Almost Forgot!

Mike, Leigh and I went to see Jesus Christ, Superstar on Friday night - starring Ted Neeley, the man who played Jesus in the movie version. It was great, although Mike didn't like it as well as Sweeney Todd and Godspell.

The only slightly odd thing? Jesus has really aged.

(Before)
1973 Movie Jesus - Ted is about 30 here

(After)
2008 Tour Jesus - Ted is 64.

Don't get me wrong...the show was great. The music was wonderful and seriously - Ted's still got some major pipes! His voice has definitely changed (I downloaded a couple of songs from the original soundtrack when I got home) and has a rougher edge than it did when he was 30 - but he was still really, really great. On the other hand, I'm not going to lie and say that there weren't a couple of minutes where I didn't think to myself, "Man...Jesus is looking a little old."

Still worth seeing if/when the touring company comes to your area. And for the record, people...it's not a musical! It's a rock opera!!!

Digging (Seamus Heaney)

Digging

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; as snug as a gun.

Under my window a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade,
Just like his old man.

My grandfather could cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner's bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, digging down and down
For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mold, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it.

Seamus Heaney

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi was awesome! They sang for three hours and hit almost all of the songs that I love, including this one, which I can't stop singing now!

More Cat Pictures

I cleared out my camera today and found a few more cute shots of our fur babies. Posting them is easier than actually sitting down and thinking long enough to post a real post. I'm too tired to do that right now - so here they are.

A cute shot of the F man.


Meme is crouched down on the arm of the recliner here, getting ready to try some high risk "off the top rope" manuvers on her brother, who is sitting on the floor looking up at her.

When Mike's in the shower, Furio posts himself outside the door - as a lifeguard, I guess.


This is my favorite. The middle door of our medicine cabinet came loose a couple of days ago, so Mike put it in the spare room until he has time to put it back on. Furio has spent endless hours since them gazing into this mirror. He's trying to figure out how to get to that other cat. He moves around and ducks and bobs his head, trying to see into that room where the other cat is. Then when he gets tired and walks away, he'll get a few feet across the room and look back to make sure that the other cat hasn't invaded his space and/or followed him.

Even more amusing is the fact that Mike keeps trying to explain it to him. I'll be in the living room and I'll hear Mike say, "But that's you, Furio! It's you, Papi!"

Meme Cat

I just found this old picture of Meme on the computer. It's from our first Chicago apartment, so it's taken sometime between June 20, 2005 - when we got her and October, 2006, when we moved. I'm guessing closer to June than October, since she's pretty small here.

What a little doll. I miss her being this small.

Caged Bird

Caged Bird by Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Forgotten Language

Forgotten Language by Shel Silverstein

Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
in my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying
flake of snow,
Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . .
How did it go?
How did it go?

Our Saturday

Mike and I spent most of today in Indiana. Mike used to be employed with the City of Hammond, Indiana's Health Department. (A lot of you will know Hammond, even if you don't realize it. Hammond is the real-life basis for the fictional Indiana town in "A Christmas Story." Author Jean Shepherd grew up in Hammond.) Late in 2006, Mike got hired on with the City of Chicago - a job he'd been trying to get for some time. We actually moved into Chicago in order for him to apply, because you have to reside in Chicago before you can apply for a job for the city. The reason he was looking to leave is because every year the mayor of Hammond (an evil troll of a man) would suggest that they could save money by eliminating the health department. And for four months or so, Mike and I would be on edge about the possibility of him losing his job - until the city council voted to keep them. The first year, they got all the council members' votes. The next year, a couple of members had drifted over to "the dark side" and voted for elimination. Even though the Health Dept. dodged the bullet that year...well, to Mike and I, the writing was on the wall. We were relieved when Mike got on in Chicago, even though we missed all the great people he worked with in Hammond. Last year it happened. The mayor put all of Mike's former co-workers out of work. I hate that guy.
Anyway, as you can imagine - they don't see each other much anymore. But Mike's friend, Camille fixed that today. A bunch of the former Health Dept. met up at her house for brunch and she invited Mike and I. It was great fun!

This is John and Mike. The only two guys in the Health Dept. except for the Health Officer.


