The Rogen

This Is the End is a fun movie.  You should see it if you want.  Goofy and amusing.  On a fist of 5, I'll give it a 5.  Or 4.5.  Either way, good stuff, imho.

I'm thinking about getting a dog when we get back from Israel.  Husbandman wants a lab.  I want a corgi, and I told him that a corgi is a good compromise dog.  "How's that a compromise?" he asked, surprisingly.

"It's a compromise because I really want a Savannah Cat," I replied.  He seemed to understand, then.
I looked up Corgi personality - fun, intelligent, loyal, but not a barker. I want the Cardigan corgi, not the Pembroke.  I think I'll name him/her Tuffy.

The Mulberries

Men are in our tree with saws.  The Mulberry Tree is being killed.  It feels selfish to cut it down.  It's a huge healthy tree.  We are paying the hitmen to kill it because the tree drops mulberries all over our cars and our driveway.  The mulberries get tracked into our home and stain our rugs.  One of the hitmen asked me if I ever ate the mulberries.  I told him no, they seem more like a waste product than a food item.  He responded that he intended to eat as many as possible once he gets up into the tree.  I feel bad about hiring the hitmen to kill the mulberry tree.  I'm going to have let go and forgive myself for this moral lapse, after I think about it all day long. Farewell, Mulberry.  Better luck next time my friend.

The Bechdels

I finished Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel today and immediately started reading her first book, Fun Home. I read all day, so I'm almost done with Fun Home. These are graphic novel memoirs and they are phenomenal. I'm thinking of writing a graphic novel.  I've been sketching some little images here and there.  Once I get some kind of concept, I'm good to go. At any rate, try to read these books by Alison Bechdel if you want.  Both very good.

I spent half my day reading, and half my day trying to clear out closets.  #1 Son is not super helpful with this work. I asked him today, "Do you think I can move your... manga collection / old sheet music / toys of yore... to the Goodwill bags, or do you want them in a box in the attic?"
#1 is non-commital, usually offering something like, "Either way, it's not going to make much difference," or "Why do you even have to move any of this stuff?"  I'm not sure why he thinks his roommates will want to stay in rooms filled with his old stuff, but he seems to think they won't mind. I didn't get much done.

Changes are happening at Artful School and it feels weird to read about said changes via emails or texts knowing that I don't work there any more. I was getting all hyped up talking with people about school yesterday and today I realized I need to back off and let people live their lives without my 2 cents.  It's a little tough not knowing where I'll work in a year and my major goal is to not think about this anymore, but I still keep thinking about it.  I hope I stop soon. I don't do well with uncertainty. I think we all know this.  If I knew where I would work next, I would stop thinking about it right away.

The Selling

I bought some books yesterday at corporate book store.  I was in a great mood after spending an hour grazing on books there.  Then when I went to buy the books, the poor cashier had to go through the suggestive sell script and I felt a mixture of pity and annoyance that lingered for awhile.  Script went like this:
Would you like an awards card? It saves you money.
-No thank you.
You could save 8 dollars.
-No, not today, but thanks.
You could get a coupon for an e-reader at half price.
-No thank you. I'm going to pass on that.
Well, here's your receipt, and it has a coupon on it for a 10 dollar cheesecake. You can get it over at the cafe.
-Oh geez, I really don't need a cheese cake right now, but thanks.
Oh, no worries, you can't get it today. You have to order the cheesecake today, and you can pick it up in 48 hours.
-Okay, well, thanks.  Thanks again.
If you order that cheesecake, I promise to eat half of it for you. (laughing oddly)
-Well, thanks, I'll keep that in mind.  Appreciate it.

I find these exchanges irksome.  I already spent way more money than I should have and I already feel anxiety around that. Now I have to parry with you about spending more money on stuff I don't want or need, like cheesecakes. But then I remember my days at Taco Bell and I try to feel solidarity with the suggesters.  At the bell, if we didn't suggestive sell, we got yelled at by the manager.  I would ask about every 10th customer, "Would you like another taco?" And the customer would look at me like I was insane. I think one time in 8 months someone said, "Yeah, okay." I was shocked. I don't think suggestive sell works that great. But I could be wrong. A new thing that's been happening to me lately is cashiers give me their name and a web site and ask me to get on line to review their service quality.  I'm never going to do that. Who would? When I'm on the internet, I don't want to be helping others. I know that's not super kind, but I fear that if I help them, I'm going to get tangled up in a new corporate game somehow.

