Today in Literature and Paying it Forward

OK so I'm two days late on this one, but on October 8, 1930 one of my favorite books was published - The Waves by Virginia Woolf.  The Waves was Woolf's last major work, and IMO one of her least accessible but most rewarding.  If you thought the stream-of-consiousness...ness.. of To the Lighthouse was frustrating, just give The Waves a shot and then get back to me.  I'll be honest, the first time I picked it up (I think I was probably 21), I went "WTF" and put it down after 20 pages or so.  It took a while for me to appreciate the beauty of this novel but I'm glad I gave it another shot.  Virginia Woolf remains one of my all-time favorite writers.

The original 1931 cover

Read this article from Today in Literature if you're interested :)

...and here's a passage from the end of the novel:

"And in me too the wave rises. It swells; it arches its back. I am aware once more of a new desire, something rising beneath me like the proud horse whose rider first spurs and then pulls him back. What enemy do we now perceive advancing against us, you whom I ride now, as we stand pawing this stretch of pavement? It is death. Death is the enemy. It is death against whom I ride with my spear couched and my hair flying back like a young man's, like Percival's, when he galloped in India. I strike spurs into my horse. Against you I will fling myself, unvanquished and unyielding, O Death!"




The waves broke on the shore.

And FINALLY, I am getting around to this blog award.  A few months ago, I was honored to receive a Reader Appreciation Award from the lovely Katharina of Katharina's Food adventures and I never passed it on!  Better late than never though, right?  So without further adieu...the reader appreciation award (and accompanying instructions)

The logo!

1. Include the award logo somewhere in your blog.
Done!

2. Answer these 10 questions, below, for fun if you want to.
Done!

3. Nominate 10 to 12 blogs you enjoy. Or you pick the number.
I will probably pick fewer than 10 - and is it cheating to pick some of my real-life friends/family members as recipients?  I'm going to go with no.

4. Pay the love forward: Provide your nominee’s link in your post and comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been included and invited to participate.

5. Pay the love back with gratitude and a link to the blogger(s) who nominated you.
Thank you Katharina!  Your blog is lovely and your creativity in the kitchen is really inspiring.
Link to Katharina's Food Adventures


Les Questions:

1. What is your favorite color?
Deep blue, deep purple, and really dark emerald green.  Most jewel tones actually although you'd never know it from looking at my wardrobe which seems to be composed almost entirely of grey, black, cream/oatmeal, and navy.



2. What is your favorite animal?
Cats!  Sorry Sidney - I love you dude but cats win this category. 




WAT I won?!

3. What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

Tea!  Especially herbal tea - I love all of the Yogi Tea varieties but really any herbal is awesome.  Peppermint is my new favorite.

4. Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter?
I like Twitter in theory, but I never use it.  It depends on the context I guess - for keeping up with friends, Facebook.  For baseball, news and other amusements, Twitter.


5. What is your favorite pattern?
I'm a sucker for floral and paisely patterns, especially ones that have an asian feel.  Pour Example:

Awesome Turkish tiles

Awesome Indian Shawl

Wood carved awesomeness from Thailand

6. Do you prefer getting or giving présents?
Definitely giving.  I love giving gifts - choosing presents for my friends and family has always been one of my favorite activities :)


7. What is your favorite number?
I honestly have no idea how to answer this.  I might have to go with five, just because it's purple and I like purple (synesthesia, sorry...)


8. What is your favorite day of the week?
Saturday!  Mostly because it is the one day of the week when I don't have to be anywhere in the morning.  I get to sit around in my pj's with coffee and I dare you to stop me.
9. What is your favorite flower?
I love orchids...but I have difficulty keeping them alive :/

10. What’s your passion?
This sounds really odd and generic but I think I would have to say my passion is learning.  I love reading, I pretty much devour books...I love discovering a new subject and diving into it head on, I love solving puzzles, looking at how everything is interconnected, just getting lost in discovering new things and diving deeper into the things I already know.

And as my husband could probably tell you, I am also passionate in my geeky excitement to immediately share my newfound knowledge with whoever has the bad luck to be sitting next to me at the moment.  This person probably does not care about the influence of Wagner on Nietzsche, but I'm going to tell them all about it and they really have no choice.

...and now, the moment you have all been waiting for since the beginning of never...the awards!

Coco, Melissa, Katie, Lindsey, Meri, Emmy, and Ben

Thanks again to Katharina for passing this on!  Hope you are all having a lovely week.

Ridiculous Encounters with Bloggers

It is a well known fact that bloggers will often deem themselves experts in a field in which they hold no actual credentials.  Someone who posts photos of themselves wearing clothes every day is suddenly a fashion "expert."  Another person decides to go to the gym occasionally and now they are a fitness "expert."  You know how it goes.

Why I will never be a "Fashion Blogger"

But what happens when a man possessing a complete inability to read social cues and/or interact appropriately with others dubs themselves a dating expert and coach, and then hits on your friend at Chino Latino?  Let's examine.

