what i love about stanford is that he ends up in the oddest places. when i happen across him, he'll be wedged in some kind of precarious position, or in the most random of places, and he'll just look at me as if to say, "...what?"
sometimes i can't figure out why he picks the places he picks, but today, i finally figured it out.
i was sitting in church this morning, and the thought popped into my mind that next week starts the new month, so i need to remember to write a rent check, which i often have a problem doing. i was pretty proud of myself for paying April on time ...i mean, i must have paid it at least on time, if not early, because i didn't have a recent memory of handing them a check. in fact... i had a reallly not-so-recent recollection of handing them a check. hmm, when was the last time i gave them a rent check?! was it really april? or could it possibly have been ...?! i pulled out my checkbook and flipped through the carbon copies, and - no april!! it's the 27th of the month, and i still haven't paid rent! and they haven't said anything to me about it! they're so long-suffering and polite. why don't they just remind me? i told them right from the beginning that i am forgetful, and if (nay, when) i didn't have a rent check in on time, it was only because i forgot, not that i'm a delinquent. but i guessed it was just something they didn't feel comfortable saying anything, which i suppose is understandable. after all, they're not my mom.
but that's not the best part of the story.
this evening, i went over to their house with the rent check, and explained the situation, preparing to apologize profusely. so i got to the part where i realized i hadn't paid this month's rent yet, and Mr. Landlord says, "no, you paid april. didn't you?" i say, "no! i looked in my checkbook." so he starts flipping through his checkbook. meanwhile, Mrs. Landlord is talking on the phone, and at this point, she's trying to say goodbye, and Mr. Landlord says he needs to talk to the person on the line, too. so she hands him the phone, goes back to what she's been cooking on the stove (while talking on the phone), and says, "you paid april already." i say, "no..." etc. etc.
but that's not the best part of the story, either.
she says, "hey, do you want a crepe?" (she had a stack of crepe wraps, or whatever they're called, and was frying more in a pan.) "i'll make you the first one. --since you were late on your rent!-- how about a strawberry-banana one?" me: "...ok!" so she makes one up for me, puts it on a plate, hands me a fork. she was in a hurry - they both were - because they had a concert to go to at church. when i realized that, i tried to eat more quickly.
no, still not the best part.
as i was trying to hurry through the crepe, i tasted the nutella.
that was the best part. nutella. mmmmmm! nutella with strawberries, bananas, and whipped topping. wow, so good.
cuz you won't turn away
when someone else is gone
reach down your hand in your pocket
pull out some hope for me
~long day, rt
i just read some great news here. they've hired guillermo del toro to direct the hobbit!! if pj can't do it, then del toro is by far the next best thing. i "got to know" him, in a way, when i watched a couple of specials about him, and i think he is amazing. he's the perfect kind of director for this movie, and i know that no one but pj would do a better job.
anyway, he's an amazing director, an intriguing man, and i'm really pleased with this news. now for casting...
the basic story is that this woman who is a photographer went to india to photograph prostitutes in calcutta's red-light district. well, while she was there, she got to know the children who lived in these brothels, whose mothers were prostitutes. the children were fascinated with her camera, so she got them all cameras, and began teaching them about photography. over the next three years, she began trying to help them get into schools, but had difficulty because none of the schools would take children of criminals - which is what these childrens' parents were. man, the hopelessness of this is so sad. when she interviewed the children for the documentary, they would talk about how they knew they would be forced into prostitution, but they didn't want to be. one little boy said that the word "hope" did not exist in his future.
so the photographer decided to start raising money by holding exhibitions of the childrens' photographs - which are just stunning. she began selling their prints, and eventually she and some others began an organization called kids with cameras. now they've taken this organization into three additional places: jerusalem, cairo, and haiti. i haven't looked at any of those sections yet, but i intend to.
the children were so adorable, and so heart-breaking at the same time. it's one thing for an adult to feel hopeless. but children shouldn't know that feeling. not that it's mandatory that children should have everything and never know a moment of suffering. but they should not feel the hopelessness that these children knew so vividly. there is so little they can do when they are young to prevent it, if they don't have help.
