to 2009 means things can only get better.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Amazing how much difference a good night’s sleep can make. This is something I know, rationally. But I lose sight of it whilst sleep-deprived. Especially after too many nights spent wide awake at 3am, playing Tetris on my iPhone until my eyes cross. But last night I got a solid seven hours - for the first time in nearly a week - and it’s changed my outlook dramatically. Starting the day out with a combo of chocolate babka and Wii bowling didn’t hurt either.
Today is the last day of the year, obviously, but also the final day of my year long self-portrait project. I’m sort of at a loss for how to end it but I’m sure I’ll come up with something. I always do.
Bonus: From Berlin’s Hole of Forgottenness, a Spell of Songs.
Plus: Some Flickr friends on the other side of the planet have already celebrated their New Year’s Eves. I quite enjoyed Bre’s NYE mustaches.
And: I love Giyen’s healthy attitude about life (and also the phrase “snowmaggedon binge eating” - it’s sort of stuck in my head). Despite some recent insomnia-induced sadness, I am also loving my life right now. And excited by the possibilities that 2009 will bring. Happy New Year all!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
I’m closing out the year in an extremely foul mood. I am fresh out of warm fuzzy feelings. So I’m trying to distract myself by focusing on some of life’s little victories.
- Yesterday I scored a free parking spot within walking distance of the hospital for our five hour visit there.
- Today I finally managed to get about two months’ worth of recycling out of the house and to the curb in time for pick up.
- I may not be leaving town for NYE as I would’ve liked, but some excellent New Year’s Day plans and day-after New Year’s Day plans have materialized. It’s good to have something to look forward to.
- The staff at my son’s school and childcare program are some of the kindest, most patient and compassionate folks I have ever encountered.
- I am completely enamored of my iPhone. Big shocker, I know.
Bonus: Who needs a social life when we’ve got a Wii? We have an extra controller now, more games will be on the way, and I just found out about World of Goo.
Plus: Even The Muppets couldn’t cheer me up. Much. Just a little bit.
And: EEG #2. Hopefully we’ll get results soon and the results will lead to some sort of answers.
Monday, December 29, 2008
New Year’s Eve is a no-go, for a number of reasons. I should have known better than to get my hopes up. Now I feel like one of the sad sack subjects in Sandy Nicholson’s book, 2nd: The Face of Defeat. But I’ll snap out of it. The boy is on the mend (though an afternoon spent at Children’s Hospital could set him back a bit). And I have some tentative NYE plans for us. They involve swimming at the YWCA, eating at one of our favorite restaurants, and possibly seeing a movie. But he wants to subject me to the latest Adam Sandler dreck and I don’t think I can endure that. Maybe we’ll go sledding instead.
Bonus: My new five minute crush, the Ectoplasmosis! blog. And not just because of the cantankerous giant squid.
Plus: Young Muslims Build a Subculture on an Underground Book, The Taqwacores, dubbed The Catcher in the Rye for young Muslims. And now the book is being made into a low-budget film.
And: While scanning the Walker Art Center’s upcoming events calendar I noticed a friend’s work will be included in the MNTV Film Series. Brian Dehler’s short documentary is called Midway. Neat.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
I’ve never made much of New Year’s Eve. For the most part I’ve opted to stay in…to avoid all the drunks who seem a little too desperate to have a good time. Last year I ventured out and it was a mixed bag. But this year? I have rather more compelling tentative plans, but I’m not sure I can pull them off. I could meet up with the boyfriend (who I haven’t seen in over a week now) in one of my favorite cities. From the Chicago Tribune:
We’ve all been there. Cynicism creeps in and New Year’s Eve can feel like an annual ripoff, the time of year that pressures everyone to have a good time—the time of their lives!—while spending inflated prices to be entertained. But there’s hope whenever great music is being played, and there’s a plethora of it available next Wednesday in the hours leading up to midnight.
