Obama-Rama

I was there. I can tell my children and grandchildren this in the years to come, but I was in that packed stadium that was exploding with excitement for this man, our first African-American, first bi-racial candidate on the anniversary of MLK's historic speech. I was there. It was awesome.

We almost didn't make it, and had to stand in line for literally FOUR HOURS, most of which was within a stone's throw of the stadium we were trying to get into, but it was worth it. Sure, we missed almost everything bu the big even itself, but it was worth it.

I'll try to post some more pictures and some video later, especially the one where I'm filming as the fireworks go off one row behind our HEADS and I'm pretty sure the camera goes all crazy as I attempt to hit the decks, PTSD style. Srsly.

OH! And THEN! As we were walking out, we see a bunch of people looking in this one direction, and THEN I see a silver man atop a tall, regal looking man and I'm like, I KNOW that dude! And then I tell my friend Amanda, "I think that's John Kerry," hoping to God I said the right name and did not just make a total jackass out of myself. AND IT WAS! And then his dudes say, "Excuse us, coming through," or something, and the throng parts a bit, and THEN he passes close enough to Amanda that she could touch him if she wanted (she actually could have licked him, she was so close, but opted not to be jumped by "Social Security" folks, as she put it so well). And THEN this guy behind me says, "Senator Kerry!" all journalisty-like, and THEN OH THEN!!! He TURNS! And makes EYE CONTACT WITH ME because he is looking for the caller-outer, and I am standing nearby! (And smiling quite stupidly, I'm sure). And according to Amanda, he says something like, "Hi, how are you?" But I don't remember any of this because magic Massachusetts-Democrat-good-hair-preseidential-nominee dust has frozen this moment in time and I shall always remember the blue-blue of his eyes and the tan-ness of his face and his overall *handsomeness* (that was the first thing Amanda said about him too). And I totally don't remmber him speaking, but I'm sure he did.

EL FIN.

It's my party!

Yesterday (by a few minutes) was my birthday. I'd have to say it was one of the better ones in recent memory, if only because it served to highlight where my life is now and what a good place I really am in. We had a small get-together at our place, gathering friends from my old department, my new department and from the various connections one makes in a community after three years. It was so much fun to see people from so many different aspects of my life playing together in a band, even if it was just a simulation of guitar strumming and drumming.

Beyond those present in body, I also heard from many wonderful friends over the phone, via email and on Facebook (bless Facebook!). I hope to spend a chunk of time tomorrow replying and reconnecting with all of you tomorrow. Thank you so much for remembering me, it means so much.

It's amazing to think back a year and see how much more settled Peter and I are in careers (even if I am just more settled in the direction, without a specific job yet). He's working in the field he has been preparing for for the past two and a half years, and I am on the brink of getting out there on my own as well.

As with all aspects of our lives so far, everything that came before prepared us for what we will be doing, even if we had no clue what was in store for us. We are so lucky to have found careers that will challenge us and reward us (though not always monetarily), and even luckier to have found such incredible friends in our travels together.

Met the tiny new person

I met the new baby today. It was awesome! I hope her parents weren't freaked out by the fact that I held her for an hour (I swear I didn't know it was that long). She is adorable and funny-looking, in that wizened way that all brand-new babies are. She made extremely funny faces. I had no idea that all those little muscles were so mobile so young. Her big sister was awesome too; when the little one started crying (as little ones are wont to do), Sister came over with a very worried expression and when the crying didn't stop, Sister started to cry too. Poor babies. Being an older sister myself, I know she is in for a difficult transition time, but I think she's going to do great. She was already helping mom with the baby's diaper change (when she's still in diapers herself!).

I hope I can continue to go and get my baby/kid-fix from our wonderful new neighbors. I feel so incredibly lucky to have such an awesome family living so close by! I really hope this is the start of something great.

Downside to the Olympics

Since I usually don't watch any TV, I'm usually sheltered from all the inane, infuriating political ads. I've started so many ranting blog posts about some of these ads, wanting to debunk them point by point, but I just get so tired and frustrated that I just can't keep writing.

On a good political note, I somehow managed to get "credentials" to the Obama DNC acceptance speech in Denver, so I'm very excited to be a witness to history. Also scared, but excited. The security restrictions on what is and is not allowed are pretty tight, so I'm hopeful that they know what they are doing. So I'll just have to sit in the stadium for hours on end with nothing to entertain me or distract me, including "outside food," like water bottles. Expect a call from me to be entertained!

Happy Birthday

To the little one born last night:

What a night to enter the world! Michael Phelps setting an incredible, unbelievable new record 8 gold medals in one Olympics. The crowning of a new "World's Fastest Man" who looked like he was out for an afternoon jog while blistering past the world record. Plus, you are a Leo, which as all Leos know, is the very best thing to be.

Congratulations to the proud mommy and daddy, and thank you so much for letting us be a part of this incredible day.

