Dearest All-
What a month it's been. The summer is all about July. August has always had a hint of the coming school year in my mind, and so I've learned to compress summer doings to late June (my birthday week, for example) and July (which, to fellow NLers, means Sailfest and Ocean Beach). By August, I get an itch to start playing soccer and find myself sniffing vinyl ring binders, trying to figure out which one smells the least. That smell sets me off. I swear.
And so I find myself, with August quickly approaching, already taking account of the Summer of 2007. It was indeed very nice. I packed in a quick trip to St. Croix for the 4th of July and a wedding on July 7th. Which makes me so glad as to know that I'm still hip enough to get an invite to the busiest matrimonial day in history (or so CNN would want me to believe). So thank you, Rachel Holt and Tim McGrath for allowing me to share in your festivities on your wonderful day. And true story (having already told it on my online slide show on another competing website), Rachel got an heirloom ring (read: from an antiques shop) and when she read the inscription on the inside, it said "Lucky". That's pretty sweet.
But of course, there was work to be had, and so I left St. Croix after 10 wonderful days of playing with my best puppy Miss Rowan (I'm officially tired of friends calling her a him, so until further notice, I'm adopting the Miss to her full title), hanging out at the beach, having a few ice cold Hammerhead Pale Ales (or several, depending on your sources), seeing my very dear friends Capt. Moe, Martino, Dr. Ian, Mikey, Sandals Mikey (though you need glasses if you need help knowing which Mikey is which, or a lesson in the colors of Crayola), Croney Dem, Guerra Dem, Misty H., Nadene L., Sasha B., Bootzy, Dustino, Mr. Tommy, Norma, Cruzan Ryan, Naked Rasta at Paradise Road, and Fast Hands Richard, aka Bob Marley's crack-addled former bongo player. Is that enough shout-outs? Is the orchestra getting louder? Do I need to wrap it up? Ok. Thank you!
There is something wonderful and special about getting a chance to head home for a vacation. I have always enjoyed heading home to CT for some home cookin', as the saying goes. And the same goes for St.Croix. Tropical islands breed a familiarity and rhythm that is so comfortable. Sunday, go to beach. Pass go. Collect cooler full of beer. And so to fall into that easy cycle of passing time during what is the high holy day of summer, 4th of July, was just icing. If only my trip home was as wonderful and easy.
To keep this post short, let's play "MadLibs". Fill in the blank as needed. Ok:
American Airlines was delayed at San Juan International Airport for *NUMBER* hours because a *NOUN* was *ADJECTIVE*. This led the *NOUN* being late to Miami International Airport. Coincidentally, the airline was very *ADJECTIVE*, having moved my requested seat from Row *NUMBER* to Row *NUMBER*. This greatly *VERB* my ability to get off the plane and onto my connection to Dallas. "*EXCLAMATION*" I yelled, when I found out that my connecting flight was scheduled to leave in *NUMBER* minutes but was still at the *NOUN*. Of course, those of you who have been to MIA know that the airport is a complete, *ADJECTIVE* *NOUN*. I got to my gate just in time to see the *NOUN* close. Of course, American Airlines has no phone number for Customer *NOUN*, so all I can really do is *VERB* and *VERB* to let them know that I'm not a *ADJECTIVE* *NOUN*. Of course, that's why they call American Airlines the *ADJECTIVE ENDING IN -EST* *NOUN* known to man.
Of course, they also lost my luggage. And though it's been two weeks, I have yet to hear from them. I'm demanding compensation as a bumped passenger. They told me they released my seats 10 minutes before the plane doors close, but 10 minutes prior to that occurring, they knew me and 5 others were running across the construction site me and my cohorts here at A&M call "Miami International Drug Emporium, Carnival Sideshow and Plane Refueling Stop". They could have saved everyone the hassle by saying we were bumped. But no. It's really too bad that I have 37,000 frequent flier miles with them. boo!
Hope you are all having a lovely summer! Stay away from American Airlines sales agents.
--Goose
QUICK SHOUT-OUT: Happy Birthday Dear Old Dad!
I Learn About Tires Shout-Out to: My new car tires and my new bike tires! Having blown out my left front car tire on a road trip to Galveston (what a time! fishery conference, dirty beaches, seedy hotels that cause you to contract the grippe... i had a blast! at least during the drive to and fro!) I spent the better portion of a month's salary on 4 new slicks for Claus. Only to discover that my back wheel on my bike had similarly departed its useful life. So today I bought two new street-slick tires for my $20 bike. Total Cost: $78. Which means I need another $25 U-lock to keep my sweet red-walled back tire safe from potential purloiners. I swear, it's getting ridiculous.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
summer in full swing shoutouts!
A quick recap about the previous 24 hours in the life of goose:
with the cubs "in town" (i.e. in arlington, texas to play the texas rangers, owners of the worst record in baseball and current home of famed cubs slugger sammy sosa), me and good friend, classmate, and fellow cubs fan stephen b. of baton rouge, la., decided we should head on up for a game. note: we did know that the trip was 200 miles. each way. and it was a 7:35pm start (that's 19:35 for my european readership). but with an ipod freshly scrubbed clear of meredith brooks (i had this cd? how? why? did i join a militant feminist group in the early noughts?) we zipped up state highways and surprisingly made it to our seats by the bottom of the first. just in time to realize that slamming sammy was up. and only 1 home run short of 600 in his career. it was going to be a great night. we were jazzed for sammy to "uncork" one and the cubs to lambaste the woeful rangers. but such was not our night. though we did get to see sammy hit a deep drive over the right-center wall in the 5th inning to join the hallowed club of aaron, bonds*, ruth, and mays. the place went nuts (and it was easily 50% cubs fans). he even gave a props chest thump to the cubs dugout which we loved. and then of course, just for old times' sake, he struck out his next at-bat. that's our sammy! and the cubs gave up 3 errors, leading to 3 runs and lost the game 7-3. that's our cubbies!
So a double-thump chest bump and finger kiss back to chest back to kiss back to chest and double kiss the victory sign and salute the sky sammy shout-out to sammy sosa. one of my favorite cubs not named mark grace (my all-time number one), ryne sandberg (my all-time number two and perhaps the first major leaguer i tried to emulate in little league before i realized i couldn't field a ground ball), and andre "the hawk" dawson. and doug glanville. but sammy is right there. though with andre patrolling right, i'd put sammy in left.
a quick review of "Great Moments In Baseball" Shout-out to myself: given that i make it to about 1 game a year, given my allegiances and relative distance from wrigley field, i've seen sammy hit his 600th, fernando tatis hit two grand slams in the same inning (both off of chan ho park), seen team usa win a gold medal (against cuba, 2000 olympics, with my rallying cry of "smoke the cubans!") and seen mark mcgwire hit the upper-upper deck at yankee stadium (in his rookie year, i believe). and of course, red ivy in october. i feel pretty fortunate as a fan. and of course, how can i forget mark grace hitting a home run on OUR birthday (we share cake too) to get the cubs to actually win a game during their hideous 1997 season and having my brother, the good Dr. Carr of Guam, catch a foul ball in the 9th (from the bat of bill spiers, i believe). that's my all-time favorite. though seeing sammy go yard last night was pretty neat. for a non-cubs moment.
Gratulerer med dagen! shout-0ut to good friend and founding member of the "we don't like tequila anymore" club, stian n. of tonsberg, norway. i'm certain it was a great birthday and only accentuates the fact that the last two weeks of june and the first week of july is the greatest density of birthday party potential anywhere. to summarize: d. mike and the future mrs. d. beth of cambridge, ma. (19 june), stian n. (20 june), little goose (22 june), brother euge (27 june), goose his oneself (28 june), slider (2 july) nara w. of los angeles (3 july), our nation (4 july). there's literally little opportunity to slow down between all those slices of cake.
and finally, with summer officially here (as noted by unwashed hippies descending upon stonehenge), a big shout-out to summer corn! you must get some! steam it! butter it! eat it! preferably while sitting on a deck or porch with a beverage of your choosing nearby and some music. i'm preferential to anything with a reggae beat, but it doesn't matter. whatever makes these long days of sunlight more enjoyable.
--goose
with the cubs "in town" (i.e. in arlington, texas to play the texas rangers, owners of the worst record in baseball and current home of famed cubs slugger sammy sosa), me and good friend, classmate, and fellow cubs fan stephen b. of baton rouge, la., decided we should head on up for a game. note: we did know that the trip was 200 miles. each way. and it was a 7:35pm start (that's 19:35 for my european readership). but with an ipod freshly scrubbed clear of meredith brooks (i had this cd? how? why? did i join a militant feminist group in the early noughts?) we zipped up state highways and surprisingly made it to our seats by the bottom of the first. just in time to realize that slamming sammy was up. and only 1 home run short of 600 in his career. it was going to be a great night. we were jazzed for sammy to "uncork" one and the cubs to lambaste the woeful rangers. but such was not our night. though we did get to see sammy hit a deep drive over the right-center wall in the 5th inning to join the hallowed club of aaron, bonds*, ruth, and mays. the place went nuts (and it was easily 50% cubs fans). he even gave a props chest thump to the cubs dugout which we loved. and then of course, just for old times' sake, he struck out his next at-bat. that's our sammy! and the cubs gave up 3 errors, leading to 3 runs and lost the game 7-3. that's our cubbies!
So a double-thump chest bump and finger kiss back to chest back to kiss back to chest and double kiss the victory sign and salute the sky sammy shout-out to sammy sosa. one of my favorite cubs not named mark grace (my all-time number one), ryne sandberg (my all-time number two and perhaps the first major leaguer i tried to emulate in little league before i realized i couldn't field a ground ball), and andre "the hawk" dawson. and doug glanville. but sammy is right there. though with andre patrolling right, i'd put sammy in left.
a quick review of "Great Moments In Baseball" Shout-out to myself: given that i make it to about 1 game a year, given my allegiances and relative distance from wrigley field, i've seen sammy hit his 600th, fernando tatis hit two grand slams in the same inning (both off of chan ho park), seen team usa win a gold medal (against cuba, 2000 olympics, with my rallying cry of "smoke the cubans!") and seen mark mcgwire hit the upper-upper deck at yankee stadium (in his rookie year, i believe). and of course, red ivy in october. i feel pretty fortunate as a fan. and of course, how can i forget mark grace hitting a home run on OUR birthday (we share cake too) to get the cubs to actually win a game during their hideous 1997 season and having my brother, the good Dr. Carr of Guam, catch a foul ball in the 9th (from the bat of bill spiers, i believe). that's my all-time favorite. though seeing sammy go yard last night was pretty neat. for a non-cubs moment.
Gratulerer med dagen! shout-0ut to good friend and founding member of the "we don't like tequila anymore" club, stian n. of tonsberg, norway. i'm certain it was a great birthday and only accentuates the fact that the last two weeks of june and the first week of july is the greatest density of birthday party potential anywhere. to summarize: d. mike and the future mrs. d. beth of cambridge, ma. (19 june), stian n. (20 june), little goose (22 june), brother euge (27 june), goose his oneself (28 june), slider (2 july) nara w. of los angeles (3 july), our nation (4 july). there's literally little opportunity to slow down between all those slices of cake.
and finally, with summer officially here (as noted by unwashed hippies descending upon stonehenge), a big shout-out to summer corn! you must get some! steam it! butter it! eat it! preferably while sitting on a deck or porch with a beverage of your choosing nearby and some music. i'm preferential to anything with a reggae beat, but it doesn't matter. whatever makes these long days of sunlight more enjoyable.
--goose
Friday, June 15, 2007
juneteenth shoutouts!
Happy Juneteenth Day to everyone! Juneteenth Day (June 19) remembers the emancipation of slaves in the state of Texas in 1865. I may have to check, but I'm fairly certain that the Emancipation Proclamation had an effective date of 1 January 1863 (yep, it was 1863...). just another item in my growing list of "things about texas, texas history, and texans that makes goose shake his head slowly back and forth with a slight frown." This adds to a list that includes: humongous trucks that don't fit in parking spaces yet are so clean and customized that there's no way they do ranch work with them, carrying knives everywhere, a slice of wonderbread as a side dish with your bbq, keeping your truck running while you eat dinner to keep the a/c going, racing down dead-end streets (like mine) or down a major road where you see a red light waiting, and the gawd-awful heat and humidity. and it's not even summer yet! hurray!
on the bright side, Happy Texas Peach and Watermelon month shout-out to everyone. As an avowed "fruitatarian", I couldn't be more effusive in my praise for the local produce right now. Amazing.
Keeping with the Texas theme: Happy Welcome to the Neighborhood to T3 and Joy S., who have officially moved into their home in Austin. Super excited.
Congratulations and "Go Nittany Lions!" shout-out to my cousin Leah K. of Cheswick, PA. after much research and pestering of her aunt and cousins, I have learned that she will be matriculating to Penn State in the fall. Which means I get to write one more email each week to a relative after each USC win and Penn State loss (or when they play Notre Dame, a win). I was discussing college the other day with some classmates and we all agreed on one thing, of which I now share with Leah: If you do college right, you can stay five years and not irritate your parents! this requires a few study abroads, perhaps changing major or picking up a second, plenty of social obligations, but, and this is the hard part, not letting your GPA look like you're having too much fun... So have fun, and as promised to other members of the Mis clan (many many family members have gone to Penn State), if USC plays PSU in a bowl game, we shall convene and make fun of each other's face paint and in general have a great time.
Best non-newsy blog shout-out to Minter D. of Paris, France. I think the value of his blog is largely due to knowing who Minter is. But perhaps it is more accessible than that. either way, i highly enjoy his thoughts and if you have a moment, check his site out. it's much more futuristic and interactive than mine.
and finally, a "i saw you on tv!" shout-out to dear old dad, who (i believe) i saw at the U.S. Open at Oakmont C.C. yesterday, following Tiger Woods. seeing someone you know on tv never gets old.
on the bright side, Happy Texas Peach and Watermelon month shout-out to everyone. As an avowed "fruitatarian", I couldn't be more effusive in my praise for the local produce right now. Amazing.
Keeping with the Texas theme: Happy Welcome to the Neighborhood to T3 and Joy S., who have officially moved into their home in Austin. Super excited.
Congratulations and "Go Nittany Lions!" shout-out to my cousin Leah K. of Cheswick, PA. after much research and pestering of her aunt and cousins, I have learned that she will be matriculating to Penn State in the fall. Which means I get to write one more email each week to a relative after each USC win and Penn State loss (or when they play Notre Dame, a win). I was discussing college the other day with some classmates and we all agreed on one thing, of which I now share with Leah: If you do college right, you can stay five years and not irritate your parents! this requires a few study abroads, perhaps changing major or picking up a second, plenty of social obligations, but, and this is the hard part, not letting your GPA look like you're having too much fun... So have fun, and as promised to other members of the Mis clan (many many family members have gone to Penn State), if USC plays PSU in a bowl game, we shall convene and make fun of each other's face paint and in general have a great time.
