competing interests

today's breakfast included both coffee and matzoh, totally confusing my body.

friday,...and spring? life is good, and it's a day worth celebrating. in honor of the abundant sunshine and warm temperatures, i traded grays and browns for sage green, khaki, and tans. i also biked to work for the first time since last fall. and so, after i leave the office for the day i'll take a little ride. tonight, i've got my sights set on nachos (thanks for the recipe refresher, katy!) and nate and i were talking about breaking into the cupcake care package received earlier this week (thanks, mom!).

the only thing this day could possible be lacking is a street party, complete with thumping tunes and ginger beer. if anyone's got one of those, let me know.

cupcakes!

mom sent me the most amazing care package of supplies to make cupcakes, based on an obsession i had with them last week. (every week, really...) all sorts of baking fun in a box - cupcake mix, frosting, decorative candies, the accordian-folded cups that house them while baking. i'm very excited.

last night nate used the package of mix he got over the holidays - white chocolate batter, raspberry frosting. sweet explosion! they were tasty, but i have to admit what should come as no surprise - real chocolate, the darker the better, wins every day in my book.

i have promised pictures of the final product. after two back-to-back cupcakes last night, i may have to wait until next week at the very least before the next batch gets made.

eugene, oregon follow-up

my trip was super brief, and fairly last minute, and yet i still managed to get out a little and see a small slice of the place - more than any of my other business trips here have allowed for.

- lucky noodle: very nice dinner. definitely thumbs up. seems to be a good place for almost all demographics. i saw all sorts hanging out here. prices weren't too steep, and the atmosphere was nice. also, gelatto!

- collins cycles: lovely bright and open space for a bike shop. great new models on display, a good selection of sale items, both bikes and clothes, as well as all the usual supplies and gadgets, shoes, bags (messenger, backpack, and panniers), along with a helpful and friendly staff. kids section was well stocked, too.

- the main branch of the library: on ann's recommendation, i carved out time for the library to check out the courtyard. so glad i did. the outdoor space, even without greenery yet, was really lovely. bench seats and tables in kids' sizes, and a couple of sculptures, all covered in gorgeous and unusual mosaic stylings, including poetry about reading and books, and built-in chess/checker boards. the focal point on the open patio is the elephant laid out on the ground, it's entire perimeter taken from "oliphaunt" by tolkien. worth noting also: the entire children's section was very well done and seemed to be actually used and liked by both kids and parents.

- many a beer place. regional beer: quasi-religion out this way. would have stopped in, but i settled for the regional wine and snack tasting on the puddlejumper between eugene and seattle.

- eugene hilton and conference center: location of our meeting. had bikes outside the main door for use by it's guests. staff were very helpful and friendly. the room was standard and suitable. but let me say again - the staff were extremely competent and good folk.

- democratic convention: there was a picture of chelsea clinton on the nytimes homepage standing in the lobby of above hotel. i was there! (i was there a day earlier, but still...)

- also: mountains/hills in the background, bike friendly streets, i spotted an orange lotus, public art all around.

a nice place to visit. since i have friends in portland, it's likely if i go back to oregon it will be there and not eugene, but if i found myself back there i would not be so sad.

day 2 of 2

Okay, so maybe Hillary won't be here. Too bad. I hope I overlap long enough to see some of the coterie. May not happen.

It's been a whole lot of quality hotel time. I did go on a date, nate's word, last night with this really lovely lady who is a consultant with my group. we strolled up pearl street and looked in a few stores, then found our way to lucky noodle for a delicious thai meal and some great conversation.

i might have to stop there again today for gelato. according to their marketing, it's good. let me be the judge of that, i say. i think i'll have an hour or two for a stroll once this conference wraps up and before my flight out. ann recommended I go check out the public library's courtyard, so i may head that way, too.

eugene - democratic hotbed

the a/v guy at the hotel just told me that tomorrow through sunday they are expecting hillary, chelsea, and possibly obama's wife for... um... i don't know exactly what. but here. not just eugene, but this hotel in which we have set up camp. who knows, maybe i'll get to say hello to secret service tomorrow morning.

ships in the night

all of nate's stuff is now out of the place he was renting and so that means he is all moved in. now that he's here, i've been asked, fairly last minute, to go across the country to staff a conference. ha.

