All the way through grade school—from Kindergarten or First Grade until Sixth, when I was twelve years old—I had two friends who were boys. Their names were Jimmy and Adam. Each was the other’s best friend, and the two of them were a great constant of my grade school education. I don’t remember much, but I remember a few things. Comic books drawn on ruled notebook paper, magic shows with newspaper palm trees, and strings of cheesy punch lines at long lunch tables. (And that makes me remember cafeteria hamburgers, plastic lunch trays, cafetorium stage carpeting in red. Do I really remember the plastic lunch trays, or did I make them up?)
Although my interaction with and knowledge of them mostly ended after we graduated Sixth Grade, moved on to new schools (and new states), I found them by bits and pieces over the following years. An email address here, a website there. A college, a new project, a fiancee, an IM handle. There isn’t any consistent keeping in touch, but there has been keeping in think; and I have dreams about them.
The dreams are always a little sad, or a little lost. I almost always wake up feeling like I misplaced something, or neglected an important connection. Of course, these weren’t friendships that deteriorated over time—we were twelve. We went to new schools. We grew up and made new lives. We became new people who (mostly) didn’t dwell on elementary school. But isn’t it odd… and kind of wonderful… that they come to mind so often? Individually, and together. For some reason, they were important. Well, they still are.
I often wonder what became of people I knew when I was a little kid. Just these more than most. Adam is teaching music, I think. Jimmy is Jim now—I don’t know if he’d lynch me for using a childhood nickname or not. (I can only plead fondness.) Is this entry a half-assed attempt at getting back in touch with them? I suppose it’s just as much a soft-hearted attempt at letting them know that they still mean something to me, if you can mean something to someone you only knew till you were twelve.
I love that it’s only 5:45 am, and I have the whole day stretching in front of me. It’s huge! Days have so much time in them!
The time between 5:15 am and noon feels like an entire day. When I run and shower and meditate around lunch time, it feels almost like sleeping, I am reset somehow—and then noon until the time I actually go to bed in the evening feels like another day. I have so much time now! It feels so brilliant and wonderful! I don’t know what I will decide at the end of the sleep scheduling trial I’m doing (as you might have guessed, I have not always had my alarm set for 5:15!), but at this moment I am so grateful to the universe that I made the decision to try it. It feels so fantastically good!
Of Old Friends & Great Surprises. Michael Match was in town this month! Oh my goodness.
Gratitude (appropriately). My life is awesome.
Chanticleer, part one. I swear I’ll finish—but for now, here’s the beginning.
Uberdesign Antibiotics. As bizarre as it is to be enthralled by medicine packaging…
Processing…
The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I finished this book last week. I think it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Blood and Gold, Anne Rice. Susan lent me this and it’s been years since I read anything by Anne Rice. Still as dark and emo and delicious as ever!
Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser. Vixen lent me this—I’m all about borrowing books lately, from everybody. This is really interesting and of course a natural extension to the other things I’ve been reading lately.
Super-Important Linkage…
I find only narrow solice in laughing my ass off at this video, as it was posted a year ago and likely many people have now done the same. I almost cried—and man, do I know icy roads. Whew.
Because I’m brilliant and completely forgot to post this yesterday, it, ah, posted itself. Yes—my notes and everything except a completed entry. Ha ha! But I’m paying attention again, I promise, so here we are. ;}
Elsewhere Posting…
Dystonia interview information @ Virtual Magpie. This happened on Friday and from all accounts went fabulously!
Incubation Inspiration @ Virtual Magpie. I got a tour of the Youngstown Business Incubator last week! I haven’t quite finished writing up the entire experience, but here’s a taste of what’s to come. ;}
Go Ahead. Annoy Me. @ Virtual Magpie. Oops—yeah, getting a bit teed of with the state of things around here. Specifically, Time Warner…
Stage Rules (and General Awesomeness) @ Megan Mezzo Blog. The Oakland keeps me regularly entertained, even from here.
Processing…
The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Now we’re talking about the eating of meat… so many perspectives, so little time. Getting close to the end now.
Doctor Who, Season One. Man, this is awesome. I watched it with Dad in Youngstown and now I’m watching it with Marty. I can’t wait to get to the second season.
The Arts: Live, and In Person @ Megan Mezzo Blog. The renaissance festival really made some amazing impressions on me this year.
Can’t Wake Up, Clowns Will Eat Me, er, from Virtual Magpie. Ha ha. :P
Impromptu Cloud Nine Gushage @ Virtual Magpie. La la la! My life is so exciting and awesome!
Business Incubator Blues @ Virtual Magpie—ooh, so frustrated! Your Friendly Neighborhood Call to Action, sponsored by the chatty bird.
