Odds and Ends…

Each of these could be a whole post, but my brain is still spinning and reeling from a whirligig week of yoga, book club, choir rehearsal, babysitting and drinks with friends (can you tell we’re a childless couple?). My Monkey Mind has been chattering and dancing and leaping in even more confusion than usual! Here are a few branches on which it has settled, briefly but happily, over these past few days.

For the Heart:

Read this article about Mr. Rogers. For years I avoided learning anything more about him, for fear that he was a fiend in real life, but it seems that he really and truly was Mr. Rogers. I’m glad somebody got to be.

For the Eyes:

Ever since I bought this book with my employee discount at the Harvard Coop and read this book which I stole from my mother (and which she has since stolen back), I have wanted to go to the Holi festival in India. Come with me!  Look at these images, watch this video. People can be so beautiful.

For the Ears:

This has been in my head, on and off, for months. The original was good, the cover was great, the tribute is amazing. It may not be your thing, but you will not be able to deny the excellence of Bruno Mars singing Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie’ at the VMAs. Enjoy! Bonus points if you try the dance moves!

For the Pen… the Keyboard? Hmmm…  For to Sign:

Please read this, think about it and hopefully decide that you would like to sign this petition to support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act. I am greatly in favor of this for many reasons, partly because it seems just and partly because it seems practical. Here’s a helpful explanation of the history of (the draconian laws governing) student loans that I heartily recommend (I’ll give you a clue… it’s Capitalism’s fault!).

Well, that should keep us busy until next time! Enjoy!

Don’t Know Why You Say Goodbye; I Say Hello!

Although, for the most part, our household is an oasis of accord and unity, there is the occasional moment when MichaelMyLove and I are fundamentally and diametrically opposed. He is a pessimist and I, most emphatically, am not. In literary terms, I am Tigger and Michael is Eeyore. He believes that thinking the worst is the same as planning for it; I am convinced that planning for the worst is the same as causing it.

Typical exchange:

J: “Isn’t it delightful that the winter has been so lovely and mild?”

M: “I suppose so… I bet it means that the summer will be too hot.”

(Some of you in the studio audience may recognize yourselves in this conversation. Were you J or M? It’s okay; I love you either way!)

Most conversations end (and some fights begin!) with the call-and-response, “What if it rains / there’s no parking / they’re sold out / we’re too late”, answered by “Oh, I’m sure it won’t / there will be / it’ll be fine.” But I have always held that, as default settings go, mine, upbeat and cheerful and hopeful, is much the better, simply because it is upbeat and cheerful and hopeful. I’ve only very recently realized that what is irritating is not the mindless pessimism or the mindless optimism; it is the mindlessness. I am too prone to say, “I’m sure it’ll be fine” without having the slightest clue if it will be or making any effort to ensure that it is.  Michael is too apt to say the opposite, but to do the same. The trick would seem to be in talking less and doing more… don’t all my voyages of self-discovery land on that same shore? Ooodelally, a rhyme! How exciting!

We have found poster-children for our respective world views. Michael’s is Nouriel Roubini, an economist who predicted the current crisis and who, unsated by his vindication, continues to predict more and worse crises at every turn, is one of our favorites. His demeanor is so morose and his speaking and writing style is so bleak that he is unintentionally hilarious (the fact that he is always right is beside the point). His 3 most recent articles in Slate are entitled, The Fear Premium, Four Reasons To Stay Gloomy About The Global Economy and Don’t Believe The Good News… I swear, see for yourself! How can you not love him? And read the articles; they are hilarious, as aforementioned and also make good sense.

Mine is Chris Traeger, a fictional character on Parks and Recreation who is the most relentlessly positive and upbeat person in the world. He looks like this… all the time…

This is the man who, when told that he needs to relocate to a town in Indiana where the cows outnumber the people 40-to-1, responds with a sincere, “Sounds amazing!”. And he’s right! You might learn something from the cows! When you lead a life of extreme privilege as I do, nothing is so unpleasant that you can’t make an effort to enjoy it or at least to learn from it. Don’t mistake me, I have always found repellant the idea that people can be redeemed by, and therefore should embrace, suffering or drudgery; I think that this is a lie to keep poor, oppressed people poor and oppressed. However, I can and should apply this attitude to my First World problems. Need to do the dishes (that I chose and own), walk to the store (on my own feet), write 5 medical summaries for clients (who need my help), respond to emails and phone calls (from friends who love me), wake up too early (to go to work)… put the right way, it does… It does sound amazing! Roubini and Eeyore may be right, but even being wrong will not be so bad, provided I do it like Tigger and Traeger.

Solo En Mis Fotos Estas…

Photography is an art which eludes me. I have decided that the trick is in the cropping. Look up from these words and notice just how many tiny landscapes fill your room, the myriad plays of light and shadow, the juxtapositions of color and texture. Somewhere, if you can find them, there are one, two, a hundred possibilities to create a beautiful composition; colored balls of yarn in a green bowl, the shine of silver spoons under a golden light, a candle reflected in 10 glass jars; the trouble is in finding and framing them just so. Enough, but not too much, a little, a lot, inside the lines, outside the box. I am a person who struggles with visuals, so I have never developed any sort of instinct or sense beyond, “Oooh, that’s pretty (click).” But nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am trying to document my life more and you are my poor victims. I hope you don’t mind!

On the one hand, I am writing less now (writing is hard because it requires sustained concentration; not my strong suit), but on the other hand, it is easier to blog more.

Happily, I downloaded the manual for the camera and found out what some of those buttons mean (did you know that cameras these days offer more then Flash, No Flash, Zoom In, Zoom Out? Amazing!), so after today, I am hoping for some improvement. Until then, here’s last night’s walk around Rittenhouse Square.

In the middle of Rittenhouse.

Parc, our favorite faux Parisian brasserie, where we will eat everyday when we win the lottery!

The fancy building where we will live when we win the lottery...

A door, a window, a lamp. Do you see what I mean? Someone with a better eye than myself could perhaps have found the picture here. Any suggestions?

Good night!

My Mind Dances And Leaps!

Whew! It has been a long time! Michael has monopolized the computer this past week, but now, in the grand tradition of project work everywhere, all his separate projects are ending at the same time. Very feast or famine. He is looking forward to having his days to himself to read and philosophize and get back on track with his writing and I am very much looking forward to having my (House) Husband back!

Last weekend we had company and this past weekend has been busy with Passing and Overing and Sedering, so today we have packed a whole weekend into one day. We were foiled by Easter, (we had planned to trade some clothes to the thrift shop, some CDs to the record store and to check out a natural-and-bulk grocery store in Queen’s Village; all closed), but we still managed to make a meal plan for the week,  go grocery shopping and enjoy the spring. I have so many things to write about, like my beautiful cousin’s beautiful children, Michael’s first Seder, the dramatic changes soon to happen at work and my thoughts about a million books and movies, but rather today is going to be a quick shot for springtime for you as well as for myself…

I can't even handle how much I love our street!

Second verse, same as the first...

I could live in blossom season all year round. Loved it in London, loved it in Boston, missed it in NOLA, love it here.

All over South Street and Queen's Village you see people decorating their houses and streets with glass. This looked like bubbles as we came upon it!

I promise I’ll be back soon, but until then, I hope you are having a beautiful day and I’ll talk to you soon, my friends!