hello i am cold

Slightly belated, but here is this year's end-of-the-year resolutions and other stuff post!

Here is last year's entry for reference.

I guess I'll start with the travel stuff for this year, which was quite a lot! I don't have my calendar with me, so I'm going to check Flickr instead.

I went to Promdig in January and took several more trips to the L.A. area: for Tiffany's birthday, for Rebecka's wedding, for Dan's memorial, and for Christmas, of course. In addition to that, there were several jaunts around California: to Napa, to Half Moon Bay, to Tahoe (twice). We went to Seattle and Victoria just for fun (man, I completely forgot that was this year... it was an awesome trip! Even if we didn't see any orcas.) We also did an overnight in Vegas just before New Years.

I went to Green Bay in March for Weetacon, which was a blast as usual. We went to Cleveland for Ian's family reunion. And of course the huge trip over the summer: Belgium and the Netherlands (for my sister's wedding). We went to two cities we'd never been before (Ghent and Maastricht) as well as our old friends Amsterdam, Brussels, and Haarlem. And of course, I tacked on my trip to Ireland before that, and that was the trip of a lifetime! I already want to go back, of course.

I really wanted to visit Marianne and Chris and Foo (Albuquerque and Austin and Salt Lake City) and go to Disneyland (I miss you, Disneyland) but I did pack a lot into the year, especially considering that I was desperately nauseous for months on end.

This year's travel? Other than shindig and a southern California baby shower, I have no plans. And between pregnancy and baby-having, I feel confident that there will be a lot less travel on the agenda than usual. (Even though the NYT claims that babies are very portable when they're like six months old.) In hindsight, I'm glad we went so many places in 2010 while we still could!

I'm scared to look at my resolutions, but here goes:

1. Take the general GRE and apply to grad school. I did not do this at all, yet again.

2. End the year with some savings. Well, we bought a house, so... no. I did do quite a good job saving money this year, especially since I spent a lot on my trip to Europe and Ireland this summer. (The plane ticket alone was like $1,200, given the time of year.) But now I probably am down to my last few dollars in savings, and I have to cash out some stock to put into house remodeling. So according to the letter of the law, no, but I did have quite a big chunk at one point that I used wisely. I'm calling this a win.

3. Finish young adult novel. Most disappointed that I didn't do this. This year FOR SURE.

4. Take David and Tyler to Marinus as a thank you. We tried, but our schedules refused to work out. I hope we can still do this, but it might be towards the end of 2011, when we have money again, and hopefully some idea of what to do with an infant when we go eat somewhere very fancy.

5. Make an exercise plan and stick to it. There were weeks in there where I couldn't actually move, much less exercise. But I should be taking a swim class or prenatal yoga or something now. I am not. My god, this list is depressing!

6. Finish the Time reading list. This is a sad one too. I read nine of the books I needed to; I think I have 24 or so to go. I can do it this year for sure.

7. Go whale watching. We went! But sadly, saw zero whales.

8. Empty out storage unit. I made a lot of progress on this (at least three trips to start sorting and clearing stuff out), but then at the end of the year, there was this big logistical mess whereupon I'm not actually paying for the space right now. Plus, once it looked like we were buying a house, I figured I'd postpone it until I have somewhere to store my stuff. When the new house is ready, we'll have room, and I'll finish this one.

9. Go to therapy. I actually no longer feel that I need it quite so badly. I never did it, though. Man, I suck at these!

10. Go to L.A. for novel research, including being in the audience for American Idol. I still really want to do this one! And the new season starts soon, so I'd better see if Rebecka can get me some tickets for March, when I'll be in Southern California anyway. I'm sure the fetus will enjoy listening to some caterwauling in-utero.

This is like a dismal 2.5 out of 10. I don't even know if I can give myself full credit for "whale watching" when there were no whales. Maybe it's 2 out of 10. I should have put "buy a house" on there. Or "get pregnant" (which was my secret resolution). I did accomplish things this year, just... not the things on the list.

So, on to my 2011 resolutions.

1. Have a healthy and happy baby. Learn how to take care of it. This will almost certainly be the hardest thing I do this year, so I might as well put it on the list.

2. Replenish savings. I have an ambitious figure in mind, considering that I will be working less and buying diapers. But we'll see.

3. Finish young adult novel. Dear future self: YOU HAD BETTER DO THIS. I'm actually planning to make this a priority in the first part of the year, when presumably it will be easier!

