Friday, November 28, 2008

Friday.

I took the day off of work today, and I'm sitting an my pajamas eating crepes with herbed brie. I'm a happy Aries right now.

Tomorrow is Gretchen's annual Lord of the Rings marathon! I can't wait!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Almost there.

Last night the bus smelled like pumpkin pie. I had been at work earlier, trying to persevere but having a hard time. I'm counting the hours until school is over and I can live at the chocolate shop and go home to nothing but food and books.

The Of Montreal show on Wednesday was nothing short of amazing:
Enter four golden Buddhas carrying the Ark of the Covenant, followed by five androgynous, heavily costumed men. Buddhas start to dance around and music begins...

That was just the beginning. They had tons of props, mostly homemade, backup dancers, a rotating stage, and a screen in the background showing psychedelic subliminal images. At one point they hung the lead singer and later brought him back out in a coffin, covered him in red paint and whipped cream, and proceeded to spray him and the entire audience with feathers from a leaf blower. Needless to say, much fun was had.


Their shows are always different, always ridiculous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V

Friday, November 21, 2008

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Microcosms of an Undercurrent.

His heart thuds a dhol beat when they exchange looks,
eyes sweeping in demure parallel; they both lower glances.

In a small place like this, terrible instances occur.
Introverts subtly assert themselves,
explosive phrases whisper.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Heroes Now and Then.

I'm sitting in my apartment, writing this and listening to Akron instead of doing my homework. Once I finish these last few assignments the rest of the quarter will be easy...I just have to actually finish them....

The apartment is cold, all clothes and winter sunshine littering the floor. The light always seems to shine brighter in the winter, such a simple pleasure. I had my 10 ounces of coffee this morning (I'm monitoring it, I'm pretty sensitive to coffee. Once I drank too much and worked 25 hours at the chocolate shop---I never told my boss.)

I'm reading The Book of Dede Korkut (Dada Gorgud) for my Humanities class, and some of their cultural expressions just tickle me pink. The Dede Korkut is the epic of the Oghuz Turks (supposedly the original Turks). The Inner Oghuz live in a tribal Western Mongolian society under various Khanates, and their lives are centered around horses and subsistence farming. Just a few interesting expressions in the book:
  • When mourning, the Oghuz tore their cheeks and "wept bloody tears"
  • The Oghuz society is quite egalitarian. In the story of Bamsi Beyrek, Beyrek must first beat his betrothed in a horserace, an archery competition and a wrestling match before she will consent to marry him. I thought this part was pretty funny:
  • (During Beyrek's wrestling match with his betrothed) "'If I am beaten by this girl, they will talk my head off and say awful things to my face in the land of the Inner Oghuz.' He gathered his strenth and finally threw the girl. He took off her shirt and caught her by the breast while she struggled to free herself. Then Beyrek took the girl by her narrow waist and threw her down again, making her fall flat on her back. The girl said, 'Young man, I am Banu Chickek, the daughter of Bay Bichen.' Beyrek kissed the girl three time and bit her once. Then, putting the golden ring from his own finger on the girl's finger, he said: 'May your wedding be a happy one, oh, daughter of a khan. Let this be a sign of our engagement.'" Wow.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

C'est la vie.

I feel alone but not lonely.
I feel cynical.
I'm not sure why, but this attitude has been persisting for the whole week. It confounds me to no end. I think my stress is trying to make me believe things that aren't true.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Pressure, pressure, pressure.

So, I'm excited and stressed out about several things lately. It's getting down to the wire on my anthropology project, which I've sort of been putting off for the whole quarter. I still have to completely develop my hypothesis and do some fieldwork within the next couple of weeks. My loose hypothesis (I've already found a great deal of supporting information on this) is that as hominids became less physically active and more dependent on technology, our bodies became less suitable for childbirth. It's been a pretty interesting subject to investigate, and Alyson Rollins, my Anth. professor, has been incredibly helpful.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to see the Lucy's Legacy exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. That was absolutely amazing, especially since I've been learning about all these famous hominid specimens and hominid evolution in my Physical Anthropology class.

I'm also stressed out about Christmas. Mainly because we are just starting to get our yearly corporate orders, which are almost impossible to keep up with given the amount of help we have. Originally I was planning on working 40-50 hours a week this Fall, but I think if I'm going to do that I will have to take less than five credits at school or work independently.

Next quarter looks like it's going to be a tough one. Word has it that Richardson likes to pile on the work--and I have three classes with him. I'm also still putting off my math classes. gahhh. Looks like I'll probably be doing Summer quarter again.

Awhile ago I dreamt that time didn't exist. We floated in space; in the amniotic fluid of our uncertainty.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

"Where do you find these mushroom people?"---"In the faery ring, Jordan."

