my bike ride to work...in two parts

birthday tattoo

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (November 11, 1922 -- April 11, 2007)

I woke up this morning, on my birthday, to hear from Laura that Kurt Vonnegut had died last night. He has been, for a long time, one of my favorite writers. The first book of his that I read was a hardcover copy of Jailbird that Sean had left behind when he moved to Slovenia. It was the first time I can remember becoming really excited by the way a story was crafted. I did not read another one of his novels until a few years later when I myself had moved away from the United States and was living in Manchester, England. While staying in a stranger's room, I found a copy of Player Piano, Vonnegut's first novel, and discovered that his truely unique voice was not just a fluke. Since then I have been reading and collecting his books whenever I came across them. He had not written a novel since Timequake in 1997, but at least while he was alive, I could hope that might write some more. No more. I have known a number of critics of Vonnegut's that have just viewed him as a hack, or just a sci-fi writer. I think they missed the messages in his stories. He was a humanist, and a constant proponent of the importance of humans need to live in extended families and support one another. We have lost the great optimistic pessimist.

To paraphrase Mr. Vonnegut:

Kurt Vonnegut, who once lived in my hometown Chicago, fell and hurt his head several weeks ago. He died last night. So it goes.

I recommend Cat's Cradle if you want to read one of his books.

celebrating easter at my pop's...and a shot of Destiny w/ some cake and milk.

These are from a Critical Mass ride I went on last friday with John, Dan, Simona, and Alan. Both pictures are from before the ride started, while people were congretating in Daley Plaza. The black bike is John's new fixie. I didn't take any pictures during the ride because it was really really cold, and I didn't want to crash from trying to ride and shoot at the same time.

Well, although I had a wonderful time today, going to a movie matinee at 1 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, I stuck myself with a real dog, "The Hills Have Eyes," part II, if you can believe that. I stopped at a great coffee shop to get some studying done before the movie, and I wasn't sure what was playing at the Western Avenue theater. They have a $5 feature and small popcorn day each Tuesday (though they've eliminated the free parking, so I had to pay $2 for that...), which was my reason for going there today. So after I finished some great coffee and cranberry scone at a cute place called Ipsento Coffee, I headed up Western to see what movies would be playing around noon. The pickin's were pretty slim, and the only 12:30 p.m. was of 300, which Trevor and I had seen (and loved!) a few weeks ago. So I decided to wait until the 1 p.m. of "The Hills Have Eyes, II" after eliminating "I Think I Love My Wife" (which got bad reviews) and something called "Pride" which I didn't know anything about.

So I waited for about forty minutes, eating my free popcorn and reading up on Writing Across the Curriculum. I even splurged on a wild cherry icee; they offered free refills but I didn't take them up on it. Although I hadn't seen the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" which came out last year (or the year before?), I'd seen the original Wes Craven movie, which is quite good. I had the feeling that this wouldn't be much more than an over-the-top bloodbath, and I was right! Gratuitous gore, axe-wielding mutations, and a none-too-subtle political message that maybe war is sometimes necessary after all, makeshift bayonets and nuclear freaks aside.

But it stunk. Sewer-worth stink. The cast was nicely diverse, but the pretty blonde soldier still ended up in a tank-top after twenty minutes of the movie (though it could have been a mid-drift tank-top and it wasn't). It opened with a tortured and bound woman giving birth to a still-born mutated baby, and getting killed for it by the mutators who'd impregnated her. That tipped me off that I might be in for a doozy. Aside from a few good jump-in-your-seat startlers, it was wholly disappointing. The bad guys were just bad, though there was a token kind-soul mutation (though he was still a cannibal) who jumped in to help out the group, then disappeared. And if the remake was supposed to have "toned down" the original's rape scene (as rumor had it), this sequel sure tried hard to out-do it. And I just won't say anything more about that.

What I can say is that the script wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been; there weren't any awful comebacks or tough-guy throwaway lines, and there easily could have been a script full of them for a movie like this. And the nicely diverse cast was a plus, although the two black soldiers were killed (though they were both commanding officers) and the hot-headed Latino blew himself up, and we ended up with the blonde in a tank-top, the pacifist-turned-First-Blood, and the Latina rape victim (of course it wouldn't have been the blonde...). But I've seen worse movies, and I've even seen worse movies in the theater. At least this one is laughably bad.