4. Take David and Tyler to Marinus as a thank you. This is an end-of-the-year resolution, like I said.

5. Take an art class. Something I've been hankering to do!

6. Finish the Time reading list. Yes! YES! I'm nine books closer!

7. Finish emptying out storage unit. This should be done fairly soon.

9. Go to L.A. for novel research, including being in the audience for American Idol. Need to aim for this one in March.

10. Finish remodeling house so we live in a place we love. In progress! I really want to live in a place that I'm happy with, and I think we're on the way there. Sadly, we don't have unlimited funds, so there may be some compromises ahead. I probably cannot, for example, afford this lamp. But I'm optimistic!

11. Figure out what to do with BFD. This is a last-minute addition to the list; I realize my blog is currently languishing in the middle of nowhere, semi-abandoned, tumbleweeds blowing through it. I need to either officially quit the blog, or make a commitment to something I can reasonably handle--for instance, once-a-week posting.

So, I went to Ireland!

Ireland had always been pretty high on my list of places I want to visit. Ian had seen it, and wasn't dying to go back. Plus he only had two weeks off, and since he planned to go to Holland for my sister's wedding, and then to Belgium, he couldn't go to Ireland too. I, on the other hand, luxuriously had the summer off. When I found tickets to Dublin that were cheaper than tickets to Amsterdam, I decided to go for it--I would go a week or so early, and see Ireland at last!

My plan was to stay in Dublin for a few days with my friends Sasha and Fergal, and then rent a car and drive around to see some of the country. I was nervous about this plan, since driving on the left side of the road, in a foreign country, alone, seemed like something that could go horribly wrong. But it's my carpe diem year, so I decided to be brave.

Since I was alone on the trip, I was able to spend many evenings sitting in a pub with a pint of Guinness, reading a book and writing my travel journal. Thus, I can transcribe the trip for you! Interspersed with photos!

( And it's very very long (TWSS) )

I haven't done this in a while, but I thought I'd see if anyone needs access to my friends-locked entries. As long as you're not one of my students, you're eligible! Just leave a comment and I'll be glad to add you. Cheers!

We decided to spend a weekend in Seattle, mostly because I've never been there and have always wanted to go! Also because we found a cheap fare--although that was somewhat mitigated by the ridiculously expensive whale watching trip to Victoria during which we only saw ONE WHALE NOSE and it wasn't even an ORCA but I'll get to that later.

It was a wonderful trip from beginning to end. Even flying in, just seeing the mountains was amazing. Seattle is beautiful, beautiful. And we had great weather, as every DJ on every radio station and every server at every restaurant and every Seattle friend on Twitter kept pointing out. It was truly gorgeous.



Okay, so we drive into the city and... this is the skyline I see. Notice anything? Anything at all? Is it that the Space Needle, which is supposed to be so huge and iconic, is MINIATURE SIZED? You guys, it's like half the size of the STRATOSPHERE HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS. And all the pictures make it look like it dominates the skyline. For the rest of the weekend, whenever we saw a postcard with an invariably huge-looking Space Needle, we'd point it out to each other. LIES.



The first thing we did was drive to Pike Place because I wanted some coffee, and where better to go than the one and only Original Starbucks? Except we went to the wrong Starbucks. I was surprised there were no souvenirs or signs on it--which is because it wasn't the actual first Starbucks. Thankfully, I chatted up an information booth guy whose picture I wanted to take, and he told us, so we walked back to the real first Starbucks! Phew!

(By the way, here is my Twitter from our walk through Pike Place: Fruit vendor at Pike Place Market: "San Francisco, huh? Ever go to the Ferry Building?" Ian: "That's for tourists." We laugh.)



After that we went to Salumi for sandwiches and ate them in the waterfall garden at Pioneer Square. We marvelled at the fact that Seattle looks like bizarro San Francisco--the same stores, similar street names, a diagonal street that looks like Market Street, the Port of Oakland cranes. Just instead of the bay, a mountain. And instead of the Transamerica Pyramid, the dinky little Space Needle. (Yeah, I just looked it up. The Transamerica Pyramid is also taller than the Space Needle.) Ian's pun for this feeling, which led us to repeatedly hallucinate that we were in San Francisco: Bay-ja vu.



Then we went up the Space Needle at my insistence (I even bought a souvenir magnet photo) where the view was really spectacular. Once again, we appreciated the magical, wonderful, wondrous weather that was making all the Seattlites (or maybe just that one radio DJ) weep for joy.



