11.23.2005

happy holiday to everyone

i like thanksgiving - not for the turkey (blech), but because it is a secular holiday to be spent with friends and family and a time when we are encouraged to reflect on what we're thankful for.

i'm thankful for all of you, my dearest pals, and for my hubby and my house. i'm not thankful for my job, although it does allow me to have my house. so i can be grateful for that.

sending my love to all of you on thanksgiving. back from mexico on monday 12/5. hopefully with a glowing tan...

11.21.2005

quick update

just a quick update to let y'all know i'm still alive and functioning.

have major deadlines at work and home. got to get a book out by wednesday (not sure if that will happen) and have to get drywall hung by saturday (will happen come hell or high water!)

going to mexico on monday...so freaking excited!

finallly acquired a digital camera (secondhand). once i find a usb cable, i will upload some photos of the house and the vacay!

the floor and drywall will be finished by our amazing contractor friend hope while we're away. then all we'll have to do is trim out the openings, paint and move back in to the downstairs. i hope to do that by xmas.

VA elected a democratic governor and a republican lt. governor. how the hell does that happen.

saw echo and the bunnymen on friday night. it was great, but not as great as pixies, spoon, and teenage fanclub. indeed this is the year of the monumental shows.

ok, back to the book. i bet i know more about NYC police procedures than most NYC cops on the beat. how exciting for me!

11.09.2005

oneiric

funny that my word of the day was oneiric, which means "pertaining to or suggestive of dreams" and this morning i had one of the most vivid dreams i can ever recall having.

it involved a professor whom i haven't seen in years and with whom i just reconnected this past weekend. in the short time i studied with him, i came to love him dearly. he was one of the most encouraging people i've ever had in my life. not to be too saccharine about it, i flourished under his guidance. this came at the time that my academic career was ending and i could not be more grateful to him for his support.

there was also some of that delicious older male professor/younger female student dynamic of which i am so (unshamefully) fond.

anyway, this past weekend i was at his home for a party. i hadn't been there in years. it was exactly as it had been, but i hadn't thought about it. we had wonderful conversation and i tremendously enjoyed being there.

so this morning i dreamt about being at his house again, this time as i would be if we were close friends. i was working in the garden with him and his wife and we were uncovering all these fabulous bits and pieces - artifacts, maybe, but not in the academic sense - from the earth.
we were enjoying ourselves tremendoulsy and the closeness i felt with them was unparalleled. that feeling is what i have come away from the dream with.

the details of their home, in my dream, were different from what i saw when i was there this weekend. i can most vividly remember seeing a blue geranium (i have never seen a blue geranium before, but apparently they do exist!) on the windowsill.

what does this dream mean, i wonder. i suppose it means that i really did adore this professor and that reconecting with him - if even just for a sunday afternoon - was a meaninful moment for me.

11.02.2005

a bit better, but not for long

more bad news on the job front.

back down in the dumps and probably there to stay for a while.

11.01.2005

a bit better

i am feeling a bit better. thanks for your concern, em and e.rod. it's all about not having the career i want and seeming not to be able to even come close to attaining it. i also think it had a bit to do with the FREEZING cold weather we were having early last week. today it is GORGEOUS and i do feel happy. it helps to be wearing pointy pink shoes, which make me very happy.
honestly, though, the feeling i have been experiencing most lately is covetousness. there are so many beautiful things i want desperately. funny that most of them are peripherally related to my desire for a fulfilling and rewarding career and a life filled with beautifully designed objects.

here are a few of my current (and long-standing) obsessions:
this is a "rolodex" of sorts, made from bits of found paper contained in a maple box. i envision this on my tidy stainless steel desktop filled with the names of all my contacts in the biz! view more details here.


this is a piece from rena tom's holiday collection and if it isn't in my stocking on xmas morning then my husband is going to find himself visiting singles' bars on new year's eve! it's a chunk of aquamarine (the fave gem of yours truly) on a delicate golden chain. rena is my favorite jewelry designer and one visit to her site will illustrate why.


one each of every color cashmere long-sleeve t-shirt from jcrew. yes i realise jcrew is very bourgie, but i love love love these sweaters. honestly, i love just about any article of clothing from jcrew and would outfit myself completely in jcrew were it financially possible.


i am a materialist, for sure.


more to come soon, we're making major progress with the house and hope to have photos soon!