Kayak to the Future

In this, as in many things, I heart xkcd.

(Peeking fearfully around corners)

You guys, I think I might be a closet pessimist. Whenever things are going really well, I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It's a fairly recent condition, stemming from the spring of 2007. Things were going really well then, too: my then-boyfriend & I had recently come back from Scotland (where we said those words for the first time), I had just been accepted into graduate school (with a full ride to boot) and life was free 'n easy. Then May, and its accompanying shitstorm, hit. Nick broke up with me and my grandmother died after a painful illness. Talk about a big shoe, huh?

Now, here's what's going well in my life:

• classes
• work - both jobs
• internship
• family
• living situation
• car
• love life
• friends
• Red Sox

Here's what not going well:

• deciding where to eat for my birthday dinner

Therefore, I am a little nervous these days. I keep expecting locusts, rivers of fire, pestilence & despair dropping from on high. I wonder how to get over/around this . . .

Go Team!

Congrats, boys! You earned it.

Two Announcements

1. The field trip was fun! We had some funky weather - fog, sun, fog, sun - but it was a good experience all the same. I forgot my camera, but my friend took some great photos, so I'll see if I can post them once he sends them to me.
2. I don't normally pay much attention to the global financial market, but there's some scary stuff going on, people. I've lost a decent chunk from my retirement account since I switched it from a 401K to an IRA last year. This makes me sad. :(

Field Trip

Ah, remember field trips? The excitement of packing a lunch & spending the day away from the norm? Well, even though I'm well beyond elementary school, I'm going on a field trip tomorrow & I'm super excited!

I'm taking a fall course that studies the environmental history of commercial fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic & we have the opportunity to go out on one of State U's research vessels (above). We'll be out on the water for four hours tomorrow morning. I'm trying to figure out if I can bring my camera without looking like a total nerd. ;)

There's no way I could not share this . . .

If you haven't yet seen these videos, please, please go there immediately. You will not be disappointed.

I laughed so hard I knocked down one of the pictures on my wall. No joke.

Maybe if a celebrity says it, people will start listening.

Matt Damon, I may not love all of your movies, but thank you for using your stage (one that most of us don't have) to say what needs to be said:



(And thanks to Tart for posting it first)

Might I add that on today, of all days, it's important for us as a nation to reflect and consider what the best course for the next four years might be? At a time when the confident, but humble diplomacy of a Benjamin Franklin or a Winston Churchill is needed, a hockey mom from Alaska is not what I'm looking for.

I got a new car!

Well, new to me. :) A head gasket on my old car (ten years old; 150,000 miles) blew, so it made sense to get something newer, with less miles, and better MPG. So above is my "new" 2003 Saturn L200. I pick her up on Friday morning!

Also, I had both my first pumpkin spice coffee & my first pumpkin ale of the season today. Life is good.

Forget about "Sisterhood" - I want a good VP!

If this is true, it makes me sad. And angry. Don't forget angry.

If you're on Facebook, don't forget to join the group "Intelligent Women Against Sarah Palin."

Also, don't for one second let the title convince you that I am not interested in women's rights (unlike Palin). My point, along with many others', is that she is unqualified & I refuse to vote for her JUST because she's a woman.

Oh, and also that it's a disgusting ploy on the part of the McCain camp to think that women will vote for her for that reason. Another reason why I want John McCain to be my adorably crazy old uncle, not the President of my country.

UPDATED: Here is Dooce's (and her readers') take on the issue. As usual, she's said what I'm thinking, but in a much more clever way. ;)

Fenway Faithful is Right

Tonight makes 456 consecutive sellouts at Fenway. This number breaks the previous MLB record, held by Indians fans (455). So here's to the fans. It's no coincidence that the Sox have a much better home winning record than a lot of other MLB teams.

My favorite parts of the evening:

• Lester marking the occasion by throwing 7.2 scoreless innings and 9 strike-outs.
• Winning, of course. We are now a half game back from first place in the AL East.
• In the video they showed at the park (and on NESN), Tito says, tongue firmly in cheek, "Thanks for the all the advice." ;)

Today in New England Sports

Yesssssss:

Tampa Bay	85	56	.603	-
Boston	84	58	.592	1.5

But, noooooooooooooo!

Goodbye Summer!

Well, Labor Day weekend is over & I'm back to school this week. While it won't be fall for a few more weeks, I'm moving into my fall routine & that deserves a look back at the summer that's ending.

It was a good summer, on the whole. I spent a lot of time working, enjoying beverages with friends, and generally just enjoying my first summer in Portsmouth. I spent a number of good weekends at the lake with my family (most notably, Thing 1 & Thing 2). And I spent my customary wonderful two weeks on PEI.

However, I was apparently having such a good time that I mostly neglected both my "summer to-read list" and my "summer projects list." Of the 30 books on the former list, I finished just 3: Devil in the White City (which was brilliant), The Weight of Water (which was terrible), and Sons of Providence (which was ok). I did re-read a number of old books & read a number of books not on the list, though. Does that count for anything? ;)

Now for my "summer projects list." The ones in bold are the ones I actually did:

• Sand rusty vintage patio chairs & repaint
• Sort through old clothes & donate to Goodwill
• Take photos of "hidden" patios, gardens, backyards around Portsmouth
• Improve recently written article & submit for publication?
• Plant window boxes: one w/ annuals, one w/ herbs
• Maintain Museophilia
• Secure an internship for the fall
• Migrate Enigmatic Snippets to this site (tried, but alas . . . )
  
• Answer calls for papers for fall conferences
• Take a cooking class?
• Plan a January trip to Scotland or Jamaica?

Ah, well, there's always next summer!