Earlier today I went on my first mushroom foray with the Northwest Mushroom Association at Bowman Bay State Park. Needless to say, it was tons of fun. What a curious gathering, too, where most of the time everyone is looking at the ground and not at each other, yet we feel such a kinship in our love of the fungi. Vince Biciunias, NMA president, and I went out mushrooming with a couple of reporters from WWU. In about two hours I had collected around twenty different types of mushrooms, and later at the identification table I found out that about five different kinds of those were edible (parasols, chanterelles, honey, boletus, etc.) The whole day was very enlightening, and I was very happy with my harvest. At the end of the day we had a full-course meal and cooked up some of the mushrooms we had found. I am so saturated in fungi I just don't know what to do with myself!!

(I made soup)

Saturday, November 8, 2008

My cup runneth over...

...with poison...




Tonight the snails were at it again. They crunched under my feet like tiny moving landmines. I felt bad, a little, but it was wet and dark and I was in a hurry.

I'msotired...tiiiiiredddd.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

...

I feel like complaining, but I don't have anything to complain about. That's all.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Cinders and Smoke

The tail end of autumn's leaves lie in drifts on sidewalks and gutters, a carpet of humus bent on reclaiming the earth--but all in vain. November gusts will soon litter those final fragments of summer over the streets; cars will grind them into the asphalt and their colors will fade as bare deciduous claws reach into the chilly air.

My nap in the reading lounge was quite lovely. No one really knows it exists, so it's usually empty. There's a fireplace, comfy couches and soft lighting, and it's nice and quiet.

The Junkyard Ghosts Revival was fantastic. You'd have had to be there.

Ahhh, Iron and Wine...

Hangin' out...

I've been at Whatcom since 8:00 this morning, and I'll be here until 9:00 tonight, but it's definitely worth it. Tonight is the Junkyard Ghosts Revival, a poetry slam featuring Buddy Wakefield, Anis Mojgani and Derrick Brown, some of my all-time favorite artists.

I'm going to have a crazy Winter quarter next year; I'm taking Linguistics, Ancient Writing Systems, and Natives of the Pacific Northwest, all with Allen Richardson. I'm also going to try to complete 2 independent special projects in Early Childhood Education and dance as a humanity. Should be fun.

I'm in the library right now, and it's a little strange because the email computers are very exposed; you have to stand to use them and they're about 3 feet away.

I think I'll go take a nap in the Reading Lounge.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Mmm, lavendar tea.

I believe I thought I had something to say, but then I lost it. Oh well, I'll say something else.

I recently saw Czech director Jiri Menzel's I Served the King of England, which is a lovely film about a starry-eyed hotel worker and waiter who dreams of becoming a millionaire. The story deviates from this theme to tell his lovely and childlike yet chilling story, along with the story of Reich Europe. The images Menzel creates weave a mezmerizing and powerful poetry.

My first Shiitake crop sprouted! There are about thirty of them, and more are popping up each day. I stir-fried some last night and they were absolutely delicious. Yay!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Collapsing Pumpkins, lots of rain.

For me, everything is a ritual. Most of the time it's not about the result of my efforts, but about the process itself. I have never really been fast at anything unless forced to; as a child I took painstaking efforts to write every letter just so; I clean slowly; I cook slowly; I write slowly. A lot of people get impatient with me.

Another thing I realized is that, no matter how hard I try, I'm just not a good materialist. I lose things right and left, and it doesn't really phase me anymore; I can't let it. If I did I would be constantly moping around.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Sand and Fire.

Around noon a negative wind washes over me, and I realize what I've forgotten. But it's a quick fix and I'm back on my feet as usual, moving on an elevated plane. Still I feel as if I'm betraying myself. Ruthie is standing in her own world, an epoch long past, but I speed away with her body, moving chaotically to wherever I'm going.

Sometimes I compare myself to others and wonder why they have it and I don't. I get jealous, but then laugh at my irrationality. We can't all be the same. People have told me I'm amazing, and it pierces me like an arrow. Words like that come and go, just like this chapter of my life will come and go. Compliments are nothing to carry with you forever.

When one wave resides, another will follow. What will my next wave be? Will it drag me to my death in the violent swell? My legs are getting tired and weak. I can't stand up in the waves forever.

Today at work I knocked over a glass bottle full of water. It shattered on the concrete floor, and as I bent to clean the mess, a piece cut my hand, ever so slightly, and a thousand memories rushed to provoke me. I held the shards gingerly and wondered what it would be like to die of swallowing ground glass in a drink. I imagine it would feel somewhat like sandpaper grating against my throat. I didn't drink anymore water until after work, for fear of the harsh sound of explosion; panic; everyone staring if only for a moment.