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May 31, 2005
Lest We Forget...
Okay. So Dave and I go to one of the nicer restaurants in town for dinner last night. One of the other patrons is, and there is no other way to say this, a dirtbag. He's dressed in dirty black from head to foot, he's wearing a rasta hat with a brim (also in black)which he wore the entire time he was at dinner. He was mostly unshaven, what hair I could see under the hat looked greasy, and he kept his sunglasses on the entire time. Oh yes, he took a casual phone call that everyone in the area could hear, while his date sat on the other side of the table. AND while eating, he rested his entire left forearm, from elbow to fingertips on the table. Too much self-consequence and no manners or consideration for anyone else's needs. A dirtbag.
I was describing him to Dave, when I realized he had a bunch of letters tattooed on the inside of his left arm. I looked again, and they did indeed say, "Question Authority." My first thought, after the observation that he would need to wear long-sleeved shirts to job interviews, was "Does he actually need a reminder?" I mean, isn't that sort of like getting your own name tattooed where you can read it?
Posted by sally at 08:42 AM
May 29, 2005
Personal Soundtrack
I know that everybody and their dog's nephew has some sort of portable music thingummy these days. I find it interesting that people need to carry music with them. I don't. I hardly even listen to it in the car, because I discovered years ago that I have my own internal musical soundtrack.
I really became conscious of it the day I made my first cigar box. There was a whole group of people working, and someone asked if we could have music. And the group leader said, no, it's a meditative sort of exercise and music might interfere with someone expressing their personal vision. Which is when I realized I'd been "listening" to Hang Fire by the Rolling Stones.
That's when I really clicked to it, though I've been hearing the music all my life. Sometimes it's other people's stuff, sometimes it's "my own invention" as the white knight says to Alice in Through the Looking-Glass. Whatever it is, the piece of music is always indicative of my mood in some way, usually more through the tune than the words, but sometimes it's the lyrics.
This morning, I became aware of just how extensive my personal collection is. Yesterday, I was humming the Bob Seger cover to Chuck Berry's C'est La Vie. This morning, it's The Distance by Cake I do not know why this song is running through my head when I hadn't thought of it in years, but it is. Maybe the Indianapolis 500 is so at the fore of the collective consciousness today that it's affecting my reception.
Posted by sally at 09:17 AM | Comments (1)
May 27, 2005
Exercise, It's Good for You
35 minutes on the bike -- With my legs going around so fast I can hardly see them for the blur. I can't get my heart rate up to anything at all with the resistance set at 4.
10 minutes on the stairmaster -- Which just about KILLED me.
35 minutes on the eliptical trainer -- Sooooooooooo happy to get back to the eliptical trainer. I love that machine.
And then I came home and iced my knee. It was so nice to be able to work.
Posted by sally at 08:55 AM
May 25, 2005
Not Doing Much of Anything
Yes, I've weeded and mulched some flowerbeds and planted some things and bought a whole bunch of plants to go around the patio we're building by the fence. And I'm working on my lines for POW! and I took all four cats to the vet on Monday (boy oh boy was that a good time).
I keep feeling as though I should be doing more, but then I remember that I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia a week and 1/2 ago and I try to take some of the pressure off. But now that I've been cleared to use all of the aerobic equipment in the rec center, I need to get back to it.
Posted by sally at 09:25 PM
May 21, 2005
I Stayed in My Pajamas Today
Until 7:30pm when I took a shower. And then we went to dinner.
Posted by sally at 09:53 PM | Comments (2)
May 20, 2005
Nostalgia for Things to Come
There's some big, international geology-type conference at the University beginning today. While Dave and I ate dinner we eavesdropped on a conversation between three elderly geologists. I say elderly because they were all retired and seemed to be 70-ish.
The very best part of the conversation was the last bit. It was, apparently, a visiting husband and wife geologist couple who had been "dropped in" upon by a local geologist when he saw them at their table. He was telling them about various activities at the conference and also about local attractions and then described some of the rocks around Lewiston.
Apparently there are leaves from the Meiocene Era that fell into clay and when you break the clay open, you watch the leaves oxidize before your eyes. I thought it sounded fascinating, and so was thrilled to hear them both express pleasure non-verbally. Then the husband said, with a voice filled with enthusiasm, "That sounds like fun. Let's do that."
Dave and I smiled at each other then. After they left, he said, "You know it's not your average couple when the rather diffident invitation ends in the word Meiocene and the invitees get all excited about it."
It's things like that that make me realize I cannot ever allow myself to get too far from academia. I like academics; I like super-intelligent people who realize that knowledge is important for its own sake and who get all excited over watching ancient leaves change color in seconds. People whose curiosity never dies, regardless of their age. I wish I could invite myself along on the trip.
I hope I'm that kind of passionate and interesting when I get to be 70-ish. And that there are still people around who eavesdrop on my conversations with Dave and love the fact that we get excited about these things.