Best non-newsy blog shout-out to Minter D. of Paris, France. I think the value of his blog is largely due to knowing who Minter is. But perhaps it is more accessible than that. either way, i highly enjoy his thoughts and if you have a moment, check his site out. it's much more futuristic and interactive than mine.
and finally, a "i saw you on tv!" shout-out to dear old dad, who (i believe) i saw at the U.S. Open at Oakmont C.C. yesterday, following Tiger Woods. seeing someone you know on tv never gets old.
eureka moments courtesy of yesterday's margarita mixer
some of you may know that somehow or another, i managed to finagle a master's degree from a certain ivy league institution a few years back. more impressively, i managed to pull in an economics component into said degree. the degree of difficulty given my biological science background: off the charts.
anyhow, this spectre of economic thought rouses itself every so often, and usually in manners or places where it should not be welcome. for example, it's one thing to ponder how much money you have in the bank when you go to an atm. no matter how simple that neuro-moment, that was economics (finances at its most essential). that little cheer for a big balance or whinge from a zero before that decimal point is all you need to decide whether or not you're playing the economics game properly. but other times it becomes more difficult.
take, for example, my current plodding. supposedly, i'm designing a method that gives a quick overview to the health of a certain region's commercial fisheries utilizing very basic metrics. very similar to checking your balance at the the atm. i'm not, given my particular dataset (a publicly available data set that has more issues than i care to even worry too much about because it'd lead me to curling up in a fetal position with the shades pulled down and rocking and talking to myself about why i ever started this)... anyhoo, given my particular data set, i can't really do an in-depth analysis any more than you can look at your atm balance and make deep, incisive conclusions about the causes of your financial dire straits. it's either rich or poor. if it's rich, the idea is to say "don't waste your fishery like: *insert favorite over-fished region here* or *insert second favorite over-fished...* you get the idea. if it's poor, you can say, "look, you're wasting your resource. you need to spend some time like immediately to uncover the reasons. usually the reasons for over-exploitation are easy. you have your "we had no idea that we were catching all the fish!" excuse like the northern cod fishery in canada in the late 1980s. you have the "we can't possibly enforce our rules because the fisherman is my cousin/brother/uncle" that likes to play throughout any small island nation or territory. and of course you have the, "we really don't have a choice but to fish and feed our family and community" that is such a sad statement about global inequity as seen through much of the east coast of africa and parts of southeast asia (though to be sure, many fishermen in asia are merely getting paid slave wages to feed the machines that are the hong kong or tokyo markets. it's really poaching... but that's another story...)
anyhow, coming up with this metric has been difficult. relying on this one data set, i've gone through weeks of comparative statistical analyses. all of which left me wondering if i was just re-presenting the published data rather than providing any new input. which brings me to a pow-wow and a spilt margarita.
the summer semester in school has it's ebbs and flows. with most of campus (and the department) currently away, you can really decide your work day in a heart beat. the work remains in front of you, but with no classes to break up your day, you can spend days focusing in on one task or not focusing at all. and i was focused, if a bit depressed about the prospects of my seemingly endless and fruitless endeavors. so one of the bigger wigs in the department invites the students out to a happy hour to meet the new faculty and make the department look socially healthy and not all about research. so of course, i brought my graphs of northern cod with me.
now, there are few people who know how to adequately discuss the points of fishery research in my department (one of the bonuses of working in a geography department instead of say, a wildlife and fisheries department, which we do have...). but that doesn't prevent an exchange of ideas, especially when you are the djork who brings his research to happy hour to a bunch of intellectuals whose minds and mouths have been loosened by tequila and assorted beers. by the end of said happy hour, my graphs were soaked and my cell phone had seemingly been ruined by the copious amounts of alcohol and shaker sweat that covered the table. elbows were sticky and damp. voices that were polite just a moment before were now raging at the lack of foresight the silly canadian fishery ministry had and how they ruined an economy and 40,000 families who depended on cod. the travesty and pointlessness of emptying a sea of its most vital resources. and i think one individual attempted to link the cod fishery crash to the rise of mad cow disease. the incivility of the entire situation required both more margaritas and fresh print-outs. only one of which could occur that evening. but the next day, as i was about to print out my cod fish graph again, i accidentally punched up a list of all the various calculations excel could do to my spreadsheet (i transfer it from excel to the most excellent matlab program after a bit of cleaning). ever curious (one of my more prized character flaws), i spent a good hour just typing in each one to see what it would do.
now usually, my contempt for microsoft excel is high. i use it solely because 1) it's much more user friendly than similar software programs, and 2) i have yet to get my hands on said other software programs. the trick is to know it's limitations and usefulness. which was what i was doing when lo! and behold! it sat in front of me like sign from above! short-term growth! comparative statistics year to year! and so i calculated the geometric mean and the geometric standard deviation (something i don't recommend doing without professional guidance) and a few clicks later, i had revolutionized my analysis into something clearly new and (possibly) worthwhile! and i couldn't have done that without a spilt margarita and some keystroke combination that i still can't replicate.
this was not how they told me science advanced. not at all.
enjoy the u.s. open and the best month for fresh farm fruits!
--goose
anyhow, this spectre of economic thought rouses itself every so often, and usually in manners or places where it should not be welcome. for example, it's one thing to ponder how much money you have in the bank when you go to an atm. no matter how simple that neuro-moment, that was economics (finances at its most essential). that little cheer for a big balance or whinge from a zero before that decimal point is all you need to decide whether or not you're playing the economics game properly. but other times it becomes more difficult.
take, for example, my current plodding. supposedly, i'm designing a method that gives a quick overview to the health of a certain region's commercial fisheries utilizing very basic metrics. very similar to checking your balance at the the atm. i'm not, given my particular dataset (a publicly available data set that has more issues than i care to even worry too much about because it'd lead me to curling up in a fetal position with the shades pulled down and rocking and talking to myself about why i ever started this)... anyhoo, given my particular data set, i can't really do an in-depth analysis any more than you can look at your atm balance and make deep, incisive conclusions about the causes of your financial dire straits. it's either rich or poor. if it's rich, the idea is to say "don't waste your fishery like: *insert favorite over-fished region here* or *insert second favorite over-fished...* you get the idea. if it's poor, you can say, "look, you're wasting your resource. you need to spend some time like immediately to uncover the reasons. usually the reasons for over-exploitation are easy. you have your "we had no idea that we were catching all the fish!" excuse like the northern cod fishery in canada in the late 1980s. you have the "we can't possibly enforce our rules because the fisherman is my cousin/brother/uncle" that likes to play throughout any small island nation or territory. and of course you have the, "we really don't have a choice but to fish and feed our family and community" that is such a sad statement about global inequity as seen through much of the east coast of africa and parts of southeast asia (though to be sure, many fishermen in asia are merely getting paid slave wages to feed the machines that are the hong kong or tokyo markets. it's really poaching... but that's another story...)
anyhow, coming up with this metric has been difficult. relying on this one data set, i've gone through weeks of comparative statistical analyses. all of which left me wondering if i was just re-presenting the published data rather than providing any new input. which brings me to a pow-wow and a spilt margarita.
the summer semester in school has it's ebbs and flows. with most of campus (and the department) currently away, you can really decide your work day in a heart beat. the work remains in front of you, but with no classes to break up your day, you can spend days focusing in on one task or not focusing at all. and i was focused, if a bit depressed about the prospects of my seemingly endless and fruitless endeavors. so one of the bigger wigs in the department invites the students out to a happy hour to meet the new faculty and make the department look socially healthy and not all about research. so of course, i brought my graphs of northern cod with me.
now, there are few people who know how to adequately discuss the points of fishery research in my department (one of the bonuses of working in a geography department instead of say, a wildlife and fisheries department, which we do have...). but that doesn't prevent an exchange of ideas, especially when you are the djork who brings his research to happy hour to a bunch of intellectuals whose minds and mouths have been loosened by tequila and assorted beers. by the end of said happy hour, my graphs were soaked and my cell phone had seemingly been ruined by the copious amounts of alcohol and shaker sweat that covered the table. elbows were sticky and damp. voices that were polite just a moment before were now raging at the lack of foresight the silly canadian fishery ministry had and how they ruined an economy and 40,000 families who depended on cod. the travesty and pointlessness of emptying a sea of its most vital resources. and i think one individual attempted to link the cod fishery crash to the rise of mad cow disease. the incivility of the entire situation required both more margaritas and fresh print-outs. only one of which could occur that evening. but the next day, as i was about to print out my cod fish graph again, i accidentally punched up a list of all the various calculations excel could do to my spreadsheet (i transfer it from excel to the most excellent matlab program after a bit of cleaning). ever curious (one of my more prized character flaws), i spent a good hour just typing in each one to see what it would do.
now usually, my contempt for microsoft excel is high. i use it solely because 1) it's much more user friendly than similar software programs, and 2) i have yet to get my hands on said other software programs. the trick is to know it's limitations and usefulness. which was what i was doing when lo! and behold! it sat in front of me like sign from above! short-term growth! comparative statistics year to year! and so i calculated the geometric mean and the geometric standard deviation (something i don't recommend doing without professional guidance) and a few clicks later, i had revolutionized my analysis into something clearly new and (possibly) worthwhile! and i couldn't have done that without a spilt margarita and some keystroke combination that i still can't replicate.
this was not how they told me science advanced. not at all.
enjoy the u.s. open and the best month for fresh farm fruits!
--goose
Monday, June 04, 2007
the traveling bug, or how I spent a month away
Dearest All,
As many of you know, I spent the past month traveling. Cayman Islands, New York City, France, Ireland, Paris, New York City, Connecticut, New York City, back to Texas. It's absolutely impossible to try to capture what was a tremendous month of work and play. And quite frankly, I'm still a bit exhausted by living out of a suitcase for 28 days. But rest assured, this past month may be the best I've had, start to finish, in a long while. And this includes my 25th birthday month back in 2001 (ye-ouch! that was a while back!)
In lieu of the blow-by-blow (as my mom derides me and my brother's stories), I thought it might be nice to tell you one experience from the entire trip that succinctly sums up the whole shebang...
Once upon a time, traveling through the City of Lights, I got the great idea to take some long exposure photographs of various cultural highlights: the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Les Grand Palais, the River Seine, you get the idea. Being that the French like sub-compact cars (as evidenced by the singular Citroen) that seat at least six, there was plenty of space for my mini-tripod and my growing fear of near-fatal car crash. We hustled 10 minutes into the center of the city to catch the Eiffel Tower's light show, but sadly there were no places to park. Solution: Park at a bus stop. As Fabien P., recently married to the Virgin Islands' own Emily P. nee S. said as a response to my concern of our "Twingo" being towed, "of course it's fine! We are in Paris!"
That, in a nut shell, is France. Centuries old buildings and streets, the art and churches, the gardens, the food, the architecture, the streets, and the je ne sais quoi of the people. No matter how the French are perceived or categorized, I just love them. I had more trouble talking to waiters in Ireland. In Paris, no matter how I tried to work my small grasp of the local language, they immediately switched over to English, which both made ordering easier and dinner more fun.
Of course, France is nothing without its people and their cultural mores. I know us Americans like to either snigger or giggle (or is that the same?) about French and their tolerance of sex in all its forms. You expect the nudity on the television after 11pm. You may even plan on it (I didn't, I swear). But you don't expect: 1) a lady openly browsing the airport porn rack prior to departing from JFK. and you DEFINITELY don't expect: 2) a guy openly carrying a porn DVD onto the metro (their subway) during the morning rush hour. But that's how they roll. There is something, I'm sure, to be said for it. And it might explain why they smoke so much.
All in all, I had a great time in Paris. And though I understand the point that "you can do Paris when you're older, so go to some third world place when you're young", I disagree. Paris needs to be done in your youth. Then you build in time to go back later. It's just that beautiful a place.
And besides which, as I hurtle towards my latest birthday (31...where oh where has it all gone!) I might already qualify for the above point. Damn!
Stay well, be safe, and embrace love this spring and summer 2007,
goose
THE SHOUT-OUTS (JUNE 2007! Edition):
Guinness Is Good For You! Shout-Out to Dublin, The Guinness Brewery, the people of Ireland (especially the bartenders and waiters), and of course Guinness beer. If Paris left me starry eyed, Dublin was for sure just as fun. Any country who has their largest brewery double as the number one tourist attraction is fine with me. And to think that the best weather I had in Europe (I had good weather follow me from the Caymans all the way back to Texas) was in Dublin. Though there is no such thing as a warm rain there. Brr!
Happy Graduation Shout-Out to cousin Leah K. of Cheswick, PA! Further proof that I'm getting old. Unfortunately, there's been no confirmed reports on her matriculating university, but I'm certain she'll do well.
Happy Moving Day Shout-Outs to: 1) Clayt and Kim L. of Juno Beach, FL nee Erie, PA and 2) T3 and Joy S. of Austin, TX nee Jersey City, NJ. I'm doubly excited for their move, though Clayt will have to try hard to score as nice a backyard as he had in Erie. And with T3 and Joy so close, they should start expecting to spend more time with me! It's like we planned this!
Happy Summer Semester Shout-Out to all my fellow students and academics. Summer means travel, and that includes Dr. LW of Riverside, CA (who was fishing with family last weekend), and D. Mike of Cambridge, MA who somehow got to Germany. Throw in my trip and Brother Euge's trip to England and Finland, and its a wonder how the Monastery scored a cumulative 4.0 this past year. And word on the street is that my summer traveling hasn't even gotten started...
June Birthday Shout-Outs to: My Aunt Helen, D.Mike and Beth (and Garfield), Brother Euge, and oh, I don't know... hmm... who could it be?!!! (You definitely should get to Texas for the party, kids...)
As many of you know, I spent the past month traveling. Cayman Islands, New York City, France, Ireland, Paris, New York City, Connecticut, New York City, back to Texas. It's absolutely impossible to try to capture what was a tremendous month of work and play. And quite frankly, I'm still a bit exhausted by living out of a suitcase for 28 days. But rest assured, this past month may be the best I've had, start to finish, in a long while. And this includes my 25th birthday month back in 2001 (ye-ouch! that was a while back!)
In lieu of the blow-by-blow (as my mom derides me and my brother's stories), I thought it might be nice to tell you one experience from the entire trip that succinctly sums up the whole shebang...
Once upon a time, traveling through the City of Lights, I got the great idea to take some long exposure photographs of various cultural highlights: the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Les Grand Palais, the River Seine, you get the idea. Being that the French like sub-compact cars (as evidenced by the singular Citroen) that seat at least six, there was plenty of space for my mini-tripod and my growing fear of near-fatal car crash. We hustled 10 minutes into the center of the city to catch the Eiffel Tower's light show, but sadly there were no places to park. Solution: Park at a bus stop. As Fabien P., recently married to the Virgin Islands' own Emily P. nee S. said as a response to my concern of our "Twingo" being towed, "of course it's fine! We are in Paris!"
That, in a nut shell, is France. Centuries old buildings and streets, the art and churches, the gardens, the food, the architecture, the streets, and the je ne sais quoi of the people. No matter how the French are perceived or categorized, I just love them. I had more trouble talking to waiters in Ireland. In Paris, no matter how I tried to work my small grasp of the local language, they immediately switched over to English, which both made ordering easier and dinner more fun.
Of course, France is nothing without its people and their cultural mores. I know us Americans like to either snigger or giggle (or is that the same?) about French and their tolerance of sex in all its forms. You expect the nudity on the television after 11pm. You may even plan on it (I didn't, I swear). But you don't expect: 1) a lady openly browsing the airport porn rack prior to departing from JFK. and you DEFINITELY don't expect: 2) a guy openly carrying a porn DVD onto the metro (their subway) during the morning rush hour. But that's how they roll. There is something, I'm sure, to be said for it. And it might explain why they smoke so much.
All in all, I had a great time in Paris. And though I understand the point that "you can do Paris when you're older, so go to some third world place when you're young", I disagree. Paris needs to be done in your youth. Then you build in time to go back later. It's just that beautiful a place.
And besides which, as I hurtle towards my latest birthday (31...where oh where has it all gone!) I might already qualify for the above point. Damn!
Stay well, be safe, and embrace love this spring and summer 2007,
goose
THE SHOUT-OUTS (JUNE 2007! Edition):
Guinness Is Good For You! Shout-Out to Dublin, The Guinness Brewery, the people of Ireland (especially the bartenders and waiters), and of course Guinness beer. If Paris left me starry eyed, Dublin was for sure just as fun. Any country who has their largest brewery double as the number one tourist attraction is fine with me. And to think that the best weather I had in Europe (I had good weather follow me from the Caymans all the way back to Texas) was in Dublin. Though there is no such thing as a warm rain there. Brr!
Happy Graduation Shout-Out to cousin Leah K. of Cheswick, PA! Further proof that I'm getting old. Unfortunately, there's been no confirmed reports on her matriculating university, but I'm certain she'll do well.
Happy Moving Day Shout-Outs to: 1) Clayt and Kim L. of Juno Beach, FL nee Erie, PA and 2) T3 and Joy S. of Austin, TX nee Jersey City, NJ. I'm doubly excited for their move, though Clayt will have to try hard to score as nice a backyard as he had in Erie. And with T3 and Joy so close, they should start expecting to spend more time with me! It's like we planned this!
Happy Summer Semester Shout-Out to all my fellow students and academics. Summer means travel, and that includes Dr. LW of Riverside, CA (who was fishing with family last weekend), and D. Mike of Cambridge, MA who somehow got to Germany. Throw in my trip and Brother Euge's trip to England and Finland, and its a wonder how the Monastery scored a cumulative 4.0 this past year. And word on the street is that my summer traveling hasn't even gotten started...
June Birthday Shout-Outs to: My Aunt Helen, D.Mike and Beth (and Garfield), Brother Euge, and oh, I don't know... hmm... who could it be?!!! (You definitely should get to Texas for the party, kids...)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
mayday shout-outs!
on to the shout-outs!
happy Earth Day Five Shout-Out to my wondrous friends Brycer D. (a "Mav" statused friend... more below) of Palo Alto, CA and Sylvia F. of Harlem, NY. though my non-phone-callingness has been at all-time highs, i do wish that i was there with you two in SF last weekend. oddly enough, there was a conference there that i could have been at, but then i would have returned to school having lost that entire week (and most likely several important brain cells)...
Happy Tagalong for Tagalogs Shout-Out to my excellently awesome cousin Marissa K. of Cheswick, PA, who upped the ante this year and sent roughly 8 boxes of girl scout cookies to me, through her mom (no doubt) Trish K. not only did i score some bonus points (by giving a few boxes to the ladies in the main office!) but i have secured my peanut butter fix well into november, there's so many boxes!
Don't You Wish You Got To Know Cricket? Shout-Out to excellent friend and fellow sportsnut Sasha B. of St. Croix, VI. sent back from her trip to Antigua and Barbuda to see World Cup Cricket were two t-shirts, stylishly meant for me and Brother Euge. We are big fans and can't thank you enough, even though based on how the Windies (poorly) and Australia (unbeaten) have played, perhaps I should have opted for an Aussie jersey? anyhoo, much love and we wish we could have been there! especially since the "party lawn" looked like the place to be for friends and Hairoun Beer!
Supplemental Tagalog Shout-Out to my dearest and Rowan the Dog from St. Croix, VI for accenting the package of cricket t-shirts with MORE TAGALOG COOKIES!!! between that and the rubber chicken keychain, i've been rubbing my chin and trying to figure out where i deserve such inspirational care packages. i can't wait to see you!
