Vacancy

Last Friday, I met Robert y Leigh at the Clinton School to see John Sinclair and David Kimbrough, Jr. speak. We were crammed into the hall with a lot of LR's liberal elite (I think I'm joking) where John recited a poem and both men took some questions. Although I'm still wondering if any of those questions were actually answered, it was still a very entertaining time. I actually saw John Sinclair a couple of years ago at the piano bar on 7th street. It was an intimate affair which made it that much more amazing. I have never been a huge fan of poetry & spoken word, but John blew me away with his engaging blues men stories and his three piece backing band. I knew that the event @ the Clinton center wouldn't be like that, but I still wanted to see him. I wish I could've seen John perform at the White Water Tavern later, but I was felled by another migraine. I couldn't even go see ATM dj @ Spectrum.

Lately. Hmm, lately. Lately, lately has been trying. I am completely overwhelmed by my job. It's not the job itself, but the people I share this office with. I sit here wondering how I'm going to write this out, but frankly, I'm tired. I'm just mentally exhausted. I will say this: it is so difficult working for someone who simply doesn't want to deal with the bad apples, who rewards bad behavior & loads up the competent folks with too much responsibility. I am this close to saying, "Yes, I'll learn to do this particular task that is actually not my job. But, all I ask in return is for you to tell me what he (points to offender) does around here to earn a salary." Seriously. Some people here literally do not do a fucking thing. Unless you count wandering off for indeterminate amounts of time, online social networking, moonlighting & talking on two phones at a time work. Oh, see! I'm starting to get all pissed off again! I regret that I allowed them (there's two of them, see) to ruin work for me. I realize it's like this at everyone's job, but shyeeeeeeit. I've been waking up earlier to do yoga before work to combat the stress. I think after I get used to waking up earlier and getting my stretch/pose on, it'll do me well in the long run. I'm still in the "getting used to it" phase. Waking up isn't hard. Getting out of a warm bed is. Too, I crash so much earlier in the afternoon. I usually get my slump around 3:00 p.m. Now it comes right after lunch! I'll suffer through it, though. I'm convinced that it'll work out soonish. So, yeah, I'm that jerkface that works out before work! It's a pleasure to meet you!

Today, Kat and her girlfriend are driving down from Ft. Smith. Tonight, the lot of us will be going to the Arkansas Art Center to redo the opening night (previously canceled because of inclement weather) of the Delta exhibit. Afterward, we're going to Ristorante Capeo for supper. Kat (+ one) will be our house guests for the night. Frankly, I can't wait to do all of this fun, delicious stuff. I need. to have. fun. Speaking of Kat, her Habitat exhibit @ the ACAC begins March 5. I can't wait to see the unveiling of our own Habitat photo! I hope I'm not pulling a bad face.

My daydreams have gotten grander, loftier. I don't just have spring on the brain. I've been thinking of me & KMHD's future boutique hotel in Hot Springs.

Starvist

My favorite, most utilized:

WWWWWAVESSSSSSS

I'm totally in the grips of Winter right now. Everyone, including myself, is crazed & cranky. But, take heed! March is less than two weeks away! It is safe to begin daydreaming about sunshine and daffodils and grilling and camping. But, please, no shorts. Too soon.

A natural side effect of turning into a winter bear is neglecting a whole lot of things including, but not limited to, grooming, laundry, dishes & other housework, remembering to feed the felines in a timely manner, and grocery shopping. And blogging. Even so, I feel I've been very busy lately. However, all other free time is spent under the covers and on the couch, watching the Winter Olympic sports. I've been enjoying them so much. The Olympics are the greatest sporting event of all time! I totally turn into a fiercely freaky-deaky U.S. team supporter. Like in a scaring-the-kitties-from-shouting kind of way. They are such a comfort for me during these trying times. All of that good will (and the hilarious catty rivalries) and competition makes me feel good. Too, wow, Olympians! The literally break their bodies to fine tune their performance and it's amazing to see the competition sort out the best of the best. I tune in any chance I get. My favorite events are ski jumping, aerials, biathlon & speed skating, but I do love to tune to EVERYTHING.

