So I haven't been posting to LJ because I feel very quiet and inwardly turned lately. But I have been posting to twitter because it takes so much less effort, and I don't have to be coherent. (It's not just LJ... I haven't been updating my green cleaning blog much either.)

I also haven't been reading LJ because I can't get it to show up in Google Reader. Any ideas on how to RSS-ify it? I'd particularly love to be able to RSS a specific friend group, but imagine that's impossible. I'll settle for reading anyone.

I was using twitter to update this, but I feared it was annoying to people and nobody really read it. Thoughts? Better to twitter than to have silence or is silence better?

Hey all, I know not everyone enjoys the twitter posts but until apps go out - between that and teaching four courses right now, I don't have much blogging time. So it's my way to kind of keep in touch with LJ and let you know how I'm doing. :) (In 140 characters or less.)

So I'd love if you'd read them and comment, but obviously if you skip them I'll understand.
And if you want to friend me on twitter, clicking on the #-mark after any entry will take you to my page.

Does anyone want a subscription to Wine Spectator until December? We got it free for donating to NPR but have never read an issue since we began getting it. Just let me know...and I can give you my email to send me your address. :)

hippie PSA - I hope you'll recycle the issues. They're big.

I am in the library, my new favorite place to be. It'd only be better if my dogs were allowed up here and they'd actually behave themselves. I really like listening to my footsteps as I walk up S. University Ave. to the Library.

So yesterday J took me shopping... for men's clothes. He had a hunch that the reason clothes often look lumpy and ill-fitting on me is that my figure is so boyish as to not be suited for most female-tapered items. So we went to Kenneth Cole and Banana Republic and Guess and put me in some dapper men's shirts (and one pair of pants) that made my figure look utterly different in a good way.

Plus, I'll admit that I really like dressing like a 13-year old prep school boy.

Marshall Field's/Macy's didn't get our business because they only had men's dressing rooms on the second floor and wouldn't let me use one of the stalls even though each had a lockable door. Considering the dollar value of what I was holding in my arms, and the number of girlfriends hovering outside of their man's changing room door, one would think they'd be more flexible. They were the only place that eyeballed me funny the entire day.

Anyway, I think I'll be shopping in the men's sections for the most part now- apart from dresses and the occasional skirt (although I almost never wear them...)

Oh, and if I didn't have a non-grad student husband I don't know if I'd have known that tomorrow is Memorial Day. Doesn't change my schedule any!

And furthermore, there were people lifting weights on my street next to a purple 80s Monte Carlo convertible with the biggest tires and rims I've ever seen. Its radio was blaring something gangsta rappy. It made me smile. I have now learned thanks to google that this is a very common car to "pimp out".

Could I be any whiter? No, no I could not.

Meh, I dragged myself to Einstein Bagels in order to try and get some work done. Sundays are just lethal for me these days. I take Saturday off resolutely and then have trouble getting started again on Sunday. The pace that I have to set for myself during the week requires a bit of build-up.

My program went on a cruise together on Friday. I know most people brought dates, but I was still like "who are half of these people?!" It was really nice to see some people who I haven't seen in weeks, and the view of the Chicago skyline from the middle of Lake Michigan was amazing. I took some photos, but I'm so flaky about updating online things lately that they may have to wait. I need fewer things to do, not more.

Sometimes I'm really, really glad I don't own property. Just cleaning my apartment is enough for now, thankyouverymuch. I'm not ready yet.

I sure was pleased in September when everyone else had gone back to school and I was still enjoying my summer, but now that I won't finish this quarter for a few weeks and still have summer quarter to deal with I have lost my thrill at the U's shifted schedule. The weather is cooperating today and representing "early spring when everyone is still in school."

Um, who wants to come take notes from this pile of library books for me. Wake me up when you're done?

Oh yeah, a couple more things. j and I went to the Chicago 'green' festival yesterday. It was food free-sample insanity, but overall a bit underwhelming. Cleaning supplies, pet stuff, and bath+body products were underrepresented. We walked almost a mile indoors at a very sloooowww pace (we know this thanks to a free pedometer we got near the door).

But I found 20 bucks on the street yesterday and nobody was around to have dropped it so that was pretty awesome. I want to take that as a sign my luck is turning. I hardly feel guilty finding someone's twenty while walking around Chicago's "Mag Mile' either. They were probably using it to blow their nose. ;)

I am sitting here trying to read a lot of Lukacs today, but feeling enh about it. I always enjoy the second reads a lot more than the first reads of these types of dense philosophy books... because I can read more quickly (i.e. comfortably).

