What Breed Are YOU?

Wow, You're a Golden Retriever!

Golden Retriever

The Charmer

Laid-back, sociable and well-groomed, you've got your own hip little pack of groupies who just love to be around you. You have a brain inside that adorable little head of yours, though you use it mostly to organize your hectic social calendar. You never poop out at parties, and since you're popular with ladies and men, as well as children and adults, you dish out your wit, charm and luck to whomever is close enough to bask in it. The top dog likes you and wants to be your best friend, despite the fact that he doesn't really know what the heck you do. No one does, in fact, but everyone loves you all the same. A true foodie, you’ve got your keen ears fine-tuned to make sure you don't miss out on the opening of a trendy new place to nosh. But your youthful days of being able to wolf down food 24-7 are wagging behind you, meaning you've got to watch what you eat so you don’t pull a Brando and outgrow your coats.

FAMOUS GOLDEN RETRIEVERS: Bono, Robert Redford, Joe Montana, Julia Roberts

LIKELY PROFESSIONS: Journalist, Intelligence Agent, Venture Capitalist

Cancellation

I almost forgot! I originally had planned to have a little bbq/get together on May 10 to celebrate my official graduation, but this has been cancelled. Mostly because I'm feeling lazy and not really feeling like going to all the work it would take to host said get together. (I will, however, allow my father to take me out to dinner. ;) ). But also because Mike will be in Michigan attending a Detroit Tigers baseball game this weekend and it just wouldn't be a party without the Schmikester.

Inspiration

Ok, so I put that picture I painted down next to the window and have been procrastinating about finding a better spot for it. Today, I was so tickled that I did - because I snapped this picture this morning.

Ah, my muse. Sweet Furio cat.

A New Day

I have been feeling muuuuuch better since I vented my spleen, so to speak. Sunday brings about a whole new day - and I hope - a whole new attitude. Mike is frying up bacon and hash browns for breakfast (and threatening to pinch me with his tongs)...
and we're planning a trip to the Harold Washington Library today - and (for now, at least) it's as if the poisonous feelings of the last week never existed.

For Mike, On Our Anniversary

Where We Belong, A Duet by Maya Angelou

In every town and village,
In every city square,
In crowded places
I searched the faces
Hoping to find
Someone to care.

I read mysterious meanings
In the distant stars,
Then I went to schoolrooms
And poolrooms
And half-lighted cocktail bars.
Braving dangers,
Going with strangers,
I don`t even remember their names.
I was quick and breezy
And always easy
Playing romantic games.

I wined and dined a thousand exotic Jims and Johns
In dusty dance halls, at debutante balls,
On lonely country lanes.
I fell in love forever,
Twice every year or so.
I wooed them sweetly, was theirs completely,
But they always let me go.
Saying bye now, no need to try now,
You don`t have the proper charms.
Too sentimental and much too gentle
I don`t tremble in your arms,

Then you rose into my life
Like a promised sunrise.
Brightening my days with the light in your eyes.
I`ve never been so strong,
Now I`m where I belong.

Take Me Out

So, Mike and I went to see the Detroit Tigers get slaughtered by the Chicago White Sox today.

We had such high hopes. Mike got geared up to defend the honor of his beloved Tigers against the rowdy Chicago locals. I even wore my Charmander shirt in support, despite my earlier resolution to remain neutral, like Switzerland.

And, despite reports calling for snow - it was a beautiful (if cold) day in the Windy City.
We boarded the red line...
...and headed out...
...bound for 35th Street...
...and U.S. Cellular Field.

When we arrived, we found that our seats were sweeeeeeeeet. 18th row - right behind the dugout.

Unfortunately, it all went downhill from here. The Tigers gave up a run in the 1st to start it off. Two more runs and two grand slams later, the score was 11-0. Mike and I found other things to laugh about...such as the guy behind us who kept heckling Miguel Cabrera by yelling out the same phrase (For the love of God, hit it to 3rd base!) over and over and over again. Mike and I amused ourselves by making fun of him. Then, inexplicably, he stopped taunting Cabrera about bobbling the ball and suddenly yelled, "That's right, Cabrera. Just give up and think about how good that buffet's gonna be tonight." What?!

Despite the Tigers poor showing, a good time was had. Hot dogs and peanuts were eaten (Although the red hots at the Cubs games are waaaaaaaaay better)...

And the requisite picture of Magglio was taken for Mike's mom. I also got to scream, "Let's goooo, Maaaaaglioooooo" today.

And I also took a picture of the spot in the parking lot where home plate used to be in Comiskey Park.

Alas, Mike and I did not stay for the whole game. When the score went to 11-0, we decided to head out. We weren't the only ones - there was a lot of orange heading for the el with us.

I do have a complaint, though. I thought we were going to see White Sox. Why is he allowed to wear black socks!? :D

No Joy in Mudville

The Tigers lost to the Chicago White Sox...11-0.

Ouch.

Bah!

Mike and I have tickets to the Sox - Tigers game tomorrow (so Mike can cheer for the non-home team...I will be the one pretending that he's not with me)...and it's supposed to SNOW.


