yay

i probably shouldn't be this excited. but i think its justified.

the speed limit on the road i take to class every wednesday used to be 50. this made my trip take 45 to 50 minutes... and today, for the first time, i experienced the wonder of the new speed limit. it's now 70. yay! this makes my trip only about 35 minutes, which means that i'll actually be eating lunch on wednesdays now!

ok, there was something else i was going to say.

... oh right, i remembered

i'm going to start posting photography again. i've got some new stuff to share! over the summer i worked on learning more about how to use my fancy camera (which i still haven't named... hmm, sad.), and since i've been reading this biography of walker evans, i really really want to work harder on that.

.

one other thing. a strange moment to share, and perhaps slightly embarrasing. i was organising my books last saturday afternoon, and i was standing there, listening to some music, and suddenly i realised that i had been unconsciously dancing with paul johnson and hendrik willem van loon for a longer time than i'd like to admit... and not a waltz or anything like that. ever seen elizabethtown? the scene where he's in the woods and he dances like a three-year-old, jumping up and down, waving his arms around? thats how it was. and i don't think paul johnson would do that. surely he's ever so much too dignified. perhaps van loon would... he seems a merry chap.

Sea-Fever

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

- John Masefield

can i download my life apps now, please?

so i got on facebook tonight, checked my messages, wait, i don't have to explain this. dumbo. anyway i got on facebook tonight and as i was looking over the page i made for my book group i noticed a strangely endearing little button.

next to other people's posts and discussion topics, i as administrator have a fancy little button labeled

mark as irrelevant

.

.

yes. this inspires me. it's like a computer-generated eye-roll! you know how rolling your eyes (not that i'm condoning rolling your eyes... just sometimes its horridly satisfying) makes you feel that you've expressed "you have no effect on me, no matter what you say. silly weak little pigeon, i am not the piece of bread you thought i was, i am an unripe persimmon! you can't hurt me!"

remember this when you're feeling anahillated and beleaguered.

ok FINE

i've been ordered by several people to post these. i'm SORRY! please forgive me for the damage these will do to your eyes. they were taken in 2002. the fish is named waldo.

ah whiteboard, how we love thee.

very attractive face there, justin.

hear ye hear ye if ye have ears then hear ye

i started a ... cringe at the phrase... scrapbook... this evening, as is appropriate for the eve of school. but i'm still not a scrapbooky scrapbooker, like the ones with stickers and weird "inspirational" or "cheeky" quotes to paste onto the page. but, i'm almost ashamed to say, it was fun. really fun. i'm gonna have to watch it.

i'm in shock

oh wow. i just actually heard this horrifying specimen on a tv ad:

"inner beauty is important, but not as important as outer beauty."

shield your eyes

this may be the last time you hear from me. ever. why? because after i post the following pictures i'm pretty sure someone is going to kill me.

and yes, caitlin and i both won the "biggest dork alive in 2003" award.

so... for a bit of comedy, here you go.

you know, i'm really quite shocked that i just posted this.

the very last first time

my last first day of homeschool is coming up in 5 days. though i've always looked forward to this part of "it", i'm suddenly just sad. and thorougly understanding of the phrases "bittersweet" and "mixed emotion" though they are cliched i realise. i also remembered this one day of school that for some reason stuck in my head - i must have been 7 or 8, and caitlin and i were sitting in the schoolroom together, wearing our favorite dresses which were absolutely horrid (the yellow/pink ones with the upside-down tulips sketches. thank you mamadah for trying so hard to get us to relinquish them.), having an eraser war instead of doing our handwriting.

and this time next year i'll (hopefully) go trotting off to the scary world of college, no longer young enough to hypothetically apply to hogwarts or be a part of one of those 80's highschool movies. the teacher won't take pictures of us, or give us butterfly day picnics, or let us paint our faces like celts and stand on our desks yelling war-cries. but on the bright side... it will be different, it will be exciting. i am excited about new things, i am sad about old things, and they are swirling together like the whipped cream and chocolate in my drink did when my little brother stuck his finger in it just now. ew.

this year of school will be most exciting. the most exciting parts are these:

gileskirk modernity

(oh the wonders of george grant!)

spanish II

teaching company physics course

being done with math FOREVER after this fall!

(maybe not forever, but if i can help it...)

greek!

art history class this spring

the amazing literature course mamadah has planned for me

taking piano for the first time

i'm doing more than this (yeep!) but these are the really exciting parts.

this year i'm going to faithfully take pictures and blog... it seems appropriate. and its probably the best thing to do to keep myself from (horrors!) scrapbooking, which i admit myself to have always kind of wanted to do. not cheesy scrapbooking. pretty scrapbooking. maybe i will. hmm.

95 degree weather, like tears in your throat

yesterday i was driving down abrams and it was so grey and blustery that i thought it was winter for a moment... it reminded me of driving to class in 20 degree weather with the windows rolled down and the wind making my scarf flutter and giving me little-girl shivers. so i rolled down the window, expecting the wonderful shock of chill ... and the hot august air was so heavy it caught in my lungs and suprised me, in a bad way.

i miss fall. i miss winter. summer is so wonderful and lovely, but think of scarves and hot drinks and days when fingerless gloves don't do a thing... of taking walks when its so cold the air makes your eyes water and your stomach to do that funny shaky thing.

come here, little autumn, i miss you!