if you have the opportunity to watch the film, DO IT! i was glued to it. sure, i like documentaries - but this one, i promise, isn't boring. i saw one review call it "an unsentimental, inspired success." (npr)
gah! i just found a site called free documentaries.org, and born into brothels is here. please watch it!
check out my fish in my left-hand sidebar! they'll follow your cursor around, and you can feed them by clicking on the box! now i have to name them.
i've been really sick today and last night. i can't tell if it's food poisoning, flu, or something else. but boy, did i throw up lots last night! even water made me do it.
i'm running out of tv to watch, too, so i decided to come online and mess around a bit. i now have a new myspace profile, and a widget full of fish on this blog. i think this might be the end of my productivity for the day. i need to see if there is anything i can eat and keep down. wish me luck.
oh, and today i start the nielsen thing. i need to read up on the instructions early so that i'm prepared for it tonight. thursdays are big in series-addict world; and tonight, several shows are coming back with new episodes, as well. if they all are, here's the list i have to either watch all of, or choose from (not sure if i can record having watched 2 shows at a time. they have to know that people dvr and stuff...)
csi
without a trace
lost
grey's anatomy
huh, not as many as i was thinking, but they're all on at the same times, 9pm and 10pm. we'll see how it goes.
i'm gonna be a nielsen family! i've always wanted to do this! now i'm feeling such a huge responsibility. i never watch tv shows when they're actually airing, so does this mean that for a whole week, i'll have to schedule my activities around tv shows? since i'm getting a 'diary' to write in, can i just write down the shows i record? hmm. i wonder if it comes with instructions.
i went down by the lake this evening just to be near the water, and i contemplated the possibility of making my living on the sea. i presume, though, that it's not as romantic nowadays as it was in time past.
i love water. i wish i could live on the lakefront, or near a river. when i was young, i was always fascinated with fountains. in malls, i would stand and stare at them, and lose myself in them. my parents could have left me there for a long time, and i'd have been happy. i was happiest on those rare occasions when i was allowed to put my hand in the water. anything related to water calms me. it makes me feel at home. i even have a fascination with water in plastic bags.
maybe i should request to be cremated when i die and have my ashes scattered on water. maybe someone would take me and my urn up along the northeast coast and scatter me on the wind over a cliff so i could float down to the waves and crash against the rocks.
i close my eyes and this image floats beside me:
the sweaty-toothed madman with a stare that pounds my brain
his hands reach out and choke me
and all the time, he's mumbling
mumbling "truth! like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold.
you push it, stretch it, it will never be enough
kick at it, beat it, it will never cover any of us
from the moment we enter crying, to the moment we leave dying,
it will just cover your face as you wail and cry and scream"
i went looking for a serious-type song that i heard in a tv show tonight (u2's running to stand still) but couldn't find a decent vid of it on youtube, so i just found this one and decided to share it instead. deborah and i recorded it a zillion years ago off our non-cable tv. it was so staticky, you could just barely make out the figures, but i watched it over and over again. love the dancing and french stewart's voice. i also love how (now that i know it's his song, and what he looks like), randy newman makes a cameo appearance.
ok, this is going to be just a bunch of random things that i've been saving up for awhile. i have a sewing project i'm supposed to be working on for someone, and i'm waiting for my iron to get to the right temperature (don't want to burn the satin!).
...um... i am listening to a song for the first time, and i just said outloud, "me likey."
...why do i do that??
(if you want to hear the song i was listening to, you can hear it on my myspace profile. i like the "breathless" part. or, i should say, me likey the "breathless" part.)
so, mostly this is just about photos. first up is a meal i made on - let's see ...tuesday, i think? i felt the need to photograph it. not sure why. maybe because it was healthy-ish. maybe i kind of thought it was pretty. i don't know. anyway, here it is:
i think it was later that evening that i took a long walk, too. or at least just a walk with my camera. it was really cold, especially down by the lake, and i wasn't really dressed for it. but it was a pretty night with a soft sunset on the horizon. i found the lifeguard tower, and sat up there for awhile.
there was a man standing in the [cold!] water, fishing. and then there was another guy on the other side of me, just sitting on the cement wall along the water.
in conclusion: waves. here is a little piece of tranquility. don't let the poor sound quality ruin it for you.