Give me a break, already! Enough with the snow!

For Sandy!

Look what Mike found today!

We do have it! I was sure we didn't. I'm not sure why you and Mike were discussing whether or not we had this book...do you need it back? :D

Restocked

Mike will never let me go to the grocery store by myself again. Somehow, over the years, grocery shopping has become Mike's domain. Sometimes we go together, but most of the time - Mike does it. I asked Mike about the possibility of a trip to the grocery store before his hockey game started, so that we'd have something to scare up for dinner tonight. He said, "Why don't you do it?" And so I did!

I spent twice as much as Mike usually spends...so I hope he's learned his lesson. :D On the bright side, we probably won't have to go to the grocery store for weeks!

Finally!

Congrats to the Detroit Tigers on their first win of the season! (Against world series champs Boston, no less!) I was really starting to get worried. Hopefully they end the season better than it started.

Now that the Stanley Cup playoffs have started, I'm officially unavailable for the next month. :D

Three Words

"You can say it.
You can write it.
You can draw it.
It can be sad.
It can be funny.
It can be poignant;
As long as it's honest."

A Poem for Today (2)

Ode to the Cat

The animals were imperfect,
long-tailed,
unfortunate in their heads.
Little by little they
put themselves together,
making themselves a landscape,
acquiring spots, grace, flight.
The cat,
only the cat
appeared complete and proud:
he was born completely finished,
walking alone and knowing what he wanted.

Man wants to be fish or fowl,
the snake would like to have wings
the dog is a disoriented lion,
the engineer would like to be a poet,
the fly studies to be a swift,
the poet tries to imitate the fly,
but the cat
only wants to be a cat
and any cat is a cat
from his whiskers to his tail,
from his hopeful vision of a rat
to the real thing,
from the night to his golden eyes.

There is no unity
like him,
the moon and the flower
do not have such context:
he is just one thing
like the sun or the topaz,
and the elastic line of his contours
is firm and subtle like
the line of a ship's prow.
His yellow eyes
have just one
groove
to coin the gold of night time.

Oh little
emperor without a sphere of influence
conqueror without a country,
smallest living-room tiger, nuptial
sultan of the sky,
of the erotic roof-tiles,
the wind of love
in the storm
you claim
when you pass
and place
four delicate feet
on the ground,
smelling,
distrusting
all that is terrestrial,
because everything
is too unclean
for the immaculate foot of the cat.

Oh independent wild beast
of the house
arrogant
vestige of the night,
lazy, gymnastic
and alien,
very deep cat,
secret policeman
of bedrooms,
insignia
of a
disappeared velvet,
surely there is no
enigma
in your manner,
perhaps you are not a mystery,
everyone knows of you
and you belong
to the least mysterious inhabitant,
perhaps everyone believes it,
everyone believes himself the owner,
proprietor,
uncle
of a cat,
companion,
colleague,
disciple
or friend
of his cat.

Not me.
I do not subscribe.
I do not know the cat.
I know it all, life and its archipelago,
the sea and the incalculable city,
botany,
the gyneceum and its frenzies,
the plus and the minus of mathematics,
the volcanic frauds of the world,
the unreal shell of the crocodile,
the unknown kindness of the fireman,
the blue atavism of the priest,
but I cannot decipher a cat.
My reason slips on his indifference,
his eyes have golden numbers.

-- Translated From the Spanish of Pablo Neruda

See it in it's original Spanish here.

A Poem for Today

Touched by an Angel - by Maya Angelou

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

Too Much Light

Tonight Mike and I decided to take in "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" at the Neo-Futurists theater. This was fun for a lot of reasons.

A. It's really, really funny.
B. It's a night out of the house.
C. It's a beauuuuuuutiful night here in Chicago.
D. Because I said so...
E. Because Mike was singled out for ridicule. :D
Alright, it's not a big story or anything, but it amused me greatly...so here it is. Neo-futurists works like this...they don't take reservations. You just have to show up early enough to be one of the first 150 people. You wait in line outside of the theater. They open the doors and give you a plastic token. If you can get a plastic token, you have a seat! Then you take the token inside and trade it for a chance to roll a die. The price of your ticket is $7 + the roll of the die.

Anyway, one of the Neo-Futurists (Steve) was handing out the little plastic army guys they were using as tokens tonight. When he gave Mike a token, he noticed Mike's Detroit Tigers ball cap and mentioned something to Mike about how they lost again today.
We didn't think anything about it. We went inside (where I rolled a 1, thankyouverramuch). We sat down and the show began. One of the guys was explaining how it works...blah, blah, blah and how they try to do 30 plays in 60 minutes etc. And he said that you might not get all of the plays or you might think of a play differently than somebody who is sitting next to you...or something like that. Then he said, "You might laugh at one play, while the guy next to you will cry." And Steve, the guy who was giving out tokens at the front, looked over at Mike and said..."The guy from Detroit is crying all the time." Then he made a "0" with one hand and held up five fingers with the other... indicating a 0-5 record. He went on a little more about it for a couple more minutes while everybody laughed a little at Mike's expense (myself included). Then - about 25 plays into the 30, out of nowhere, Steve randomly held up the 0-5 thing at Mike again. Frankly, I don't care whether anybody else thinks this is funny. To me, it's hilarious.

