monday meh

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
                   -- Langston Hughes, "Dreams"


Photo snapped at a local antique shop; don't worry, gentle readers - the bird is not real.

Weinerdog Wednesday, Auld Lang Dog edition

This braw lad is kilted up, hoping a wee bit o' haggis finds its way to his doggie bowl on this Burns Night.

Scottish poet Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759. His songs and poems celebrated the Scottish countryside, romantic ideals, equality, and the rights of the common man. Some of his verse is remarkably relevant today, such as these lines from "Ode on General Washington's Birthday" --

Here's freedom to them that would read!
Here's freedom to them that would write!
There's nane ever feared that the truth should be heard
But they wham the truth would indite!

Funky Friday, Farewell to 2011 Edition

Sometimes the end of a calendar year finds me wistfully wondering where the time has gone, bemoaning the lack of accomplishments under my belt, and getting all introspective about missed opportunities and such. But frankly, I'm glad to see 2011 go, even if it means the Mayan Apocalypse is fast upon us. (Just please don't let me spend the last day of all time sitting in the customer lounge at the Volvo dealership while my suspension is getting repaired, ok?)

It's not that 2011 was a total wash. I had the opportunity to become more intimately acquainted with various local health care establishments, and lived to tell about it. Career-wise, I held the hands of 42 more summer institute participants as they immersed themselves in the latest research in our field - and in the New River. My travels took me to both coasts, and even to central Virginia where my new friends Billy and Apple live, along with their human. (So far, Billy's the only one I'll let sit on my lap, but that may change in 2012.)

Nevertheless, and in spite of all the things that could have but didn't go wrong in 2011, I'm more than ready to move on. And I don't necessarily believe that 2012 will be all bright and shiny and full of good fortune (I've learned that the best way to avoid being disappointed is to have very low expectations). Maybe I just like the idea that after midnight Saturday, I will have an entire year to get done all the things I put off doing this year. And that makes me feel rather optimistic. Almost giddy, even.

Here's wishing you an adequate New Year. 

'Twas the Post Before Xmas...

Merry holidays to all my blogging friends -- may your days be festive and funky, and your chocolate chip cookies be chunky. Mmmmm....

The intelli home is decked in lights and tinsel. Cookies are baked, stockings await stuffing, and intellikid and I still haven't had time to watch that Mr. Bean episode that means Christmas is truly here. I'm slow in getting the holiday spirit this year, maybe because I've been so frikkin' busy. Or maybe I'm in denial that another year has managed to zoom by....

Meanwhile, those presents aren't gonna wrap themselves.

Peace, joy, and love to you and yours!!!

Weinerdog Wednesday, Chanukah Edition

As Andy Borowitz says, let's celebrate this most American of holidays, when we celebrate burning oil we don't have.

Happy Chanukah, y'all.

I still can barely stand it...but...

Ok, so it's probably, definitely, bad form to bash a job that let me fly to San Diego for a conference last week and allowed me to finagle a weekend visit with my cousin who lives in Santa Monica. Still, the fact that my co-workers and I haven't had so much as a cost-of-living increase in the past 3 or 4 years, combined with the gradual paring away of benefits, makes me feel somewhat justified in taking a tiny bit of advantage of the so-called perks the job entails. And it wasn't all sunshine and beaches, ya know....

This is the view from my hotel balcony at the conference. The serene beauty of the Mission Bay marina at sunset, however, belies the harsh reality that at 4am an amorous and/or hungry sea lion barked just outside my hotel room.

The architecture geek in me was not disappointed with SoCal's iconic Art Deco and Spanish edifices. One night my group dined al fresco just across from the Gaslamp Theatre in downtown San Diego. A young woman played cello on the sidewalk, and the passers-by were entertaining, too.

I didn't have the foresight to arrive in San Diego a day early to enjoy some sightseeing, and it was already dark when my train for LA departed at 5:55pm last Friday evening. Aware that stunning coastal scenery was zipping by just outside my window, I consoled myself with overpriced beverages from the club car. It would have been cool if the trains were of the same vintage as the stations, but then it would've taken longer to make the trip.... 

My cousin works for the Getty, and has curated an exhibit in the LA Public Library downtown. The photo of the lobby and chandelier don't do justice to the fabulousity of this space, so use your imaginations.

"The Mexican Revolution Revealed" shows photography from the Revolution and civil war, and ends with some images that have been, er, adapted for more recent purposes. 

Hard to believe I was having breakfast on the beach last Sunday. This establishment had some unorthodox staff busing the tables, but at least they didn't hover over our shoulders waiting for us to finish.

This designer chicken coop is at the site of a non-profit organization that teaches horsemanship to at -risk teenage girls. Then again, as my cuz said, "all teenage girls are at-risk." We spent the afternoon at their open house. 

I always miss the mountains when I travel to East Coast cities. That wasn't so much of a problem out west, even if the peaks weren't as high or green as those in my backyard at home.

I wasn't prepared to like SoCal as much as I did. Even if I can't find a conference to go to out that way again, I may just have to return for a vacation one of these days. Whenever I have time for a vacation, that is.

Funky Friday, DIY edition

Hey kids -- I'm afraid you're going to have to funk yourselves for the month of November. I am a way too busy wench, what with taking two classes, working at a job I can barely stand, parenting my mother, and preparing to hit the road for a conference on the left coast next week. I have December 6, my last day of class, circled and highlighted and glittered on all my calendars...it's just the stuff between now and then that's not so shiny.

I wouldn't want to leave ya'll without some guidance in the funk-it-yourself department, however, so I've put together a little playlist of some ditties I like. There's one for each Friday in November, plus one. Shuffle, fast forward, whatever you like.

I'll be around...just even less than I have been.

monday meh, where is everybody? edition

This is weird. It's after 9:30 a.m. and nobody else is in the office yet. Not even any zombies.....

Funky Friday, ZOMBIES

It's the time of the season for zombies -- and these guys are still touring! -- maybe they really are Zombies....

My Friday is off to a funky start indeed. The road between Bubbaville, where I live, and Collegetown, where I work, is closed due to two separate icky wrecks -- one involving a liquid nitrogen spill (someone erroneously reported a "nitrous oxide spill" on facebook -- tee hee!) and the other a diesel fuel spill. I think it's a good day to work from home....

Weinerdog Wednesday, Halloweener edition

Scooter Pie was looking quite devilish in this picture circa 2005. Happily, in the ensuing years she has not killed us in our sleep.