Funny to read Kant's missives on Taste and than start a book on Taste by Leticia Baldridge on the same day. I love books on etiquette and style, as contemporary ignorance of manners gives me the wiggins.

In the "bodily injuries" category:

Friday I cut my finger with a bread knife. Sliced right through the nail. It um... made a mess. Somehow we managed to be out of bandaids, so it wore a gauze cast for a couple of days.

That poor finger... earlier this week I got a horrid splinter in it. When j. tried to help extract it, I felt like I was 6 again, with my dad telling me angrily not to be a baby. J was more patient than Dad, but he gave up in the face of my immense wimpiness.

Mmmm guacamole

On a day when I was cold and damp, plus had just had a meeting with my advisor that left me feeling small and vulnerable, I was drawn to the "quotable cards" rack of our University bookstore while shopping for a mother's day card.

I love inspiring quotes. I'm a sap. But this one didn't make sense to me:

"Shoot for the moon. even if you miss, you'll land among the stars..."
-unknown

Am I missing something?

( Others I like that might inspire you )

Anyone have a recommendation for some earphones that can easily be stowed away in my jacket pocket (with my crusty old ipod), but that don't sound terrible?

More info:
Really, I can't hear the distinction between high-end headphones and decent ones. Noise canceling would be awesome but I'm probably not willing to pay a lot for it. These are the "commuting" headphones and they get banged around a fair bit.

Trivia
The original ipod buds started shocking me (they are, as I mentioned, quite old) and my Seinheisers got caught in something and suffered a torn wire. Before I just replace them I'd love to hear opinions.

Unrelated
In other news, why hasn't anyone written a decent, consistently upated LJ widget? Maybe there's one I don't know about. Oh, and it's 46 degrees after being 80 on Friday.


I'd really love j and I both to magically get new iPods, but that's not happening. One of those decadent purchases that I'd actually get a lot of love out of.

I am in Real Simple this month (April 2008, the issue that's green and pink) on page 244. Ha!

It may not be on the stands yet, but flip through and look for me next time you're waiting at the checkout line. (Incidentally, it made me determined to change my hairstyle a bit.)

I kinda wish it were for being awesome in some way, not an insomniac (but check out the 29 year old in the middle row of the article. Why does she look 10 years older than me? I feel like they mixed up the ages between her and the woman to her left.)

Also, why didn't they use one of the photos of me smiling?

Today's pretty sweet. My mail finally came (twice in one day) after not coming for five days. It brought me deliciously scented soy wax tarts. My apartment is currently being made to smell like "lemon sugar" (Just like those lemon girl scout cookies used to smell. Seriously.) So much better than "Eau de Mei going potty on the floor".

I also got my first massage, from the affordable massage place uptown. It was Swedish, which I figured was a good place to start. I always seem to oscillate between feeling tickled and in pain when (amateur) people massage me. The professional massage had both of these attributes, but was pretty gentle. I'm not super impressed with how it made me feel, though. I'll need to go again in a month, try something different, and start building a sense of what I like and what works.

We went to Trader Joe's this weekend and got a metric ton of food for a reasonable price. I like TJs. Some of the best things there are either things you need to know about or get creative with. I just enjoyed the three layer hummus. I am also enjoying reviewing things at http://www.traderjoesfan.com/

Of course, I can do all of this because I finished the quarter. Most people in my program are 2/3 done it, but I'm doing a summer lang. intensive so I am more like... 3/5 done. Having to bang out three long papers in a really short time was taxing... and I'm not entirely sure about the resultant quality.

I like when campus is so quiet. Of course, I still have a final to finish and was picking up books/dropping off a paper, but it's nice when everything is so peaceful. University communities are such strange, temporary communities.

I feel as though I'd like to change my appearance in order to feel better. I have a hairstyle in mind that I'd need to grow into a little bit... I don't know. This may be one of those "I feel unhappy so I'll change the way I look and fix it!" silly moments. It does work though :)

Oh, and does anyone have either a small 18-20g circular barbell like this or an "inny" stainless steel ball? It doesn't seem to be worth paying for shipping for those and I haven't found a piercing shop nearby yet. My ring lost its ball :(

You know, I really miss having an office. Really. There was the "surrounded by people" aspect that kept me from getting lonely- people to go on coffee runs with, randomly take breaks and talk to, etc. There was also the benefit of not being able to putter as I do when I am home.

