the kitchen

fireplace view

doorway

colour palette

Of Blueberry Cobbler Coffee and the Unexpected

During the course of my second, somewhat inorganic stint on an online personals site, I came across the profile of a man I'll call Jarvis St. Croix, and was intrigued. Intrigued enough, anyway. I wrote to him. Then I met the nudist-oh-i'm-also-into-soft-core-fetishes guy and my second go 'round on the "find a date" wheel ground to a halt. The nudist provided clarity. I was trying to force something that did not feel natural. What is more, I wasn't really over Mr. Close Encounters.

Fast forward to today: The day on which my dining room wall was rescheduled to be painted pumpkin (not pumpKING as I errantly typed a post or two back), and the day on which some computer issues at work made it infinitely easier for me to come home and work, the day on which Jarvis St. Croix instant messaged me.

Months ago after my "Who am I kidding, exactly?" moment, i wrote to Jarvis St. Croix and told him the truth. The truth being, that my overture toward him aside, I was begging off dating and perusing the personals for a series of practical reasons. The timing was off and didn't want him to think I'm simply dropped off the face of the Earth. He appreciated my candor, and let me know that if I ever found myself wanting to grab a coffee, he'd be up for it.

A door that was never fully closed, but that I, in any case, did not care to test by pushing, is now ajar. He said he'd call sometime. Could be fun.

Oh, and I'm drinking blueberry cobbler coffee while I write. Sarah is sitting across from me diligently attending to her homework.

what i've been doing

1. watching many, many episodes of the "Dog Whisperer"
2. trying desperately to believe that my dining room wall will actually be painted tomorrow
3. getting acquainted with my new laptop
4. reveling in the new flex time schedule at work (leaving an hour earlier has yet to get old!)
5. planning a jewelry party
6. mentally preparing for grad school

i'm a little confused about why some people can't seem to follow instructions

or perform services according to the schedule they give you. My dining room wall is still unpainted. I should have come home last night after my happy hour with a now-former coworker and friend to a pumpkin coloured dining room (to continue the scheme of the livingroom wall). i swear. i swear.

'tis the season for me to adjust to my expectations being, um, not met.

Real Neighborhly Like

After a dinner out with the girls, C,V, and I came back here so V could see our new place. Shortly after we arrived at the apartment, there was an insistent knock on my door. I opened it to find my next door neighbor. She was bearing a tray of pecan tarts and homemade vegetable pancakes. She implied with gestures and gifts (she spoke little english) that these were a welcome, of sorts. We thanked her, told her our names (which I don't think she understood), and she told us hers (which we did not understand, either).

For at least 10 minutes we sat pondering this overture. Do people still bring their neighbors gifts? Does the human spirit still have enough triumph in it that, a language barrier aside, some are still willing to knock on their neighbors' doors with openness of heart? We wondered. And were humbled. C and I have noticed that this sweet lady likes plants (if her balcony is anything to go by). We're going to pick out a lovely, summery one for her.

Still settling in

Sunday was an impromptu move day, part 2. C and I headed to my mom's house to pick up more of her clothes and various and sundry other things--some weird mishmash of photographs, papers, and jewelry. Oh. And free weights. A carload, in any case.

As for me, I went spinning (to the gym, period) for the first time in a month yesterday. Well, it was just like riding a bike. The body, indeed, has a memory.

Rediscovering the Internet (Chocolate in my Purse)

Due to some stalled projects at the office, and the drama of this election season, I've discovered (or rediscovered) a few sites.

The Root
Jack and Jill Politics
Slate
Salon.com
The New Yorker

In other news, work today took me away from the office to our Nation's Capitol for a summit. The highlight? Getting to hear Obama's and McCain's Education point people talk about the respective senators' ed policies. One panelist quoted someone else (he declined to say who) who likened No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to a Russian Novel: long, complicated, and in the end everybody dies.

McCain's person said something that gave me pause. Essentially, the idea that any teacher would be teaching purely to avoid the sanctions of NCLB is 'immoral,' but the fact that NCLB exists and the penalties that are associated with not hitting certain benchmarks means that some kids that were 'invisible' aren't anymore.

Obama's person was big on clearing up one thing: there are no 'silver bullets' and 'golden tickets' (i.e., magic programs) that are going to fix the education connundrum. Obama's team wants to empower teachers to use and leverage resources to figure out what works for them and their students.

I'll go everyone one better. Education reform, on the whole, without parental reform is doomed to failure.

I smuggled a handful of chocolate truffles home in my white leather purse. I want you to imagine this for a moment. Heat. white leather. chocolate. truffles.

Another Camelot?

cable, sort of...

my tech was supposed to arrive at my new place to set me up for service between 4 and 7 on Saturday (the day of my move). He showed up, per Comcast's call to say as much, by about 8:30. Once he arrived it became clear that it wasn't going to happen. The cable box/source for my apartment building is in the parking garage, which he could not gain access to.

after two or three phone calls Comcast agreed to get someone to my place this morning. another tech, two hours, and the tech's supervisor later, and I am somewhat connected... Obviously, the Internet situation is okay. But... the tv has had some issues. In addition to the rigamarole that was involved in getting me connected (new box, adjusting settings, blah, blah, blah), now there's just a general service problem in my area.

other inconveniences include the fact that the post office has, in all likelihood, screwed up my sister's mail. I put in a forwarding order for myself, as an individual (i didn't think to include her on the order), so technically her first pay check should have arrived at my old address by last Wednesday or Thursday (the first check is not directly deposited). I checked the mail at the old apartment one last time on late Saturday afternoon and it still hadn't arrived. So, my sister, who has been working her new job for about 3.5 weeks and has nothing to show for it.

Oh. And my central air seems to be having a problem.

Finally, the painting of my accent walls cannot happen until June 16th even though I did my damndest to make that happen before I moved in. I swear. I swear...