Food and flowers, mostly.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007Food has been my bane these past few days. Ever since I bought my gala dress, I've had a million reasons to eat. There was an international dinner, where of course I had to try everything, so I had spicy tofu, (very spicy, and surprisingly soft...it was made by one of my student workers, and she did a marvelous job) lotus root and calamari soup, (Blander, the lotus root was rather neat, especially in texture) jerk chicken, vegatable paella, a lamb curry (I never thought to eat lamb...there's soemthing rather sad about eating lamb, but i wanted to try a curry, and it really was delicious) a marvelous beef stew, creme brulee (oooh) and a magnificent Brazillian Chocolate. I was crammed full, but you don't get real, authentic world cuisine every day!
Then Monday night, we had one of my favorite events: The Honors Dinner. I didn't go last year because no one really knew me, so i thought it might be better to not intrude, also had so, so much to do at home. :( It's the time when we gather together to induct the people into the honors societies and to pass out awards and scholarships. it wouldn't have been so bad (salmon is very good for you, right?) but I pigged out on pizza earlier, because it had such a marvelous, thick crust.
Also, Sunday and last night, mum decided to cook. She's a wonderful cook, but as you know lately there's not been any real sense in cooking things because my father can't eat them, so I wasn't able to make up for my sins by just eating a can of won ton soup. So, today, I decided to fast a little. I just had a couple of cups of tea, and I'll eat when I get home. Alright, alright, I had chocolate, but it's secretaries day, darn it. (My boss was going to take me to lunch, but timing was bad for the GA, who was also invited, poor lady. But isn't that sweet of him? And she was genuinely sad, it seemed, that i was waiting, but it's not fair to her if she can't go.)
...
Well, that was started many days ago. There are many things I think of to say, but I'm going to put them aside so this post doesn't become a novel.
One thing, one that I want to share with you and remember, is this lovely vase of flowers. My GA's, the spectacular and lovely trio that make my life so much better bought these for me for Secretary's day. Aren't they loveliness incarnate?
I got all teary eyed. These are the moments when you feel truly blessed.
In my life, Baby seems to be a new key word. Two of my closest friends and my boss's wife are all having them...one in June, one in July and one in September. It's amazing -- I'm really happy for my friends. I wish I could talk to them more often, and wonder at what point the three letters and a Christmas card theory becomes an excuse rather than a fact.
Last night my internet got cranky, so I tossed it in and watched the 2003 BBC version of The Other Boleyn Girl I am a bit obsessed with it at this moment. It was interestingly filmed, and i always like the immediacy of when they breack down the fourth wall on occassion to comment directly to the audience. Most of all, the romance, though very, very breifly done, between mary and William Stafford has caught my imagination. In this version, he's played by Philip Glenister, who isn't a particularly stereotypically handsome man on the surface. (You may have seen him as Hobbs in Hornblower.) But he's extremly interesting, and as I realized he was falling for Mary I was really rooting for him. They've choosen a very, very pretty man for the 2007 version of the movie that will be coming out. So very pretty and young, but I'm not happy about it, simply because part of the charm is that William isn't extremly handsome, he's not rich, but she falls in love with him anyway. It makes it feel like a real, true, wonderful love match. Eddie Redmayne, on the other hand, is someone I imagine women fall in love with at cafes, without so much as a word. So it sort of...it's not as romantic for me.
And now I can go home!Labels: flowers, food, GA's are love, presents, The Other Boleyn Girl
Permalink Cindy scribed this at 3:03 PM
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I wonder what Snape Drinks his tea in?
Friday, April 20, 2007First: Hello Donna, Sara and Cindy. :)
I don't know if any of you have noticed, but tea mugs make a huge difference. I have two mugs I use the most: A mug with all the presidents of the United States on it (a present from one of my faculty) and a glazed clay mug I bought at the pottery sale last year. The US mug is your common, white on the inside glazed porcelain, very nice. The clay doesn't really. It really changes the flavor, adding an earthiness or it or even softening the edges of the flavor. Sometimes I drink my Earl Grey from it and the tang is a lot gentler. There are some teas I prefer drinking from it...it makes Bigelow's Plantation Mint, always a huge favorite, and brings out the flavor of the mint even more, softening the black tea slightly. On the other hand, I don't like the Numi Jasmin from it as much, because the flavor is so delicate you don't want it to be softened or made earthy.
I do have a small collection of tea cups. I pick them up at yard sales on occasion, but I only rarely use them for tea. I use them for juice, mostly, or put them on the sink to use in the bathroom instead of disposable Dixie cups. I think they are really beautiful, I love the patterns, the shape.