Muriel, Luella and Rita. And yes, Muriel is wearing a hamburger on her head. Rita found it in a bunch of silly hats that she found when she cleaned out all the decorations she'd bought for the dept during the 35 years she worked there. I'm not sure why she gave the hamburger to Muriel - I suspect there's a story behind it somewhere. Rita was forced into retirement by the department closing. Rita always asks about my dad because after my mom died, I made a joke to her about my dad being "a catch." You know - newly single, retired, kids grown and out of the house, money to spend. It's been a bit of a running joke between us.


A close-up of Muriel and her hamburger hat.


This is Ed and Sue. Sue worked with Mike at the Health Dept. She, too, was forced into retirement by the closing of the department. Ed and Sue are Chicago Pollacks who moved to Indiana when the neighborhood they'd been living in started to turn rough (1960's, I believe) - Ed told me today that he speaks Polish. I practiced my two phrases on him. They've been married near to forever. Sue's really sweet and Ed's hilarious. He knows everything. Or thinks he does, anyway - but in a good natured way.

Here's Mike with Camille. Camille and Mike were inspectors together and I enjoy spending time with her, as does Mike, I'm sure.


When we arrived, this board said, "Happy Birthday, Allison." Allison is Camille and Al's daughter. I asked when Allison's birthday was, thinking it was coming up. It's September 1st. Camille laughed when she realized it hadn't been changed in six months. So she went over and wrote my name. I protested, saying that my birthday's not for another month, but apparently mine's the first one coming up.


Al, Camille and Mike. Al's Camille's husband. Mike loves hanging out with him. He's got a great sense of humor and he's just an all around great guy.

To combat the boredom of being laid off, Camille's taken up MaryKay and I went home with a lot more than I went there with. That orange hand stuff is to die for, though. It's a three step process that leaves your hands feeling softer than soft. I was going to say softer than a baby's butt, but that expression has always half-way creeped me out. I mean, what are you doing feeling a baby's butt anyways? Geez.

Tomorrow promises to be straight out of Mike's beer-induced nightmares. We're going shopping. I need to see what I can find in the way of uber-professional wear. And buy some trouser socks. I am running low on socks anyway - but last week I went to work in "Dukes of Hazzard" socks. That's classy and sexy.

The View From the Top

At my job, I work on the Chicago River - on the 30th Floor. This week, I decided to take my camera to work and get a few shots of the city view that I have from the office.

This is "my" view. When I look up and to the left, this is what I see. It's hard to see, but you can see the United Center (where the Blackhawks and Bulls play) on the left side of the picture. That's Mike's area of the city.
This is taken from the north side of the office. Those on this side have a great view of the curve of the river.
The Merchandise Mart is the building on the right side of this picture. The Sun Times building is the one on the left. The Merchandise Mart is so huge that it has its own zip code.
I think I just took this picture to show how little everything looks from where I'm at. There's nothing especially cool to look at here.

Not quite down to fighting weight...

I visited the Doctor yesterday and found that I've lost 7 pounds since I last saw him in September. My blood pressure, while not alarmingly high before, also went down significantly. Both he and I were happy and he gave me a more realistic goal than the one Cindi loves to quote. Having a scale and weighing myself regularly has helped quite a bit along with making a conscious effort on avoiding fast food and drinking much less Coke. I also have to remember that beach season is only 3 1/2 months away! :D

I Finally Did It!

My haircut from Colorado was starting to grow out and, as a result, I was having a terrible time with it. It wouldn't completely be pulled up into a clip and it stuck out all over the place when it fell out of the clip.

So I went today and had them shorten the back up so that it's closer to the length of the sides and had them give me some funky, uneven bangs to go with it. Here's the result!

Mike's not crazy about the new 'do, but he's doing his best not to be disappointed. He says, (a little sadly), "It's pretty, but you look so different." I've promised to let it grow back out a little bit. I left a little bit in the back in the hopes that it wouldn't be too much of a shock to his system, but he's still not crazy about it.

I'm digging it, though. It feels so light and wispy...and it took about 6.3 minutes to dry! (As opposed to the four hours it was taking before.)

All Dogs Go To Heaven

I just finished an excellent book! Have you read it, Sara? I enjoyed it very much. It's about Susie, a 14 year old girl who was murdered. She watches Earth from Heaven and narrates about the effect her death had on those left behind. Her family, friends, her killer...

Anyway, I had held it together through most of the book, which has some just absolutely heart-rending moments...when I was undone by this passage.