Most Excellent Wingman Shout-Out to good friend and member of "Mav" Status (a high, holy honor I have bestowed only to the best and greatest of friends) Dr. Josh C, DDS of "The Valley", CA. after many a missing moons from having lost contact (i should have known that your AOL account wouldn't be the best form of communication...) we have been re-connected, courtesy a plea delivered for me through dear friend and fishingmaster Stef H. of Torrance, CA. It seems like just yesterday we were failing our radioactive materials handling certification together. and look at you, a board-certified dentist AND commissioned by the US Navy. and no more bleached tips! I could not be more thrilled to see how the 2000's have been to one of my great co-conspirators to many of my grandest moments at USC.
Happy "What is In the Mis Family Genetics?!!!" Shout-Out to my superb cousin Beth L. and her husband (and provider of my cherished USC soccer t-shirt) Tom, of Pittsburgh, PA. earlier this month (5 April 2007), they welcomed the newest additions to the West Pennsylvania Mis': twins Mary Margaret L. and Matthew Everett L. mom and tots are doing fine and i couldn't be more thrilled. just for reference, the family now has 3 sets of twins and 1 set of triplets. we are so going to own any inter-family reunion softball game in the greater Washington, PA county for YEARS!!!
And finally, since i know many of you will forget, Happy Mother's Day Shout-Out to each of you. Don't forget! It's always the Sunday after USC graduation. Nice little way to remember. If only we could remember that day that was (owing to the party the night before...)
--goose
happy Earth Day Five Shout-Out to my wondrous friends Brycer D. (a "Mav" statused friend... more below) of Palo Alto, CA and Sylvia F. of Harlem, NY. though my non-phone-callingness has been at all-time highs, i do wish that i was there with you two in SF last weekend. oddly enough, there was a conference there that i could have been at, but then i would have returned to school having lost that entire week (and most likely several important brain cells)...
Happy Tagalong for Tagalogs Shout-Out to my excellently awesome cousin Marissa K. of Cheswick, PA, who upped the ante this year and sent roughly 8 boxes of girl scout cookies to me, through her mom (no doubt) Trish K. not only did i score some bonus points (by giving a few boxes to the ladies in the main office!) but i have secured my peanut butter fix well into november, there's so many boxes!
Don't You Wish You Got To Know Cricket? Shout-Out to excellent friend and fellow sportsnut Sasha B. of St. Croix, VI. sent back from her trip to Antigua and Barbuda to see World Cup Cricket were two t-shirts, stylishly meant for me and Brother Euge. We are big fans and can't thank you enough, even though based on how the Windies (poorly) and Australia (unbeaten) have played, perhaps I should have opted for an Aussie jersey? anyhoo, much love and we wish we could have been there! especially since the "party lawn" looked like the place to be for friends and Hairoun Beer!
Supplemental Tagalog Shout-Out to my dearest and Rowan the Dog from St. Croix, VI for accenting the package of cricket t-shirts with MORE TAGALOG COOKIES!!! between that and the rubber chicken keychain, i've been rubbing my chin and trying to figure out where i deserve such inspirational care packages. i can't wait to see you!
Most Excellent Wingman Shout-Out to good friend and member of "Mav" Status (a high, holy honor I have bestowed only to the best and greatest of friends) Dr. Josh C, DDS of "The Valley", CA. after many a missing moons from having lost contact (i should have known that your AOL account wouldn't be the best form of communication...) we have been re-connected, courtesy a plea delivered for me through dear friend and fishingmaster Stef H. of Torrance, CA. It seems like just yesterday we were failing our radioactive materials handling certification together. and look at you, a board-certified dentist AND commissioned by the US Navy. and no more bleached tips! I could not be more thrilled to see how the 2000's have been to one of my great co-conspirators to many of my grandest moments at USC.
Happy "What is In the Mis Family Genetics?!!!" Shout-Out to my superb cousin Beth L. and her husband (and provider of my cherished USC soccer t-shirt) Tom, of Pittsburgh, PA. earlier this month (5 April 2007), they welcomed the newest additions to the West Pennsylvania Mis': twins Mary Margaret L. and Matthew Everett L. mom and tots are doing fine and i couldn't be more thrilled. just for reference, the family now has 3 sets of twins and 1 set of triplets. we are so going to own any inter-family reunion softball game in the greater Washington, PA county for YEARS!!!
And finally, since i know many of you will forget, Happy Mother's Day Shout-Out to each of you. Don't forget! It's always the Sunday after USC graduation. Nice little way to remember. If only we could remember that day that was (owing to the party the night before...)
--goose
mayday! mayday! mayday!
dearest all-
there's so much going on, so much to say, so little time to do it, that i'm either going to forget half of what i got to say or i'm going to make this entry so long that my four remaining loyal readers will die trying to get to the intermission...
seriously, this missive has lots. and i'd be remiss if i didn't at least touch on the virginia tech tragedy and how it's shock waves were felt here on our little campus in texas. foremost, such a senseless tragedy and though the closest connection i have to a hokie is a fellow 1st year phd who finished his master's there last year, it felt entirely personal and i experienced some very raw, emotional moments. classmates discussed it and felt a little less safe for at least a few days and though the shooter (and i'm with dick cavett who says we shouldn't name the shooter. his columns on the new york times are a good read, if you have access to the special nytimes all-access membership) was surely disturbingly unique, we agreed that many elements of our culture and times have some contribution that have coarsened the joyful life. even video games, which sounds ludicrous. but if nfl players use "madden '08" to learn defensive schemes and race car drivers use "nascar 2000" or whatever and a rather large number of professional gamblers hone their skills on-line, it's not so far-fetched to think that the dark recesses of human capabilities could do the same. but with so many millions of people who don't take that leap and re-live their gaming moments, you can't lay the responsibility on anyone but the actor involved. and though i think that guns are a bit too ubiquitous in our national dialogue and fabric, you don't have to tell me that banning guns won't prevent murders just like speed limits don't prevent speeding. human behavior, being what it is, drives towards selfishness and self-grandeur and importance, and in certain moments and people, self-delusion. the thing i do to prevent this further coarsening is to strive towards being a better neighbor, friend, colleague, and brother. this strengthens shared bonds and i can't imagine even on the most happy of normal days, such an outlook can't improve that sunshine and warm breeze.
but it's such a stomach punch of a tragedy that i am loathe to paint some sense onto any of it in terms of the scar it left on the collective conscience. it was and will always be wholly senseless. and i grieve and hope that it sows no more seeds of delusional self-grandeur and vague notions of oppression and alienation.
you see, not only did the va-tech tragedy occur, but a week prior, another senseless killing occurred here. it wasn't nearly as senseless (apparently large amounts of alcohol, ego, and testosterone were involved in the stabbing death outside a bar here) but it still, to the by-stander, loosens the necessary feeling that our world is good and safe and that the biggest fear we have each day waking up is whether the starbucks line is too long to get to work on-time. so now, instead of celebrating the end of semester like any good college student, my first thought it, "who carries a knife or gun?" and i know that a popular sentiment around this particular campus is that the va-tech and v-bar (oddly enough) incidents have given at least a certain percent of people a reason to carry a gun around when they previously would have left it in their car/truck or home. and that is unsettling to me.
somehow, we encourage the selfish, instinctual response when anyone who has lost someone due to senseless violence or a poorly shot bullet or some late-night accident that wasn't their fault. it's a lot easier to arm yourself than try to improve the world. what we should be doing, if we were led by a sense of altruism, should be using those raw moments to tighten our common bond as humans. instead, now everyone is sizing up their quiet classmate as crazy, deciding that their girlfriend is worth shooting a guy over, yelling epithets at the top of their lungs on-line and in the real world, or dismissing people into rough boxes of "with us" or "against us".
call me naive. call me rosy. call me crazy. but you can't tell me that we'd be worse off with a little more civility, respect, courtesy, and empathy in our daily lives. you know, that stuff you were taught in kindergarten. and made your mom so proud she hung it on the fridge for all to see. i know optimism can be a weakness (and a blind one at that), but if my #1 mom describes a certain welcoming blue shade of sky using my name as the apt modifier, maybe we can all find a bit of peace and reassurance in a blue sky. that is my hope today.
*INTERMISSION*
(cue Pam Hall's "Our Day Will Come")
ahh, i feel much better. i do apologize that it has been a while since my last post. mind you, there's a good reason:
I AM GOING TO THE CAYMAN ISLANDS NEXT WEEK!!!! yes! research has begun. i couldn't be more excited unless they were giving me a panda and a winning lotto ticket when i land. i'll be down there for 8 days-ish and then i depart for a long-awaited vacation to europe (france and ireland). suppposedly, office-mate, room-mate and fellow drunk monk brother euge will be in london then and we will try to rendezvous at a dublin bar. or maybe all of them. who knows! the trip should be lovely. i'm most excited. there's the birthday party of my sis-in-law in paris (including a moment to see the super-twins and brother, the good dr. carr, president-ex-oficio of "the dad club"). then me and my lovely travel to west france to see her friend from the islands get married to a nice parisian. and then we bail to dublin, where i will badger her to get her irish passport and we will enjoy horse racing, trinity college, and the river liffey. and i will try to get a nice irish souvenir for myself and of course my rockin' god-son little goose who will be turning a magical 9 upon my return (it's a good year!). then i will spend an extra week up in new england before returning to texas to start up the air conditioner in what life longers call "texas summer".
of course, in preparation for the trip, i've condensed my last 7 weeks of school into 4 weeks. and i'm on week 4 right now. to writ: 3 finals, 1 presentation, 4 homeworks, 1 project, 1 proposal, and supposedly 1 paper. as of this moment (11:07 thursday local time) i have 1 homework, 3 finals left. and a celebratory bbq when i hit the finish line. to say that i've never worked harder for such a time would neglect all those summers cleaning leaves from under the bushes or weeding and hoeing my #1 mom's garden. but it's close. though honestly, i'd rather be weedwhacking underneath the grape vines than doing mat-lab for four days straight.
but now it's time for class. i'll have shout-outs later today. after all, it's girl scout cookie season and with those tagalogs goes the requisite shout-out to my cousin marissa.
now go enjoy a nice sunny day,
--goose
there's so much going on, so much to say, so little time to do it, that i'm either going to forget half of what i got to say or i'm going to make this entry so long that my four remaining loyal readers will die trying to get to the intermission...
seriously, this missive has lots. and i'd be remiss if i didn't at least touch on the virginia tech tragedy and how it's shock waves were felt here on our little campus in texas. foremost, such a senseless tragedy and though the closest connection i have to a hokie is a fellow 1st year phd who finished his master's there last year, it felt entirely personal and i experienced some very raw, emotional moments. classmates discussed it and felt a little less safe for at least a few days and though the shooter (and i'm with dick cavett who says we shouldn't name the shooter. his columns on the new york times are a good read, if you have access to the special nytimes all-access membership) was surely disturbingly unique, we agreed that many elements of our culture and times have some contribution that have coarsened the joyful life. even video games, which sounds ludicrous. but if nfl players use "madden '08" to learn defensive schemes and race car drivers use "nascar 2000" or whatever and a rather large number of professional gamblers hone their skills on-line, it's not so far-fetched to think that the dark recesses of human capabilities could do the same. but with so many millions of people who don't take that leap and re-live their gaming moments, you can't lay the responsibility on anyone but the actor involved. and though i think that guns are a bit too ubiquitous in our national dialogue and fabric, you don't have to tell me that banning guns won't prevent murders just like speed limits don't prevent speeding. human behavior, being what it is, drives towards selfishness and self-grandeur and importance, and in certain moments and people, self-delusion. the thing i do to prevent this further coarsening is to strive towards being a better neighbor, friend, colleague, and brother. this strengthens shared bonds and i can't imagine even on the most happy of normal days, such an outlook can't improve that sunshine and warm breeze.
but it's such a stomach punch of a tragedy that i am loathe to paint some sense onto any of it in terms of the scar it left on the collective conscience. it was and will always be wholly senseless. and i grieve and hope that it sows no more seeds of delusional self-grandeur and vague notions of oppression and alienation.
you see, not only did the va-tech tragedy occur, but a week prior, another senseless killing occurred here. it wasn't nearly as senseless (apparently large amounts of alcohol, ego, and testosterone were involved in the stabbing death outside a bar here) but it still, to the by-stander, loosens the necessary feeling that our world is good and safe and that the biggest fear we have each day waking up is whether the starbucks line is too long to get to work on-time. so now, instead of celebrating the end of semester like any good college student, my first thought it, "who carries a knife or gun?" and i know that a popular sentiment around this particular campus is that the va-tech and v-bar (oddly enough) incidents have given at least a certain percent of people a reason to carry a gun around when they previously would have left it in their car/truck or home. and that is unsettling to me.
somehow, we encourage the selfish, instinctual response when anyone who has lost someone due to senseless violence or a poorly shot bullet or some late-night accident that wasn't their fault. it's a lot easier to arm yourself than try to improve the world. what we should be doing, if we were led by a sense of altruism, should be using those raw moments to tighten our common bond as humans. instead, now everyone is sizing up their quiet classmate as crazy, deciding that their girlfriend is worth shooting a guy over, yelling epithets at the top of their lungs on-line and in the real world, or dismissing people into rough boxes of "with us" or "against us".
call me naive. call me rosy. call me crazy. but you can't tell me that we'd be worse off with a little more civility, respect, courtesy, and empathy in our daily lives. you know, that stuff you were taught in kindergarten. and made your mom so proud she hung it on the fridge for all to see. i know optimism can be a weakness (and a blind one at that), but if my #1 mom describes a certain welcoming blue shade of sky using my name as the apt modifier, maybe we can all find a bit of peace and reassurance in a blue sky. that is my hope today.
*INTERMISSION*
(cue Pam Hall's "Our Day Will Come")
ahh, i feel much better. i do apologize that it has been a while since my last post. mind you, there's a good reason:
I AM GOING TO THE CAYMAN ISLANDS NEXT WEEK!!!! yes! research has begun. i couldn't be more excited unless they were giving me a panda and a winning lotto ticket when i land. i'll be down there for 8 days-ish and then i depart for a long-awaited vacation to europe (france and ireland). suppposedly, office-mate, room-mate and fellow drunk monk brother euge will be in london then and we will try to rendezvous at a dublin bar. or maybe all of them. who knows! the trip should be lovely. i'm most excited. there's the birthday party of my sis-in-law in paris (including a moment to see the super-twins and brother, the good dr. carr, president-ex-oficio of "the dad club"). then me and my lovely travel to west france to see her friend from the islands get married to a nice parisian. and then we bail to dublin, where i will badger her to get her irish passport and we will enjoy horse racing, trinity college, and the river liffey. and i will try to get a nice irish souvenir for myself and of course my rockin' god-son little goose who will be turning a magical 9 upon my return (it's a good year!). then i will spend an extra week up in new england before returning to texas to start up the air conditioner in what life longers call "texas summer".
of course, in preparation for the trip, i've condensed my last 7 weeks of school into 4 weeks. and i'm on week 4 right now. to writ: 3 finals, 1 presentation, 4 homeworks, 1 project, 1 proposal, and supposedly 1 paper. as of this moment (11:07 thursday local time) i have 1 homework, 3 finals left. and a celebratory bbq when i hit the finish line. to say that i've never worked harder for such a time would neglect all those summers cleaning leaves from under the bushes or weeding and hoeing my #1 mom's garden. but it's close. though honestly, i'd rather be weedwhacking underneath the grape vines than doing mat-lab for four days straight.
but now it's time for class. i'll have shout-outs later today. after all, it's girl scout cookie season and with those tagalogs goes the requisite shout-out to my cousin marissa.
now go enjoy a nice sunny day,
--goose
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
april showers and powers
dearest all-
so we've made it to the home stretch of my 7th first year of school! huzzah! and quite a first year it's been. but there's lots more this month, and suddenly it doesn't help that april is much shorter than march ("ask me about my 'march as the longest month in the world' theory!")
here's a brief list of things left on the old "to-do" list:
1) 2 data methods homeworks (this is the same class where, after spending about 10 days straight working on the first homework, having roughly 3 breakdowns, having my first second thought on heading back to school, i turned in a 20-page masterpiece. with much thanks to pretty much everyone i went to help for.)