Next Monday marks three weeks left of the semester. I only have a few things left on my list to do. The Honors Dinner Monday, the field trip...whatever odds and ends need to be done for the beginning of the summer semester. I am sad in some ways, because some people will be leaving, some faces i won't see for months on end. but i am also excited. There is something about this time of year that feels like the beginning of something nice, just like Fall does. It won't be, mostly, as teeth grittingly stressful as the last few weeks have been, and everyone is in a better mood. I want to see if i can't plan my summer so there is a balance between me doing all my work quickly and perfectly (which includes making sure everything is organized for Fall.) and finding ways to make it as fun as possible. I also want to walk more. Last summer i tended to just eat at my desk and write during lunch.
I started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone awhile back, and I didn't like it. I thought her writing was terrible, and all sorts of things. I started reading it again, and now I'm hooked. It really is good, isn't it? And now I've allowed myself not to think about it, and to remember that this is for kids, not adults, I've given myself permission to just plunge right into the wonder of it. Really good stuff. I bought Chamber of secrets, and if I keep reading, I might be able to be caught up by book 7.Labels: books, maundering over happy thoughts of summer, tea, work
Permalink Cindy scribed this at 2:41 PM
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talking about mug and teas..make me miss www.teacuppa.com green tea.
I am travelling, can't wait to be home for my cuppa.
Googley-ness
Wednesday, April 18, 2007I updated google alerts yesterday...I'd only put in my normal work a day name, rather than my full name that I write with, and so I didn't know how much my articles and reviews are re-posted, etc. I also forgot, completely, that I had interviewed Samuel R. Donaldson
I also put in Blue Moon as an alert, and found this pair of very cool articles from online archived Sky and Telescope. One debunks the idea that a blue moon is the second moon in a month, but rather, cites a complicated system that was created by a Farmer's Almanac: "At last we have the "Maine rule" for Blue Moons: Seasonal Moon names are assigned near the spring equinox in accordance with the ecclesiastical rules for determining the dates of Easter and Lent. The beginnings of summer, fall, and winter are determined by the dynamical mean Sun. When a season contains four full Moons, the third is called a Blue Moon." The Second concentrates one concentrates on fact and fantasy and is rather cool, citing times in history when the moon was, actually, blue.
Today, Ying is in (That's not her real-real name, either, but that's what she calls herself when she leaves voice mail for me) and typing on a huge Templar book that we're transcribing to put online for the rather cool ORB project. (Online Reference Book for medieval Studies.) I really enjoy having her here, she is intense, but the more I get to know her, the more I understand it. We are both drinking Monkey King Jasmine Green tea from Numi, and it's rather lovely. It smells wonderful, and I find it hard to resist the romantic nature of the words on the package: "I shall be a cloud, you the moon, and this our tea..."
In case you wonder if there's a tea I don't like, I am not sure I'm overly impressed by anything in the Bentley tea box i bought a few months back. There's a weakness in the flavour I can't identify, though their wrapper for the Earl Grey (which looks like this tin...wow, i wish i liked their Earl Grey, I really, really desire this tin...is very pretty.
And look, ma. I actually made the links pretty.
Now to go make certificates for the honors dinner...
PS...yes, the site is grey and not very blue, but I'll change it with a universal template for Blue moon. Just right now, I really love the banner...
Permalink Cindy scribed this at 9:17 AM
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A plea for help...but good help!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007I am so so happy!
I don't know if you remeber this, but I wrote this article:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/exclusive/essays/essaysabout%20neil/filmessay
A few times over the past years, I'd emailed my contact, asking her about updating Neil's article. I didn't hear anything, so I thought maybe: enter negative fussy self doubts here. And therefore did not push the issue.
But I thought, I really, really want to update this article. So, I emailed Neil via the faq...and you know what? He seemed happy to hear from me. (But then, if you know anything at all about Mister Gaiman, he's a very, very nice person.)
Even better, I'm updating the article.
Even better even better?
He's asked me if there are any other articles I want to write.
So, the help: What kind of articles would you want to read about an author, or, in particular, Neil Gaiman?
Any ideas would be awesome. :)Labels: happy, Neil Gaiman, writing
Permalink Cindy scribed this at 3:30 PM
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Tea
Wednesday, April 11, 2007Sometimes I think that I should write a tea blog. Maybe, like this snazzy Candy Blog: http://www.typetive.com/candyblog/ . She gets candy from all over the world. I’d not mind getting tea from all over the world to review…
I’d really like to get my hand on one of these, but I’ll never, ever, ever steep it. http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgmenbr=175633&cgrfnbr=191370 Isn’t that so cool? The idea of people patiently sewing tea leaves together so that, when placed in hot water, they unfurl, bloom, is amazing to me.