Next stop was Snoqualmie Falls, where we visited the Twin Peaks waterfall and the diner where you can get a slice of cherry pie and a cup of coffee. Which we of course did! It was ridiculously thrilling. As was our next stop: a meetup with sallysimpleton at a Belgian beer bar that had the most exhaustive list of Belgian beers I've ever seen on a menu outside of the Kulminator in Antwerp. There, we discovered our new favorite beer: Pannepot Struise. It made St. Bernardus 12 on tap taste like water.



Then we were exhausted (since we'd gotten up at 5am to make our flight in the first place) and full of beer, so we headed back to the hotel and crashed. The next day was a trip to Victoria to go whale watching! Well, sadly, we didn't see any Orcas. We did see a minke whale and I got a picture of its nose. We also saw a lighthouse and some cute seals, and I loved being out on the waters of Puget Sound. Unfortunately the ferry ride to Victoria was three hours long and really expensive.



We did also have a delicious brunch, walked a lot, and found a Dutch bakery, a flagpole garden, an oyster happy hour, and a big protest about salmon. We came back from the ferry ride and were once again exhausted from our day on the water and walking around, and also very hungry, so we went to McMinamins for a late dinner, which was delicious. Then bed!



Sunday our flight didn't leave until late, so we slept in (aaaah) and then hit Stumptown Coffee for morning coffee and in Ian's case, some beans to take home. We walked to Elliott Bay Books and I bought something to read on the plane, then it was time to meet up with sallysimpleton and her charming husband at Lunchbox Labs, a place one of her friends likes! Tons of burger options, delicious milkshakes, fun conversation. Definitely a highlight.



After that we browsed the weirdness at Archie McPhee, went back to have Pannepot at Brouwers one last time, and headed for the airport. Even there, the fun wasn't over: we got there early enough to hear that our flight had been delayed by an hour, so they were putting us on an earlier flight. We were the last two people on a very full flight. And then, weirdly, I ran into someone I know on the plane! One of the regulars at my friend Brad's coffee shop. It was a very "Cheers" moment, which is I guess appropriate for Seattle, the home of Frasier Crane.



So there you have it! Really an awesome little vacation, and we managed to pack a lot into a couple of days. Seattle's a great city--can't wait to go back again!

One of the things on my "carpe diem" list was to take a photography class. I signed up for an online four-week course, and it's just about finished! (I uploaded my final assignment late and am waiting for the instructor critique. I'm just like my students!)

One of the things they did was choose a picture for each assignment (there were eight assignments) as the best one in the class, which they called Photo of the Week. I got picked three times! This picture of the dog show, for an assignment on depth of focus. This one of Lauren, for an assignment on perspective. And this one, of the horse race, for the assignment on capturing motion.

(Other assignments included ones on the Rule of Thirds/Fifths, using light, hyperfocal distance, and something to do with aperture.)

So it was kind of an expensive class; was it worth it? I think so. I feel like the instructor is pretty conventional in his photography (rather than super experimental) and he didn't like my one minimalist (deliberately overexposed) submission, but I did learn things like, fill the frame. Take pictures both horizontally and vertically. Use leading lines. Use a tripod. Avoid dead space. Check for distractions. I now sort of know how to adjust the f-stop and aperture on my camera. And I took a lot of pictures in Seattle this weekend (more on that later).

If I were rich, I'd totally sign up for another class!

A few weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and I'd been having a vivid dream. I remember thinking, "I'd better write this down, because this is such a great story! Then, when I wake up, I can turn it into a novel, just like Stephenie Meyer did with Twilight! I'm going to be rich and famous!"

Here's what I wrote:

The world has no more stories. The last story is told by a fairy. She's in love with a salesman. She loves him but [illegible]. He says "it ain't no thing" when telling his story.

She is invisible but the world can see her.

All are dying, all life dying. Speech = can't lie. Compelled to tell truth. [Illegible.] Last story for humanity.

[Illegible] can save him, but it would kill her. He doesn't care. She is glad to sacrifice herself for him. She made him, told him to wear a red tie. He [illegible].

Forget girl in love with a vampire. Get ready for fairy in love with a salesman! Coming soon to a bookstore near you!

I have on my to-do list to write about Weetacon and my birthday, but I know what's going to happen if I wait until I have time to sit down and properly write about any of it, which is that I'll forget it all. So, I'm going to do this quickly, in the half an hour I have left before class. Efficient!