A good friend of mine, let's call her "Sarah" was in Uptown the other night having dinner with her friend, who we'll call "Tina."  They were having a perfectly enjoyable evening when suddenly Tina goes: "uh oh... I was just staring off into space and accidentally made reeeeallly awkward eye contact with this guy at the bar, and now he won't stop looking over here."  "Just ignore him," Sarah suggested.  So they did.  Tina, who is married and has a 3-year-old, also made sure to "accidentally" flash her wedding ring in his direction multiple times.

They thought they had thwarted his intentions, but 10 minutes later....
Tina: Oh crap he's coming over.
Dude: (Walks up to table, staring at Tina) YOU... (pauses.  finally sees wedding ring.)...are married.
(turns to Sarah)  But YOU have beautiful eyes!
Sarah: You've been sitting behind me all night.
Dude: Well... I mean, just seeing them now! They are so beautiful!
(long awkward pause)
Dude: (looks at Tina's drink)  Your drink looks amazing.  (it is a super-girly martini with a flower in it).  You know, the bartender here, best bartender in the city.  I wrote an article about him (whips out his smartphone which happens to conveniently already have the article in its browser).  See, here's my article (shoves phone in Sarah's face)
Girls: Mmmmm.....
(another long awkward pause during which any normal human would realize the conversation is over)
Dude: (clearly staring at an area somewhere between Sarah's shoulders and the table)That is awesome, by the way.
Sarah: (Kind of shocked. Forgets she is wearing a necklace. Gestures to her boobs) Uhhh....you mean this????
Dude: Well I actually meant your necklace, but I'm hoping to see those later too. (wink.  haha.  Looks back and forth between Sarah and Tina). Actually I wouldn't mind seeing either of you naked.
Tina: I AM MARRIED.
Dude: Well, you guys seem like really cool people, I'd love to hang out with you sometime, cause you know, you seem really cool.  Here, I'll give you my card.  (Hands card to Sarah)
Sarah: "Chief Coach"?  What are you, like, a life coach?
Dude: Well, sort of...dating coach actually.  I have a blog too (tells her name of blog)
Sarah: Huh.
Dude: I'm just going to put it on the line, you seem awesome and I would love to take you out on a date sometime.  Can I have your number?
Sarah: Well, I have your contact info now (holds up card).
Dude: So...do you want me to call you, or...
Sarah: Um...well...I have your number...so....
Dude: Awesome.  Well, it was great meeting you both.

So there you have it.  For someone who is a self-proclaimed expert in the field of getting the ladies, he crashed and burned in a spectacular manner  Not only was he in no way smooth or sexy, his manner of approaching women (much like his blog, which I have now read most of and laughed until I cried) exhibits an intriguing combination of awkwardness and douchery.

Women love it when you make them feel awkward and objectified

So I guess all I'm trying to say is, before you declare yourself an expert in something just because you blog about it, first ask yourself the following questions:
1) Do people other than my mother tell me I am great at this?
       1) a. Do they do so without me fishing for compliments?  Be honest.
2) Are my efforts in this field usually successful?
3) Do I have enough experience in this to qualify as an "expert," or any credentials that give me actual expert status?

If the answer to the above questions is consistently "no," then you probably should not be dispensing advice to others.

So there you have it.  Encounters with a local dating blogger and expert, who should probably find another vocation.  Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

p.s. "Sarah" - if any of this is inaccurate or if I missed any essential/hilarious details PLEASE e-mail me so I can correct my errors.  I'm sure some things were lost in my re-telling of your re-telling.

Just let the love begin

So this was my 4th of July view. From Event Suite C at Target Field... no biggie.

And we had an entire room just for us, stocked with beer, soda, popcorn and hot dogs ...and best of all, friends are here!

Rachel is one of my best friends from college - we sang our junior recitals together, and she is not only a bridesmaid, but she's also singing in the ceremony! Rachel went on after undergrad to get her masters in voice and she is basically a rockstar. Just saying.

Here we are looking all normal and civilized...

....and here is a more accurate representation.

Some more college friends - Chris, Tyler and Mark

...and me and Ben with our "Circle me Bert" sign. Ben concocted this masterpiece on Monday morning, with a spare piece of cloth and some sharpies. Bert Blyleven, one of the TV announcers for the Twins, likes to "circle" fans on TV so people make signs to get his attention. We were really hoping to get circled but I don't think we did :(

... we also ended up with an extra ticket so we invited our Twins blogger friend Betsy to join us for the festivities!

...yeah...we're kind of a big deal.

This picture I believe is Luke Hughes fouling off for about the umptillionth time in a row...

...and another pic of our amazing view.

Twins win 7-0! Fireworks galore!!

It was a great game, and I had so much fun with my friends and family. I am really glad we set up some events during the week so I'll actually get to spend time with some of the out-of-town peeps. I know the wedding day is just going to fly by, and it's not likely I'll actually get to talk to everyone.

I feel so "supported," hahaha...

After the game Ben, Chris, Tyler, Ellen and Amanda and I had a picnic in Boom Island park...unfortunately the park was a little torn up from construction but we made do with what was there!

Our lovely bottle/cracker/cheese sculpture... so classy.

Alright...back to wedding projects!

P.S. it is STILL hot here...and I just bought a hot tea from Crema... why did I make this choice??