The best thing about the movie wasn't the film itself, it was the audience. I guess that Tuesday afternoon is a likely draw for the over seventy set, but I was surprised to see a lot of grandparently types at a grind-house horror movie. As we all left the theater, I walked behind a seventy-something woman chuckling about the awfulness of the movie to a dapper fellow in a nice, blue-striped suit, french cuffs and cuff links, and sporting a wooden cane that I suspected might have been a tad more fashion accessory than necessity. He agreed that the film was a stinker (though he was much more elegant than that), then tottered off down Western Avenue.

All in all, it was a very pleasant morning and afternoon, and once I got home Henry and I beat the rain and got some quick fetching done at the park (without the police surveillance this time). More to come!

Bork Power!

SPRING BREAK 2007--PARTY ON!

Or, finish grading East-West final portfolios, turn in the quarter's grades, go to the library to get a new library card and a new book, ate lunch at the South Loop Club and drank a beer at 12:30 on a Monday afternoon, finished the book I started, started new book, went home, took Henry to the park, almost got busted by the mean old lady who calls the cops on unleashed dogs in the park, got a friendly warning from the policeman about the "woman who hates all pets," finished my new book, regreted that I'd only gotten one new book until remembering the books I still haven't read yet from Mr. Madel, greeted Trevor back from Monroe, WI where he checked out some new products from Swiss Colony (candle warmers, collapsable scarecrows, breakfast nooks, ornamental squirrels for your yard trees, and much, MUCH more!), and he described the home of the Freeport Pretzels (coolest high school ever, ever, ever), and am now currently debating what we'll have for dinner while watching CBS sitcoms.

It was a long day, and though it's my first official day of Spring Break since 2003 (and that was graduate school Spring Break, so it doesn't really count since I was still working 35 hours a week...), the craziest I'll be getting will be celebrating my friend Emily's dissertation defense on Thursday night (a bit of tapas and a bit more karoke). Whoooo!

More to come this week, as I take breaks from grading papers!

Henry and I had our first picnic of the season this afternoon. After this morning's rain, the weather got beautiful, so after our walk, Henry and I went up to the roofdeck to enjoy the sun. It was fabulous, if not a little windy. Hopefully we'll get to barbecue soon...

THIS IS NOT MY MAID OF HONOR'S DRESS...
...but this is my Maid of Honor! Isn't she pretty?

Wine update:

Here's our next bottle of wine, though my recollection of it will be a bit non-specific; not because of the wine's effects on me, but because we drank it this Friday/Saturday night, and it's currently Sunday afternoon and I'm having a time recalling what this particular wine was all about. And perhaps that says something about the wine.
I do recall that it was not bad; it was fairly light and had a bit of a bitter (or acidic?) aftertaste. It was mild except for that, and kind of bland. But not bad. Trevor doesn't recall much of the wine, either. I had some in the early evening when I started knitting a scarf for my mom (which I subsequently had to rip because I screwed up on the slips in the pattern I was working [paying more attention to the "Anthology" album by The Clean that I had dusted off and was listening to while Trevor hunted strange man-o-war type jelly monsters in his video game] but it turned out all right because the new version will be straight and longer than the original, which is always nice for a scarf.), and continued sipping through our viewing of "The Prestige" (a film we both quite enjoyed. My pre-teen crush on Christian Bale continues on nearly twenty years later, Trevor has a crush on Scarlett Johanson, and we both liked the magic tricks and plot twists). And although we spent a bit of time with the wine, it doesn't stand out at all.
So, there you have it. A bland wine with a nice label. I think we spent between $8.99 - $13.00 on it, and we've certainly had better for the price range.

In other news, we had brunch with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law this morning. On the menu from my mom were poached eggs with diced potatoes, mini jelly-filled pancakes (which looked like little flying saucers; there were adorable and delicious), sausage links, grapefruit halves, toast, and multi-fruit coffee cake. Quite delicous. We gabbed about our wedding plans, asked my dad to help us with our taxes, and had a generally lovely morning! Paula gave me a disc with the pictures from our meet-the-parents dinner in January, and I'll post them here this week.
Until then, drive safely, everyone, the weather is grotesque.