The Shoes

In the past week, I've told 3 young people to avoid the teaching profession.  That does not feel good.  I have always been a booster for new teachers, applauding them with gusto.  But things aren't good right now in school land, peeps.  I even had a horrible school dream last night where someone was yelling at me and I ran away without shoes on.  Then today I read an article about Common Core in the NYT.  The testing with the core is going to be hideous and I sometimes wonder how I'm going to hang in there for the next 10 to 12 years.  I keep telling myself to shut off the school brain and move into sabbatical brain, but then I ignore myself and sit around stewing about schools and scores and standards.

On a good note, I'm seeing an independent film with Judith tonight.  Maybe she'll help me with a review.

The Tickets

Tickets to Israel purchased.  This is the time I start freaking out.  Why can't I just have a simple life?  I don't know how to get around in Haifa.  I don't know what buses to take.  I don't speak Hebrew.  I don't enjoy meeting new people.  I have anxiety walking into Jimmy John's, so now I'm going to schlep around a new country every day for 9 months? Alone?  Purposeless?  What if people look at me or try to talk to me?  How should I react?  I'm a bundle of nerves, paralyzed by fear.

The Practicing

Brilliant #1 Son shared his practice schedule with me yesterday.  He typed it up and put times next to each piece. I copycatted him and made up my own practice schedule, with 20 items on it.  I will try to do as many of these each day as possible.

Zoo highlights from yesterday;  Baby elephant running along with urgency, Aviary, Giraffes, Rhinos, Butterfly Garden.   At the giraffe place, a mom said, "Look the giraffes are eating just like in your book."  Her kid responded, "Why aren't they saying munch munch?"

There were a ton of kids there, but except for one, all seemed in great moods. I can now check off my favorite item on my practice schedule.  On to housework.

The Zoo

The Grolier 100 is a list of books that collectors like to have.  The list came about as part of an exhibit in 1903 in NYC of course.  The exhibit had 100 books that some peeps deemed important and collectible.  They called the list the Grolier 100.  After that, a guy named Lilly started collecting the Grolier 100.  He collected 99 of them and then donated his collection to IU in the 1950's along with a bunch of other books he had.  The Grolier 100 is on exhibit now and it's a fun exhibit and you may want to check it out if you feel like it.  My fave was Pickwick Papers in their original installments.  If you walk across to the gallery formerly known as SOFA, you can see the Kinsey Juried show.  In between you can sit by Showalter Fountain and enjoy summerness.  First Field Trip of the Summer.  Today we're heading north to the zoo.

The Dawning

It's dawning on me slowly but surely that I don't have to work for a year.  This is a good kind of dawning let me tell you.
We had some sadness here last night with the Pacers playing badly and losing to the Miami Heat. Damn you Pacers. #1Son saw the Biebs on tv, watching the game and wearing a Heat hat.  Now he wants me to remove our Justin Bieber doll from the TV room.  I'm torn. Honestly, I'm torn.

The Code

Fast and Furious 6.  Saw it this afternoon and from it I learned some valuable life lessons.  First off, people need a code by which to live.  You can be like Vin Diesel and have a good code about family and loyalty. Or you can be like the bad guy whose code is precision and efficiency.  Also, if your family turns their back on you, you don't turn your back on your family.  You stay loyal.  It's also important to be who you are and to improvise if your plan falls through.  Probably most importantly, even if you think the worst is over, it's not.  There's always something else bad that's going to happen.  So just deal with it. Your loyal team will help you get through it all. Some of the team might die though.

I'll probably go to every dumb summer movie so I can learn more valuable life lessons.  I'll share what I've learned with you.  Right here on this very blog.

The Gambol

Found this foto on my phone this morning.
3 college graduates gathered around a celebratory artifact
known as a birthday cake.

The family is back together.  And we're joined by these cool friendies.  Last night we went out to a martini bar to hear #1 Son play with Charlie.  There was merriment, singing and dancing.

Nance and Kev joined us.  At one point, Nance pointed to 20 Something and said "She grew up, Lee!"

So then we both started crying.  And then we rightly decided to pull it together and get back to FunLand.  

Gambolling GENERATIONS, people.  We've got it going on.

Set break.  Time for intergenerational mix and mingle.