Emii-Sistar Newsbits @ Megan Mezzo Blog. I have sneaky inside Emii information! I am brave and impetuous!!
Reading…
The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Getting back to this, this week. Discussion of industrial organic and the peculiar quandaries we face when we put anything in our mouths!
Sugar Blues, William Dufty. I finished this book. The last few chapters descend deliciously into recipe-building, and the man ends on that note—delicious, delicious food. What a fantastic ending to an incredibly brain-breaking book. The cover design is pretty sensationalistic, but the material is really interesting. Mr. Dufty slips towards poetic license rather often, but I don’t feel that it changed the impact in a negative way—and actually, it makes his skeins of factual information a hell of a lot easier to read! But wow, the foodiness of it. Wow, the food discussion and descriptions. How bizarre that such a book left me hungry!!
Other Items of Interest…
Software with a sense of humor, from 37Signals (and Apple). Died laughing.
My poor sistar was sick on Halloween. There is a poem. I demand that you read it. (It is awesome!!)
About getting communication-stuck, from Kyeli’s blog; man, can I relate to this. (I bet you can too.)
Note: Sorry for the information dissemination HTML vomit some of ya’ll experienced. I fixed! Oopsies! ;}
Where there’s smoke, there’s Marty… Chicken-singeing adventures in Austin. Oh my.
Sunk Cost Paradox @ Virtual Magpie. Musings inspired by an interesting realtor encounter at Cloud Nine. Ha!
Youngstown in November @ Virtual Magpie. Business trip!! Eek!
Drive Space Dreams @ Virtual Magpie. The line between my computer and my self is so grey and fuzzy, really…
Reading…
Sugar Blues, William Dufty. Holy SHIT. This is an AWESOME book.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I’ve got this on hold at the moment because Sugar Blues is fascinating me. But Sugar Blues is actually a pretty quick read (you wouldn’t know it from my updates, ha ha) so I should be back with Michael Pollan soon.
Other Items of Interest…
This excites me—but hasn’t Stephen Colbert always excited me? This is really fantastic.
Aaaaaaaa!! Turtles! This woman made awesome, awesome, awesome TMNT cupcakes for her son. Oh my goodness! Glee!
Pakleds, lizards. Marty had an eventful day. :P
The Oakland blog has a great post up about R. Jason van Hoose and awesome displays in Youngstown this week. Also, his website is here—dude. Really cool stuff.
Adorable card from Anne. I love getting fantastic cards for no reason. (Hint!)
Did I just use the word paradigm… again? Well, it’s about music this time. ;}
Cloud Nine is blogging—and I get to introduce us!
Reading…
The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Reading about industrial organic, and getting shivers (or shudders). So many people had mentioned this book before I picked it up. It really is living up to recommendations.
Sugar Blues, William Dufty. This… is really interesting. A friend in Seattle suggested it and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow. Sugar. Scary. (And it makes this a little more alarming than you might initially expect.)
Other Items of Interest…
It’s not my fault your soap doesn’t work, Marty…
Kyeli & Pace Smith both have new blogs! Eek! Go read the awesomeness!
Airborne, ginger and apple cider vinegar have been my remedies of choice for this week’s sinus infection—and it’s a doozy! I did dose my tea with whisky early on, but these others have really kept me going (especially the ginger, holy cow). I think the vinegar might possibly work almost as well as the whisky, and I can stay sober. (Mixed blessing?) From now on I will always keep fresh ginger and apple cider vinegar in my kitchen. Dude.
Why do we look for the worst in people? What makes that so appetizing? Why don’t we look for the strengths? Why don’t we look at people for their talents? Their cleverness, their thoughtfulness, their brilliance?
Intangibles. Brooke really gives me brain food, and I can use that food to change my brain… (So can you!)
Rhuban Glas. YouTube video of Gwawr Edwards, she is fantastic!
Welsh Cheddar. What?! You can’t pass up a post about cheese!!
Reading…
Specials. Scott Westerfield, third book in the trilogy. Finished early in the AM, last night. And, shit! I’m all out of fiction! (Although with three of those in a row? I think I can take a break. They were awesome.)
The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I’m still working on this one. I finished the “corn” section but I’m thinking about rereading it to absorb more of the bits and pieces… it’s definitely on my mind lately. Corn corn corn!
Other Items of Interest…
Yesterday was Ragen’s birthday! Go buy her totally awesome book!
NSA’s Lucky Break: From Boing Boing—this is alarming, but interesting.
That’s all for now. Have you smiled at someone yet today? GO SMILE!
