No One TOLD ME!

I can watch netflix online now, like all you crazy PC users have been able to. Well, color me red and stick me in the mail. I think my netflix membership is even more worth it, now.

Last night Ryan and I made some sort of weird Asian concoction in the wok I own that was a gift and that I don't really know how to use. The food was good, but the cleanup was not. Today I've
cleaned and cleaned and cleaned, possibly in an effort to avoid writing the paper I should be writing. I'm now spending some time with Garrison Keillor and anticipating having a delicious dinner at Mana with Charlie. Then possibly, The Wrestler?

I hope your weekends are going just as well.

Many Wagons

...and Friday is upon us.

"Already?" I say!

Yesterday, the Governor of Illinois was impeached and the state expressed a collected "phew!" Actually, I imagine the whole country felt that maybe now the lego man would shut up. I mean, he's for real all sorts of redonk. This whole media blitz in the midst of his impeachment trial can only be over redonked by the fact that the mayor of Chicago moved the head of our public transportation system to the head of Chicago Public Schools. I can't quite piece it together in my head as it seems so nonsensical and counterintuitive that I just resign myself to hope that "all things work together for good."

Honestly, in light of my city/state seeming in dissaray I've been spending the week trying to get myself on some sort of track. Pardon me, if I repeat myself (sometimes I can't recall what I've blogged) but this week I've been making a strong attempt to abstain from certain things that aren't healthy in nature as to break the habits they have caused. The most notable may be sugar. I'm not eliminating sugar entirely from my diet, but this week I haven't had a single dessert, but only a few pieces of dark chocolate after lunch. People are giving me a hard time about it, but I have to tell you that I've just been feeling a lot lighter and better through out this week. I even have removed sugar from my coffee and replaced it with plain soy milk. I also have spent some consistent time doing hard workouts and just generally approaching my days from a more physically and mentally place of health. It feels good! If you know me, or follow this blog in any way shape or form, you know that I'm constantly on some sort of quest to get better at life in a lot different ways and some of my attempts are sillier than others... but I do feel that at the age of 27, I'm better at maintaining these sort of resolutions than I ever have been. This is not to say I will not fall off one of my many wagons, but I dunno... in general, I feel good about the way I'm doing things right now, holistically.

Today all is quiet in the office as many are off to a conference. I plan to get more work done today than usual, as I am most productive when not interrupted by others. So, I have Jeff Buckley playing and my list ready.

With regards to this weekend, I am going to try and buckle down with school work. I'm also itching to see The Wrestler before the Oscars. Then I will feel I've done a sufficient job of keeping up this year.

Ness

So, the presentation was a success... I think.
My thought is that the injection of Beyonce videos really added the necessary flava to bring my point home. Or at least the class was given a necessary break in the midst of my boring ness.

Honestly, I'm this whole class has me rethinking my recent plans to forego this degree and move on to the next thing... there is a why not factor in all of this that I'm really struggling with. I find the hardest thing about my twenties is that lack of clarity in decision making and I fear that it wont be until later that I can see some of these things clearly... and then the time will have past. This pressure is always weighing on me.

My latest mantra is to take full advantage of now in preparation for the future. This is why I'm trying to force myself to the gym and the dentist and the chiropractor and saving money and and and... now is the time to do these things and maybe now is the time to finish this masters degree? maybe not?

I have to tell you, I love our President. I love that every day I log onto the nytimes to find out he has made some other sweeping move. Or, sometimes things not so sweeping, but just so far from that which we've seen for the last eight years that I can't help but drop my jaw. Giving his first interview to Arab television seems such a simple idea that is such a positive move for our country and the best part is that I know there are people it makes nervous. I love that. It is bold and focused and continues to make me proud. Also these matters of car makers and emissions... I mean, gimme a break. These laws should have been past years ago and although some call this kicking the auto industry when it is down, I say it makes sense to rebuild in the best way they can.

I'm pretty excited because I just got some books in the mail that I had ordered quite some time ago. One is a book Mary has been excited about called "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink and then also got another Anne Lamott book which I'm sure will be a wonderful read. Anne and I go way back. I attribute her with my ability to think more critically on issues of faith. She is a terrific writer.

Ok! Off I go.

Magic

I've been thinking all weekend about doing a tribute of sorts to my parents and their fifty years of commitment to one another, but I haven't been able to make it happen. This may be because I'm not quite sure how to articulate how incredible I think it is and how much I don't really understand it as a possibility. I think especially at the age of 27, I don't know much about commitment yet and may even generally be one who fears it, so that makes it all the more ... maybe ... magical that they've been able to pull it off.



I guess, selfishly, I am just generally thankful that I have them and more so that I have both of them.

This weekend was low key as I decided it best to actually dig into being a student and spend ample time on a presentation I will be giving today. In the end it all felt really amazing actually. I'm stoked to present on this topic and I feel like I've done a good job in organizing the data so that people will get something out of it.

I'm off to do that now, so until later.

Fifty Years

Today is my parents 50th wedding anniversary. I have much to say about this, but I need a little more time to put it together. This is a capture from our skype conversation about the activities of the day celebrating their 50th year together.

It's pretty amazing, huh?

"xyz"

I'm feeling particularly out of sorts today and I can't quite pinpoint why. It might just be late January blahs, which worries me because the February blahs can only be worse. But, I do my best to remain optimistic as today the sun is shining and truly I don't have much to complain about.

The thing about me is that when I get this way, I start cleaning and making lists. This is how I how I cope because then I at least feel like I am working toward something productive... which I've come more and more to realize that productivity is where I find value. Even in simple productivity, but the notion that at the end of the day I can say I accomplished "xyz," well that is big to me.

So, yesterday I took the time to clean the office, wiping down the desks and tossing any extra papers lying around. This morning I have made a list of both work and personal tasks that I want to accomplish. I plan to cross most out before the day is done.

Also, I got this camera in the mail yesterday:



Which, I'm pretty excited about. I used to have one similar, but it got sand in the lens and wont seem to return to normal. It seems as though most of my cameras are broken and my picture taken has come nearly to a halt, so I thought it was necessary to at least get a point and shoot that will sit in my pocket and be ready for the moment when inspiration hits. I'll just keep waiting.

Yes, we can...

...make blueberry muffins.







No, I kid, but these are the muffins I made in honor of Barack Obama. I don't really "make muffins" so this seemed like a special feat.

I also dressed up for the event.



and! My coworkers and I managed to wrangle excessive amounts of food and stream the whole inaugural event on our computers causing a great echo throughout the halls of the music school. It was a pretty incredible morning.







I don't have much to add the clatter that is the coverage of our new president's inauguration. I can say that I feel proud to be a part of this point in history and I've examined that pride, inquiring if it is stirred by hype or manufactured in anyway but as far as I can tell it is thoroughly mine and absolutely genuine. I couldn't help but doubt the likelihood of this possibility, but I am so incredibly thrilled to see this side of the event. It is true, it is real, it is not just rhetoric, it is a reality and I'm proud of it.

So, all I can say is I'm thankful for a day like today and what a day it is.