Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Things and Such

A NOTE FROM TIBBET:
Tibbet was very interested in watching the CNN coverage about the vote on the health care reform. She told me that even though it doesn't affect her, she likes to keep up with current events and that Buddy should really take more interest in these things. She had me make a sign for her to pose with so she could look back on this historic day and remember sitting on the folding chair. She would also like everyone to know that despite popular belief, Siamese cats are very into politics.

A RANDOM COLLECTION OF THINGS
Here's the story of this group of items. The monster with his arms out and the praying mantis are toys I used to play with in the tub when I was little. There are 2 large pieces of mica (check out that basal cleavage!) that they seem to be fighting over. I think I found the mica in a driveway somewhere. They are standing on a rock my aunt Carole gave me that has a hole in the middle, so I inserted a passover candle that I got for 15 cents. Now that's art!

THE MIGHTY PINE
These are pine trees. Can you believe it? I don't know what I'll do when they get bigger, but I think I have some time. I love a conifer. Conifers are gymnosperms which is a funny word. I don't know what type of pine they are because I bought this little pot and seeds for $1 and it just said "Christmas tree". I wonder if they figured no one would actually try and grow it.

TABASCO AND "THE BOZ"
Two new things have appeared on my bookshelf since Monday. They are a bottle of Tabasco sauce and an action figure of Brian "The Boz" Bosworth. Mike brought him home from his dads house on Sunday. "The Boz", who was known for his radical hairstyles, apparently wasn't much of a player. He got thrown off teams for steroid use, bad conduct, and general douchbaggery. So we like to display him in our living room, tackling a bottle of hotsauce.
These are just a few things around my house that I get a kick out of. I hope they entertained you for a while. Next time I'll write something with more of a purpose. My brain is fuzzy today.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Bear the Dint

If you ever find yourself in a dollar store, go to the toy section and look at the names of the toys. They're usually translated from another language and it's almost impossible to figure out what they were trying to say. My dad and I first noticed this at a store in Tucson, where they had the same fishing set I found the other day and a "pugilism gun" which was a boxing glove on a "gun" that juts outward when you pull the trigger. That one makes sense if you know what pugilism means, but "The Bear The Dint Fishing Challenge" is beyond me. Bear the Dint? How do I bear the dint? The Oxford English Dictionary defines dint as such, "n. a dent. By dint of = by means of." So the bear the dint would be to carry, support, or endure a dent, or to endure by means of. So we are possibly enduring the fish by means of the fishing pole.

If you look behind the pole, you will see three points these advertisers have made, possibly trying to show the things you will learn while using the bear the dint fishing challenge. They are,

  • Patience
  • Wait For
  • Fast
These are basic things any fisher person should know. Not that I would word them that way. And I really don't think these fish are going to be difficult to catch.

After so much confusing language, it is comforting to know that even if we have no idea how to bear the dint, at least we know this is a lovely fishing set.


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Apartment Canyons and Chore Avoidence

Lately (well, always) I have lots of things going through my brain and I usually don't focus on them for more than a few minutes each. But today I was inspired by looking at the same thing for a while and comparing it to something else. I was sitting at the desk and a pigeon landed on the windowsill. It was a really scraggly pigeon, and I thought he was kind of cute. He just kept looking in the window like he wanted to come in and have some coffee and probably some crumbs and maybe wash that oil slick off his feathers. I named him McMoop. I thought about how much people hate pigeons and how I really don't understand it. People go out of their way to attract "prettier" birds to their windowsills, but take great measures to keep pigeons away.

Then as I was watching McMoop I noticed the buildings behind him. I can see between 2 buildings to another building, all separated by that weird area that's always gated and closed off so no one can walk there. It's probably because people would dump all their trash or do drugs down there or something, but I started thinking about canyons. The buildings kind of make a canyon, and I thought about how if I could walk through these I might end up in some beautiful land, or maybe the building canyon is a beautiful land where pigeons feel like eagles and the canyon walls are full of homes where people feel safe from murderous tribes (gangs). Kind of like this one:



<- Apartment Canyon


I know if I walked between the buildings I would just end up out on the street pretty quickly, but I've kept my mind from actually picturing it. For now I'm just letting my imagination run with it so I have something nice to think about while I'm sitting at the computer. Also, there's this thing coming off my fire escape that I'm guessing was used to hoist things up here years ago. Or maybe it's to save adventurers from being swept away by flash floods. McMoop might know.
Another thing that I've been thinking a lot about is my mystery plant. I brought it home from the park when it was just a little green point sticking out of a seed and a root dangling from the bottom. Now he has one leaf and another one on the way. I've been researching it and trying to figure out what my mystery plant is going to be. I'm hoping for something pretty, but who knows. The closest I could find was a plant called the "Hog Peanut".



So all of this is really just my brain trying to distract itself from something I've been avoiding for a few weeks...


Oh I forgot to tell you about my other plants. I started growing some basil and thyme from seed and they came up a few days ago. Here they are. I'll probably have to move them to larger pots soon. For now they live in ceramic Santa boots.


So the thing I have been avoiding is unpacking all the stuff I have in the guest room. It's mostly stuff I don't really need but can't get rid of, or Mikes stuff which I'm not allowed to get rid of, and lots of clothes I used to wear to work but aren't any good for anything else since they have ink all over them. But I have to start today because we're actually going to get the bed for that room this weekend so my pal Robyn will have a place to sleep while shes visiting. I don't think this will be fun but here goes. Maybe I'll eat something first. And check the mail.

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Bronx and The C

I've been putting off writing anything since we moved in hope of coming up with something worth writing about, but alas, I lost enthusiasm for a while. But now there is a reason. I'm putting off doing laundry. So here is whats new. We moved on March 1st which was not as bad as I thought but a little more expensive since apparently we had more boxes than we thought and we forgot to consider the stairs up to the front door as a "flight". But everything and everyone got here un-maimed. I did have to take my plants on the train which was kind of weird but there have been weirder things on the New York subway I'm sure.

Our new place is much bigger, cleaner, and quieter than the last one. I unpacked almost everything in one day but left the rest in the guest room. Next week I have to get all that stuff put away because my best friend is coming to visit and we're getting our 2nd bed next weekend. And a couch, finally!

Writing about moving is boring so I'll change the subject. Lately I am once again obsessed with metal-detecting and relic hunting. I have off and on been obsessed with this and unfortunately should have made more of an effort to get into it when I lived in AZ. There is not much in the way of open land and ghost towns out here in which to easily find things and I kept putting off getting a metal detector. Now I really want to start doing this but I don't know where I would do it other than Van Cortlandt park, and you need a permit to hunt there. It's free, but there are lots of rules. I just want to go out and find crap! Check out this website that I've been reading for a while and maybe you'll see why I am interested in these things. Or not. I'm a history nerd you see. And I think maybe I'll spend part of my tax return on a cheap metal detector. Here is something I found without the help of modern technology. Its a "C".




Who knows what its from or how old it is, but it is old and it is a C. And that's good enough for me.