I added a new link to my blog today — http://annies-eats.com/. I’ve only tried one recipe so far, but I am smitten with the food photography on this site. I literally want to eat everything I see. So give Annie a bump and check out the site. I promise you will not be disappointed.
I should write about the lofty, intellectual things I’m learning in my program. But instead I want to tell you about the songs I’ve been downloading on iTunes. I went through quite the musical dry spell. But a generous gift of iTunes gift cards from my hermano inspired me to explore new tune-age options.
Here’s my current playlist:
1. Sir Duke — Stevie Wonder (I forgot how much I love this song until I heard it on one of my trips to North Carolina…it makes me think of pep band)
2. Sing — Travis
3. I Love You and Buddha Too — Mason Jennings
4. Soil, Soil — Tegan and Sara
5. My Doorbell — The White Stripes
6. Flightless Bird, American Mouth — Iron & Wine (I love pretty much everything by Iron & Wine)
7. I Will Follow You Into the Dark — Death Cab for Cutie (I’m working with the elderly right now and I can’t help but think of all my widows and widowers when I listen to this song)
While organizing my music, I also rediscovered my copy of the Magnolia soundtrack. Do you remember that movie? Gotta love Paul Thomas Anderson. And a soundtrack that is 80% Aimee Mann and 20% Supertramp. But let’s be honest, a large portion of my digital music library is acoustic, whispering, and played in a minor key. (See: Elliott Smith, Jack Johnson, Joshua Radin, Bright Eyes, Jeff Buckley, and Nick Drake to name a few.) It’s kind of depressing. So to offset my collection of sad bastard music, I created a Velvet Underground station on Pandora the other night. Can you believe it? I’ve also been dipping a toe into the pool of metal. I feel a little dirtier in grad school. A little harder. Edgier even.
They told us grad school would change us…I just didn’t think it would change my musical tastes like this.
What are you guys listening to right now? I still have gift cards to use…
It’s been a long day. I don’t want to write. I wasn’t going to write. Until I read this quote in my readings for class…
“Noble Truths” — Gail Sher (1999) One Continuous Mistake: Four Noble Truths for Writers
1. Writers write
2. Writing is a process.
3. You don’t know what your writing will be until the end of the process.
4. If writing is your practice, the only way to fail is to not write.
This is definitely food for thought. I call myself a writer, but I so rarely write for reasons other than school. I used to write all the time–poetry, prose, nonsense in general. So I’m going to try to make an effort to write a little something every day. This might mean you will unsubscribe from my blog posts (all two of you), but that’s okay.
I’m not writing for you right now.
I know.
I’m lame.
I have not blogged since I moved to Virginia and for that I am truly sorry. It’s not that nothing interesting has happened. And it’s certainly not that I don’t like y’all. The simple truth is I grew sick of self-reflection and sharing. There’s a lot of that in the art therapy program and I got to the point where I just couldn’t share anymore. There’s also a hell of a lot of writing. I was spent.
But here I am, on the eve of a new semester and I feel the need to share. First off, last semester went by in a streak of lectures, projects, and several wine-infused evenings with new friends. I’d forgotten how much I missed the world of learning. I actually looked forward to class each day. That’s also in part due to my fellow future art therapists. My classmates are phenomenal. I’ve never seen a group of beautiful women get along so well and be so freaking intelligent. I’m very lucky to have come here when I did. I feel that this particular group of ladies can literally accomplish anything.
Norfolk is a pretty cool town, once the summer craziness calms down. I survived my first nor’easter without losing power or having any trees fall on my car/house/self. I’m proud of that. I’ve joined the YMCA and even found a great hot house yoga studio, too. There are tons of restaurants and bars and museums in this city and when the weather is warm, there’s always the beach. I’m looking forward to spending my summer here. Feel free to come and visit if you like!
I’ve made a few trips down to Raleigh/Durham to visit the good Doctor Sutton. What a great area, too! There’s so much going on. I feel like we would need at least ten years to discover all that those cities have to offer. I did manage to get a taste of Chapel Hill when Ben and Kelly came to visit Matt in October. We had some great food and made a trip to the Picasso exhibit at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. What a treat! I hope the rest of the gang makes it out some day.
Tomorrow I start my internship at Province Place, an assisted living facility incorporated into the DePaul Medical Center. I’ll be working with a range of older patients, some with dementia. Naturally I’m somewhat nervous that I’m going to actually be expected to use my extremely limited knowledge to facilitate therapeutic art activities. Luckily I have some great advisers. I’m looking forward to the challenge, for sure.
I guess I should hit the hay and be well-rested for tomorrow’s challenges. Luckily Matt will be coming to town to visit. For the whole week! I hope he doesn’t get bored…
Here I am in sunny Virginia…well, actually I’m in sunny, HOT North Carolina, but it’s close enough to Virginia…right? The trip out went relatively smoothly with only one crushed toe and one bloody nose. (Neither of which belonged to me.) The move was hot and sticky, but Mom, Melissa, Uncle Ric and I managed to get everything unloaded in record time. We celebrated by wandering over to a local pub and imbibing some beverages as well as eating some delicious snacks. I saw Mom and Melissa off on their respective journeys last week. It sounds like Melissa is having a glorious time in NYC, there’s even been a Drew Barrymore spotting. Can you beat that?