2) 1 data methods take-home final
3) like about 3 GIS projects
4) like about 1 GIS paper
5) two finals
6) one dissertation proposal
7) one dissertation proposal presentation
and there's some things missing too. and did i mention this all gets done by 1 may 2007?
and why 1 may 2007? well... i'm going to the cayman islands! i'm going to the cayman islands!
as mentioned in this space, i mentioned that i "might be" going to the cayman islands the first week of may to do a little practice research. sound exciting? it is! here's the game plan: fly from texass to nyc on 2 may. do something there. on 3 may (5:45am!!! agh!) fly to cayman islands. do SCIENCE! until about 8 may. fly back to nyc. meet special co-traveler and head to france to start my summer vacation! yeah!
and that's not all! after hanging out with the clan in paris (sis-in-law better dr. carr is celebrating her birthday there that weekend!) and heading to a chateau for a wedding, we're shuffling north to ireland (where we may meet up with brother euge who is kicking off his summer research by going to london for some archiving...) and then it's back to france and then nyc. now beautiful co-traveler heads back home to st.croix where the good puppy rowan awaits and i kick around for a few more days in new england with the clan some more. i'm guessing some sailing and golf. when i finally get back to texass, may will be over and my summer work schedule will begin.
do i know what i'm doing this summer? no. am i heading to antigua? no idea. am i getting paid? yes!
so to boil it down, i've gone and condensed roughly 7 weeks of classwork into about 4 just so that i can sip lattes on the siene with my brother and his family, whisper sweet nothings and hold hands with the beautiful co-traveler along the left bank, kayak in the bordeaux region, go diving for "work" in the cayman islands, drink with brother euge in the homeland, and hang out with family and friends in new england (including a supposed memorial day party with slider and wonderful wife jenna r. of honolulu, hi). is this all a lot and a bit confusing? yes and yes! but i'm looking forward to it...
if you want postcards, now's the time to send me a quick note!
hugs and kisses-
goose
APRIL FOOL'S SHOUT-OUTS:
happy NFW!!! shout-out to T3 and his uber-awesome wife Joy S. of Jersey City, NJ! big news (and this considering that tough tyson won $50k on "millionaire" last month) is that he's moving to austin, texas (note the spelling difference between there and the rest of texass...) the pilot side of life will be based at the san antonio airport, but will live in austin so joy can work on her master's degree at UT. the college roommate side of life, and his roommate will finally have a reason to hit up austin, easily described by several people as "the only reason to go to texas". to say the least, i'm looking forward to seeing them (including this weekend while they house shop...)
happy B2B champs shout-out to Big Moe of St. Croix, VI. the UFlorida alum and huge gator fan was notably excited about the ncaa win over the weekend. based on how gadofful the games were, he might be the only one. i can't recall being so unexcited about a final four in a long time. though i am already looking forward to next year for usc. and maybe for the first time in 15 years (it has been that long, mr. harold miner...) usc basketball might have some swagger.
happy "go retire you blowhard!" shout-out to cbs analyst billy packer. though i have friends inside the sports journalism industry (including a few who are just now beginning to make the national scene...), i never get why the crappiest guys get the biggest events. i understand that when fox shows the world series, we need to have fox correspondents, but does it have to be joe buck and tim mccarver? same goes for cbs final four. billy packer is horrid. when will sports producers get that they should get some enthusiasm and excitement on the television that matches the excitement me and my friends have for the events. instead, we get vermin and self-promoters. solution? why not do an "american idol" style competition where we can vote for the best? i think that's fair and would drum up some publicity.
happy "welcome back spring time!" to all my fellow cubs fans! following the garbage that was the final four blow-outs, finally we can turn to the beautiful pasttime that is cubs baseball. and though they lost on opening day, they did win today and are still on pace for .500!!! which would be a godsend after last season's trainwreck. so, dear old dad, good dr. carr, bryan g., lech n., and stephen b., CUBS IN 2007!!!
happy "1st birthday and last one in erie, pa!" to little man atticus l. of aforementioned erie, pa. his pops, dear friend clayter l. is taking a job in florida, which means that they suffered through a full erie winter before leaving. the photos of said party were excellent and, between his and the nieces, it looks like all the cool kids are using blue frosting mudmasks this season!
and finally, if you want a good gift idea for your mom (and you should!) i can't recommend proflowers.com enough. now i know not all mom's are gardeners, and i know that i usually don't prescribe people to do anything, but the operation is class-act. my mom said the packaging was very classy and they actually (without any prompting from me) sent me a note on the day it was delivered so i could call home and win the brownie points while they were still hot from the oven!
so we've made it to the home stretch of my 7th first year of school! huzzah! and quite a first year it's been. but there's lots more this month, and suddenly it doesn't help that april is much shorter than march ("ask me about my 'march as the longest month in the world' theory!")
here's a brief list of things left on the old "to-do" list:
1) 2 data methods homeworks (this is the same class where, after spending about 10 days straight working on the first homework, having roughly 3 breakdowns, having my first second thought on heading back to school, i turned in a 20-page masterpiece. with much thanks to pretty much everyone i went to help for.)
2) 1 data methods take-home final
3) like about 3 GIS projects
4) like about 1 GIS paper
5) two finals
6) one dissertation proposal
7) one dissertation proposal presentation
and there's some things missing too. and did i mention this all gets done by 1 may 2007?
and why 1 may 2007? well... i'm going to the cayman islands! i'm going to the cayman islands!
as mentioned in this space, i mentioned that i "might be" going to the cayman islands the first week of may to do a little practice research. sound exciting? it is! here's the game plan: fly from texass to nyc on 2 may. do something there. on 3 may (5:45am!!! agh!) fly to cayman islands. do SCIENCE! until about 8 may. fly back to nyc. meet special co-traveler and head to france to start my summer vacation! yeah!
and that's not all! after hanging out with the clan in paris (sis-in-law better dr. carr is celebrating her birthday there that weekend!) and heading to a chateau for a wedding, we're shuffling north to ireland (where we may meet up with brother euge who is kicking off his summer research by going to london for some archiving...) and then it's back to france and then nyc. now beautiful co-traveler heads back home to st.croix where the good puppy rowan awaits and i kick around for a few more days in new england with the clan some more. i'm guessing some sailing and golf. when i finally get back to texass, may will be over and my summer work schedule will begin.
do i know what i'm doing this summer? no. am i heading to antigua? no idea. am i getting paid? yes!
so to boil it down, i've gone and condensed roughly 7 weeks of classwork into about 4 just so that i can sip lattes on the siene with my brother and his family, whisper sweet nothings and hold hands with the beautiful co-traveler along the left bank, kayak in the bordeaux region, go diving for "work" in the cayman islands, drink with brother euge in the homeland, and hang out with family and friends in new england (including a supposed memorial day party with slider and wonderful wife jenna r. of honolulu, hi). is this all a lot and a bit confusing? yes and yes! but i'm looking forward to it...
if you want postcards, now's the time to send me a quick note!
hugs and kisses-
goose
APRIL FOOL'S SHOUT-OUTS:
happy NFW!!! shout-out to T3 and his uber-awesome wife Joy S. of Jersey City, NJ! big news (and this considering that tough tyson won $50k on "millionaire" last month) is that he's moving to austin, texas (note the spelling difference between there and the rest of texass...) the pilot side of life will be based at the san antonio airport, but will live in austin so joy can work on her master's degree at UT. the college roommate side of life, and his roommate will finally have a reason to hit up austin, easily described by several people as "the only reason to go to texas". to say the least, i'm looking forward to seeing them (including this weekend while they house shop...)
happy B2B champs shout-out to Big Moe of St. Croix, VI. the UFlorida alum and huge gator fan was notably excited about the ncaa win over the weekend. based on how gadofful the games were, he might be the only one. i can't recall being so unexcited about a final four in a long time. though i am already looking forward to next year for usc. and maybe for the first time in 15 years (it has been that long, mr. harold miner...) usc basketball might have some swagger.
happy "go retire you blowhard!" shout-out to cbs analyst billy packer. though i have friends inside the sports journalism industry (including a few who are just now beginning to make the national scene...), i never get why the crappiest guys get the biggest events. i understand that when fox shows the world series, we need to have fox correspondents, but does it have to be joe buck and tim mccarver? same goes for cbs final four. billy packer is horrid. when will sports producers get that they should get some enthusiasm and excitement on the television that matches the excitement me and my friends have for the events. instead, we get vermin and self-promoters. solution? why not do an "american idol" style competition where we can vote for the best? i think that's fair and would drum up some publicity.
happy "welcome back spring time!" to all my fellow cubs fans! following the garbage that was the final four blow-outs, finally we can turn to the beautiful pasttime that is cubs baseball. and though they lost on opening day, they did win today and are still on pace for .500!!! which would be a godsend after last season's trainwreck. so, dear old dad, good dr. carr, bryan g., lech n., and stephen b., CUBS IN 2007!!!
happy "1st birthday and last one in erie, pa!" to little man atticus l. of aforementioned erie, pa. his pops, dear friend clayter l. is taking a job in florida, which means that they suffered through a full erie winter before leaving. the photos of said party were excellent and, between his and the nieces, it looks like all the cool kids are using blue frosting mudmasks this season!
and finally, if you want a good gift idea for your mom (and you should!) i can't recommend proflowers.com enough. now i know not all mom's are gardeners, and i know that i usually don't prescribe people to do anything, but the operation is class-act. my mom said the packaging was very classy and they actually (without any prompting from me) sent me a note on the day it was delivered so i could call home and win the brownie points while they were still hot from the oven!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
balancing an egg and other ways to amuse the irish
dearest all-
and a happy spring solstice to everyone! i've already celebrated by successfully balancing a raw, uncooked (refrigerated) egg on its end, as urban legend dictates. what was extra exciting was that brother euge, gallant roommate and fellow monk, had never heard of this and, given the choice of watching me balance said egg or writing a quick review paper for a topic that sucked eggs for a class that sucks dozens of eggs, he chose the former. it was a scintillating good time! for at least five minutes...
since people have been clamoring to hear about the monastery's st.patrick's day here in glorious texas, i will oblige. we didn't do anything.
okay, that's not exactly true. as mentioned in this space previously, i had a wonderful guest stay for the weekend, having turned down the opportunity to party out on st.croix and their stx. pat's parade. we had a great time, bbq-ing, riding horses, going to a nice fancy dinner (and promptly breaking the lenten rule of 'no meat fridays' with a delicious chateaubriand for two! yum!), and watching a bit of usc basketball (their magical ride continues after the blow-out win over texas on sunday...). somewhere in all that was a departmental st.pat's party. 1) we made a great guinness stew. 2) we went to party where they had great corned beef. 3) we went home sometime around 9pm. including brother euge, who has been fighting a terrible stomach bug, including suffering through bouts of illness that leave me wiping tears from my eyes after fits of convulsive, juvenile laughter. so that was it. fairly amazing how sedate it was. i trust that you, dear reader, made up for it.
but now, break is over and we're back to the grind. school ends in just 6.5 weeks. and somewhere in that time are a bunch of assignments and papers, including one that got taken to the woodshed last night during a massive editing session. joan rivers has had less work done on her than this badboy. and so that's where i now turn my attention. stay tuned for some late march shout-outs, an autopsy of the ncaa tourney, an idea on how to improve sports on television, and the start of cubs baseball!
--goose
and a happy spring solstice to everyone! i've already celebrated by successfully balancing a raw, uncooked (refrigerated) egg on its end, as urban legend dictates. what was extra exciting was that brother euge, gallant roommate and fellow monk, had never heard of this and, given the choice of watching me balance said egg or writing a quick review paper for a topic that sucked eggs for a class that sucks dozens of eggs, he chose the former. it was a scintillating good time! for at least five minutes...
since people have been clamoring to hear about the monastery's st.patrick's day here in glorious texas, i will oblige. we didn't do anything.
okay, that's not exactly true. as mentioned in this space previously, i had a wonderful guest stay for the weekend, having turned down the opportunity to party out on st.croix and their stx. pat's parade. we had a great time, bbq-ing, riding horses, going to a nice fancy dinner (and promptly breaking the lenten rule of 'no meat fridays' with a delicious chateaubriand for two! yum!), and watching a bit of usc basketball (their magical ride continues after the blow-out win over texas on sunday...). somewhere in all that was a departmental st.pat's party. 1) we made a great guinness stew. 2) we went to party where they had great corned beef. 3) we went home sometime around 9pm. including brother euge, who has been fighting a terrible stomach bug, including suffering through bouts of illness that leave me wiping tears from my eyes after fits of convulsive, juvenile laughter. so that was it. fairly amazing how sedate it was. i trust that you, dear reader, made up for it.
but now, break is over and we're back to the grind. school ends in just 6.5 weeks. and somewhere in that time are a bunch of assignments and papers, including one that got taken to the woodshed last night during a massive editing session. joan rivers has had less work done on her than this badboy. and so that's where i now turn my attention. stay tuned for some late march shout-outs, an autopsy of the ncaa tourney, an idea on how to improve sports on television, and the start of cubs baseball!
--goose
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
it's the ides of march somewhere!
dearest all-
so while it may not be 15 march 2007 here (and by here i mean gloriously soggy east-central texas), it is 15 march 2007 somewhere (and by somewhere i mean gloriously exotic guam!) which means exactly ONE THING:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKYLAR C.!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARIANNA C.!!!
one whole year old today! kinda! as i mentioned in the previous space, don't worry about the particulars of being born -5 GMT last year, but now being +10 GMT. that's a 15 GMT swing! and let's not even get into the whole "it was EST last year but now it's EDT on the ides!" which i think makes it a 14 hour swing...
either way, make a mess of some cake, have the pops and the mom read some shel s. and in general have a great birthday!
speaking of messes, i made a complete and utter mess of my early month shout-outs. to writ, this from devoted reader katie w. of los angeles, ca:
1 dark blue wool coat, size boys medium (presumed lost since some Sunday ca. 1987 when i was an altar boy, but maybe it's tucked in the back of the suv...)
1 key ring with keys to my apartment in new haven (presumed lost at some social function ca. 1999-2000...)
1 nice black leather jacket, sized mens ML (presumed given to my brother from his Philly days ca. 2003 but since lost to the winds of time. Note: one button is disturbingly loose and close to falling off...)
1 animal, stuffed, dog named "Freckles" (presumed given to some girlfriend ca. 1995 or possibly some other girlfriend ca. 1997...)
1 animal, stuffed, dog named "King Oliver" (presumed given to some other other girlfriend ca. 1999...)
1 US Minted bill, $20 (thought to have been given to a Hari Krishna ca. 1994, but may be behind the orange tree...)
A VERY SPECIAL FIRSTIE SHOUT-OUT TO Iceman, codename "Hambone" on his last spring break. to the dominican republic, no less! i've been there. too bad i forgot to tell you how to handle the bribe-seeking police and soldiers. If you see a gun: speak spanish and pay up. if you don't see a gun AND you're all alone on the road: i'd pay. if you don't see a gun AND you're in a city or there's lots of german tourists nearby: pretend to speak russian (i said different vodka names over and over again in a thick accent) and don't pay up. in between all that, enjoy the barcelo and brugal!
THE NCAA'S ARE HERE AND THAT MEANS ONE THING SHOUT-OUT TO: usc basketball! do i pick you to upset texas? or are you the proverbial "year away"? hmm... in related news, dear friend and self-described bball addict nara w. of los angeles is again forming "free" pools on various web sites, like espn and stuff. unlike last year, when he had about 5 of the 8 entries (and still managed to come in last...) he's gone legit and (so far) has only one bracket. of course, i will not be watching the action this weekend, as i have a very special guest arriving for the weekend. though it really is too bad that bravo (the town, not the tv station) isn't having their "running of the vacas" this weekend, i've managed to find the best paintball arena AND hog roping lessons in the greater brazos county. so she best be impressed!
and finally: IT'S CRICKET WORLD CUP SO GET IN ON THE ACTION SHOUT-OUT TO: the west indies team's big win over pakistan to start the tourney. pakistan has a legit team, but the windies went 241/9 to win by 54 wickets after pakistan's middle of the order bottomed out. in a blow-out, scotland got WAXED by australia, with MOM (man of the match) ricky ponting clearing a century as the aussies scored 314/10 to win by an astounding 203 runs. but the cricket moment of the day goes to ireland, courtesy room/office-mate eugene f. aka "the good irish lad". apparently, the irish cricket union forms from both rep.ireland ("the good ireland") and northern ireland ("absentee landlord bastards!") which is why they don't show the irish flag. though euge knows cricket, he was immediately turned off by the fact that the irish team fields: 4 guys from "the 6 counties" (aka northern ireland), 1 from south africa, 3 from australia, and 5 from dublin, including 2 sets of brothers. of the up-and-coming niall o'brien, euge said, "i bet he went to school at trinity. rich bastard." and once i noted the 2 sets of brothers, he said, "you sure they aren't husband and husband?" the rule, as always, don't bring up a divided ireland to eugene.
with that said, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! pionta guinness, ar meisce!
so while it may not be 15 march 2007 here (and by here i mean gloriously soggy east-central texas), it is 15 march 2007 somewhere (and by somewhere i mean gloriously exotic guam!) which means exactly ONE THING:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKYLAR C.!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARIANNA C.!!!
one whole year old today! kinda! as i mentioned in the previous space, don't worry about the particulars of being born -5 GMT last year, but now being +10 GMT. that's a 15 GMT swing! and let's not even get into the whole "it was EST last year but now it's EDT on the ides!" which i think makes it a 14 hour swing...
either way, make a mess of some cake, have the pops and the mom read some shel s. and in general have a great birthday!
speaking of messes, i made a complete and utter mess of my early month shout-outs. to writ, this from devoted reader katie w. of los angeles, ca:
I have to tell you I was greatly disappointed that Mommy W didn’t get a shoutout for finding your sweatshirt in the depths of
it was indeed a grand oversight. with that said, onto the ides shout-outs!