tooths and trees

i wore brown pants and a green sweater today, so clearly i was just asking to be compared to an ent. i am proud that i had no idea what an ent was until it was explained to me. sort of diminishes the embarrassment of recently recalling, fondly, out loud, and in front of another living person an episode of star trek: the next generation featuring the borg.

so, i remind my orthodontist of a nasty and grouchy overgrown shrubbery. that's alright. i just had my second to last appointment there. instead of bi-weekly, i'll be going again at the end of june, and then i don't have to go back unless some retainer emergency arises. and, i get to stop paying him to torture my teeth. all this, and my snaggle tooth has been tamed.

i have found out a small number of things about my orthodontist over the past 3 months - he like sculpting, teeth and wood; he actually carves wood in his free time; he considers himself "earthy;" he is a fan of the lord of the rings; he notices peoples shoes. that's about it. i thought about getting him some sort of small wood carving tool as a little thank you, but then i remembered i just paid him over a thousand bucks and that you can buy a lot of tools with that much money.

awareness

beyonce and her voluptuousness

my bamboo plant, beyonce, has been with me for close to 7 years now. she has spent all that time in a tiny little ceramic cup. recently she looked like death was at her doorstep, so last night i took it upon myself to relocate her to more spacious grounds. i found a simple carafe on sale at crate and barrel for 9 bucks, and a store between work and home was selling some river rocks. the only real trouble was getting beyonce out of her digs. her root system was, well, quite well developed. (she really does resemble the real beyonce in many ways). i had a hard time getting her out of that shell. i thought i might have to break her out. but no, aftert much prodding and pulling, i did free her from the confines of that sarah jo-imposed prison. i found a bunch of floral foam had been holding her in place, and the pebbles just covered the surface. i broke her off in several pieces during this process. she may not recover. but i figure at least she has room to try, rather than the slow and certain death that awaited her. and at the very least, she looks much better now. an airy, clear container with stones versus the grimy old fake antiqued pottery she had been in. if she does die, she does so with great grace and style. wish her luck.

neck-warmer, lovingly created by casers

my neck-warmer and i have a mutual admiration club going on. thanks, casey.

thanksgiving, revisited

i just found this photo nate took on thanksgiving day of my surprise attempt at preparing turkey. i am simultaneously feeling responsible and up to the challenge, scared out of my brains that it's going to be a disaster, and uncomfortable about getting forearm-deep in a bird from the business end.

keeping it short

katy sent me a link that showed up at jezebel the other day about a study being done on a gene connection between long lives and short stature in women. the study is actually on ashkenazi jews. here i was, all concerned that i was out of the most important demographic, and this study shows up. vindication! the post is here - it contains links to two other mentions at science daily, and scientific american.

in honor of that short but sweet story, i offer news in a short and hopefully sweet format:

1. last tuesday there was a deluge of noxious water/anti-freeze from the ceiling at my place of employment. there was flooding. there was mayhem. all that remains of the horror now: a heavily stained and smelly carpet. my office was close to the epicenter, but i am fine, and have a great new story to tell at parties.

2. vades is likely moving back up to the boston area for more schoolin'. she's whipsmart, that one. she will come to the area and bring her strong, bitter, and thoroughly amusing personality to the greater boston area. it, and she, will be welcomed with wide open sarah jo arms.

3. i've been eating oatmeal for breakfast. seriously, this may be the most dramatic news of all. i think i have overcome my pure and unadulterated disgust of hot cereal enough to eat a very sticky version of the stuff.

4. nate will be the second of two residents of "dojo sojo" in a matter of weeks. all manner of emotions have been bubbling up. but mainly a whole lot enthusiasm and joy to be sharing more of my world with nate. and, i am super supremo excited that neither of us will spend large portions of our lives moving back and forth every few days, living like nomads.