After Mom and Mel took off, I settled in a bit and then hit the road to see Matt. The drive wasn’t bad at all which makes for a promising next two years. Hopefully we’ll be able to visit each other often. I spent Friday exploring the local shopping establishment and spending as little money as possible. Matt and I caught up on season two of Mad Men (so good!) and ate some homemade pizza. Saturday we hit the road with some friends and made out way over to the beach to do some camping. The sounds of the ocean lulling me to sleep were magnificent…the lump of sand digging into my lower back all night was not as magnificent. Will definitely take a sleeping pad next time. But there will be a next time for sure. I absolutely love the beach.
I’m just hanging in Durham this week, seeing Matt in between call nights and clinic. I’ve brought several books to read and a few movies to watch, so I’m set. It’s so bizarre to have this much free time. I feel somewhat naughty for not being at work. It’s amazing how quickly I got over worrying about work stuff. I miss my Oto friends a lot, though. I hope everyone is doing well.
I guess I’ll head back to the couch to do some more reading. I’m keeping movement to a minimum as it is HOT here. 96 degrees with heat index well over 100. As I said–minimal movement. I’ll write back soon to let you know how my orientation goes next week.
As my time in Iowa City draws to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to make a top ten list of things I will miss about this city I’ve lived in for 8 years…
10. The Hawkeyes – marching band, bowl games, underdog glory, and odd-defying miracles. My last moment in the HMB was marked by “the catch” against LSU…I knew then I would be a Hawkeye for life. A game day in Iowa City is like nothing else.
9. Manville Heights – One of the most beautiful and unique neighborhoods, Manville Heights was my home for five of the eight years I’ve lived here. From the apartment with April and Jenna to my little palace on River Street, it houses memories both fabulous and extremely painful. It’s where I met new friends, had my heart broken, and found the man of my dreams.
8. The Iowa River – Smelly, foul, and likely to eat your skin off if you happen to stumble into its current, the Iowa River is beloved and cursed in my book. It began as my landmark for finding my way around Iowa City. It now represents the destruction of the arts campus I held so dear. Damn you, Iowa River…I will miss you.
7. The Arts Campus – My first class was held in Voxman music hall. My second was in the old art building. That campus became my home for most of my undergraduate career. I loved that it wasn’t shiny and new, but rather lived in and historic. Thousands of music, theater, and art students had roamed those building and sidewalks. Sure, there were cockroaches in the auditorium and only two stalls in the ladies’ bathroom, but that didn’t matter because there was art literally all around you. I hope they can recreate that magical campus at a safer location. Preferably not in an old Menards.
6. University Heights – My current home. I will miss the cop sitting in front of Taste on Melrose every day, monitoring my speed. Scratch that…I will just miss Taste on Melrose. Pizza and Pinot!
5. Whitey’s – Hands down the best ice cream ever. Period.
4. The Ped Mall – Hippies playing banjo, progeny of Chicago’s suburbs, and local businessmen and women all come together on this bricked pavilion to enjoy the shops and restaurants of Iowa City. And the bars. My favorite part will always be the fountain. It’s like magic! Where does the water come from??
3. Food and Drink – Iowa City is full of fantastic places to eat – Thai Spice, Airliner, Pagliai’s, Saloon, Atlas, the Motley Cow, Bluebird Diner, Hamburg Inn, Wig and Pen, Oyama Sushi, Takanami, and let’s not forget my unswerving devotion to Whitey’s…oh there are so many more. I’ve never felt the need to eat a McDonald’s cheeseburger in this town. As far as drinks go, you will never be far from a bar in Iowa City. And I know I will dream of Java House coffee once I move away. It’s become a daily tradition.
2. Friends – I have met the most incredible people in this city. My oto crew, my HMB buddies, my yoga freaks, and my Melissa. Can’t everyone just move out to Virginia for a couple of years? That would make this a hell of a lot easier…
1. Summertime – Don’t get me wrong, fall is great ‘cause there’s football and spring is nice because everything’s all green and purple and white…but nothing beats summer in Iowa City. The arts festival, the jazz festival, the nights spent in a beer garden with friends or long afternoons spent hiking out by the Res and Lake McBride…the fact that the undergrads have vacated the town. Farmers markets, Saturday night movie series, everyone smiling as they greet you on the street…There are a million reasons why summer in Iowa City is the best.
But I definitely won’t miss the winters.
Creamy filling. Chocolate-y cookieness. Double-Stuff Oreos were a beloved staple of my childhood. But as an adult, I’ve developed the necessary self-control to avoid them…most of the time. About twice a year I indulge my Oreo cravings. Such a craving came over me yesterday as I struck out on my weekly grocery shopping expedition. I determined that it was indeed time for an Oreo fix and added it to my list as I strolled into the store.
Milk – check!
Asparagus – check!
Strawberries – check!
Paper towels – check!
Chicken – check!
Time for the Oreos. As I made my way down the cookie aisle, I saw the regular Oreos, the vanilla Oreos, the mint Oreos, the chocolate Oreos, the peanut butter Oreos, the spongy, cake-like Oreos (yuck!)…but where were the Double-Stuff? The manager kindly went and checked only to report that they were out. No!
I decided a trip to Wal-Mart might prove fruitful (or Oreoful). I must admit I’m not the biggest fan of Wal-Mart, but I figured one bag of Oreos could hardly contribute to the economic and social downturn of this country. But alas, they were out, too! Determination set in. This had moved beyond a need for cookies. I needed justice, so I headed to Target. But again my cookie quest was foiled.
It’s the great cookie conspiracy. Either someone went to all the area stores and bought the Double-Stuff Oreos…or the apocalypse is near. (The horsemen like cookies…) In the end, I bought Target brand “double cream chocolate sandwich cookies”. They are woefully inadequate.
Thus ends my Oreo Odyssey. A sad ending, to be sure.
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