BELATED SHOUT-OUTS 2x to MW of aforementioned los angeles, ca. for finding my usc sweatshirt and getting it back to me. well, it hasn't arrived yet but i'm sure it's somewhere. and that's what's important! not to mention, as devoted fans of troy, i'm certain they are excited to remove all elements of goose from said premises. i leave my sweatshirt in their "car" (that is so not an apt description for their family vehicle) and usc goes and loses the next week to fucla. unacceptable. but given the good fortune and my long-standing habit of "leaving" things about "Fort W", perhaps they have come across:1 dark blue wool coat, size boys medium (presumed lost since some Sunday ca. 1987 when i was an altar boy, but maybe it's tucked in the back of the suv...)
1 key ring with keys to my apartment in new haven (presumed lost at some social function ca. 1999-2000...)
1 nice black leather jacket, sized mens ML (presumed given to my brother from his Philly days ca. 2003 but since lost to the winds of time. Note: one button is disturbingly loose and close to falling off...)
1 animal, stuffed, dog named "Freckles" (presumed given to some girlfriend ca. 1995 or possibly some other girlfriend ca. 1997...)
1 animal, stuffed, dog named "King Oliver" (presumed given to some other other girlfriend ca. 1999...)
1 US Minted bill, $20 (thought to have been given to a Hari Krishna ca. 1994, but may be behind the orange tree...)
A VERY SPECIAL FIRSTIE SHOUT-OUT TO Iceman, codename "Hambone" on his last spring break. to the dominican republic, no less! i've been there. too bad i forgot to tell you how to handle the bribe-seeking police and soldiers. If you see a gun: speak spanish and pay up. if you don't see a gun AND you're all alone on the road: i'd pay. if you don't see a gun AND you're in a city or there's lots of german tourists nearby: pretend to speak russian (i said different vodka names over and over again in a thick accent) and don't pay up. in between all that, enjoy the barcelo and brugal!
THE NCAA'S ARE HERE AND THAT MEANS ONE THING SHOUT-OUT TO: usc basketball! do i pick you to upset texas? or are you the proverbial "year away"? hmm... in related news, dear friend and self-described bball addict nara w. of los angeles is again forming "free" pools on various web sites, like espn and stuff. unlike last year, when he had about 5 of the 8 entries (and still managed to come in last...) he's gone legit and (so far) has only one bracket. of course, i will not be watching the action this weekend, as i have a very special guest arriving for the weekend. though it really is too bad that bravo (the town, not the tv station) isn't having their "running of the vacas" this weekend, i've managed to find the best paintball arena AND hog roping lessons in the greater brazos county. so she best be impressed!
and finally: IT'S CRICKET WORLD CUP SO GET IN ON THE ACTION SHOUT-OUT TO: the west indies team's big win over pakistan to start the tourney. pakistan has a legit team, but the windies went 241/9 to win by 54 wickets after pakistan's middle of the order bottomed out. in a blow-out, scotland got WAXED by australia, with MOM (man of the match) ricky ponting clearing a century as the aussies scored 314/10 to win by an astounding 203 runs. but the cricket moment of the day goes to ireland, courtesy room/office-mate eugene f. aka "the good irish lad". apparently, the irish cricket union forms from both rep.ireland ("the good ireland") and northern ireland ("absentee landlord bastards!") which is why they don't show the irish flag. though euge knows cricket, he was immediately turned off by the fact that the irish team fields: 4 guys from "the 6 counties" (aka northern ireland), 1 from south africa, 3 from australia, and 5 from dublin, including 2 sets of brothers. of the up-and-coming niall o'brien, euge said, "i bet he went to school at trinity. rich bastard." and once i noted the 2 sets of brothers, he said, "you sure they aren't husband and husband?" the rule, as always, don't bring up a divided ireland to eugene.
with that said, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! pionta guinness, ar meisce!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
the spring break buzz and special shoutouts galore!
dearest all!
so the weather is a'changing! hurray! and as several relatives inquired, the bluebonnets may or may not be a'blooming. i've googled them and am now on the lookout for the state flower of texas.
however, the live oak is a'pollinating. thanks to the great care of dr. weldon, board-certified allergsit, i am currently allergy-free. awesome! i can't believe it! i just want to thank dr. weldon, flonase, allegra, zyrtec, loratidine, allavert, claritin, that epi-shot, my mom, HI MOM! my dad, HI DAD! GO CUBS!, Andre Dawson's mvp season, and the guys over at pixar animation, especially John Lasseter. It was his vision and drive that took a story of a little orphaned fish and brought it to life and it was his... *blink* wait a second... ok, i'm back.
anyhoo, i'm allergy-free. woohoo! steroids! though my car, freshly washed, is practically green from the pollen.
so as many of you know, the life of the PhD student has its ebbs and flows. there's periods of intense boredom balanced by insane stretches of 12-16 hour days trying to teach yourself computer programming (my latest 18-page homework...) or pouring (or is it poring?) through a number of papers just before class in case you get called on. and invariably, i do get called on. so how do i do it? i've invented games and diversions that distract me from the stress but allow me to gain focus when needed. even if focus and diversions are needed in the middle of a tiresome lecture or class. and this semester, there seems to be a plethora. a plethora? si, el guapo, i'd say a plethora... reasons abound, but the general point, as was made by roommate and good irishman eugene f. is that "you're working on why your here and everything else is becoming worthless!" well, i wouldn't go so far as to say worthless, but lots of this is seemingly irrelevant. so to take my mind off of irrelevant topics, i've gone and replaced them with other irelevancies.
for example, i can name all 43 presidents (well, 42, but grover cleveland counts twice since he served non-consecutively). i compulsively draw anatomically correct sharks (always facing left for some reason), semi-anatomically correct mermaids, fairly recognizable swans (but not ducks...). i've named all 32 nfl teams by division, correctly named the predicted 25-man roster for the chicago cubs, came up with nearly all 20 teams in the premiership (i got to 16 without a problem, then incorrectly named derby county who is residing in the first division ranks), memorized the countries of europe (not hard), asia (more difficult, especially all the n-stans), and africa (damn near impossible unless i guess right on the sequence of benin, togo, mali). i discovered that ecuador is a pretty small country but that el salvador is down-right tiny. i've examined river deltas in the black sea and the sea of japan. i've pondered the ideal proportion of coffee beans to cups of water (well above 1tsp. per cup or whatever the joke standard is). and just yesterday, i had an impromptu soccer party in the office as liverpool played barcelona in the european cup (we had 5 guys huddled around the computer). which is to say that i feel like i have a ton of spare time (why else would i be writing this?). throw in my daily comics, my late-night "topkat" viewing (such a good cartoon!), fark.com, and random sites to just stare at in disbelief (try out conservapedia.com for a good idea of what it's like to be me just shaking my head and saying, "are they serious? are they %$#* serious?!! no way..." and then spending a good hour trying to rediscover the beauty of the human mind and spirit as captured by youtube (search for flamboyantly gay soccer referee). as you can see, 24 hours ain't nearly enough some days and i oftentimes think, "am i about where i should be?" and then as i flip to check the answers to the sudoku, i say, "maybe."
but in truth, there's much going on and as we head towards that beautiful thing called spring break, i'm pretty well ahead at least in terms of becoming the conceptual PhD student than i was even in January. I can't imagine how i sounded in meetings last fall. "i want to study. Fish." just today, i outlined my 7 chapters of dissertation (background, benthic assessment, fish behavior, fish migration, fishery market analysis, tourism analysis, education) and was shocked to realize that despite the 234 games of cribbage i've played on my computer (compiling a healthy 125-109 record) not to mention learning bridge, euchre, and way too much time on the game who shalt not be named, i'm quietly morphing. it's fun to do science! hurray!
so what does this mean for my spring break? well, having just suited up the lab with insane dive gear (thank you!) and about to hook up some high-def video cameras for chapter 7 - goose makes a documentary, i get to get down to what i enjoy most about school: my work. though i have yet to dive, or even get out of greater pecos county, the thought that i get to shake off silly homework assignments to write chapter proposals and dream of far-off antigua, is enough to make a boy giddy.
and with that off my chest, on with the shout-outs!
happy 50k shout-out to T3 of Jersey City, NJ. with beautiful wifey Joy S. in the audience, T3 took home $50,000 from Who Wants to Be A Millionaire this past week. As mentioned previously, i was his phone-a-friend and as it turned out, helped him on what turned out to be the last question he answered. they really threw some tough ones at him once he got to $8000. and truth be told, though i sounded smart on tv (though T3, i do "marine geography" not "marine biology"... ahem!) the absolutely ONLY question i would have gotten was the one that i got the call for. so as my mom would say, "the luck of the goose continues on!" so congrats T3! you and Joysiloo enjoy that down payment on the house. and in case you read this humble submission, i want to let you know formally that i do not want / expect / need any sort of percentage of winnings. well, at least i don't want or expect them. in fact, if you must do anything at all, if you feel totally compelled to shower mr. "knows accident statistics involving deer" with gratitude, i hereby accept a nice little double-date at say gramercy tavern? i'll get the tip even! they recommend getting reservations a full month (or more!) in advance. i'll let you know. that is, if you're interested.
on a side note: happy "what a coincidence!" to uncle nick and aunt stef. while trying to come up with the info on the gramercy tavern, i discovered that in penn plaza there's another steakhouse called "stef and nick's!" if i get there, you'll get a postcard!
happy 1st birthday wishes to the darling ones: the little lasses skylar and arianna turn 1 on the ides of march! question to my brother the good dr. carr and his amazing wife, the better dr. carr, "if they were born in philadelphia but guam is a day ahead, are you going to celebrate local time or eastern standard time OR the new improved eastern daylight time which arrives this coming weekend for the first time ever? questions questions questions. of course, it'd be no big deal, but as it's their first and they only get 1 first birthday, uncle goose says, "follow my lead, ladies and have a birthday week!" HUZZAH!
happy spring training to all fellow cubs fans: dear old dad, the aforementioned good dr. carr, lech n. of berkeley, bryan g. of eastern iowa, and... is that all of us? geez... altogether now: "CUBS IN 2007!!!"
nice "extension of the blog to get printed in the paper!" shout-out to dear friend slider's younger brother "hambone" aka cougar aka sundown of annapolis, md. the local paper back home has little columns and after the soldier in afghanistan was told to stop writing his, our man on the scene hambone was all over it. though i should warn you hambone, NOBODY outside the age range of say 19-34 gets the mariokart reference. nobody. i recommend dropping "semi-anatomically correct mermaids" as a populist appeal to the readership of theday.com...
and finally: happy spring break to everyone! i fully understand my responsibility as one of the few remaining people out there with break rights (hambone and dr. lw notwithstanding, of course). i will be sure to revel for each of you and yours! and having discovered (although yet to be re-tested) that i may not be allergic to alleve*, i say, "bring on the guinness and the hangovers!" HUZZAH!
*at least to 200mg when taken in 2 separate 75mg and 125mg doses...
=goose=
so the weather is a'changing! hurray! and as several relatives inquired, the bluebonnets may or may not be a'blooming. i've googled them and am now on the lookout for the state flower of texas.
however, the live oak is a'pollinating. thanks to the great care of dr. weldon, board-certified allergsit, i am currently allergy-free. awesome! i can't believe it! i just want to thank dr. weldon, flonase, allegra, zyrtec, loratidine, allavert, claritin, that epi-shot, my mom, HI MOM! my dad, HI DAD! GO CUBS!, Andre Dawson's mvp season, and the guys over at pixar animation, especially John Lasseter. It was his vision and drive that took a story of a little orphaned fish and brought it to life and it was his... *blink* wait a second... ok, i'm back.
anyhoo, i'm allergy-free. woohoo! steroids! though my car, freshly washed, is practically green from the pollen.
so as many of you know, the life of the PhD student has its ebbs and flows. there's periods of intense boredom balanced by insane stretches of 12-16 hour days trying to teach yourself computer programming (my latest 18-page homework...) or pouring (or is it poring?) through a number of papers just before class in case you get called on. and invariably, i do get called on. so how do i do it? i've invented games and diversions that distract me from the stress but allow me to gain focus when needed. even if focus and diversions are needed in the middle of a tiresome lecture or class. and this semester, there seems to be a plethora. a plethora? si, el guapo, i'd say a plethora... reasons abound, but the general point, as was made by roommate and good irishman eugene f. is that "you're working on why your here and everything else is becoming worthless!" well, i wouldn't go so far as to say worthless, but lots of this is seemingly irrelevant. so to take my mind off of irrelevant topics, i've gone and replaced them with other irelevancies.
for example, i can name all 43 presidents (well, 42, but grover cleveland counts twice since he served non-consecutively). i compulsively draw anatomically correct sharks (always facing left for some reason), semi-anatomically correct mermaids, fairly recognizable swans (but not ducks...). i've named all 32 nfl teams by division, correctly named the predicted 25-man roster for the chicago cubs, came up with nearly all 20 teams in the premiership (i got to 16 without a problem, then incorrectly named derby county who is residing in the first division ranks), memorized the countries of europe (not hard), asia (more difficult, especially all the n-stans), and africa (damn near impossible unless i guess right on the sequence of benin, togo, mali). i discovered that ecuador is a pretty small country but that el salvador is down-right tiny. i've examined river deltas in the black sea and the sea of japan. i've pondered the ideal proportion of coffee beans to cups of water (well above 1tsp. per cup or whatever the joke standard is). and just yesterday, i had an impromptu soccer party in the office as liverpool played barcelona in the european cup (we had 5 guys huddled around the computer). which is to say that i feel like i have a ton of spare time (why else would i be writing this?). throw in my daily comics, my late-night "topkat" viewing (such a good cartoon!), fark.com, and random sites to just stare at in disbelief (try out conservapedia.com for a good idea of what it's like to be me just shaking my head and saying, "are they serious? are they %$#* serious?!! no way..." and then spending a good hour trying to rediscover the beauty of the human mind and spirit as captured by youtube (search for flamboyantly gay soccer referee). as you can see, 24 hours ain't nearly enough some days and i oftentimes think, "am i about where i should be?" and then as i flip to check the answers to the sudoku, i say, "maybe."
but in truth, there's much going on and as we head towards that beautiful thing called spring break, i'm pretty well ahead at least in terms of becoming the conceptual PhD student than i was even in January. I can't imagine how i sounded in meetings last fall. "i want to study. Fish." just today, i outlined my 7 chapters of dissertation (background, benthic assessment, fish behavior, fish migration, fishery market analysis, tourism analysis, education) and was shocked to realize that despite the 234 games of cribbage i've played on my computer (compiling a healthy 125-109 record) not to mention learning bridge, euchre, and way too much time on the game who shalt not be named, i'm quietly morphing. it's fun to do science! hurray!
so what does this mean for my spring break? well, having just suited up the lab with insane dive gear (thank you!) and about to hook up some high-def video cameras for chapter 7 - goose makes a documentary, i get to get down to what i enjoy most about school: my work. though i have yet to dive, or even get out of greater pecos county, the thought that i get to shake off silly homework assignments to write chapter proposals and dream of far-off antigua, is enough to make a boy giddy.
and with that off my chest, on with the shout-outs!
happy 50k shout-out to T3 of Jersey City, NJ. with beautiful wifey Joy S. in the audience, T3 took home $50,000 from Who Wants to Be A Millionaire this past week. As mentioned previously, i was his phone-a-friend and as it turned out, helped him on what turned out to be the last question he answered. they really threw some tough ones at him once he got to $8000. and truth be told, though i sounded smart on tv (though T3, i do "marine geography" not "marine biology"... ahem!) the absolutely ONLY question i would have gotten was the one that i got the call for. so as my mom would say, "the luck of the goose continues on!" so congrats T3! you and Joysiloo enjoy that down payment on the house. and in case you read this humble submission, i want to let you know formally that i do not want / expect / need any sort of percentage of winnings. well, at least i don't want or expect them. in fact, if you must do anything at all, if you feel totally compelled to shower mr. "knows accident statistics involving deer" with gratitude, i hereby accept a nice little double-date at say gramercy tavern? i'll get the tip even! they recommend getting reservations a full month (or more!) in advance. i'll let you know. that is, if you're interested.
on a side note: happy "what a coincidence!" to uncle nick and aunt stef. while trying to come up with the info on the gramercy tavern, i discovered that in penn plaza there's another steakhouse called "stef and nick's!" if i get there, you'll get a postcard!
happy 1st birthday wishes to the darling ones: the little lasses skylar and arianna turn 1 on the ides of march! question to my brother the good dr. carr and his amazing wife, the better dr. carr, "if they were born in philadelphia but guam is a day ahead, are you going to celebrate local time or eastern standard time OR the new improved eastern daylight time which arrives this coming weekend for the first time ever? questions questions questions. of course, it'd be no big deal, but as it's their first and they only get 1 first birthday, uncle goose says, "follow my lead, ladies and have a birthday week!" HUZZAH!
happy spring training to all fellow cubs fans: dear old dad, the aforementioned good dr. carr, lech n. of berkeley, bryan g. of eastern iowa, and... is that all of us? geez... altogether now: "CUBS IN 2007!!!"
nice "extension of the blog to get printed in the paper!" shout-out to dear friend slider's younger brother "hambone" aka cougar aka sundown of annapolis, md. the local paper back home has little columns and after the soldier in afghanistan was told to stop writing his, our man on the scene hambone was all over it. though i should warn you hambone, NOBODY outside the age range of say 19-34 gets the mariokart reference. nobody. i recommend dropping "semi-anatomically correct mermaids" as a populist appeal to the readership of theday.com...
and finally: happy spring break to everyone! i fully understand my responsibility as one of the few remaining people out there with break rights (hambone and dr. lw notwithstanding, of course). i will be sure to revel for each of you and yours! and having discovered (although yet to be re-tested) that i may not be allergic to alleve*, i say, "bring on the guinness and the hangovers!" HUZZAH!