Olympic Moment of the Moment

Togo's whitewater rafter, coming out of nowhere, 27,000 people chanting his tiny country's name, him breaking his oar over his boat as he realizes he's won a bronze medal. No video up yet on nbcolympics.com, but if/when it goes up, worth a look for exactly what the Olympics are all about.

I freaking love the Olympics

Seriously. I was tearing up watching the tiny web version of the parade of nations from the opening ceremonies (since I couldn't see them live). Man. People walking makes me teary in the Olympics.

Noise Pollution

Friends, Romans, countrymen: you may want to cover your ears. We just ordered Rock Band for my birthday present. I am psyched. Who wants to join our new band? I claim singer!

(Must enjoy life before school starts again in T minus 3 weeks)

Things I keep meaning to blog about

Chocolate chip cookies:

Made the NY Times recipe that has been going around the food blogs like crazy. I shorted the butter 2 Tbs, the sugars a little bit (maybe 2 Tbs each?), used almost 4 cups of flour and shorted the baking powder and baking soda just a little to adjust for altitude. I used our ice cream scoop for measuring (awesome!) and baked for about 12 minutes (a lot less than they recommended, maybe our scoop is smaller?). I also chopped up a "pound plus" of Trader Joe's bittwersweet chocolate and added about a cup of Hershey's chips. Pretty sure that's what made the chocolate chunks so awesomely melty, but it was a pain in the butt and good chocolate chips would be a lot easier.

Verdict? Very delicious. Got RAVE reviews from the party I brought them to (saving some for ourselves, of course!). Ours probably turned out pretty different from the by-the-book cookies would, but that's the way the high-altitude cookie crumbles :-)

Scramble:

I am addicted to this game on Facebook. Apparently it is just like Boggle, only I have never played Boggle. I think I would like it very much.

Thesis:

Actual progress is being made! Very exciting on all fronts. Now that teensy steps of progress have been made, I need to pick up the pace if I am ever going to finish this marathon.

Hmm.... what else...

Belly Dance:

I have been taking a class from a new teacher. It's a limited edition, meaning that she's only doing it for a month (I missed the first month, thanks to my oh-so-lovely summer school class). It's a different style than I've done before, so it's been good to move my body in new and exciting ways, except that I look like a much more awkward and jiggly version of my teacher (and only when I can manage to get CLOSE to doing the movements she's doing). I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it, but I would need a lot more practice to get moderately decent. Too bad this coming week is the last class :-(

Costco:

Method at Costco! When I thought about blogging about this, I realized I would have to take pictures to show the wondrous-ness that is Method-at-Costco, and thought about how much work and time it would take, and how insufficient my photos and words would be to describe it. And then I saw this video. Before you watch it, let me say that *all* of the core elements of this video were things I too did (the snuggling, caressing, and comparisons). However! (and this is clearly a big "however") I absolutely did not do any of the more... disturbing parts of this video (no fetishizing took place, only snuggly cuddling) and CERTAINLY that crazy switcheroo at the end did not occur. Other than that, yeah. I concur. Without any more extraneous ado:



So there's that.

Self-explanatory

My dad sent me this picture a while ago and it explained so much about me and my interests (namely, dance). He just scanned it and sent me a link to the photo.

My mom is in the maroon leotard. I'm the munchkin. Thank you, Mom.

Hard to say which one is better

Or the original.

Go Buffs!!!

Hooray for Jenny Barringer! She's going to the Olympics! It was so exciting to watch her qualify for the Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase in Oregon, representing CU in her Buffs uniform. So cool! Go Jenny!!!!

Pretty nice day

This morning, I went to see WALL-E with a friend. Um... can we say, awesome? I know all the reviews have said it, but this is a really great movie and definitely worth seeing in the theaters. My friend and I were debating whether or not kids would even like the movie because so much of it is very sophisticated (even though it's mostly non-verbal).

This evening, I made one of my favorite meals: braised fennel with diced vegetables (there's a French word for what this is, but I don't remember it) and a white wine sauce. It was very delicious and now the apartment smells really good.

Sure, there was a lot of school work and other less fun stuff in between, but two very nice things make apretty nice day overall.

Sweet nectar of the gods

We don't drink much soda. About a year ago, we bought eight or ten 12 packs of soda because of some sale. Last night, I got a hankering for some soda with my popcorn (precisely why I stocked up on said soda), crawled under the sink to our food-cavern only to discover all we had left was diet Canada Dry. Blech. Well, bad soda is better than none when a hankering is progress, right? Wrong. God, it was terrible. As I choked it down (why did I persist? I don't know.), I suddenly thought fondly of the only ginger ale worth drinking: Vernors. However, I've never seen it outside the Detroit/Toledo area (where I first tasted it while staying with relatives). Sadness.

