one of the most calming soothing things to me is to do the same repititous work over and over and over again. this brings me peace, it helps me meditate. things that go into this catagory are things like coalating. preparing bulk mailings- address address address address stamp stamp stamp. and knitting and spinning, of course.
the best ones are also things that remind me of my childhood. with this weeks apples (oh, i MUST remember to tell you all about my share) i made a waldorf salad. i AGONIZED over the grapes. they had ugly green ones for 1.29 and boring red ones for 1.49. they had the most beautiful dark purple ones for 2.99, and the hugest most perfect globes for 1.49. i really wanted to buy the dark ones, but i couldn't justify it. so i bought the huge red globes, knowing full well i'd be cursing myself when it came time to actually make the salad.
but you know what? i was still glad i did it. seeding grapes i think falls into that mesmerizing task catagory. i remember my grandmother seeding masses of grapes to make 24hr salad for thanksgiving. my mother always rolled her eyes and said that it was a stupid reason to buy the grapes with seeds, just cause they were cheaper. but now i know, it wasn't cause they were cheap, it was because they were huge and sweet and beautiful. it was because seeding them drove her crazy that she thought seedless grapes are the only way to go. my grandmother and i, we don't mind it so much.
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
5.10.07
30.6.07
something i never learned in elementary school
yes, i was in riverside elementary's chorus, and i learned the fifty nifty united states song. but i never learned the state song. if you were wondering:
Pennsylvania
Written and Composed by
Eddie Khoury and Ronnie Bonner
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,
Mighty is your name,
Steeped in glory and tradition,
Object of acclaim,
Where brave men fought the foe of freedom,
Tyranny decried,
'Til the bell of independence filled the countryside.
Chorus
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,
May your future be filled with honor everlasting as your history.
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,
Blessed by God's own hand,
Birthplace of a mighty nation,
Keystone of the land.
Where first our country's flag unfolded,
Freedom to proclaim,
May the voices of tomorrow glorify your name.
Chorus
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,
May your future be filled with honor everlasting as your history.
oh yeah. it's from here, so you can look up your own home state's song. i was lead there from the always fabulous mimi smartypants, who i think of as a neighbor, even though we've probably never met.
although, it's also very likely we sat next to each other on the train. but i'd never notice. because i never notice anyone. my New Best Friend (™) ryan tapped me on the shoulder today because we were on the same traincar, and we discovered we both work in the sears tower! i don't know about you, but i think this is a Sign.
Pennsylvania
Written and Composed by
Eddie Khoury and Ronnie Bonner
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,
Mighty is your name,
Steeped in glory and tradition,
Object of acclaim,
Where brave men fought the foe of freedom,
Tyranny decried,
'Til the bell of independence filled the countryside.
Chorus
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,
May your future be filled with honor everlasting as your history.
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,
Blessed by God's own hand,
Birthplace of a mighty nation,
Keystone of the land.
Where first our country's flag unfolded,
Freedom to proclaim,
May the voices of tomorrow glorify your name.
Chorus
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania,
May your future be filled with honor everlasting as your history.
oh yeah. it's from here, so you can look up your own home state's song. i was lead there from the always fabulous mimi smartypants, who i think of as a neighbor, even though we've probably never met.
although, it's also very likely we sat next to each other on the train. but i'd never notice. because i never notice anyone. my New Best Friend (™) ryan tapped me on the shoulder today because we were on the same traincar, and we discovered we both work in the sears tower! i don't know about you, but i think this is a Sign.
20.5.07
shrek 3 and other childhood memories
went to watch it this weekend with d and jr. i made a joke that i'd blog about it, but then she asked why i hadn't and i thought, why not? it shouldn't just be a joke.
see, the thing is, i love movie reviews. especially the clever time out chicago ones. and i've taken classes. most notably gender, culture, and media. so afterwards, we tend to have discussions like this:
me: did you like the movie?
d: yeah, i thought it was good. i really liked it. it was funny.
me: jr, did you like the movie?
jr: YEAH!
me: what was your favorite part?
jr: i liked when he went WOOSH, and then the bad guy when KRUNCH, and then he wnt POW! that was cool!
d: did you like the movie, caitlin?