*at least to 200mg when taken in 2 separate 75mg and 125mg doses...
=goose=
Sunday, February 25, 2007
wouldn't you know it (the phone saga endeth) and why england loves oscar
... so wouldn't you know that the very day i get my replacement phone (the fancy red Motorola Razr), that my old phone shows up and is sitting on my desk when i arrive.
where was it? on the "bench" seat in the back of the department head's truck (think the back seat for those extended trucks). i had looked through said truck when getting dropped off but somehow failed to look on the seat itself, concentrating on the area where gravity would have deposited it (the floor). so 1 month of no phone, 1 replacement phone at $109, and we're back at square 1!!!
as for the razr? it's going back to sprint. nothing against it (very snazzy), but $109 is snazzier.
onto the oscars pick (and i'm completely clueless as i think this year, i've seen exactly zero of the movies up for nods)... major categories only... explanations where necessary
best actress in a supporting role: cate blanchett, "notes on a scandal". she's british. they always win this award. that and there are two ladies up from "babel" so that's splitting a vote, and i think everyone is a bit over voting for little kids (see: abigail breslin, "little miss sunshine"). and i heard "dream girls" was good only for eddie murphy's singing. huh? dark horse: miss breslin.
best actor in a supporting role: eddie murphy, "dream girls". see above. though i think djimon honsou is a tremendous actor and could win it for "blood diamond" in what could quickly become a very politically-loud oscar ceremony. dark horse: markie mark wahlberg.
best actress in a leading role: helen mirren, "the queen". 1) she looks like QEII, 2) eugene (who also hasn't seen a single nominated movie) says "mirren is a tremendous actor!" plus, she's british and british women always win oscars (see: gwenyth paltrow... wait? she's not british? are we sure?...). dark horse: meryl streep, "the devil wears prada". solid actress, also not british. and how penelope cruz is even nominated is beyond me. though she's quite delicious in a "not-an-old-british-actress" way. (see: Ms. Mirren, Dame Judi Dench, Ms. Kate Winslet, and Ms. Streep, who might be from Wales after all is said and done...)
best actor in a leading role: harrison ford, "indiana jones IV". what? it hasn't been made yet? oh... ok... um... Peter O'Toole, "Venus". So Sir O'Toole hasn't ever won an Oscar, right? He won a lifetime award in 2002, hasn't died in 2007, and is british? He might win best actress too! dark horse: forest whitaker, "the last king of scotland". why forest? 1) it's (nominally) about the UK, 2) wasn't he in "the crying game"? 3) and "dif'frent strokes"? give him some love! and let the people of Uganda rejoice! Celebrate Idi Amin! YES!
best animated film: "happy feet". why? march of the penguins won. brits wear tuxedos. penguins wear tuxedos. dark horse: "cars". not really. i bet cars wins. despite being a rip-off of "Doc Hollywood".
best documentary feature: "Iraq in Fragments". why? oscar can be loud and when voting was going on, it was cold, so the global warming movie might not stir up excitement. dark horse: "an inconvenient truth". why? everyone who's not a nutjob loves who al gore has become. side note: it's currently the movie sitting at home from netflix. so... maybe, just maybe i'll see one nominee prior to oscar. ah, maybe not (it's been there for 4 weeks at least...)
best adapted screenplay: "Borat". what is odd is that borat is largely improvisational, but if you have the "ali g" dvds, you know that Sacha Baron Cohen spends months perfecting his responses for every conceivable occasion. plus, since he wasn't allowed to dress as borat to present, he's BOUND TO show up as his gay german alter-ego bruno in case he wins. NICE! dark horse: no dark horse. borat is a phenonmenon. anyone who can call butros-butros gali "my main main man man, butros-butros-BUtros Gali" deserves recognition.
best original screenplay: "Little Miss Sunshine". voters like awarding this oscar to the movie that they secretly like but politically can't vote for other categories. this movie, from what i hear, is very good. bonus: it involves BOTH Steve Carrell ("40-yr. old virgin", "the office") AND Greg Kineear (who got Katie Holmes naked pre-nutso Tom Cruise, in "The Gift", which coincidentally has Cate Blanchett also... but people watch it for the holmes scene. just being honest...)
best director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu, "Babel". Not sure what this movie is about. It could be about that biblical tower, it could be about people learning a foreign language, it could be a rip-off of "Doc Hollywood". who knows. but Brad Pitt is in it right when he was going down to crazy-ville when he left Ms. Aniston for Ms. Jolie. That's a challenge for the director. Dark Horse: Paul Greengrass "Flight 93". why? 1) it's a sensitive topic still in the american consciousness, my brother said the movie was "intense" which is definitely part of the director's skill, and 3) see no.1.
Best Picture: The Departed. Why? Isn't Markie Mark in it?
happy Sunday!
--goose
best actor in a leading role:
where was it? on the "bench" seat in the back of the department head's truck (think the back seat for those extended trucks). i had looked through said truck when getting dropped off but somehow failed to look on the seat itself, concentrating on the area where gravity would have deposited it (the floor). so 1 month of no phone, 1 replacement phone at $109, and we're back at square 1!!!
as for the razr? it's going back to sprint. nothing against it (very snazzy), but $109 is snazzier.
onto the oscars pick (and i'm completely clueless as i think this year, i've seen exactly zero of the movies up for nods)... major categories only... explanations where necessary
best actress in a supporting role: cate blanchett, "notes on a scandal". she's british. they always win this award. that and there are two ladies up from "babel" so that's splitting a vote, and i think everyone is a bit over voting for little kids (see: abigail breslin, "little miss sunshine"). and i heard "dream girls" was good only for eddie murphy's singing. huh? dark horse: miss breslin.
best actor in a supporting role: eddie murphy, "dream girls". see above. though i think djimon honsou is a tremendous actor and could win it for "blood diamond" in what could quickly become a very politically-loud oscar ceremony. dark horse: markie mark wahlberg.
best actress in a leading role: helen mirren, "the queen". 1) she looks like QEII, 2) eugene (who also hasn't seen a single nominated movie) says "mirren is a tremendous actor!" plus, she's british and british women always win oscars (see: gwenyth paltrow... wait? she's not british? are we sure?...). dark horse: meryl streep, "the devil wears prada". solid actress, also not british. and how penelope cruz is even nominated is beyond me. though she's quite delicious in a "not-an-old-british-actress" way. (see: Ms. Mirren, Dame Judi Dench, Ms. Kate Winslet, and Ms. Streep, who might be from Wales after all is said and done...)
best actor in a leading role: harrison ford, "indiana jones IV". what? it hasn't been made yet? oh... ok... um... Peter O'Toole, "Venus". So Sir O'Toole hasn't ever won an Oscar, right? He won a lifetime award in 2002, hasn't died in 2007, and is british? He might win best actress too! dark horse: forest whitaker, "the last king of scotland". why forest? 1) it's (nominally) about the UK, 2) wasn't he in "the crying game"? 3) and "dif'frent strokes"? give him some love! and let the people of Uganda rejoice! Celebrate Idi Amin! YES!
best animated film: "happy feet". why? march of the penguins won. brits wear tuxedos. penguins wear tuxedos. dark horse: "cars". not really. i bet cars wins. despite being a rip-off of "Doc Hollywood".
best documentary feature: "Iraq in Fragments". why? oscar can be loud and when voting was going on, it was cold, so the global warming movie might not stir up excitement. dark horse: "an inconvenient truth". why? everyone who's not a nutjob loves who al gore has become. side note: it's currently the movie sitting at home from netflix. so... maybe, just maybe i'll see one nominee prior to oscar. ah, maybe not (it's been there for 4 weeks at least...)
best adapted screenplay: "Borat". what is odd is that borat is largely improvisational, but if you have the "ali g" dvds, you know that Sacha Baron Cohen spends months perfecting his responses for every conceivable occasion. plus, since he wasn't allowed to dress as borat to present, he's BOUND TO show up as his gay german alter-ego bruno in case he wins. NICE! dark horse: no dark horse. borat is a phenonmenon. anyone who can call butros-butros gali "my main main man man, butros-butros-BUtros Gali" deserves recognition.
best original screenplay: "Little Miss Sunshine". voters like awarding this oscar to the movie that they secretly like but politically can't vote for other categories. this movie, from what i hear, is very good. bonus: it involves BOTH Steve Carrell ("40-yr. old virgin", "the office") AND Greg Kineear (who got Katie Holmes naked pre-nutso Tom Cruise, in "The Gift", which coincidentally has Cate Blanchett also... but people watch it for the holmes scene. just being honest...)
best director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu, "Babel". Not sure what this movie is about. It could be about that biblical tower, it could be about people learning a foreign language, it could be a rip-off of "Doc Hollywood". who knows. but Brad Pitt is in it right when he was going down to crazy-ville when he left Ms. Aniston for Ms. Jolie. That's a challenge for the director. Dark Horse: Paul Greengrass "Flight 93". why? 1) it's a sensitive topic still in the american consciousness, my brother said the movie was "intense" which is definitely part of the director's skill, and 3) see no.1.
Best Picture: The Departed. Why? Isn't Markie Mark in it?
happy Sunday!
--goose
best actor in a leading role:
Monday, February 19, 2007
february shout-outs and the amazing disappearance of phones
dearest all-
i think i enjoy this "monthly" reporting sequence. it may indeed mean that fewer people will remember to read my drivel (if any still do?) and that means the original method of mass-mailing everyone was, from my perspective, infinitely more useful as i actually was able to keep in contact with several people who i'd otherwise lose to the gulf of time. and why is this important? well, for starters, even when i don't lose my phone (especially permanently), i've never been one for initiating social contact. in that great game of psycho self-analysis, i think it harkens back to the days in 7th grade summer when i'd sit in the summer house on that tan phone with the tremendously long cord and listen as the girl i was hanging out with at the beach talked to her friend for HOURS! introversion is a learned behavior and as women make lists of things for guys to apologize for just by "being guys so you're guilty", i hereby start a list for girls to apologize to guys for just by "being a girl." ahem...
1st apology: "I'm sorry, *insert guy's name*, that at some point during puberty, you were tricked into listening to me talking to my friend on a 3-way phone call because we were both too shy to talk to each other, but because of my insecurities (and that a guy would never literally call in back up from a friend...) I dragged in a friend and then proceeded to talk about NKoTB. For three hours. And this is after you spent $5.00 on some sno-cones the day before that I dropped in the sand while chasing you."
Apology accepted.
You realize, of course, that from the prism of the adolescent and teen-aged mind, this phenomenon has morphed into myspace and the ilk (hence why i will not have a myspace account...). right now there are literally millions of boys out there who are being warped by coming home and agonizingly waiting for some girl they like to join their friend list. as is the rule, teenagehood is pathetic yet fortunately not fatal.
Of course, taking that trip down memory lane can be fun, especially if you are even remotely proficient at google.com. Take for instance my lost phone. I've lost every last number of every last person I've called in the last 4 years. Truly a bummer. Add in that most I don't have emails for and it becomes trying just to send them the "i lost your number" email. But google is brilliant and i found great success and as you'll read below in the shout-outs, many a dear friend has resurfaced after extended absences. Which, being a family-and-friends kind of guy, is highly enjoyable. Not nearly as enjoyable but highly amusing? See photos of friends and old girl friends as they hurtle towards and beyond the age of 30. Whoever designed this aging game needs to be dragged out back and shot. Even if, in the case of several of my friends haven't changed a bit in 10 years, the effects are hardly uniform.
But enough of that. Back to the phone. It's been missing for a month now. But nobody is using it (or at least burning my minutes). Yet it remains missing. And yes I checked each and every last bar I frequent or un-frequent. Note: never check behind couches at a bar. Ever. Or under. It boggles the imagination what grows. Or gets lost. Which is probably a good thing I didn't lose the phone there. I might have needed to dip it in bleach.
So I broke down and, since I have passed my 2-year commitment at Sprint, I was offered a nice, new phone for $109. OR, i could have the phone for free if I signed it up as a second number (at a monthly rate of $60). OR, i could cancel my account, dial back and sign up as a new individual, and get the same phone for $29 (after a mail-in rebate). Obviously, the last option makes the most sense since, by taking any of the options, I get a new 2-year contract. But not to the Sprint people. Though, once I did a closer check, my current contract is better than the new ones, so I opted for the $109 option. Just don't expect many crappy phone photos from me (easily the dumbest thing ever done to a phone... yet strangely popular esp. at bars around say, 1am...)
So tomorrow my new Motorola Red Razr phone arrives. Proceeds going to AIDs research in Africa, which is a good thing and definitely takes the whiff of unpleasantness about losing my phone away. And then who knows who I call first! It could be YOU!!!
though most likely not. thank you miss dori b., ca. 1990-1991 new london, ct...
ON TO THE SHOUTOUTS!!!
happy Valentine's Day 6 to everyone! Hope your v-day was great. and a special shout-out to friend stacy h. of washington, dc, who somehow (despite having a cool-ass job in the foreign service side of things there) may not have gotten hit by cupid. A special XXOO to you, stacy.
happy "google finds anything" shoutout to: cleber o. (san jose, ca), sharon w. (riverside), alison f. (new york), lech n. (oakland), and kristin s. (san fran). you'd think i'd write down their contact info, but i never do apparently. thanks to google, though, you're never far away!
big whose-it! shoutout to caribbean grouper. my research is sitting somewhere amongst all you fishes and (hopefully) soon i will begin to gather it. did someone say april-may? did someone say "miss finals to go dive?" if so, someone said "yes!"
happy 2-5 to the baby! ahh... i remember those days. that was my infamous bbq-with-motor-oil party. nice! as dear friend (and recently engaged) d. mike of cambridge, ma said, "best hot dogs! ever!"
in the birthday mode? ok! happy diamond jubilee (that's 75!) to my aunt anna m. of weirton, wv. besides being a great aunt, author of the best pizzelles in the family (which is funny since she and my mom are polish, and pizzelles and my mom's famous biscotti are award-winning at italian cook-offs...), inspiration for the family term of "mcconaugheys" for underwear and socks, she's the central player in the story (which may or may not be true) on how my mom got her *unusual* name. it involves aunt anna, her friend during her senior year of high school, and my grandfather balking at naming his sixth daughter (no sons)... happy big 7-5!!!
finally, a "billion samoleans!" shout-out to T3 of exit 18, nj. he's on "who wants to be a millionaire" sometime in the next 10 days. and to those who haven't heard, i was his phone-a-friend. want to know how he did (and, more importantly, if i'm getting a really nice steak dinner next time i see him?), you have to tune in! all i gots to say is it's lucky that regis isn't hosting anymore because i would have gone all USC all over his shamrock.
love and happy president's day!
--goose
i think i enjoy this "monthly" reporting sequence. it may indeed mean that fewer people will remember to read my drivel (if any still do?) and that means the original method of mass-mailing everyone was, from my perspective, infinitely more useful as i actually was able to keep in contact with several people who i'd otherwise lose to the gulf of time. and why is this important? well, for starters, even when i don't lose my phone (especially permanently), i've never been one for initiating social contact. in that great game of psycho self-analysis, i think it harkens back to the days in 7th grade summer when i'd sit in the summer house on that tan phone with the tremendously long cord and listen as the girl i was hanging out with at the beach talked to her friend for HOURS! introversion is a learned behavior and as women make lists of things for guys to apologize for just by "being guys so you're guilty", i hereby start a list for girls to apologize to guys for just by "being a girl." ahem...
1st apology: "I'm sorry, *insert guy's name*, that at some point during puberty, you were tricked into listening to me talking to my friend on a 3-way phone call because we were both too shy to talk to each other, but because of my insecurities (and that a guy would never literally call in back up from a friend...) I dragged in a friend and then proceeded to talk about NKoTB. For three hours. And this is after you spent $5.00 on some sno-cones the day before that I dropped in the sand while chasing you."
Apology accepted.
You realize, of course, that from the prism of the adolescent and teen-aged mind, this phenomenon has morphed into myspace and the ilk (hence why i will not have a myspace account...). right now there are literally millions of boys out there who are being warped by coming home and agonizingly waiting for some girl they like to join their friend list. as is the rule, teenagehood is pathetic yet fortunately not fatal.