Weetacon was a blast, a last-minute excursion to go back to Green Bay and see my peeps and party in Coldington. (It ended up being a critical mass of people I wanted to see... not only Wendy and the Captain and my Coldington homies, but Jenfu/Eben AND Wendy/Chris McClure AND Jennette AND Rod AND people I'd never met before AND AND AND. Lots of awesome people. On the Pope Hilarius front I did get to see Laurie and Dee also, and meet the TWO BABIES that Dee has had since I moved away. WHAT. I had coffee at Kavarna, and I stayed for the first time at St. Brendan's, and took two bubble baths. It was a whirlwind trip, but very fun, and it's all hazy in my mind now, but I remember it was AWESOME.

My birthday was also AWESOME. I was afraid that it would be sad because Annie and Nonk were both unavailable! No Annie or Nonk? How can this be!? But Ian gave me 35 balloons, we met up with Evany and fam at the dog park, Lauren came over for brunch and karaoke, and lots of people came to the bar at night, even La Wade, who has a tiny baby! I also had gotten My First Smartphone the night before, so I kept taking pictures and videos and Twittering everything. Such as the dog park, the presents I got, the brunch, the karaoke. It ended up being really special; in fact, one of the best birthdays I can remember!

Also, my new cell phone rules. I took a bunch of video at Point Break Live, which we saw last week. They pick someone out of the audience to play Keanu's part. It was hilarious. There's a video out there somewhere of Gary Busey showing up at the L.A. one, and I think Kathryn Bigelow went to go see it too! It was especially funny since Ian had just seen Point Break for the first time, and we had this conversation:

Ian: "This is terrible!"
Mo: "It's so terrible it's good!"
Ian: "What's... good about it?"
Mo: "The subtext!"
Ian: "What subtext?"
Mo: "The love between Keanu and Patrick Swayze!" [A ten-minute lecture on the homoerotic subtext, followed by a long pause.]
Ian: "Did you make that up?"
Mo: "No! It's obvious! This is like, basically the surfing version of Brokeback Mountain!"
Ian: "???"

Then Ian Googled "Point Break subtext" and found Point Break Live. It was serendipity!

And now, I must go to class.

One of the things on my "carpe diem" list is to take a photography class this year.  Not that I'm going to start calling myself an artiste or anything like that. It's just a hobby that I really enjoy, and that I'd like to get better at!

I got a book on composition for my birthday, and I flipped through it yesterday. Then I went to run an errand and all I could see were triangles and diagonals and balanced compositions and I was like, awesome! WHERE IS MY CAMERA! Especially when I saw a dejected fiftysomething woman dressed in giant fairy wings. Damn!

I also discovered that there's a place where you can put in your screen name and see if any of your photos have made it to Flickr Explore. One of mine has, this one of Ian and Goulash at the dog park! I do love that whole series.  There have been a few photos I've taken over the years that I've really liked, like one of a crowd in Prague, or a tunnel in Germany, or a flower with dew on it, or condors, or my  nephew.  

My friend Lauren is moving to Paris, and we've been talking about taking a trip before she leaves, just to take pictures. (I'm thinking Hearst Castle, where she's never been, and the whole coastal area down there, would be fun.) Anyway, I'm excited! And I'm excited to take a photography class too.  Hopefully before we go to Europe this summer...

1. We went to Bodega Bay on Valentine's Day, hoping to see whales. We saw lots of whale watchers and talked to a very informative man who said April would be better for whales. We saw no whales. So instead, I took pictures of crazy waves.

2. I really want this platform bed: http://www.platformbedsonline.com/platform-beds/storage/christopher.html or a similar type of bed. Right now we don't have a bedframe, and it makes me feel like I am not a grownup. Whenever we go to see our friends Nick and Kat, who have a very fancy house with art they painted themselves and furniture lovingly picked out at an antique store I come home and feel full of despair. We have overflowing closets and random shit piled everywhere and no bedframe at all. I know this is not actually a real problem, in the scheme of things, but I would love to have a more grownup-feeling house! Suggestions welcome.

3. Considering how needle-phobic I am, is it weird that I'm considering acupuncture? It's not an injection (which is where my phobia truly lies) so I feel like I would probably be okay with it.

4. Every Thursday is my last workday of the week, and I am reminded of how much I detest the phrase, "It's my Friday!" I figured out that it dates back to when I worked at the Bux, and the assistant manager was this really annoying person who would announce "It's my Friday!" like ten million times on her last workday of the week. And we all hated her and most of us had to work the next day so we did not care that it was her Friday. Yet she wouldn't SHUT UP ABOUT IT.

5. I also think of this Tweet all the time now. So true.