Hitchcockish

Hitchcockish

Tree-T

Organic vs. Man-made

Getting Friendly with the Funereal

I've been called morbid, dark and even troubled because of my periodic/chronic/episodic obsession with death and dying--Worry not, I'm far from suicidal. Death just seems so....well...final. Given I can’t control the fact that one day I won’t be here, it seems like I should at least accept that truth.

If you want to face what awaits you, I suggest you follow this recipe:
1. Start with season one of Six Feet Under and work your way up to the final season;
2. Read Mary Roach's book Stiff;
3. Picnic, walk, and bike ride in your neighborhood cemetery, or come out to Jamaica Plain and head to my local haunt, Forest Hills Cemetery .

Note: If you haven't seen Six Feet Under or read Stiff, I highly recommend you do while you're still alive. As for Forest Hills, you should check it out also; it's one of the more redeeming sights of Boston.

Forest Hills is unique in that the usual piles of Boston trash are absent, it's quiet and it's beautiful—the only other place that fits that description is my living room.

You need not be a grave robber to know that its residents thought themselves important--they clearly had wallets as big as their egos (think Monument-to-self and Mausoleum).

There aint no paupers' but there are a few poets-- e.e. cummings and Anne Sexton are here.

Of course not all tombstones are lovely, but that doesn't mean they're not memorable.

Take One: Unhappy Husband

Take Two: Alex Acquiesces

96% Unseen

I came upon this really cool mapping tool byway of Metro Dad (btw: if you're looking for Tales From The Crib, go there, not only is it hilarious its also quite scary).

I thought I'd travelled a fair bit and then I created my map and it turns out I have a lot more travelling to do--I've only seen 4% of this world's countries.

Here's my travel map:

Make your own map

Seen States (I wish they'd pick a different color for places seen.
Tis way too election 04ish for me.)

Photo Show

My very first photography show happens to be tomorrow night.

It’s not a one woman show--my entire photography class is showing--but hey, maybe next time. ;)

There’s no real overarching theme to the body of photos I chose, I just chose photos I like.

If you get a chance, take a look. And if you have opinions, please feel free to share them, good or bad.

Here’s the shutterfly link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeANnLhizbOWbUtg¬ag=1

Emerald City Recap

Our trip home to the Emerald City was fabu. Alex beat me to the punch by writing about it so I won't duplicate his effort, instead, I'll send you to his post.

Why the Emerald City is better than Bean Town: Reason number 943

Mt. Rainier. View from Bainbridge Island, home to my people.

Going Home

Off to Seattle for a long overdue visit. It's weird to say I'm visiting because I think of it as home. I can't wait to breath clean air, see clean (or at least cleaner) streets, and catch up with the family and friends .

Blinded

Yesterday as I got off the train at Waltham, I noticed a blind man who was in serious need of help. The train platform is very narrow and on one side has a metal railing and the other, the tracks. I offered my help which he gratefully accepted. He needed to cross the street to get to the bus stop.

We talked about where we were both going, what we do for school and work, the usual stranger conversation. He's 20 years old, a mathematics student at Boston Univ. and was on his way to teach a computer class--all that, while not seeing, now that's impressive!

I asked him if he was totally blind or sight impaired and sadly it's the former and then he told me how he became blind, which is tragic: as a 3-year-old in Vietnam, a doctor put the wrong eye drops in his eyes and he went instantly blind. I'm no doctor, but doesn't it seem a bit strange that a (presumably) approved eye medication could be so damaging?

In any case, it was nice to be able to help someone out. Although I'm glad I no longer teach, I do miss feeling like I'm making some sort of positive contribution, so this was a nice opportunity.