The problem is that I think that when we get into things like tea, we feel like if we don’t conform to certain standards, like, if we confess that we drink tea from bags rather than loose, we’re showing ourselves up. We’re saying “I really don’t know about tea/my tastes are totally white trash/I have no clue whatsoever.”
So I tend to avoid that, because I don’t want to be thought of as less cultured. Which is a bit of a laugh, really, I hate pretension in all it’s forms, but sometimes I don’t want to speak because I’m afraid of people’s opinions of my cultural literacy/good sense/taste.
Ah well.
Currently I’m sipping Bigelow’s Raspberry Royale. It’s oversweet, but I think that’s because I over sugared it…so be careful. The raspberry taste is very fine, it actually does taste like berries. It also smells very nice.
My current favorite is still Lipton’s Black Pearl. It’s gorgeous…from the pyramid tea bag series, and it is just such nice flavored black tea…when you have a cup of plain black tea, you want something full and rich. And dang, the name’s just cool. My mother and I always try to imitate Jack Sparrow. Alright, actually, I just do, “It’s the PEARL!” and my mother tolerates it.Labels: tea
Permalink Cindy scribed this at 9:42 AM
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It's always great to write about teas...i love teas as well...but mainly loose tea...my fav would be cassia bark oolong and ginseng oolong from teacuppa.com
What a cool site! They have some brillant choices...thank you!
And...
Tuesday, April 03, 2007Well. I didn’t move on to the next round. Ah, well. I’m not overly upset – don’t get me wrong, when I found out I was seriously depressed for a little less than an hour, I think – mostly because I’m tired of resigning myself to things. Life is a lot about resigning and making do with what you have. I’m a great one for that, and a pretty patient and resolved person, but sometimes it gets to be just far too much to bear.
So that, with all my other various little problems, broke me for a bit tonight. But I was smart. I got away from the internet – because I knew I would talk to people all night about it and just keep living in a sorry for myself feeling daze and did things that would allow my mind to wander away. Mostly this was working on my dollhouse (The roof was being problematic so I ripped the bugger back off and cut a new piece) and watching NCIS. The doll house is also being repainted, so I was just able to day dream.
But now I feel really good. I prayed a bit, and thought a bit while I was getting ready for bed. Here is what is important, writing wise:
1. Blue Moon comes out this October! I need to finish revamping my website, discuss a cover due date with my friend, and figure out things to market the book. (yuck.)
That means Balancing Act comes out next year, hopefully. I am going to beg my publisher to consider keeping the name, because Unbalanced (her choice) does not work for me.
I need to reformat Chocolatier back the way I meant it to be, change the typo of widow to window, and write a cover letter and start pursuing agents.
And finally, start marketing the dang short stories again.
I don’t know what will happen. But I have faith it will all be alright. I feel good again, and hopeful.
And sleepy. But I didn’t want to go to bed without telling you.
Night all, and as always, thank you for your support.
Permalink Cindy scribed this at 11:43 PM
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To feed on hope, to pine with feare and sorrow.
Monday, April 02, 2007I should be updating my book list, in preparation for the book sales that are kicking off, but instead, I feel restless.
One, I’m worried about work, which I’m sure will pass. I’m doing good work, but one always worries that one is not good enough, or not as good as one was. It’s been very busy of late, so many troubles at once that need to be taken care of now.
Two, tomorrow is the big day. I’ve managed not to think of it over much for these past weeks, but now it’s…tomorrow. I can’t say that my life is going to change if the Chocolatier’s Wife makes it to the next level, because there are so many left to go. It’s sort of like the couple of times I had convinced myself that I would win the Lottery, and become very rich. I was sure that it would happen, that my life was going to change, because I needed it to so badly. I wanted it to, so badly. But I did not. (If I did this journal would be called Letters to the World and feature photos from every place I’d traveled.) In a way, since there were over 2,500 entries, it’s the same thing. Almost impossible. Silly to hope on it too much.
But I do. Because it’s the hope that one needs to keep us going. If I make it through the next level, I will still have hope. I will feed off of it and day dream and feel positive. If I don’t, I’ll be sad and a bit low and silly for the whole of the day, and then the next, I will shrug, and say, “Well, I can go on from here.”
And I can. But I still feel nervous.
PS...the above is an Edmund Spenser quote, one of the ones I have posted on my cubicle wall. The quote goes:
Full little knowest thou that hast not tride,
What hell it is in suing long to bide:
To loose good dayes, that might be better spent;
To wast long nights in pensive discontent;
To speed to-day, to be put back to-morrow;
To feed on hope, to pine with feare and sorrow.
Permalink Cindy scribed this at 10:08 PM
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