me: i did like the movie. i was particularly pleased with the large number of women cast members, and the strong roles they were alowed to play. there was even the scene were they mocked their traditional counterparts for sitting around waiting to be rescued! there really aren't enough movies where there's a pack of women who turn into ninjas. also, of course, is the sweet and loveable fiona, who is one of the few positive roll models who's big and fat and green. so that of course gets lots and lots of points from me. there were only 2 things that really got on my nerves. first, the king's death wasn't very respectful. i felt uncomfortable laughing at the king 'croaking" in various fits and starts. and i was very upset at shrek not considering fiona getting pregnant as the natural result of their marrage. if he was REALLY worried about not starting a family yet, there are precautions he could have taken. really, you'd be amazed at the other uses of some of those swamp plants. but those were minor things in the sweep of the whole movie. i really appreicated its messages about beauty, that having good hair doesn't matter, it's being kind to others, and protecting those you love from danger even when it means sacrificing yourself. i didn't even mind the fart jokes.
d: oh.
so you can see how i can be annoying to take to cartoons.
actually, while typing all this up, i remembered somethign else that annoyed me. after all those le leche league meetings i went to as a child, i cringe at baby bottles in films. but i justified it by saying that though fiona breastfed, she didn't have enough for triplets and suplemented with slug juice.
which brings me to a totally different topic, toys i was not allowed to have as a child:
1. guns
2. baby bottles
3. anything advertized on saturday morning television.
i think i'm going to do a 365day portrait about that.
and THAT makes me think of something else from my childhood. in the catagory of "crazy childhood theories" you know, the answer to the interview question, the subject for the "kid logic" this american life episode.
so i had this theory as a child. that tv could somehow track your spending habits. and they sent you commercials for what they thought you needed. and once you bought it, they turned the commercials off. the basis of this theory was toothpaste commercials: colgate and crest advertised heavily, but aim, the toothpaste my family used, never ever advertised on tv. so i occasionally requested saturday morning cartoon toys not so much because i wanted the toy, but because i wanted the stupid commercial to stop repeating itself.
see, the thing is, i love movie reviews. especially the clever time out chicago ones. and i've taken classes. most notably gender, culture, and media. so afterwards, we tend to have discussions like this:
me: did you like the movie?
d: yeah, i thought it was good. i really liked it. it was funny.
me: jr, did you like the movie?
jr: YEAH!
me: what was your favorite part?
jr: i liked when he went WOOSH, and then the bad guy when KRUNCH, and then he wnt POW! that was cool!
d: did you like the movie, caitlin?
me: i did like the movie. i was particularly pleased with the large number of women cast members, and the strong roles they were alowed to play. there was even the scene were they mocked their traditional counterparts for sitting around waiting to be rescued! there really aren't enough movies where there's a pack of women who turn into ninjas. also, of course, is the sweet and loveable fiona, who is one of the few positive roll models who's big and fat and green. so that of course gets lots and lots of points from me. there were only 2 things that really got on my nerves. first, the king's death wasn't very respectful. i felt uncomfortable laughing at the king 'croaking" in various fits and starts. and i was very upset at shrek not considering fiona getting pregnant as the natural result of their marrage. if he was REALLY worried about not starting a family yet, there are precautions he could have taken. really, you'd be amazed at the other uses of some of those swamp plants. but those were minor things in the sweep of the whole movie. i really appreicated its messages about beauty, that having good hair doesn't matter, it's being kind to others, and protecting those you love from danger even when it means sacrificing yourself. i didn't even mind the fart jokes.
d: oh.
so you can see how i can be annoying to take to cartoons.
actually, while typing all this up, i remembered somethign else that annoyed me. after all those le leche league meetings i went to as a child, i cringe at baby bottles in films. but i justified it by saying that though fiona breastfed, she didn't have enough for triplets and suplemented with slug juice.
which brings me to a totally different topic, toys i was not allowed to have as a child:
1. guns
2. baby bottles
3. anything advertized on saturday morning television.
i think i'm going to do a 365day portrait about that.
and THAT makes me think of something else from my childhood. in the catagory of "crazy childhood theories" you know, the answer to the interview question, the subject for the "kid logic" this american life episode.
so i had this theory as a child. that tv could somehow track your spending habits. and they sent you commercials for what they thought you needed. and once you bought it, they turned the commercials off. the basis of this theory was toothpaste commercials: colgate and crest advertised heavily, but aim, the toothpaste my family used, never ever advertised on tv. so i occasionally requested saturday morning cartoon toys not so much because i wanted the toy, but because i wanted the stupid commercial to stop repeating itself.
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