5. may i recommend making individual apple-blackberry pies in your muffin tin? you will thank yourself. i used this recipe, but tweaked. i had no lemon, so i used some orange juice. i used black instead of rasp. i used store-bought pie crust. and finally, i had to put a little more flour in the filling because i had no corn starch. the recipe still stood up. of course, you could do almost anything to a pie and you'd be forgiven.

screwed

an ambulance with lights and sirens coming around the corner in harvard square today had a drive with a concentrated frown, and a co-pilot riding shotgun who had out a big ol' map, pointing back and forth between the map and the roads ahead. they did not look like they were getting to where they needed to be.

nice patch:

on messenger bag, from the timbuk2 bags website.

open letter to mom: the snowstorm came and i am doing fine

everything has been hush in this snowstorm. at work, the hallways were emptier than usual with several out of town on trips and then the weather warnings prompted early departures from another few. by the final hour last night, there were a handful of us dutifully chugging away, every so often heading to the windows to watch the wind made visible.

the streets filled steadily throughout the day. tromping around in it was difficult, especially in harvard square with all the bricks. the snow was compacting a bit, but remained fluffy enough that it was difficult to walk through. and the snow went sliding on the bricks, so i was both walking with high, wide steps, and trying not to skid everywhere by bringing my feet down as carefully as possible. walking was a lot of work. i ran a few minutes late in the morning, and a few minutes late at night. few cars or pedestrians out, everyone either on time or altering their schedules to avoid hazardous road conditions. less traffic, what traffic there was muted by the soundproofing of the snow. white snow and gray shadows showing up against the the snow banks simultaneously as it fell. monochromatic magic.

practically everyone i know in the area has been hit with some form of whatever flu and cold is current. most recently, nate fell victim. he has spent the last three nights in a feverish, glassy-eyed stupor trying to find any corner of the couch or bed that is at all comfortable, while his white blood cells and the infiltrating germs do their war. the house is quiet, while he naps, or forces himself to eat, or stares off at distant points, or tries to stay focused enough to watch some tv or listen to something i have to say. most of the time he's sleeping, his body grinding to a halt and i think of him as prisoner of the fighting forces - forced into a still and mute battleground. i poke around online, i read, i watch anything i can find to which he might otherwise object. i make myself a plate of pasta, i listen to him breath hard in his sleep, i get a little stir-crazy and roam the rooms and settle back down somewhere with nothing better to do than before.

but everything is safe around me. no skidding cars out of control, no power lines down. heat, and food, and power all available. i made it to work. i made it home. all is well. i'm going to make some pancakes, and in a few hours i will venture out to boston for a movie, and maybe walk myself into the public garden for some fresh air. all is well. just very still, and very hush.

p.s. - dad left yesterday for a cruise somewhere warm. he's missing all the northeasterly fun.

my homeboy's homies made it happen

everything went down like a dream. nate was completely and happily surprised to have so many friendly faces around to wish him a happy 33rd birthday. all his old crews were represented from high school, college, and the years since. thanks to everyone who was able to participate. this year ice cream, next year...bowling?

thanks be to katy for being the man on the ground and keeping it all together even in the haze of a horrible cold. and to lea for bringing the party hats. nicely done, ladies.

weekend physical fun

katy and i did our second yoga class together yesterday. it was pretty manageable - the pace was good for those who need to ease into practice, and the instructor and her assistant were very attentive and thoughtful. we even did handstands against the wall, which was a first for me and highly entertaining. my guts are all sore again, which i see as a good thing.

it was an active sunday for me. stretching and strengthening, followed by an afternoon cross-country ski adventure in new hampshire. nate and i avoided the crazy multiple personality weather system that raged in the sky and ended up in the sun, on skiis, traipsing around a snowy golf course. crisp air, wind in hair, lot of layers making me sweat, families out and about on snowshoes and skiis. i went down a few small hills, blazed a few new trails in fresh snow, and had a great time.

there is almost no evidence of my weekend warrior nature (nate did manage one shot from his iphone of my ski trails along some fresh snow). most of the proof is in my tender hamstrings.

the least interesting weekend activity had the most effect on me - i wrenched my back good and proper carrying my older ikea coffee table a couple of blocks to dave's house. i took ibuprofin and did a few modified moves in yoga, and tried to treat it gently. it's still tender, but the stretches and the skiing may have helped work out some of the muscle pull. dave better use that g.d. thing every day.

every. day.

super tuesday vote-tacular

Project Vote Smart
non-partisan research on the background, voting record, positions, and campaign finances of elected officials and candidates.

Register to Vote
Information about registering, and voter education.

The League of Young Voters
for all the whipper-snappers out there.

MA election information

The League of Women Women Voters, MA

MA League of Environmental Voters

missed the start

we were assigned reading for the first class. i had no idea. first class in and already i'm behind. i hate that crap. maybe this is a sign that i made the right choice to take this class no-credit.