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02-02-2010: About a *fortnight ago, KMHD, Matt W. & myself went to UALR to watch RNC Chair Michael Steele and likely NY Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. debate, although I would hardly call it a debate. Essentially, both men gave the audience their talking points, which is pretty damn insulting to those of us who actually keep up with politics. The "highlight", or, the part when I was most incensed, was when Michael Steele said that a million dollars really isn't a lot after taxes. Oh, Michael, don't! After the moans, groans, and the mocking laughter died down, Howard Ford, Jr. asked the audience if anyone had a million dollars? Of course no one did, but Michael Steele then queried, "Who wants a million dollars?" As expected, a few people raised their hands. But, I was pleasantly pleased by how many people did not. I won't get into my views & thoughts on money. Besides it being a rude topic of conversation, it isn't lost on me that my views may not be relatable. It's such a touchy subject, much more than politics or religion, because unlike politics and religion, everyone must deal with money (or a lack of it). Anyway, the scariest part of the whole Steele v. Ford, Jr. charade was the Q&A with the audience. Oh. My. Word. I don't even know where to start. The craziest of the crazy stepped up. Enraged baby boomers (DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THIS LOT), Libertarians (ugh) & people who start their diatribe with "I stand here in fear of God..." all got to step up to the mic. We didn't get any substantive questions or comments. It was fright.en.ing. Although Harold Ford, Jr. gave good talking points (but, they're STILL talking points), I can't say I'm a fan. I am of the opinion that he needs to stay in Memphis to work & not try to run for Senator in NY.

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02-07-2010: Happy New Year! This is Year of the Tiger! A week before the actual holiday, we hustled on down to Bauxite to celebrate with our cousins & aunt from Ft. Smith. I look forward to a few things at new year celebrations: 1. pho 2. the dragon and 3. egg rolls 4. prayers at the temple . The lady who makes the pho used to own Van Lang, the (former) best Vietnamese restaurant in town. For some reason, she sold it to some Koreans who have tampered with the recipe, so it's not as good anymore. But, I get to eat it at least once a year. We didn't get to say prayers this year as we had our cousins in tow.

Worth the wait:

I've tried & tried, but I don't know how to correct this. Tilt your head & enter the dragon:

KMHD, Loc, An, Vi & ATM:

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02-07-2010: We hosted Super Bowl Sunday @ our home this year. Super Bowl usually isn't my steeze, but the New Orleans Saints, for me, represent the ultimate underdog in a city who has suffered a complete beat down with no meaningful recovery in sight. Or, it would probably be more accurate to say that they are suffering an achingly slow recovery. New Orleans needed this win, so we grouped together to cheer them on. Now THAT was a fantastic game! There were so many high-fives, whoops & hollers, and endless waves in our living room. And if I needed another reason to stand behind the Saints, it would be because of linebacker Scott Fujita. He's got quite the background story (He identifies himself as culturally Japanese!) and firmly stands up for equality for the LGBT community & hot-button women's issues. A football player! He pretty much blows that stereotype out of the water. People amaze me everyday!

The major distraction from the game was the grilled cheese sandwich bar that I set up. My objective was for folks to make their dream grilled cheese sandwich. I bought an obscene amount of cheese of many varieties:

We used only the finest ingredients: bakery-style sourdough & French miche and real garlic butter. But, the key to our success was Leigh's panini press. ZOMG! We had previously given the bar a test run on the waffle iron and it gave similar fantastic results, but the panini press was harder, better, faster, stronger. I'm sad to report that I didn't take a lot of photos. But, I did take a cell phone snap shot of the prototype. It tasted better than you can imagine:

I managed to squeeze in lotsa cuties into our living room to watch the game. We totally watched Puppy Bowl instead of commercials and half-time tomfoolery. Puppy Bowl!:

For the record, I know the nicest, smartest, funniest, coolest, most talented people around! And they're cute, too. The best thing ever is to go to bed, exhausted, with a smile, from having too much fun.