Posted by sally at 09:29 PM
May 18, 2005
On Writing
I was reminded today, as I wrote birthday cards for Dave, how much I like the physical act of writing, of watching and feeling the ink flow from my pen to form words, of having thoughts pour out the nib and onto the paper. It's so much more satisfying to me than typing, though at 65-70 wpm, typing is faster.
I think this delight in writing, this satisfaction and contentment, has been a long time coming. I remember as a freshman in college that I would write out my first drafts, type them into the computer and edit on the way. Now, I tend to edit several times, rather than just once or twice, and I may not always begin in longhand. But when I write things out, I feel like I'm getting somewhere. Moreso than when I manipulate electronics to get squiggles on a screen.
One of the few criticisms I received in my jury last week was that I tend to codify, to justify myself with my writing, rather than just existing. That came from the professional playwright on my committee. He has a vastly different take on the world from mine, so much so that I don't even know where to begin with him. I didn't even bother to tell him he was wrong. He can think what he likes, but that's not why I write.
Yes, when writing my exit questions, to a certain extent I was justifying myself. When my future is in the hands of five people who will mostly be judging me based on whether I explain myself well enough, I'm going to be doing a shitload of justification.
But that's not why I write. I don't write to explain things, to codify things for someone else. I don't write to produce a body of work. I write to figure things out. I write to understand and to clarify. And I feel I do that better with a fountain pen on nice paper than I do on this spiffy little IBM laptop my husband bought for me earlier this semester.
All that being said, I realized this afternoon that I need to be writing more. To specifically spend a part of my day, every day, writing things down. Whatever comes to mind, whatever comes to hand. As long as I can move my hand across the paper and physically make my mark on the world.
Posted by sally at 10:40 PM
Happy 38th Birthday Dave!!!
I love you. I'm sorry all I got you for your birthday was a nasty cold. But you can use my degree.
And in honor of your birthday, a little peep back at what was happening 25 years ago this morning.
Posted by sally at 09:58 AM
May 17, 2005
Pneumonia. Puh.
Yep. I have walking pneumonia. After avoiding the influenza when 2/3 of the department got it in March, after avoiding all of the other colds and illnesses, I came down with walking pneumonia the day before graduation.
This did not stop me from participating. I bygod walked in Commencement. I wore my hood and cap and gown. I discovered that the little bags on the ends of the sleeves are perfect for stowing kleenex, lozenges and an inhaler. I was up and alert for most of Saturday.
But then Dave started feeling nasty on Sunday and he's now running a fever. And after running two errands that took about 45 minutes, I fell asleep on the couch just now. So we're not going to Ashland after all. We were going to take 5 days and see some shows and see some friends. Now we're going to spend Dave's birthday home ill.
Wheee.
Posted by sally at 05:00 PM
May 15, 2005
Yet Another Reason Why I Love My Husband
Have I mentioned that he makes me laugh really, really hard?
The following is from a conversation regarding my forgetting to check on the status of a much anticipated birthday present for him (his birthday is on Wednesday) versus his purchasing, against my very clearly worded wishes, a graduation present for me:
Dave: People turn 38 all the time
Sally: But you'll only turn 38 once.
Dave: Yeah, but I have a birthday every year. I know it seems like you graduate every year but it's really only every 4 or 5 years.
Posted by sally at 06:15 PM
May 12, 2005
Ahem ahem ahemahemahemahemahem...
This entry has been posted by Sally Eames-Harlan BA BA MFA.
Thank you, thankyouverymuch.
Posted by sally at 03:16 PM | Comments (2)
May 08, 2005
Last Day of Acting Class
We got to revisit our animals one last time on Tuesday. It was a gorgeous, joy-filled afternoon.
For those of you who have wondered, this is what tiger looks like when being threatened by jaguar while napping:
And this is actual tigers interrupted in napping:
This, by the way, is a picture of the "jaguar" in question, Jesse, a theatre minor who so enjoyed getting into animal as a set mover in Macbeth that he asked to come play with us:
The pictures of Jesse and me were taken by our instructor, David. (If you were able to see through my jeans, my tiger tatt is right where the seams all meet above my pockets.) I took the picture of the Sumatran Tiger sisters at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma.
On a slightly different note, the department party was last night. I went for a brief bit, to see who got the various awards. They gave mugs to all of the graduating students; there were a lot of names called. Since they gave me one, I guess we can assume I'll be passing my jury on Thursday.
If they argue with me, I'll just point out that I already got my mug...
Posted by sally at 06:35 PM | Comments (1)
May 06, 2005
What Do You Mean, I'm the Landlord?
Our sewer line is backed up and the rotorooter guys can't deal with it until tomorrow. It keeps flooding the basement.
Washington State University's commencement ceremony is tomorrow. Every hotel room in town is booked.
We have company coming for dinner.
I have nothing left to say.
Posted by sally at 06:43 PM
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