Some Things About This Weekend

1. I voted.

2. I went to Kay's Bar and due to reasons unrelated to Kay's Bar and possibly related to a stomach virus I will never return.

3. I bid on a silent auction for handpainted Christmas ornaments and lost. It's likely for the best; I don't have room for them. So -- someone hand paint me some Christmas ornaments, please.

4. Jason went to the Houston Fine Arts museum and because they are jerks, I went across the street to the Contemporary Arts Museum. Also, reciprocal membership comes with: "Unlimited free admission for two adults." So, suck it, MFAH. Also also, "No food allowed OUTSIDE the museum" is a STUPID rule.

5. Toasted hazelnut Method soap is pretty good but it is not peppermint vanilla. Bring back the peppermint!

6. Karaoke staff socials. The more people you sing with, the worse you sound.

7. Dogs on motorcycles require little bitty doggy helmets.

8. Can we talk about the ridiculousness of "Pro-America" and "Real Virginia"? No? How about how Obama's tax plan is "socialist"? Ok, I already voted, I will let it rest.

9. If you write me a check and I don't cash it until 3 months after the fact it is really not my problem that you do not have a better handle on your finances.

10. I am going to Boston in November and just realized that I am going to BOSTON in NOVEMBER and I don't have any warm clothes.

11. I wish, instead of Boston, I were going somewhere vacationy. All by myself. For a long time. I need to get out of this time zone.

12. I gave someone a birthday present of one of my favorite books and she called the next day to say she was already engrossed in it. That was pretty nice.

go vote it is easy!

If you live in Texas and early voted for the primary and stood in a long line with lots of backpatting and comments about how great democracy is and by proxy how great everyone here is and you are ready for another dose then I am sorry to tell you there is NO LINE if you go right now.

So go now!

What I Remember of Novels I Read in High School

I hope Heather with her elephant-like memory will help me fill in the gaps of my required reading, 9th grade through 12th. In my memory, Heather is in every single one of my English classes in high school. I am sure that cannot actually be the case but that is certainly how I remember it. She will likely inform you that I did not actually read some of the books on the list (unless you count the comic book version of Tale of 2 Cities or the movie "Tess" or the first 10 pages of Anna Karenina) and that will be a LIE, DAMNED LIES.

Apparantly I didn't read anything in 10th grade, but I did have to recite 100 lines from Julius Caesar while wearing a toga. The experience was so traumatizing that it is all I remember from Mrs. Reilly's class. Sorry, Mrs. Reilly. Also, sorry 11th grade teachers who got completely overshadowed by Mr. Berry in 12th grade. I remember what you look like but I do not remember your names.

9th Grade, Mr. Moore
Ivanhoe
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Odyssey
Watership Down
Great Expectations
*Drama club bonus -- A Midsummer Night's Dream

10th Grade, Mrs. Reilly/Mr. Berry
Julius Caesar
%Lord of the Flies?
%Jane Eyre?
*Drama club bonus -- The Taming of the Shrew

11th Grade, Mrs. Redos/Mrs. Bertin
The Crucible
The Scarlet Letter
A Tale of Two Cities
The Great Gatsby
A Farewell to Arms
Look Homeward Angel
*Independent Study bonus -- As I Lay Dying?
*Research project bonus -- Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers
*Drama club bonus -- The Crucible

12th Grade, Mr. Berry
Anna Karenina
%Canterbury Tales
Tess of the D'urbevilles
The Illiad
Beowulf
Hamlet
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Murder in the Cathedral
The Courtship of Miles Standish
The Stranger
Pygmalion
The Sun Also Rises
A Tale of Two Cities
The Dollhouse
A Doll's House
*Independent Study bonus -- A Passage to India, A Room of One's Own, Howard's End


%Books I remembered only after checking the "great books" lists...

None of us wake up and wonder why we're on the planet

Good advice for troubled times:

Pick a career path you love and stick with it.



Or stick near it, as the case may be.

Ambiance

We got home from Fort Worth, and Jason has been vacuuming and scrubbing and generally cleaning and lighting tea-light candles everywhere. The cat just wandered into the bathroom and I think we will find her there later in a bubble bath sipping on a nice Shiraz.

Thanks for your e-mail.

Attn: Moms, UNEEFISIO, British People, Grace James, Study Partners, Etc. ...

Hey, thanks for your e-mail. I really enjoyed reading a partial list of Michael's high school graduation gifts (that kid totally scored). Yes, the BBQ sounds great, wish I could have been there. Yes, I am keeping up with my grades.

And you, other person, I wish you all the best with your new organization and I hope you find someone to meet your web design needs. Thanks for thinking of me.

All you Spanish-speaking people, I don't know what you are saying, and I am sorry.

However, I am not the person you are trying to find! Try somewhere else, please!

Thanks. Sorry.

My next email address is going to be sorrywrongnumber@gmail.com