Friday's Feast (A Day Late)

Today I happened upon this website. I love this idea and so I'm (maybe) going to try and do it every Friday.

Appetizer
Invent a new flower; give it a name and describe it.

Ok, I can't do this one right now. I'll give it a think and update this later.

Soup
Name someone whom you think has a wonderful voice.

My friend Sarah jane. She has a great singing voice and her speaking voice is extremely soothing.

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how clean do you keep your car?

I don't have a car, so I can't answer this about myself. But Mike keeps his car at about a 3. Seriously. For a man who is anal retentive about his house...his car's a pit. :D

Main Course
How do you feel about poetry?

Love it! Love, love, love, love it!

Morning by Mary Oliver

Salt shining behind its glass cylinder.
Milk in a blue bowl. The yellow linoleum.
The cat stretching her black body from the pillow.
The way she makes her curvaceous response to the small, kind gesture.
Then laps the bowl clean.
Then wants to go out into the world
where she leaps lightly and for no apparent reason across the lawn,
then sits, perfectly still, in the grass.
I watch her a little while, thinking:

what more could I do with wild words?
I stand in the cold kitchen, bowing down to her.
I stand in the cold kitchen, everything wonderful around me.

Dessert
What was the last person/place/thing you took a picture of?

Spring coming to Chicago! YaY!

And Mike...

As you can tell, he gets a little irritated with the consistency with which I continue to snap pictures of him. :D

Something To Say

Sara has got me reading up on Nate and Tricia. I've found myself checking in multiple times a day to see whether or not there is anything new. This post, in which Nate thanks the family of the organ donor, whose lungs will help his wife live a healthier and more productive life, hit really close to home for me. Twice in my life, I have been that "organ donor family." And although it made me cry, I was so grateful to him for this post.

Both my mom and my baby brother were organ donors. When Matt died, we donated the only part of his body still healthy enough to be harvested. His corneas. Unfortunately, for some unspecified reason, they were unable to be transplanted.
They were used, instead, for research purposes. I know that research is important, too. Without research, there would be no corneal transplants and no success stories. But, still, it was hard not to feel a little disappointed.

With my mom, I was a little closer to the donation experience. With Matt, the whole thing was done before I even knew it was a possibility. After mom died, my dad made the decision to donate her organs because he knew it was what she wanted. When I went to the funeral home to plan out her funeral, the director told me that I wouldn't be able to see her at that time because they were harvesting her corneas, bones and other tissues.

It was such a hard thing to allow. You can know in your mind and heart that organ donation is a good thing and that it is what someone wants, but when it comes down to actually making that decision...it's hard. Hard to realize that the person you love is no longer residing in their earthly body.

They told us that it would be months before we heard anything about the status of my mom's organs/tissues, if we ever did. To date, I haven't heard whether any of my mother's tissues were able to be transplanted to a recipient. I may never know. But I know that organ donation makes a difference and it's gratifying to be able to read about Tricia's new lungs and see what a difference it makes! And to know that my baby brother and my mom and people like them have, in their own ways, helped to make this wonderful event and millions of other such wonderful events possible.

I read a book once which said, basically, that organ donors are heroes and I'm very proud to be related to two of them. Sign up today!

We Are Well

I know! I know! I haven't posted since March and it's almost the second week in April! I'm still sick and there's been an unpleasant revelation about my work place, which has led to Mike and I having to do some really serious thinking about what the right course of action for us will be. It's quite probably that my employers and I will soon be parting ways and we're examining our options. Please say a few extra prayers for us while we're searching and feeling our way through this situation.

In spite of this ugliness, we are well. With the knowledge that we may be under something of a financial crunch for a bit in the future, we've naturally been concerned. I asked my dad if he believes that people take care and/or watch out for you after their gone. He was non-committal about it. All I can say is that in this time when we are so concerned with our finances, we were blessed with an unexpected small-but-so-very-welcome windfall. The check was dated the day that everything became unpleasant at my work. We quickly put it in our savings account, leaving out enough to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at my favorite restaurant.

We had a delicious, stress-free dinner. Mike had ribs and shrimp and I had a delicious salad with my favorite blue cheese dressing. We laughed and talked and generally enjoyed each other's company. Reality will intrude soon enough...but for tonight....we are well. :D

The Unpleasant Side of the City

Well, the seamy side of living in a big city reared its ugly head recently when our car was broken into while Mike was attending a hockey game with our friend Sergio. Nothing much was taken, but the thieves broke the small rear window on our car, causing us to be riding around with this garbage bag substitute. It's ugly, but the weather's warming up and other than the way it looks, we're not in any hurry to replace the window.

But it was an unpleasant reminder that life in Chicago isn't all wine and roses.