Back in school I can go to a coffee shop or library or reading room, all of which I like... BUT each of these places requires I pack up all of my stuff when I want to go to the bathroom or wander somewhere. I need to bring a sack of food and drink so I don't spend too much anywhere or get thirsty/hungry. I often feel like I'm camping because of all the crap I lug around to work in public spaces.

I am definitely less productive when I work from home too much. Occasionally I need it, but I can't stay home alone every day.

I wonder what the solution is here. Hm. Tomorrow I have a meeting and need to go to the library. I wonder if I should go work anywhere in particular.

It might be the warmth today putting me in a good mood, but I feel optimistic for the first time in a while. I feel good about where I am and what I am doing and how. Nothing has changed but my perception (for the meantime). You know, the whole "change your attitude, change your reality" thing...

I had a Big Love marathon yesterday. It's my polygamist soap opera. It always makes me want to live a communal life... my own home, but with really a lot of group interaction. Nightly group dinners, etc. I love how the three houses in BL were turned into a kind of shared lot. The idea of that kind of (idealized) support seems really nice right now.

Alright, back to work. I have a film screening at 4 and the professor didn't even get us the English subtitled version so it'll be all in Japanese. I doubt I'll understand much.

To whomever sent the pears...mmmmm yum. I love fruit :) And thank you! Pears are one of my favorites. Unexpected kindness always helps cheer me up. I'll be sure to share with j too!

Hello world (or, um, friends list)

We took the recylables to the resource recovery this morning, and while we were emptying the paper we noticed hundreds of letters and yellowed newspaper clippings scattered along the pavement, all addressed to someone named Polly. I picked up a postcard and read of someone's amazement at enjoying their vacation to Utah. I opened a card and read of a day when Polly and a friend of hers drove around the Illinois countryside and pretended it was Provence (but for the corn replacing the lavender fields they might have been fooled.) The newspaper clippings were from the 60s and 70s mostly. There were a lot of recipe cards written in a loopy script. Snickerdoodles.

Jhimm said... someone must have died. If it were me clearing out someone's space, even if I didn't know them, I might have taken all of that home. As it was I felt an incredible sadness grip me as I looked at the envelopes scattered around my feet. I was tempted to stay and keep reading until I knew who this person was.

And then, somehow when walking from the cafe to our car with a cappucino, the melancholy left me and I was happy again.

I am going to a class film screening at 4. I am back to feeling alternately melancholy and okay.

1. I am on Twitter! Anyone else on Twitter who I don't have "friended" ? http://twitter.com/lisbet

2. How do you define ontology / ontological ? It seems like everyone I talk to defines it differently.

It really does look like I am going to be flown to New York next Friday by Real Simple for a photo shoot. Ha.

As the kids would say, "redonkulous."

Maybe they'll fly me first class. Funny thing is, I'll be home by that evening. For j it'll be like I was hardly gone. I'll miss yoga though.

Just a reminder that my eco-cleaning product review blog can be added to your LJ friends list here:
http://syndicated.livejournal.com/greencleanrev/

That is if you're a cleaning nerd and a hippie like me!

Phew, first week back to classes and already things are swampy. I am up to my eyeballs in work. Interesting work, but work nonetheless. A few notes:

1. I love the sounds the library computers make when I am using them (to print out articles). This is purely the sounds of the keyboard and mouse on a 6-7? year old Dell. Such satisfying clicking sounds.

2. J and I are both addicted to olives from Whole Foods' olive bar right now. Mmmmmm

3. Tomorrow I have to go sit in a courtroom and observe for a class project. I'm not going to the criminal court, as it's a hike. I'm going to traffic court and sitting in the major violations session. A big time sink, but should be interesting.

4. I continue to be really into kundalini yoga. I credit it with keeping me from completely losing my marbles due to stress. I seriously didn't even like the style until recently and now I'm obsessed with it. I'm still not sleeping well, but I have a Dr. appt. tomorrow.

*5. Real Simple is actually sending a photo crew/makeup and hair people for the article I am going to be in! (About sleeping problems, if you don't recall. Nothing professional.) Now why didn't I shoot for "home makeover" or "free tuition" ? ) Oh, right, I hardly expected to be chosen. Ha! It all goes into the "media research" vault.

6. I'm out of the LJ loop, and I miss y'all when that happens.