One such show will take place at the Empty Bottle. Jay Reatard (who I adore but have never seen live) is headlining. And playing with Chicago’s White Mystery. If that show were to sell out, my friend Pete’s band Tight Phantomz is also playing in Chicago that night. But in order to get myself to either show I have to make arrangements for my son’s care and so far that isn’t panning out. Insert frown.
Bonus: The end of an imperfect yet magical era.
Plus: The lad and I enjoyed the latest Wallace & Gromit short film, A Matter of Loaf and Death.
And: Apparently the tubes are clogged. Personally I haven’t noticed any lag time with the sites I frequent, or with my iPhone, but I haven’t left the house today so the phone is utilizing my home wifi.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
So sad. The boy woke up ill today. Normally I’m the puker in the family, but for the time being it’s him (unless I come down with the illness too). Through grim determination he managed to get through his Saturday morning cartoons, but only with copious amounts of cuddling with me. Now that the cartoons are over he’s opted to lie down in his room. Something he rarely does willingly, aside from bedtime. I had planned for a quiet day at home anyhow but not like this. And I had hoped to take him to Dark Dark Dark with Dosh at The Cedar Cultural Center tonight. Sadly I have a feeling we won’t be leaving the house until Monday. I do hope he’s well enough by then to endure his four hour EEG appointment.
In happier news, yesterday’s snow tubing at Afton Alps was a great success. It was the mildest weather we’d had in weeks and while it was raining elsewhere in the metro area we were enveloped in our own magical little bubble on the hill. Tubing solo is super fun, but for added excitement tandem tubing = way way fast. So fast my hat flew off during one run, but a kind Afton Alps employee retrieved it for me. We’ll definitely be returning when conditions are right. Those conditions being 1) the lad and I are healthy 2) my boyfriend gets back to town and 3) the weather cooperates.
Bonus: I spend so much time among men with copious amounts of facial hair I often forget it’s not the norm. Nor did I realize Portland was so well known for its beardos.
Plus: Interesting article on passive houses in Europe. Hopefully the technology catches on in the states.
And: “Looking Back, Moving Forward” random moments caught on film during the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul - a photo exhibit next month at the Black Dog in Saint Paul’s Lowertown.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Last night was all laughs and crazy good times. Maybe it was just the relief of making it through the holidays relatively unscathed. Or maybe my friends and my son really are that funny. Either way I totally needed that endorphin high. But dang do I do need to edit out the laugh track I inadvertently added to this video…of my son flailing around while Wii boxing.
Bonus: How did I not know about Sweet & Sara vegan marshmallows? Ricemellow will do in a pinch, but these look much better.
Plus: This is sad news. I always liked Eartha Kitt.
And: Today we are tubing. At Afton Alps. While sleep deprived. Should still be fun.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I’m not always so disorganized. I mean, sure, my house is a cluttered mess and I have now missed recycling day pickup for six weeks running and I utterly failed to do holiday cards this year (perhaps Happy New Year cards instead?) and we didn’t get a tree until just last night. But I did start pulling together the boy’s Giftmas presents months ago. Now all have been acquired, wrapped and are sitting under the tree. They are:
- A Nintendo Wii
- A 2009 Wallace and Gromit wall calendar
- A blue Mexican wrestling mask
- Horton Hears a Who! DVD
- A cushy new Wham-o sled
- A four hour EEG slated for the Monday after Christmas.
Ok, those last two aren’t wrapped and under the tree. The sled is too big and bulky. And that last one? I did bust my ass to make the appointment happen before the end of the year.
So…I realize it’s the holidaze and all, but lately I feel like I’m talking to myself. Someone say hi! What’s the weather like where you are? If you have kids, what did you feel obligated to get them?
Bonus: The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway
Plus: Great graffiti art done in tape. And another fab artist/illustrator, Kate Banazi. I particularly like her Wrestling Salary Man screenprint.
And: Tonka trucks! I think I remember this commercial from 1980.