Of course, taking that trip down memory lane can be fun, especially if you are even remotely proficient at google.com. Take for instance my lost phone. I've lost every last number of every last person I've called in the last 4 years. Truly a bummer. Add in that most I don't have emails for and it becomes trying just to send them the "i lost your number" email. But google is brilliant and i found great success and as you'll read below in the shout-outs, many a dear friend has resurfaced after extended absences. Which, being a family-and-friends kind of guy, is highly enjoyable. Not nearly as enjoyable but highly amusing? See photos of friends and old girl friends as they hurtle towards and beyond the age of 30. Whoever designed this aging game needs to be dragged out back and shot. Even if, in the case of several of my friends haven't changed a bit in 10 years, the effects are hardly uniform.
But enough of that. Back to the phone. It's been missing for a month now. But nobody is using it (or at least burning my minutes). Yet it remains missing. And yes I checked each and every last bar I frequent or un-frequent. Note: never check behind couches at a bar. Ever. Or under. It boggles the imagination what grows. Or gets lost. Which is probably a good thing I didn't lose the phone there. I might have needed to dip it in bleach.
So I broke down and, since I have passed my 2-year commitment at Sprint, I was offered a nice, new phone for $109. OR, i could have the phone for free if I signed it up as a second number (at a monthly rate of $60). OR, i could cancel my account, dial back and sign up as a new individual, and get the same phone for $29 (after a mail-in rebate). Obviously, the last option makes the most sense since, by taking any of the options, I get a new 2-year contract. But not to the Sprint people. Though, once I did a closer check, my current contract is better than the new ones, so I opted for the $109 option. Just don't expect many crappy phone photos from me (easily the dumbest thing ever done to a phone... yet strangely popular esp. at bars around say, 1am...)
So tomorrow my new Motorola Red Razr phone arrives. Proceeds going to AIDs research in Africa, which is a good thing and definitely takes the whiff of unpleasantness about losing my phone away. And then who knows who I call first! It could be YOU!!!
though most likely not. thank you miss dori b., ca. 1990-1991 new london, ct...
ON TO THE SHOUTOUTS!!!
happy Valentine's Day 6 to everyone! Hope your v-day was great. and a special shout-out to friend stacy h. of washington, dc, who somehow (despite having a cool-ass job in the foreign service side of things there) may not have gotten hit by cupid. A special XXOO to you, stacy.
happy "google finds anything" shoutout to: cleber o. (san jose, ca), sharon w. (riverside), alison f. (new york), lech n. (oakland), and kristin s. (san fran). you'd think i'd write down their contact info, but i never do apparently. thanks to google, though, you're never far away!
big whose-it! shoutout to caribbean grouper. my research is sitting somewhere amongst all you fishes and (hopefully) soon i will begin to gather it. did someone say april-may? did someone say "miss finals to go dive?" if so, someone said "yes!"
happy 2-5 to the baby! ahh... i remember those days. that was my infamous bbq-with-motor-oil party. nice! as dear friend (and recently engaged) d. mike of cambridge, ma said, "best hot dogs! ever!"
in the birthday mode? ok! happy diamond jubilee (that's 75!) to my aunt anna m. of weirton, wv. besides being a great aunt, author of the best pizzelles in the family (which is funny since she and my mom are polish, and pizzelles and my mom's famous biscotti are award-winning at italian cook-offs...), inspiration for the family term of "mcconaugheys" for underwear and socks, she's the central player in the story (which may or may not be true) on how my mom got her *unusual* name. it involves aunt anna, her friend during her senior year of high school, and my grandfather balking at naming his sixth daughter (no sons)... happy big 7-5!!!
finally, a "billion samoleans!" shout-out to T3 of exit 18, nj. he's on "who wants to be a millionaire" sometime in the next 10 days. and to those who haven't heard, i was his phone-a-friend. want to know how he did (and, more importantly, if i'm getting a really nice steak dinner next time i see him?), you have to tune in! all i gots to say is it's lucky that regis isn't hosting anymore because i would have gone all USC all over his shamrock.
love and happy president's day!
--goose
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
lucky strikes, unless it involves my boxers
luck - n. the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life. good fortune.
lucky - adj. happening fortunately; marked by good luck
example 1: anyone who wins a half-court shot contest.
example 2: anyone who walks away from a nasty car accident.
example 3: winning the lottery.
example 4: goose's 2007 (thus far)
To some people, you make luck by being in the right spot, getting yourself prepared for that moment when you need to sway all the x-factors in your direction. To others, luck comes like a blessing of an angel or benevolent spirit. And to some, luck not only comes, but sets up shop with you for a while. As lucky streaks go, I am riding one that is perhaps even greater than the time I played roulette at the Mohegan Sun and cleaned up all my chips. I believe Lt. Sherman of the Coast Guard was with me at the time. I don't even remember how much I won, but i did win all of the possible gray chips I was playing. Which I think were worth $1 each. I can't imagine the Sun having roulette tables cheaper than $5, but maybe...
So what is this incredibly lucky streak? Chronologically: 1) 1 January 2007 - I find myself again on Virgin Gorda. 2) During my vacation, I work for UVI, turning a little mint to help offset my vacation costs (and by the way, a 30-day winter vacation in the tropics is pretty darn lucky too!). 3) far away, back in cold New London, my "1000 Club" number comes up for the first time in ages. Was it the silly $10 drawing? NO! $100!!! And my parents were there to witness it! (And I think the good Doctor's number also played that week...) 4) Upon my return to Texas, the airline has lost my big duffel bag of clothes. How is this lucky? Because they didn't lose my dive gear (which is financially irreplaceable these days. t-shirts I have...) But, there were a few nice items in the duffel bag, including some fancy nice shirts from the happiest Quicksilver store in the world (Honolulu, HI) and wooly slippers and my heavy Yale sweatshirt. Not to mention 4 bottles of hot sauce from St. Croix, at least one of which would surely break and ruin my clothes. So for 4 long days, I wait for American Airlines (No. 1 in delayed / lost luggage!) to get my stuff back to me.
Finally, I get the call. And Lo! And Behold! There's a strong smell of pepper sauce coming from my bag! NO! So I open the bag and not a single important/nice/expensive/warm piece of clothing is destroyed. I carefully take out each piece, examining and then placing in a nice pile of "good clothes" on my back seat (if you think that I would miss an opportunity to dramatize in front of the American counter, you'd be wrong. Gotta love regional airports where the departure ramp is five feet from the ticket counters...) and there, at the bottom of the bag, surrounded by 4 pairs of boxers and my Yale hoodie, is said broken bottle. And that's it! Not a drop of hot sauce got anywhere else. How's that for luck!
Though, to be sure, I am beginning to wonder about my odd trevails with boxers. Do note: hot sauce stains a funny color that is increasingly unfunny on light-colored cottons, especially when said cottons are part of your delicates... Why is it always my boxers?
To recap: I've had my gutchey washed away along a tropical current, had them stolen by snivelling laundry ladies, eaten by my dog, forgotten during a week-long trip to Philadelphia, and now irreparably dyed an amusing puce color if puce was a little more shit yellow/brown than purple.
and sorry mom about the swear... I'll go get the Ivory Liquid.
as always (knock on wood),
--goose
luck since then: 1 sick goal in a pick-up soccer game. full volley with right foot from 15 yards, upper 90. 1 night I didn't go out and would have been coming home right at the moment that a really nasty car accident happened around the corner from my house. 1 magical 18 page dissertation proposal that came together over 9 hours this afternoon.
More shout-outs next time. But now I have to get my butt to bed.
lucky - adj. happening fortunately; marked by good luck
example 1: anyone who wins a half-court shot contest.
example 2: anyone who walks away from a nasty car accident.
example 3: winning the lottery.
example 4: goose's 2007 (thus far)
To some people, you make luck by being in the right spot, getting yourself prepared for that moment when you need to sway all the x-factors in your direction. To others, luck comes like a blessing of an angel or benevolent spirit. And to some, luck not only comes, but sets up shop with you for a while. As lucky streaks go, I am riding one that is perhaps even greater than the time I played roulette at the Mohegan Sun and cleaned up all my chips. I believe Lt. Sherman of the Coast Guard was with me at the time. I don't even remember how much I won, but i did win all of the possible gray chips I was playing. Which I think were worth $1 each. I can't imagine the Sun having roulette tables cheaper than $5, but maybe...
So what is this incredibly lucky streak? Chronologically: 1) 1 January 2007 - I find myself again on Virgin Gorda. 2) During my vacation, I work for UVI, turning a little mint to help offset my vacation costs (and by the way, a 30-day winter vacation in the tropics is pretty darn lucky too!). 3) far away, back in cold New London, my "1000 Club" number comes up for the first time in ages. Was it the silly $10 drawing? NO! $100!!! And my parents were there to witness it! (And I think the good Doctor's number also played that week...) 4) Upon my return to Texas, the airline has lost my big duffel bag of clothes. How is this lucky? Because they didn't lose my dive gear (which is financially irreplaceable these days. t-shirts I have...) But, there were a few nice items in the duffel bag, including some fancy nice shirts from the happiest Quicksilver store in the world (Honolulu, HI) and wooly slippers and my heavy Yale sweatshirt. Not to mention 4 bottles of hot sauce from St. Croix, at least one of which would surely break and ruin my clothes. So for 4 long days, I wait for American Airlines (No. 1 in delayed / lost luggage!) to get my stuff back to me.
Finally, I get the call. And Lo! And Behold! There's a strong smell of pepper sauce coming from my bag! NO! So I open the bag and not a single important/nice/expensive/warm piece of clothing is destroyed. I carefully take out each piece, examining and then placing in a nice pile of "good clothes" on my back seat (if you think that I would miss an opportunity to dramatize in front of the American counter, you'd be wrong. Gotta love regional airports where the departure ramp is five feet from the ticket counters...) and there, at the bottom of the bag, surrounded by 4 pairs of boxers and my Yale hoodie, is said broken bottle. And that's it! Not a drop of hot sauce got anywhere else. How's that for luck!
Though, to be sure, I am beginning to wonder about my odd trevails with boxers. Do note: hot sauce stains a funny color that is increasingly unfunny on light-colored cottons, especially when said cottons are part of your delicates... Why is it always my boxers?
To recap: I've had my gutchey washed away along a tropical current, had them stolen by snivelling laundry ladies, eaten by my dog, forgotten during a week-long trip to Philadelphia, and now irreparably dyed an amusing puce color if puce was a little more shit yellow/brown than purple.
and sorry mom about the swear... I'll go get the Ivory Liquid.
as always (knock on wood),
--goose
luck since then: 1 sick goal in a pick-up soccer game. full volley with right foot from 15 yards, upper 90. 1 night I didn't go out and would have been coming home right at the moment that a really nasty car accident happened around the corner from my house. 1 magical 18 page dissertation proposal that came together over 9 hours this afternoon.
More shout-outs next time. But now I have to get my butt to bed.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
can you tell when a goose is cooked?
happy new year 2007!!!!
super exciting, i know. 2007. it's been 7 whole years since Y2K was going to make my apple IIe skills irrelevant...
quick apologies to the three of you who check this site more often than i do. can you believe that i actually forgot the web address? no, really! i did! wait... you're not disagreeing with me.
so right now, its 28 degrees in bountiful college station, texas and we're being hit with the "4th ice storm in the past quarter-century". someone (not brilliant but close) at the weather channel is calling it the "texas two-slip". why is this important? well, four days ago, i was sitting in beautiful st.croix, wondering how to get sand out of my dive gear. today, i'm wondering why i left st.croix in the first place. school was supposed to start two days ago, and i swear that we've had two snow days! totally understandable given that i would have preferred a pair of skates to my shoes as i walked to school today. why go to school on a snow day? well, 1) the monastery has no/little heat/insulation. and 2) someone at the monastery (most likely me) forgot to pay the cable bill for 2 months and so they turned it off over break. bummer. worst, though, is that we're out of food at the house and i don't want some nutjob to ram me on the road because they think that by owning a big american truck that they won't slip on the ice.
but enough of that, this semester is going to be a whammy, for sure. case in point? a 5-page paper assigned today despite not having class even once before it's due. i'm guessing the professor never took a "skills of teaching" course, where one of the primary aphorisms is to "never alienate your students on the first day of class." or maybe he has and is taking it literally by alienating us prior to said class...
as mentioned above, vacation in st.croix was superb. lots of lounging, curling up on the couch with the puppy while watching "price is right" (how i never went to a taping whilst in los angeles will weigh heavily on my mind for a long time...), going out to the bar (and drinking for free!), hitting the beach, diving, carnival!, and of course, christmas with my dearest. new year's on virgin gorda? yes, doctor! gotta love it! and double bonus: said dearest had a contact with a charter pilot who got us over there in 22 minutes (versus the 8+ hours of ferries required two years ago). i even rode in the co-pilot seat on the way back and now am beginning to wonder if my fear of flying is overblown. it's not, but thanks for the drugs, elibzeff! everyone who hates flying should be given fun things. for me, it used to be whiskey prior to take-off, but i have to admit, "mood elevators" or whatever those things were, it was nice not to leave a crease in the seat for once.
of course, as i begin to swoon for air travel after a long cold spell, they go and foul everything up. how? american airlines has "lost" my luggage. not both bags (somehow my dive gear made it...) but the one with the "cold weather clothes" including some bitching slippers i got for christmas are now somewhere between the virgin islands and here. and probably with a couple bottles of broken hot sauce soiling everything too. and to compound matters, they took my polo cologne bottle on the way down. bet they re-gifted that, those crummy tsa-ers. hate 'em!
so i'm sitting here in texas with no rain coat or my wicked awesome yale sweatshirt (super heavy with deep monk hood. it's da bomb!) for what is looking to be the worst weather i've faced in the past 5 years. at the very least, i packed my ali g dvds in my carry on so i have something to assuage my anger. but of course, fingers are crossed.
so that's the update... on to the shout-outs!
MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION IS GOING GREAT SHOUT-OUT TO: Skippy Peanut Butter! i gave up "trans fats" after a news report saying that they were about the worst thing you could put in yourself that wasn't called di-methyl mercury. and i was faring the worst because, even with said resolution, i probably had a good 25 years of trans fats already on me from my certain diet. but guess what?!!! no trans fats! just loads of saturated fats! yea! (i think...)
WICKED DANCING STYLE SHOUT-OUT TO: Misty H. of St.Croix. four days on virgin gorda and she left about 3 broken hearts when we boarded the plane home. some people have a way with bartenders on that tropical island, and i know both of them.
DID THEY JUST DO THAT? SHOUT-OUT TO: my dear homey Ryan H. of St.Croix. whilst watching the "Adult Parade" at the Christmas Carnival, doctor ryan got the quote of the year 2006 while a dance troupe performed something that seemed awfully similar to (what i would imagine to be) synchronized ob-gyn examinations. and i'm already sorry for that visual image, but rest assured, ryan isn't. or won't be. for a while.
JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU SHOUT-OUT TO: USC Football. Blasting out Michigan prior to the big flat fart that Ohio State made against Florida made me (and every other trojan i know) think: we would've killed them! of course, given my travels, i missed most of the bowl games (i saw the 1st half of both the title game and the rose bowl) but i did wear all my USC gear to the bar for the buckeye massacre and, as the gator fans (excluding dear friend and actual UF alum Moe who was strangely absent) were cheering and "chomping" i started with my annoying rendition of SoCal Spellouts and Fight On and "Beat the Gators!" and other trash-talking that will be irrelevant b/c florida won't win the SEC next year. though, i'm secretly afraid of Boise State.
WHY YOU SHOULD ADOPT SHOUT-OUT TO: my puppy rowan. after 4 months away, she still remembered my face (and probably smell...) when i got off the plane. and let me tell you, a hyper-excited 30lbs. bundle of furry joy ready to lick your face off is about the very best "welcome home" you can ask for. i miss her already.
and finally, CAN'T I GET A PIECE OF PEACE SHOUT-OUT TO: the year 2007. i hope everyone is doing well, keep reading this treacle and sending me emails (i am again writing back) and enjoy what you're doing. i have to admit, despite the workload in front of me, i'm eager to get back to work here. and, as the book i almost bought says, "you too can write your dissertation in 15 minutes a day!" that they ignore that that would require 9 years of 15-minute days is beside the point, i'm certain.