Watching

Dirty

Something about Nothing

Report from my front:

• Sandeep was up to his tricks again. Last Friday he jumped off the deck, into a tree, and crawled down to the ground. I believe he learned his lesson. When I found him he looked utterly helpless and miserable. I think he understands food, water and comfort come from above not below.
• The weather was hot, now it's cold.
• This past weekend I was apart of the Life is Good Backyard Festival Photo Team http://www.lifeisgood.com/ . The festival was a charitable event to raise money for Project Joy http://www.projectjoykids.org/mission.html, which was a worthwile cause--I had to keep telling myself that as I lugged my gear in the 90 heat with the oh-so-pleasant stick factor of 99% humidity. :) Here are some of the photos http://share.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EeANnLhizbOWbUPg&open=1&x=1&sm=1&sl=0
• My love of all things Photoshop grows. At school I'm working on masking and compositing which is pretty technical but when the technical aspects are mastered, it's digital art making. I'm far from a master, but hope to be.
  
• I love my new spanx bra. Go to the website and enter LANDERS as the promotion code and get 50% off.
  
• We are having a party on Saturday--many cool folks expected. I'll be a mojito mixing mama.
  
• Alex dislocated his finger at TKD and is now walking the streets of Boston with his finger above his head to prevent swelling.
  

That's it and that's all.

Nice light on Nice guy

The PNW

My mom sent me this great Jeff Foxworthy list about the PNW (Pacific North West). It's 100% accurate and really really really makes me homesick.

The Pacific Northwest According To Jeff Foxworthy.
1. You know the state flower (Mildew) {It's really the Rhododendron}
2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.
3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.
4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
5 You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.
7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.
8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.
9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, andVeneto's
10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.
11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima and Willamette.
12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.
14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark-while only working eight-hour days.
15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain,"and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."
17. You have noconcept of humidity without precipitation
18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.
19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot seethrough the cloud cover.
20. You notice, "The Mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.
21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but stillwear your hiking boots and parka.
22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the sockson.
23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.
25.You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old onesafter such a long time.
26. You measure distance in hours.
27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still, Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer &Elk season (fall).
30. You actually understood these jokes

The Bipedal Cat, Part 2

Regarding the wonder cat:

It gets worse, better, funnier-- I don’t know what to call it.

Last night he barfed all over the place. Why? Well judging from the multitude of insects in his vomit I’m going to guess bugs and cat stomachs are not a good mix.

Then.. This morning at 5am I hear the squirrels going crazy. These are the same squirrels that brought Sandeep the homeless cat to my attention back in February—he terrorized them often. I get out of bed anticipating the worst--He was gone again. I went onto the roof and he was in a tree close to our bedroom window. He squeezed through the window onto the ledge and jumped to the tree. He was a bit stressed as the tree was a good distance from the roof but with his very springy legs managed to get onto the roof. I feel like this might be preparation for kids. Ugh……

The Bipedal Cat

Remember the cat from the last post? Well, this morning, he was up to no good.

6:45 AM Alex comes to Christina in bed: “uhm… Sandeep… he’s uh…, missing.”

With that, I bolt out of bed, freaking out, on the verge of tears. The only place he could go is down, three stories.
Out we went yelling his name like a good Indian mum and dad. Then there was meowing, from above. He’s on the roof looking down at us.

There's no access to the roof from our place, unless you
are bipedal and have opposable thumbs. Last I checked, he didn’t.

Many Names, One Gato

He started as 3. That was his name (as in third cat) in his dark basement home.

Now he's Country, Tigerle, Sandeep, Sandman, Ruben, Gato, Monkey, Chango, Stanley-- these are the names we hear ourselves calling this little muchacho.

Names--What are they anyway? Just away to peg you down really. We can't really peg him down and that's okay because catever he is today, and catever we call him we are mighty fond of this funny feline.

The Honeymoon on Elm Street, Part 2

The story continues: here

The Honeymoon on Elm Street, part I

After many many tellings it has finally been written, not by me, but by husband. It's a story like no other, at least I hope.

After two years of telling the story over and over again, I’m finally getting around to writing up our Honeymoon Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s pretty long, so it’ll be in multiple segments.
Note: unmarried couples may want to consider bringing along a chaperone to reassure them that it’s not always this bad. There will be scenes of graphic disappointment and unhappiness, dashed plans and foiled expectations. You have been warned.

The path to the nightmare is here.

Ominous