Bork Power

The prop books are Laura's favorite thing about the studio that I work at.

Wine, Wine, All the Time!

Trevor and I have decided to add a category to our general blog; Wine! We drink a bit of it and thought we might try to keep track of what we like (and what we don't), not only for your reading and tasting pleasure, but to serve our own memory as well. Since after all of that wine, our memory tends to get a little grapey...

So, what we're currently drinking is something we picked up this afternoon at Randolph Wine Cellars for $11.99. It's a Merlot, and although I'm usually not a fan of merlots, we decided to try it because 1. we liked the label (a current reason for our purchases) and 2. the wine man said it was a nice vineyard and they usually do their wines in small batches. The merlot was the only type they had in stock, so we snapped one up. And I'm glad we did; it's nice and tasty. From my untrained palatte, it's not very dry (so does that make it wet, or is there a more technical term I should be using?), kind of fruity (much like us!), and pretty mild (not smokey or tangy or anything.) It's a pretty light wine, which is nice, because we haven't yet eaten dinner. And there's not much of an after-taste, which means I've had to take three sips to write this review.

So, if any of this sounded appealing, go out and spend $11.99, and have some tasty wine! We have 2 more bottles from Randolph Wine Cellars, so we'll be updating this throughout the week (and, most likely, into the weekend).

In other news, Trevor's new camera came (check out the photos, aren't they nice?!), which is very exciting. Hopefully he'll be shutterbugging around the city for the next forever and we'll have lots and lots of pictures--good pictures--that haven't been taken by me (i.e. blurry, too close, poorly lit, etc.). Thank god.

Well, my glass is now empty, so I'm going to go get another sniff of wine. I'm meeting a high school girlfriend for a drink later tonight, so I'll save the rest of the bottle for Trevor.

Adios!
Bork Power!

photo taken with my new camera

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, 2007!

So a year after I got a heart full of chocolate, I got a heart full of buttons of love! Trevor made me a set of 8 buttons: an "Aswang" button for the movie that prompted our very first conversation; an "a. boy loves you" and an oddball zombie fellow for his first secret Valentine to me (slipped between volumes one and two of the complete Sherlock Holmes); a "love, loved, lovers" button for my love of nouns; a "four square" button for the party theme of our first date; an aerial shot of the corner where we had our first smooch; an outline of Door County; and a button for the date of our wedding. It's the best present ever, and I don't want to take them off of his card, but I want to wear them. It might look odd to wear all eight at once, but I might not be able to resist.

We also got a photographer lined up for the wedding (check out her link!). She's a fabulous woman Trevor knows from school, and she's just what we wanted. It's all coming along...


I also got a new addition to my Sherman the Reading Robot tattoo. It's a small book that he's already read and set by his robot feet. As soon as it's done scabbing I'll post a photo.

We're going to have a nice cozy night tonight for V-day: some stuffed gnocchi, wine, candy for dessert, and the second episode of Lost. Low key, and fabulous.

Bears lose. Bears lose. Blargh.

So, after what started out as a terribly promising game turned into a total blargh-fest, Trevor and I left Sean and Angie's place in a cold, cold, Chicago funk. The food was good, the company was terrific, but the game was ultimately a disappointment. I'm not looking forward to all of the blarghy faces in class and around campus tomorrow. Super Bears. Super blargh.

It's that time of year, again! Bowling time! I didn't bowl last year, but X-Factor reunited this winter and we're kicking some butt. We beat an undefeated team Monday night (I had a few strikes, and my teammate Stephanie was on fuego! We actually did better than the fellas!) and the week before I almost beat my brother! Almost...someday.

We finally got my birthday Herman Miller desk delivered, and it's glorious. I have a place to work and my papers and textbooks are finally off of the kitchen table. Trevor is very happy about that. He also hooked up my printer (another birthday gift, finally used 3 months later) and I can now wirelessly print students' late papers from bed; it's terrific. We also set up our new fabulous lamp (see picture below), which is excellent, and our next project is the kitchen. Though our timeline is fuzzy...

