Page 60 of 179

May 23, 2006 /

Caitlan went out a week and a half ago and graduated from a small, private liberal arts school, after acing the comprehensive oral exams for two different programs (even though she’s a single major) and producing an Honors thesis, summa cum laude. Oh, and she did it in three years. She’s going to England in the fall to get a second bachelor’s degree, as the first and only successful applicant in her school’s credit-sharing program with Oxford.

When I explained Maria’s educational progress at a family gathering a while back, I watched my grandmother’s eyes grow wider and wider: yes, she went to an Ivy, yes, she’s going to be a medical doctor, oh, but right now she’s getting her PhD, and in brain sciences, right–and I had to laugh and admit the simple fact that my girlfriend is out of my league. I should have looked around, then, at the women there: my mother and grandmother, my aunts and my genius sister. When you grew up seeing the standards set that high, what else can you do?

Hey Mom, let me know if you want this post to be #1 in the Google results for their names

May 23, 2006 /

There are certain words I never expected to see my mother use in print, and “pimped” is one of them. Just one reason why I’m happy to see her blogging again.

If you read Mo-Jo, you’re already aware that after years of mounting mismanagement, condescension and outright lies from the diocesan administration, my mother’s willingness to stand up for her school and her students finally got her fired. She has another job now, but (no offense to any booksellers present) she deserves a better one; if you happen to be aware of teaching or library-related jobs in central Kentucky for someone with an MAEd (but not an MLS), please let me know and I’ll pass the news to her.

wheeeEEEEEOOOO

May 17, 2006 /

Will trashes Lyle’s assumptions with another sequel from the LJ comment feed:

“Elaine groans as the dripping ceiling becomes a trickle onto her math homework: melting clouds are not conducive to learning. She hasn’t actually gone to classes in two weeks, though; hasn’t gone outside. She’s afraid of what’s up there. Or what might be up there.

When the wall between her burrow and the next collapses Elaine builds a fort out of borrowed furniture, reads by the weird light of a shard of broken sky. This lasts two days, until Dave asks for his sofa cushions back–and by that time she needs to use the bathroom anyway.

She looks up, gasps:”

May 5, 2006 /

Frances Whitney’s Jabberwocky has been a consistently good read since I found it through her son, my friend Leonard. Frances, who (to my understanding) has been living with HIV for years longer than expected, is getting ready to remove her IV nutrition pump. She isn’t up to writing anymore, but her daughters and sister continue to update for her as they talk to hospice, put Post-its on her belongings and record their conversations together. I wish we’d had something like this during the last months of my dad’s life. Their pragmatism is beautiful.

The last sentence of this post is sarcastic

May 5, 2006 /

Today I used my camera to take pictures of the parade! I got a really perfect shot of Maria which you can never see, and a whole bunch of pictures of inflated mascots, and some inexpert pictures of confetti. I underexposed about everything, but that’s what Paint Shop is for. I also discovered that sometimes the autofocus loves me:

Balloons going away.

I like having a camera! Perhaps I will make my pictures of the parade publicly available. I understand there is a site called Flicker where you can put them on lines.

I’m 25

May 3, 2006 /

I have a camera for a face.

I made brownie pie and we ate Spinelli’s. DC and Beth got me a book and a bunch of great Actors Theatre stuff, and Yale got me some stuff he found in his car, and he, Ken, Kyle, Scott, Lisa, Monica, Mom, Ian, Maria’s family and especially Maria got me a present I would never have let myself buy: a real camera.

Thanks, ballers.

Maria is sick.

May 1, 2006 /

Brendan: “I should go get you some cough syrup.”

Maria: “Hmm… I don’t know how I feel about that. The guy in the X-Files sent somebody out for cough syrup, and he died. But then again, he was British.”

Brendan: “… Your logic is flawless.”