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02-08-2010: I thought ATM was pulling my leg when he woke me up the next morning to report that there was a healthy blanket of snow on the ground. Either the weathermen goofed or we were too distracted by the game to notice any warning of a snow storm. But, yeah, we got a bit of snow, didn't we? I adore snow. And frankly, I don't mind having to stay home for a couple of days because the roads are unnavigable. I got to do some cooking & reading, but, I mostly suffered a toothache. I have TMJ & currently cannot afford treatment, even with the best dental insurance plan. (Hello, healthcare reform!). Despite preventive measures, I suffer a random toothache every once in awhile. It's so painful & I'm rendered useless for a few days. I didn't get to truly enjoy the snow. No sledding, snow(wo)men, snowball fights or snow angels. I just nested on the couch & watched from the window. At the very least, it was very pretty and soothing.

Ghost cat & camelias:

ATM attempted to go to work, only to return a bit later:

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02-12-2010: I visited with the Peeks; we eated homemade pizza & watched the Olympic opening ceremonies. Oh, Canada! (Note: Plan a trip to Montreal and/or Vancouver soonish) LP is one of my favorite things at the moment. Lil pooper:

With dad:

Big sister, Negi:

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02-14-10: Happy Valen-what now? Pish. ATM & I went to down to Hot Springs to wager on the ponies and to get some badly needed R&R. Heather & Zach met us @ Oaklawn for the day. Muchas gracias to them for making the drive & helping us have an ideal afternoon.

Lovely Heather:

Rain turned into snow:

Uneeda some snow downtown Hot Springs!

View from our room:

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You've got until the 28th of this month, but if you haven't, please go to the ACAC & check out their latest art installment by artist Ch3mex.

Opening night, there were matachines dancers:

This mural will be painted over soon. Lookout, ATM!

*Alannah, how's this for working it into the vernacular?

Quickie

1. Our Habitat photograph will be unveiled @ the ACAC art show March 5, 2010. I've been instructed by the artist to "hold my horses". Yes ma'am!

2. Amulets & hieroglyphics:

Nom:

3. Touchedown! We will be having a grilled cheese sandwich bar for our Super Bowl shindig! Leigh, bless her, will be lugging over her panini press, which makes the sandwiches that much better. Too, I had to special order the bread. Because regular Kroger bread just won't do! I'm talkin' sourdough and French miche. Pinkies way out, guys! I already bought "average" cheeses like mozzarella, Colby jack, cheddar, Provolone & American, but aim to get some type of triple cream (St. Andre?) and harvarti and gruyere. UHN! I pretty much have to eat perfectly this week in order to not completely murder (just maim) my self-improvement plan. I pretty much undid all of my hard work over the winter wonderland extended weekend. You can't not! Anyway, in addition to high-brow grilled cheese sandwiches, I'm making a vegetable soup that will be real tomato-y for dipping afore mentioned sandwiches in, homemade hot wings, cupcakes, and...what else? I feel that I need one more vegetarian app to balance it out. Workin' on that.

4. LOST season finale starts this evening. I'm light-medium excited about it. I think I'm more excited about the Chinese take out we're getting to nosh on whilst watching it. Crispy bean curd! Heavenly.

On ice

I'm not suggesting that it is my doing, but all of my wishes put out there for a lovely snow day came true! No reporting to work, a chance to sleep in on a week day, coffee, cooking, eating, overeating, watching television, cuddling with critters, catching up on projects around the house & listening to oldies. Bonus: no loss of power. Winter perfection. I am 100% content.

