Monday, January 30, 2006


Well, it's been about a week since our last post (I'm not counting the one that Trevor so rudely stole from Sara and Michael...) and a few things have happened.

We DID, indeed, go to the theater with the Hunters, which was a lot of fun, and I got to see a theatrical adaptation of stories by one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami. It was quite a fantastic experience, though one that's not for everyone (Trevor wasn't as thrilled about it as I was). Holding true to Murakami's style of magical realism, the adaptation included a giant frog (aptly named "Frog") who has to do battle with an earthquake-causing worm that lives under the surface of Tokyo. Hmmmmm. Interesting, right? Riiiighhht. But, if you're into that sort of thing, it's terrific and you'll have a great time.

We're also thinking about planning a trip to visit some friends in Portland this summer, which would be great for us, especially since Trevor keeps throwing out the idea of moving to the Northwest. So we'll see how he likes it, and we'll get to see Brenda and Derek at the same time!

I OFFICIALLY finished Anna Karenina last week, and, man, what a draining book. Not just the length, because it's a really fast-moving story, but the "railroad scene" as my mom so delicately put it, was a bit hard to handle. The fun thing was that "Frog" in the Murakami play referenced it, causing me to laugh out loud quite inappropriately during the show. Such is life. At least I wasn't a theater candy crinkler (ahem, mrs. bork...). I haven't written my thank-yous for all of my literacy supporters, but they're on the way, except to Linda, who's leaving TODAY for Equador. We'll miss her for the next couple of months, and when she gets back, she'll get a big hug and a really belated card. Again, such is life (as a procrastinator).

Henry got a bath this weekend, too, which is nice for everyone. Well, the product is nice for everyone; the doing is a bit slippery for Trevor, who had the honor of giving this particular bath while I was at work on Saturday. But now we've got a squeaky clean pup, which is great. And he looks even more handsome, if that's possible. It's not. We'd be blind if he was more handsome than he is. (I'm a ridiculously braggarting dog-mom, I know, and I don't care. you all know he's one handsome fella.)

Trevor and I shopped for tile this weekend, too, but found that the tiles we really like are a WHOLE lotta dough. So we're going to shop around a bit more, pushing the project further and further still into the new year. But if we can make the shower lovely without breaking the bank, it would be nice. We'll see, and we'll keep you all posted with further, truly exciting developments. We DID get a drill, though, which is so exciting in it's own right, so we got to hang my knives (Christmas gift from Trevor) and our cute little Mac airport (we FINALLY hooked up the DSL, so we're online at home, too!), and we'll have it on hand for other hanging projects. Quite fun.

Well, that's all the news that's fit to print about the Bork-Powers now. Until further installments....

Wednesday, January 25, 2006


For the past few weeks Laura and I have been talking about going to see some theater in the city. And for about three months we've been talking about seeing "After the Quake" (a play based on 2 short stories by Hakuri Murakami) at the Steppenwolf Theater. Well, we sucked it up, made a plan and did it last night and as a bonus our friends Sara and Michael were able to come along! This was our third time at the Steppenwolf and we've yet to be disappointed. We had a great time, the play was amazing and well adapted from his books (or so I was told by Laura and Sara).
Afterwards we all went out to Danny's...Michael has been hearing about Danny's since they moved into the neighborhood but have had the hardest time finding it for some reason. They had been looking for a good neighborhood bar that's close by...I think it's their favorite from what they've seen. Anyhow, after some good conversation about fishing boats, literature and dog modeling we were ready to call it a great night...thanks guys see ya soon!

Monday, January 23, 2006


Welcome to the Bork-Power blog!
This is our first entry, and what a first-entry topic we have! Henry, our dog, is officially famous. Today he appeared in a Home Depot photo shoot at Trevor's studio. He sat when told, got on his belly when told, but most impressively, he stayed put when told. It's a miracle, really, that he didn't turn into his usual flying noodle of a self and take a header at the camera to lick the lens.

We're still getting on track with all of our home renovations. This week we're hoping to get the tile for our shower stall, and then our friends Jenn and Jeremy will help us to put it in. Jeremy's a trained professional, so there's no need to worry. Well, I'm still worried, but only because it will be 3 days without a shower and our house might get a little stinky. We may be calling select friends and family to get in on a free bath...

And I "finished" my Readathon for Literacy Chicago! I started Anna Karenina about 3 weeks ago, and while I still have 174 pages to go (out of 811), I raised $12 over my goal for a whopping $252! I am very happy about this and thrilled about and thankful to everyone that pledged to support this terrific cause. It's going to be an annual fundraiser for the organization, so I'll surely be hitting you all up for more money next year. Maybe I'll read something a little less Russian next time, though...

We made some new pals at a party on Saturday night, and if we play our cards right, we're going to be a part of their knitting club! It's more up our alley than it sounds, really. Apparently there's beer drinking involved, and everyone brings their own vinyl to play. Perfect! High Life, Led Zeppelin, and knitting needles: maybe not the best combination, but we'll take precautions. Speaking of vinyl, our record player doesn't seem to be pumping out the jazz through the new speakers like we were hoping it would. It might be a needle problem, or we might need a new turntable. We'll keep you posted, because I'm sure our record playing is the most fascinating thing about this post. Oh, it's not. Too bad. It's fascinating to us.

Well, hope all is well on the other side of this blog. We'll keep you updated on all things new and wonderful in the Trevor-Laura-Henry-Martin world. And, as my boss recently pointed out, I do play pet favorites, so for those of you who don't know, [or who think we've gotten rid of him, Kate] Martin is our cat. He's kind of a jerk, but he has his cuddly moments...which usually turn into bitey moments. And he sure doesn't play catch as well as Henry. And, he can't read, so there's no way he'll know that Henry is the favorite. Unless of course, Literacy Chicago turns to feline literacy...that would be bad news.

Bye, for now!