--goose
and PS SHOUT-OUT TO: all my dear friends who got engaged/married in 2006. the list is enviably full: D-Mike of Boston, Kristin S. of NoCal, Heidi R. of Missoula, Slider R. of Honolulu, J-Blonde of St. Thomas, Lauren G. (Miss G!) of Indiana, and Elibzeff B. of St. Thomas. days of happiness and bliss to each of you! and should you have been part of my "Ultimate Singles Challenge" bet, don't forget to get that check to me in the mail! it's tax-deductible!
super exciting, i know. 2007. it's been 7 whole years since Y2K was going to make my apple IIe skills irrelevant...
quick apologies to the three of you who check this site more often than i do. can you believe that i actually forgot the web address? no, really! i did! wait... you're not disagreeing with me.
so right now, its 28 degrees in bountiful college station, texas and we're being hit with the "4th ice storm in the past quarter-century". someone (not brilliant but close) at the weather channel is calling it the "texas two-slip". why is this important? well, four days ago, i was sitting in beautiful st.croix, wondering how to get sand out of my dive gear. today, i'm wondering why i left st.croix in the first place. school was supposed to start two days ago, and i swear that we've had two snow days! totally understandable given that i would have preferred a pair of skates to my shoes as i walked to school today. why go to school on a snow day? well, 1) the monastery has no/little heat/insulation. and 2) someone at the monastery (most likely me) forgot to pay the cable bill for 2 months and so they turned it off over break. bummer. worst, though, is that we're out of food at the house and i don't want some nutjob to ram me on the road because they think that by owning a big american truck that they won't slip on the ice.
but enough of that, this semester is going to be a whammy, for sure. case in point? a 5-page paper assigned today despite not having class even once before it's due. i'm guessing the professor never took a "skills of teaching" course, where one of the primary aphorisms is to "never alienate your students on the first day of class." or maybe he has and is taking it literally by alienating us prior to said class...
as mentioned above, vacation in st.croix was superb. lots of lounging, curling up on the couch with the puppy while watching "price is right" (how i never went to a taping whilst in los angeles will weigh heavily on my mind for a long time...), going out to the bar (and drinking for free!), hitting the beach, diving, carnival!, and of course, christmas with my dearest. new year's on virgin gorda? yes, doctor! gotta love it! and double bonus: said dearest had a contact with a charter pilot who got us over there in 22 minutes (versus the 8+ hours of ferries required two years ago). i even rode in the co-pilot seat on the way back and now am beginning to wonder if my fear of flying is overblown. it's not, but thanks for the drugs, elibzeff! everyone who hates flying should be given fun things. for me, it used to be whiskey prior to take-off, but i have to admit, "mood elevators" or whatever those things were, it was nice not to leave a crease in the seat for once.
of course, as i begin to swoon for air travel after a long cold spell, they go and foul everything up. how? american airlines has "lost" my luggage. not both bags (somehow my dive gear made it...) but the one with the "cold weather clothes" including some bitching slippers i got for christmas are now somewhere between the virgin islands and here. and probably with a couple bottles of broken hot sauce soiling everything too. and to compound matters, they took my polo cologne bottle on the way down. bet they re-gifted that, those crummy tsa-ers. hate 'em!
so i'm sitting here in texas with no rain coat or my wicked awesome yale sweatshirt (super heavy with deep monk hood. it's da bomb!) for what is looking to be the worst weather i've faced in the past 5 years. at the very least, i packed my ali g dvds in my carry on so i have something to assuage my anger. but of course, fingers are crossed.
so that's the update... on to the shout-outs!
MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION IS GOING GREAT SHOUT-OUT TO: Skippy Peanut Butter! i gave up "trans fats" after a news report saying that they were about the worst thing you could put in yourself that wasn't called di-methyl mercury. and i was faring the worst because, even with said resolution, i probably had a good 25 years of trans fats already on me from my certain diet. but guess what?!!! no trans fats! just loads of saturated fats! yea! (i think...)
WICKED DANCING STYLE SHOUT-OUT TO: Misty H. of St.Croix. four days on virgin gorda and she left about 3 broken hearts when we boarded the plane home. some people have a way with bartenders on that tropical island, and i know both of them.
DID THEY JUST DO THAT? SHOUT-OUT TO: my dear homey Ryan H. of St.Croix. whilst watching the "Adult Parade" at the Christmas Carnival, doctor ryan got the quote of the year 2006 while a dance troupe performed something that seemed awfully similar to (what i would imagine to be) synchronized ob-gyn examinations. and i'm already sorry for that visual image, but rest assured, ryan isn't. or won't be. for a while.
JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU SHOUT-OUT TO: USC Football. Blasting out Michigan prior to the big flat fart that Ohio State made against Florida made me (and every other trojan i know) think: we would've killed them! of course, given my travels, i missed most of the bowl games (i saw the 1st half of both the title game and the rose bowl) but i did wear all my USC gear to the bar for the buckeye massacre and, as the gator fans (excluding dear friend and actual UF alum Moe who was strangely absent) were cheering and "chomping" i started with my annoying rendition of SoCal Spellouts and Fight On and "Beat the Gators!" and other trash-talking that will be irrelevant b/c florida won't win the SEC next year. though, i'm secretly afraid of Boise State.
WHY YOU SHOULD ADOPT SHOUT-OUT TO: my puppy rowan. after 4 months away, she still remembered my face (and probably smell...) when i got off the plane. and let me tell you, a hyper-excited 30lbs. bundle of furry joy ready to lick your face off is about the very best "welcome home" you can ask for. i miss her already.
and finally, CAN'T I GET A PIECE OF PEACE SHOUT-OUT TO: the year 2007. i hope everyone is doing well, keep reading this treacle and sending me emails (i am again writing back) and enjoy what you're doing. i have to admit, despite the workload in front of me, i'm eager to get back to work here. and, as the book i almost bought says, "you too can write your dissertation in 15 minutes a day!" that they ignore that that would require 9 years of 15-minute days is beside the point, i'm certain.
--goose
and PS SHOUT-OUT TO: all my dear friends who got engaged/married in 2006. the list is enviably full: D-Mike of Boston, Kristin S. of NoCal, Heidi R. of Missoula, Slider R. of Honolulu, J-Blonde of St. Thomas, Lauren G. (Miss G!) of Indiana, and Elibzeff B. of St. Thomas. days of happiness and bliss to each of you! and should you have been part of my "Ultimate Singles Challenge" bet, don't forget to get that check to me in the mail! it's tax-deductible!
can you tell when a goose is cooked?
happy new year 2007!!!!
super exciting, i know. 2007. it's been 7 whole years since Y2K was going to make my apple IIe skills irrelevant...
quick apologies to the three of you who check this site more often than i do. can you believe that i actually forgot the web address? no, really! i did! wait... you're not disagreeing with me.
so right now, its 28 degrees in bountiful college station, texas and we're being hit with the "4th ice storm in the past quarter-century". someone (not brilliant but close) at the weather channel is calling it the "texas two-slip". why is this important? well, four days ago, i was sitting in beautiful st.croix, wondering how to get sand out of my dive gear. today, i'm wondering why i left st.croix in the first place. school was supposed to start two days ago, and i swear that we've had two snow days! totally understandable given that i would have preferred a pair of skates to my shoes as i walked to school today. why go to school on a snow day? well, 1) the monastery has no/little heat/insulation. and 2) someone at the monastery (most likely me) forgot to pay the cable bill for 2 months and so they turned it off over break. bummer. worst, though, is that we're out of food at the house and i don't want some nutjob to ram me on the road because they think that by owning a big american truck that they won't slip on the ice.
but enough of that, this semester is going to be a whammy, for sure. case in point? a 5-page paper assigned today despite not having class even once before it's due. i'm guessing the professor never took a "skills of teaching" course, where one of the primary aphorisms is to "never alienate your students on the first day of class." or maybe he has and is taking it literally by alienating us prior to said class...
as mentioned above, vacation in st.croix was superb. lots of lounging, curling up on the couch with the puppy while watching "price is right" (how i never went to a taping whilst in los angeles will weigh heavily on my mind for a long time...), going out to the bar (and drinking for free!), hitting the beach, diving, carnival!, and of course, christmas with my dearest. new year's on virgin gorda? yes, doctor! gotta love it! and double bonus: said dearest had a contact with a charter pilot who got us over there in 22 minutes (versus the 8+ hours of ferries required two years ago). i even rode in the co-pilot seat on the way back and now am beginning to wonder if my fear of flying is overblown. it's not, but thanks for the drugs, elibzeff! everyone who hates flying should be given fun things. for me, it used to be whiskey prior to take-off, but i have to admit, "mood elevators" or whatever those things were, it was nice not to leave a crease in the seat for once.
of course, as i begin to swoon for air travel after a long cold spell, they go and foul everything up. how? american airlines has "lost" my luggage. not both bags (somehow my dive gear made it...) but the one with the "cold weather clothes" including some bitching slippers i got for christmas are now somewhere between the virgin islands and here. and probably with a couple bottles of broken hot sauce soiling everything too. and to compound matters, they took my polo cologne bottle on the way down. bet they re-gifted that, those crummy tsa-ers. hate 'em!
so i'm sitting here in texas with no rain coat or my wicked awesome yale sweatshirt (super heavy with deep monk hood. it's da bomb!) for what is looking to be the worst weather i've faced in the past 5 years. at the very least, i packed my ali g dvds in my carry on so i have something to assuage my anger. but of course, fingers are crossed.
so that's the update... on to the shout-outs!
MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION IS GOING GREAT SHOUT-OUT TO: Skippy Peanut Butter! i gave up "trans fats" after a news report saying that they were about the worst thing you could put in yourself that wasn't called di-methyl mercury. and i was faring the worst because, even with said resolution, i probably had a good 25 years of trans fats already on me from my certain diet. but guess what?!!! no trans fats! just loads of saturated fats! yea! (i think...)
WICKED DANCING STYLE SHOUT-OUT TO: Misty H. of St.Croix. four days on virgin gorda and she left about 3 broken hearts when we boarded the plane home. some people have a way with bartenders on that tropical island, and i know both of them.
DID THEY JUST DO THAT? SHOUT-OUT TO: my dear homey Ryan H. of St.Croix. whilst watching the "Adult Parade" at the Christmas Carnival, doctor ryan got the quote of the year 2006 while a dance troupe performed something that seemed awfully similar to (what i would imagine to be) synchronized ob-gyn examinations. and i'm already sorry for that visual image, but rest assured, ryan isn't. or won't be. for a while.
JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU SHOUT-OUT TO: USC Football. Blasting out Michigan prior to the big flat fart that Ohio State made against Florida made me (and every other trojan i know) think: we would've killed them! of course, given my travels, i missed most of the bowl games (i saw the 1st half of both the title game and the rose bowl) but i did wear all my USC gear to the bar for the buckeye massacre and, as the gator fans (excluding dear friend and actual UF alum Moe who was strangely absent) were cheering and "chomping" i started with my annoying rendition of SoCal Spellouts and Fight On and "Beat the Gators!" and other trash-talking that will be irrelevant b/c florida won't win the SEC next year. though, i'm secretly afraid of Boise State.
WHY YOU SHOULD ADOPT SHOUT-OUT TO: my puppy rowan. after 4 months away, she still remembered my face (and probably smell...) when i got off the plane. and let me tell you, a hyper-excited 30lbs. bundle of furry joy ready to lick your face off is about the very best "welcome home" you can ask for. i miss her already.
and finally, CAN'T I GET A PIECE OF PEACE SHOUT-OUT TO: the year 2007. i hope everyone is doing well, keep reading this treacle and sending me emails (i am again writing back) and enjoy what you're doing. i have to admit, despite the workload in front of me, i'm eager to get back to work here. and, as the book i almost bought says, "you too can write your dissertation in 15 minutes a day!" that they ignore that that would require 9 years of 15-minute days is beside the point, i'm certain.
--goose
and PS SHOUT-OUT TO: all my dear friends who got engaged/married in 2006. the list is enviably full: D-Mike of Boston, Kristin S. of NoCal, Heidi R. of Missoula, Slider R. of Honolulu, J-Blonde of St. Thomas, Lauren G. (Miss G!) of Indiana, and Elibzeff B. of St. Thomas. days of happiness and bliss to each of you! and should you have been part of my "Ultimate Singles Challenge" bet, don't forget to get that check to me in the mail! it's tax-deductible!
super exciting, i know. 2007. it's been 7 whole years since Y2K was going to make my apple IIe skills irrelevant...
quick apologies to the three of you who check this site more often than i do. can you believe that i actually forgot the web address? no, really! i did! wait... you're not disagreeing with me.
so right now, its 28 degrees in bountiful college station, texas and we're being hit with the "4th ice storm in the past quarter-century". someone (not brilliant but close) at the weather channel is calling it the "texas two-slip". why is this important? well, four days ago, i was sitting in beautiful st.croix, wondering how to get sand out of my dive gear. today, i'm wondering why i left st.croix in the first place. school was supposed to start two days ago, and i swear that we've had two snow days! totally understandable given that i would have preferred a pair of skates to my shoes as i walked to school today. why go to school on a snow day? well, 1) the monastery has no/little heat/insulation. and 2) someone at the monastery (most likely me) forgot to pay the cable bill for 2 months and so they turned it off over break. bummer. worst, though, is that we're out of food at the house and i don't want some nutjob to ram me on the road because they think that by owning a big american truck that they won't slip on the ice.
but enough of that, this semester is going to be a whammy, for sure. case in point? a 5-page paper assigned today despite not having class even once before it's due. i'm guessing the professor never took a "skills of teaching" course, where one of the primary aphorisms is to "never alienate your students on the first day of class." or maybe he has and is taking it literally by alienating us prior to said class...
as mentioned above, vacation in st.croix was superb. lots of lounging, curling up on the couch with the puppy while watching "price is right" (how i never went to a taping whilst in los angeles will weigh heavily on my mind for a long time...), going out to the bar (and drinking for free!), hitting the beach, diving, carnival!, and of course, christmas with my dearest. new year's on virgin gorda? yes, doctor! gotta love it! and double bonus: said dearest had a contact with a charter pilot who got us over there in 22 minutes (versus the 8+ hours of ferries required two years ago). i even rode in the co-pilot seat on the way back and now am beginning to wonder if my fear of flying is overblown. it's not, but thanks for the drugs, elibzeff! everyone who hates flying should be given fun things. for me, it used to be whiskey prior to take-off, but i have to admit, "mood elevators" or whatever those things were, it was nice not to leave a crease in the seat for once.
of course, as i begin to swoon for air travel after a long cold spell, they go and foul everything up. how? american airlines has "lost" my luggage. not both bags (somehow my dive gear made it...) but the one with the "cold weather clothes" including some bitching slippers i got for christmas are now somewhere between the virgin islands and here. and probably with a couple bottles of broken hot sauce soiling everything too. and to compound matters, they took my polo cologne bottle on the way down. bet they re-gifted that, those crummy tsa-ers. hate 'em!
so i'm sitting here in texas with no rain coat or my wicked awesome yale sweatshirt (super heavy with deep monk hood. it's da bomb!) for what is looking to be the worst weather i've faced in the past 5 years. at the very least, i packed my ali g dvds in my carry on so i have something to assuage my anger. but of course, fingers are crossed.
so that's the update... on to the shout-outs!
MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION IS GOING GREAT SHOUT-OUT TO: Skippy Peanut Butter! i gave up "trans fats" after a news report saying that they were about the worst thing you could put in yourself that wasn't called di-methyl mercury. and i was faring the worst because, even with said resolution, i probably had a good 25 years of trans fats already on me from my certain diet. but guess what?!!! no trans fats! just loads of saturated fats! yea! (i think...)
WICKED DANCING STYLE SHOUT-OUT TO: Misty H. of St.Croix. four days on virgin gorda and she left about 3 broken hearts when we boarded the plane home. some people have a way with bartenders on that tropical island, and i know both of them.
DID THEY JUST DO THAT? SHOUT-OUT TO: my dear homey Ryan H. of St.Croix. whilst watching the "Adult Parade" at the Christmas Carnival, doctor ryan got the quote of the year 2006 while a dance troupe performed something that seemed awfully similar to (what i would imagine to be) synchronized ob-gyn examinations. and i'm already sorry for that visual image, but rest assured, ryan isn't. or won't be. for a while.
JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU SHOUT-OUT TO: USC Football. Blasting out Michigan prior to the big flat fart that Ohio State made against Florida made me (and every other trojan i know) think: we would've killed them! of course, given my travels, i missed most of the bowl games (i saw the 1st half of both the title game and the rose bowl) but i did wear all my USC gear to the bar for the buckeye massacre and, as the gator fans (excluding dear friend and actual UF alum Moe who was strangely absent) were cheering and "chomping" i started with my annoying rendition of SoCal Spellouts and Fight On and "Beat the Gators!" and other trash-talking that will be irrelevant b/c florida won't win the SEC next year. though, i'm secretly afraid of Boise State.
WHY YOU SHOULD ADOPT SHOUT-OUT TO: my puppy rowan. after 4 months away, she still remembered my face (and probably smell...) when i got off the plane. and let me tell you, a hyper-excited 30lbs. bundle of furry joy ready to lick your face off is about the very best "welcome home" you can ask for. i miss her already.
and finally, CAN'T I GET A PIECE OF PEACE SHOUT-OUT TO: the year 2007. i hope everyone is doing well, keep reading this treacle and sending me emails (i am again writing back) and enjoy what you're doing. i have to admit, despite the workload in front of me, i'm eager to get back to work here. and, as the book i almost bought says, "you too can write your dissertation in 15 minutes a day!" that they ignore that that would require 9 years of 15-minute days is beside the point, i'm certain.
--goose
and PS SHOUT-OUT TO: all my dear friends who got engaged/married in 2006. the list is enviably full: D-Mike of Boston, Kristin S. of NoCal, Heidi R. of Missoula, Slider R. of Honolulu, J-Blonde of St. Thomas, Lauren G. (Miss G!) of Indiana, and Elibzeff B. of St. Thomas. days of happiness and bliss to each of you! and should you have been part of my "Ultimate Singles Challenge" bet, don't forget to get that check to me in the mail! it's tax-deductible!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