So today I went to the grocery store, determined to get some kind of drinkable soda. I'm cruising the aisles, getting some root beer and grape soda (NOT a cola gal here). Out of the corner of my eye--and I think angels sang and a spotlight shone--I saw a PILE of Vernors, both regular and diet. AAAAAAAHHHHHH (angels sing in a chorus). Of course, then I have to debate with myself about spending SIX DOLLARS on 12 cans of soda. Actually, the debate was whether I should get THREE 12 packs, because they were buy 1 get 1 free, or just the one. I went with the one, but now I am second guessing myself. We'll see. The sale runs through tomorrow, so if it's everything I dreamed it to be after my first cold can, I may go back. We'll see.

PS In spite of desiring delicious soda where it does not live, I LOVE regional foods. This world would suck much more if you could get everything anywhere. Then why would a can of Vernors be anymore special than a can of Coke?

Amazing video

I don't really know why, but I laughed, cried, and did both at the same time watching this video. So, so worth the watch. An incredible video we all need to see as people living on this little blue planet.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Courage

One of my summer assignments is "Writer's Workshop," primarily a group for adults with aphasia (language and word-finding impairments, usually from stroke). Working with these individuals has been very inspiring, but never more than today.

Today, I shared my first prose piece with the group, a short "tour" of Reno. They were all very complimentary, but one gentleman more so than the others. He told me, in essence, that I should submit it to a magazine or some other place for publication. I brushed off his compliments, well aware of how difficult it is to make a living as a "writer."

He then shared with us some of his work from before his stroke. It was beautiful; full of descriptive language and imagery. While his poetry today is also lovely, he struggles for a very long time to put together even a simple phrase because the words come so hard won. As we were talking about his work, he said something about my writing again. He mentioned how he used to write "years ago," but "then work, and you know."

One of the other clinicians was sitting next to me, and she reframed his words for me. I wish I could remember exactly what she said, but in essence, she was telling me that he was saying that I needed to keep writing because life can so easily get in the way. We never know what could happen. There, but for the grace of God go I.

This gentleman was writer too. Then he stopped writing too. Years slipped by, and one day, he lost those words he thought he would have forever.

Wow. I think I have work to do.

OMG, Internet Part II

Woah. I just saw that George Carlin died today. Weird coincidence that I wrote about him on my blog the very same day. I'm assuming he did not read my obscure post about his appearance on Shining Time Station and have some adverse medical reaction to my writing, so I'll call it coincidence.

Very shocking news indeed.

OMG, Internet

You will not believe what I just found out. I am not crazy in one small miniscule area of my life.

So, years and years ago, I happened to catch the kids' show "Shining Time Station" on TV. I couldn't believe that my beloved Ringo Starr was on a TV show for kids playing a teeny-tiny train conductor. Then, who knows how long later, I saw it again and realized I must have been crazy because it wasn't the incredible Ringo Starr, but some OTHER guy, who appeared to be suspiciously like George Carlin (really?). So I figured I was just crazy and had a very poor memory and imagined my hero into some random TV show.

Flash forward to today, when I found through a random link that: HELLO!!! They were BOTH on the show! Ringo started the role, and then was replaced by Carlin! Oh, thank goodness, I'm not totally nuts!

(And yes, I realize what a crappy post this is to come back after a month away from updating. Apologies.)

Oh dear!

It has been QUITE a while since I last posted!

Let's see... right now I am in between a very fun (and story-filled) road trip with my brother from Austin, TX to Reading, PA and starting school again on Monday (boo to that). I also just reformatted my external hard drive, which thankfully only had two months worth of pictures that were not backed up, but it was a very, very scary time when I thought I had destroyed everything.

I've greatly enjoyed my three weeks off, but as usual, it didn't feel like that much time at all. I realized on this break exactly WHY my breaks never feel like time off. It's because I *don't* have any time actually off! I always work through, and often I have to work extra because I need to make up for time I needed for finals, etc. So yeah, I may have a day or two here and there where I have nothing specific to do, but in real life you get those EVERY WEEK. They're called "weekends."

I will post later today (hopefully) about our crazy trip through the Eastern half of the country. It was definitely an adventure, I'm glad I could help my brother out (just imagine what it would have been like WITHOUT me, Peej!) and we got to do some very fun things along the way. Right now, I am uploading all of my pics to Flickr, having learned the lesson of the deleted hard drive.

Halfway

The end of this semester marks the halfway point (sorta) of my MA program. We have this summer and next fall of classes and clinic, and then we are out on internship (which I hear is pretty much like working, without the paycheck).

I couldn't believe how quickly my first master's went by, and I feel the same about this one. Granted, we still have a ton of work ahead of us, but we're halfway there! It's incredible how much I learned this semester and I sincerely hope that feeling continues in my next two semesters. There's still SO much I don't know, but luckily, I am beginning to realize that now. I guess that's one indication of how much I have learned.

Well, back to the take-home finals!