Oh, right, and we're also planning a wedding! HA! We've got a date, and as soon as we have a tete-a-tete with Mrs. S. Hunter, we'll be sending out some save-the-dates. It's all coming along. We're in discussions with a photographer and a d.j., and hopefully this weekend we'll get to talking to some caterers! All exciting stuff. We had a meet-the-parents dinner on Saturday night, and my parents, Trevor's pop and step-mom, his brother Sean and his fiance Angie, my brother and wife, and my grandma all got together to break some bread, eat some tapas, and chat. The evening was a suceess, and when Paula sends me the pictures, I'll post them up here!

Until later, stay warm, true believers. It's damn cold outside.

School started back up for me this week. I had my first class this morning; I've only got one this week at my downtown university, and my community colleges start up next week. It's a nice way to get back into gear. This morning's class was packed to the gills with 34 showing up out of the 38 enrolled. But they were bright and perky at 7:45 a.m., and I hope it lasts! I finally "filed" away the fall semester's final portfolios (photo above) just in case any of my students would like them back. I mailed back a few, and I've already earmarked some to use as examples this new semester if they're not picked up. At least this semester I'll have 30-ish less to grade, which is nice.

In other news, Henry met my friend Lisa's pooch, LuLu Belle, for the first time this past weekend at the dog park, and they seemed to hit it off nicely. Here's a picture of them playing:

There were a few really aggressive fellows there early on, but once their owners got wise to my low tolerance for shennanigans, they skeedaddled. And good riddance to them. We hadn't been to the dog park in quite some time, since Henry's been so fond of plain-old fetch-in-the-park as of late. But it was nice to see him frollicking with the other dogs.

Trevor and I also got an engagement ring this past weekend. We went to the jeweler that his brother Sean and fiancee Angie went to for their engagement ring, and the woman who helped us was terrific. She took my grandma's stone to set, and she's also fixing my gram's original engagement ring for free (the bottom was a bit bent up), which is really nice because it's a beautiful, delicate thing, and it's about 70 years old now, so it'll be fixed up and looking just as lovely as when my grandma wore it. Hopefully I'll be able to pick the ring up tomorrow or Wednesday. I can't wait to flash it around town!

IT'S OFFICIAL...
...We're engaged!

Trevor and I went to Door County for the New Year's weekend to visit his step-dad, Jim, and his grandparents, Mel and Margaret Madel. The five of us went to a lovely dinner at the Stone Harbor restaurant, where we all ate too much, then Trevor and I went back to Jim's house (where we were staying--Jim's dog, Vader, and Henry are best friends) to change out of our fancy duds before going to the Madel's to watch a movie. We got to the Madels, Trevor turned off the car and asked me to marry him! It was terribly romantic--just hours before the new year, the waves of Lake Michigan crashing yards away, our bellies full of food and both of us content and relaxed (Well, I was terribly relaxed. Trevor might not have been so at ease)--and of course I said yes. It was nice to share it first with the Madels, but now that we're back in town, we've got to spread the word! We drove back this afternoon (after stopping at the Sturgeon Bay Public Library, where Mr. Madel volunteers, to pick up a few books from the books-for-sale section; Trevor found two hard cover Vonneguts for his collection, and I found a first edition Chuck Palahniuk, a mass market paperback of The Pentagon Papers, and a brides and showers book from the 60s [I really couldn't resist, especially given its hot-pink themed cover, full with foxy gal in a pink mini-skirt and matching sweater...]) and went to the Bork's to have dinner with my folks and pick up my Grandma Bork's engagement ring and some other jewelry of hers (Trevor gave me a "place holder"--a sterling silver diamond solitaire silhouette ring we saw in Portland last July), and we're finally back home, unpacked, with an exhausted Henry, a hamper full of dirty clothes, and a great excuse to finally drink the champagne I got from the Nybergs for my birthday. Quite a weekend, and a lovely kick-off to the new year!

We'll be back with more picture from this weekend, and maybe some more wedding updates, so stay tuned!

Bork-Power