Because of the weather, we couldn't go to Delta Exhibition Friday evening to visit with Kat & see our Habitat photo. Perhaps I can talk ATM into driving me tomorrow to look at it? We also couldn't go to Ft. Smith to pay our dad a visit. DARN!

Ghost town. JFK Blvd., yesterday @ 5:15 p.m.:



We weren't the only lurkers about:

Camelias are in bloom! I love the bursts of color that are hidden away in the garden:



Animal prints:

Convoluted chicken dance:




We finally got around to hanging up Lauren's art piece in the dining room. It is where it is supposed to be:



Naturally, we aren't anywhere near done with how we want our home to be, but it is definitely feeling more cozy & filled out around here. I've really been enjoying our house during this snowy, cold weather.

Latest photo of our living room:

Needs drapes! And art! And bookshelves! At the moment, we're holding out for antique barrister bookshelves for our ever-growing book collection. We've got books stacked throughout the house and behind the couch. I am eager to put them in their place.

Pretty neat lamp:

There are, seemingly, a billion projects that are contingent on other projects being complete before we can start, so that really slows things down to a near grinding halt. It took me a minute after moving in to figure that, ha!, it takes TIME & MONEY to get things done. Imagine that! Whenever we do complete a project, though, I appreciate it that much more. I sit here and wonder what we'll do next. I really have no idea! Probably more painting? It would be ideal to get drapes because it's been cold out & I feel it'll help keep the heat in.

Sometimes I skip (a lot of) steps & think about future projects. Like stenciling a whole wall. The living room is most definitely deserving of this treatment because the walls are big & blank. But, I think I would like it in our bedroom, too. Speaking of which, our poor bedroom. doesn't get very much attention. It is very lucky if we get around to making the bed (Ahem, ATM!), but I guess since it's not the public space of the house, it gets neglected. But, I would very much like to make it a nice little spot for ourselves. I was just telling ATM that whenever we finally get our Kushmaul painting, we should hang it in our bedroom. We'd have to have a lovely boudoir if we wanted company in there to view the painting, yes?

From Ed Roth's Stencil 101 Decor, which I currently have in my possession. This photo, which I may very well rip off, exemplifies the type of stenciling I would appreciate in my home. Subtle, but gives texture:


I read in the current issue Cook's Illustrated that mushrooms past their prime lend a heartier flavor to whatever dish you're making. This is useful knowledge because sometimes I can forget about those white buttons in the back of the fridge there. Obviously don't use them if they smell fermented or are slimy. Otherwise, do it to it! I made a terrific Hungarian mushroom soup for lunch today:




Time for cats! This photo is hilarious because Hot Dog is touching SOLO. He so desperately wants to be liked by her, but it just ain't gonna happen.

Window licker:

Close-eyed!

Does not care, wants to be left alone. Frankly, it's heartbreaking because she used to sleep with us every night. Now she sleeps in the guest room by a drafty window. This new independent streak, no doubt, is because of Hot Dog, but surely she'll come around? No? Don't know what to do about jealous older cat.:

The offending SOB:


We've got a lot coming up: Tet is next weekend. So is Super Bowl. I am 80% certain we are hosting and I have every intention of setting up a grilled cheese sandwich bar. Oh, yes. Several kinds of cheese, a few types of bread, butter, garlic butter. I may have to make a pot of tomato soup for dipping, too. I hope that maybe just maybe the Peeks will be able to venture out? It would be nice to have company over here!

Valentine's Day is approaching & I really don't care, but this year is special because it is a three-day weekend for me! Thank you, President's Day! I really hope ATM is off. Maybe we can go to Hot Springs & wager on some ponies? Friends reading this: let's go!

Also, the winter Olympics are nigh upon us, too. I'm a fan! I'm NOT a fan of the Olympic bosses not allowing women to ski jump. Ridiculous! They say they are just looking after our ovaries. Puh-lease! STFU! I think it's because, like soccer, women would rule the sport if we just had the freaking chance!