Because I feel as if I've gotten mad too much over the last few weeks, here's some happiness in the form of pictures and things.
First off, my room has gone from looking like this....
...to this...
...with some fun interludes, like this...
...and this.
So I have a room now. It's not quite all unpacked ('cause I'm kinda lazy), but the most important thing in the room is all set up (though this picture, now that I look at it, is missing the bottom shelf):
I also went to my friend Katie's wedding last weekend. It was in Massachusetts. 73 degrees with no humidity. I sometimes wonder why I left New England.
It's been a long, long time since high school.
While I was up in Mass, I went with my family to Newburyport. It's a little North Shore town:
My youngest brother Mark was not there, because he's spending the summer volunteering out in Washington state. And by "volunteering," I mean "go on backpacking trips with kids." So while I was sweating in Philly, he was here:
Yeah, I'm jealous, too. However, I was happy to see Kirk (my middle bro) and his girlfriend (also named Sarah). For completeness's sake, here's a picture of them at their graduation:
Unfortunately (or fortunately, as it were), no photos of me playing baseball in those ridiculous polyester pants (in 90 degrees!).
More later, perhaps on more serious topics.
I am baffled as to why anyone would paint over the masterpiece in the third photo. Already I hear the lament of future art historians echo down through time.
ReplyDeleteI am also deeply jealous of your bookshelves, as it seems that mine can only be delivered on the twelfth Thursday of the month when the wolf howls at the harvest moon. All my books are still in boxes. (I'm similarly jealous of your shelves' contents, particularly the Twain I haven't been able to find - although I question the prominence of Wyrd Sisters, of all the Discworld books.)
Thought it had been a while since you were around on slacktivist - there were a couple of, um, intense weeks there, but things seem to be getting better now. The refusal of some people to grasp the current privilege discussion wearies me, but I think I know where to start my own blog now. First entry: "Being a Feminist is Actually Not That Hard".
My stick figures will revolutionize the face of painting, let me tell you.
ReplyDeleteBooks! The Pratchett is actually my cousin's. She lent me a bunch of the Discworld books, which I have not gotten around to (I know, I know. Bad Sarah). If you're ever in Philly, you are completely welcome to ransack my bookshelf. My family and friends have been doing it for years.
I've been lurking a bit on slacktivist. These past couple of weeks have been crazy-busy for me, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to write coherent comments. I'm getting caught up on the "extremists" thread, and you're right about the fight about privilege. It's tiring, and frustrating, and it seems obvious to someone who's experienced both sides (white and female, here, privileged on one side, unprivileged on the other). I'd totally read your blog, by the way. Doooo it. :)
Ransack, you say? Tempting! I had a friend who kept telling me Philadelphia was great and I should check it out. I've been looking for more good travelling, but it's boring on my own - kiting down to Philly could be fun. Or weird? I don't have a great handle on what other people find weird.
ReplyDeleteDiscworld blather: 'Wyrd Sisters' is probably the weakest of the series - its main benefit is that it introduces the cast of the witches' books, which are excellent later. 'Guards! Guards!' starts the Watch books, which are probably most people's favourites. And the standalone 'Small Gods' should be read by everyone on the planet (it was called wonderfully pro-Christian by Christians, and brilliantly pro-atheist by atheists - Sir Terry is a genius).
I should really just head down to ShifterCat's bookstore and see what Twain they have, but I always feel guilty about going in and potentially not buying anything...
Philly's a great city. I'd be happy to play tour guide if you ever find yourself traveling down this way. Not weird at all--though some of my friends have hitchhiked cross country, so my definition of "weird" may not in fact be normal.
ReplyDeleteWhere is ShifterCat's bookstore? And what Twain are you missing? Huck Finn's a must-read, of course (and provides us with one of the slacktivite mottoes).
Will have to check out Small Gods as well. My reading list is already a mile long, and I've been really awful about keeping up with it lately...
It's Huck Finn I most want to read, partly for the motto and partly because I think I'd really enjoy the style of language, based on the excerpts that I do know. Although really anything by Twain is good; I think it's a law of the universe.
ReplyDeleteShifterCat's bookstore (and I) are both in Ottawa, in the frozen reaches of Canadia. I've only met her the once so far, but it was memorable. (Those wings? Totally real.)
Desperate though I am for a vacation, I doubt I'll be taking one soon, but Philadelphia will have to go on the shortlist. It has to compete with Japan and Australia, but there's less jetlag and I can get by with English, which doesn't hold for either of those places. Any time of year better than others?
Hmm. Spring and fall are the best times to visit Phila. in general, I'd think, and I'm certainly around then. Summers are ridiculously humid and winters are...well, they're unpredictable. Last year we got three feet of snow, but sometimes we get nothing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, now I want to see those wings!
I was in Baltimore, July of last year. That thing your people call 'summer' is not a season, it is a trap used to end Canadians. Just as well that it's on its way out - this is beginning to look like a confluence.
ReplyDeleteI can't speak for Bmore, but Philly's awful in the summer because of its concrete-jungleness. The heat gets trapped, the city can't cool off, etc. So, yeah. Summer is not a good time to visit Philly, unless you want to hole up in a place with AC for most of the time.
ReplyDelete