"At Evensong one night, while Holly played her sax and Mrs. Bethel Utemeyer joined in, I saw him: Holiday, racing past a fluffy white Samoyed. He had lived to a ripe old age on Earth and slept at my father's feet...I waited for him to sniff me out, anxious to know if here, on the other side, I would still be the little girl he had slept beside. I did not have to wait long: he was so happy to see me, he knocked me down."

Holiday is the dog that Susie's family had. I was in the lunch room sniffling because I was so happy that her dog recognized her in Heaven. Silly.
But it made me think about how glad I am that even though my mom's gone, she's with Krammer in Heaven. It's often the little things that make us emotional, I guess.

Inspirato!

I enjoyed reading everyone's soundtrack to your life, so I decided to make my own. I made my own guideline that I would only use an artist once and try to use songs and artists that most people would know. Without further ado, here it is:

Opening credits - Story of My Life by Social Distortion (I probably broke rule #2 already on this one)
Waking up - 3 Little Birds by Robert Nesta Marley (don't worry about a ting, mon)
Average Day - Good Times, Bad Times by Led Zeppelin
1st Date - I Wanna Hold Your Hand by The Beatles
Falling in Love - When it's Love by Van Halen/Hagar
Fight Scene - any Rage Against the Machine track would do, but specifically, Killing in the Name
Breaking Up - Please Remember Me by Tim McGraw
Revenge - Buenas Tardes Amigo by Gene and Dean Ween (broke rule #2 again...fyi, it's about getting revenge against a killed brother)
Getting Back Together - Dude (I Totally Miss You) by Tenacious D (Jack Black & Kyle Gass)
Secret Love - You're Beautiful by James Blunt (no I don't like this song, but it's catchy and it fits)
Life's Okay - Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding (one of my absolute favorite songs)
Mental Breakdown - Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Giving Praise - Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton
Driving - The Distance by Cake
Learning a Lesson - Teach Your Children by Crosby Stills Nash and (sometimes) Young
Deep Thought - A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum (I have absolutely no clue what this song is about)
Flashback - Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen
Partying - All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight by Hank Jr.
Happy Dance - Praise You by Fatboy Slim
Regretting - The Freshmen by Verve Pipe
Long Night Alone - Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers (kinda obvious choice)
Death Scene - The Crystal Ship by The Doors
Closing Credits - Shine On Part 1 through 9 by Pink Floyd (them's some long credits)

For Kelly -

You can buy the t-shirt here.

The Soundtrack of My Life

I could have totally done this list solely in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs, but I tried to mix it up a little bit.

Opening credits: Saving Grace – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Waking up: Don’t Panic - Coldplay
Average day: No Rain – Blind Melon
First date: All I Want is You – U2
Falling in love: Storybook Love – Willy DeVille
Fight Scene: Bodies – Drowning Pool
Breaking up: Memory - Sugarcult
Revenge: Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
Getting back together: Always – Bon Jovi
Secret Love: You Might Think - Cars
Life's okay: Good Life - Jettingham
Mental breakdown: My Name is Jonas - Weezer
Giving praise: Day By Day - the Godspell Soundtrack
Driving: Life is a Highway – either version
Learning a lesson: It’ll All Work Out – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Deep thought: Little Wonders – Rob Thomas/ Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
Flashback: Remember When - Alan Jackson
Partying: Malaguena Salerosa - Chingon
Happy dance: Beyond the Sea – Bobby Darin
Regretting: I’ve Got To Get A Message To You – the Bee Gees
Long night alone: Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day
Death scene: Softly, As I Leave You – Bobby Darin (Elvis version also acceptable)
Closing credits: You and I Will Meet Again – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Cute Cat Pictures

Meme spent the day sleeping in her recliner...


and hiding in the box we keep in the corner for her. She loves boxes. Mike always says that she's playing "spaceship," because she wants to grow up to be an astronaut. Today I caught her peeking out at me over the top of her box.

I was laying on the bed with Meme when I asked Mike if he'd seen Furio today. He hadn't, but he said that he figured Furman was lying on the other bed. I asked him to check and make sure. A second later, Mike made me come to the door of the spare room.

We're not sure how Furio gets under the covers without messing anything up, but he's very clever at it. There was just a lump in the covers on the spare bed - which moved when I said, "I wonder where Furio is...I was going to get out the treats."