The little things

I just discovered the Vermont quarter. It depicts a guy collecting sap from his sugaring buckets. This makes me smile, but it also makes me miss New England. It is still my favorite of the state quarters, though.

Also, I'm back to chewing gum. Obsessively. It's only a matter of time before my jaw locks up and I have to quit cold turkey again. I'm positive. But man is Dentyne Ice good.

That is all for now.

p.s. The picture above is from the United States Mint website.

Laughing out loud

It's amazing how much fun laughing is. Sure I let out a polite twitter or a sarcastic "ha!" pretty frequently but it's not that often that I get to go in for a prolonged bout of genuine laughing. And last night, after a friend recounted her experience seeing David Sedaris read a few of his essays live the night before, we really got going. Reliving some of Sedaris's funniest stuff with someone else who relishes it as much as you do is a really good time. Story by story, the funniest pieces come back to you and before you know it each one of you is yelling, "Wait, but remember the one where he...?!" and sometimes you can't even get to the end before you start cracking up.

I know I'm hardly original for losing it over David Sedaris essays. He definitely has a large following and some people have no taste for him at all. And it's also true that some of his stuff leaves me cold. But I don't think anyone can deny that he's an excellent writer. He crafts each essay in a way that makes me wildly envious of his ability. If even one of my blog entries could compare, I'd be happy for life.

But analyzing his style and technique is not what interests me. He's funny, and he makes me laugh. And I benefit deeply from that experience. So anytime you want to sit around, quoting from his books or radio pieces, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be there in a second, looking forward to a good laugh.

p.s. For all those sceptics out there, check out this essay for a good example of Sedaris humor. I challenge you not to find this at least mildly amusing.

Da Bears

Well I promised, so here we go...

First of all, a short explanation for my long period of blog truancy: things have been busy. I started class again, began teaching a double load of TA sessions, the brakes on the car broke, and oh yeah, I got engaged. So that's a lot to deal with. I didn't have much time left over for blogging, and I still don't. But I'm going to make a go of it here.

Instead of writing about any one of those major time-sucking activities, I'm going to write about what I did last night, which was ignore every one of my responsibilities to watch a football game. For the first couple hours, I regretted that decision. The Cardinals were winning, mostly because the Bears were sucking it up big time. I'm sure you've heard the stats by now: 6 turnovers, only 3 points scored by the offense. In fact, at the half these supposed "Monsters of the Midway" were down 20-0. And all this after listening to the guys on ESPN radio shoot down every caller who even suggested the Bears might not go 16-0 this season. It was pathetic.

But then something happened. The defense kept recovering fumbled balls and stumbling into the endzone. Some guy named Devin Hester returned a punt for 83 yards and scored another touchdown. And in the end, the poor Cardinal kicker Neil Rackers missed a field goal. Suddenly, the Bears had won, 24-23.

Was it fair? Hell no.

Was it a great game to watch? You bet your sweet bippy.

Are the Bears gonna go all the way? ...

HUH?! ...

Before we start grunting "Bears!" in unison, I think we should be a bit more prudent before answering that one. If Grossman (and the rest of the offense) continues to play the way he did last night, the Bears aren't going to go anywhere but straight into the toilet.

Still, it is nice to see a Chicago team winning. Even if it is by the skin of their teeth.

Like a pheonix...

It has been a long time since I last posted and alas, I have no time today to break the silence with a witty or meaningful post. But I did want to put something new up, just to show you all that the blog lives on. I will do my best to put up something more exciting in the next few days. She will indeed rise from the ashes.