But Call Me Betsy

I had to finish up some reading for my Temple class today and so sat outside to eat a chicken wrap from the Grub Truck (by the way, the guy sends you his love, Ms. A. and K.). I realized when I was almost done eating that I was being taken over by curious sparrows, their heads cocked toward me and their black button eyes honing in on my sandwich. I would toss out a small scrap (without the honey mustard) and they would hop over and grab the piece and a couple of them would squabble over it. I felt very popular and generous. One mother bird fed the pita to her baby bird who didn't look much like a baby anymore, except he was peeping and shaking his feathers and had his beak open wide to be fed. For our writing class yesterday, our teacher laid out a blanket and then place several different objects on it: a blue teapot, a vase, a retainer, a shell, two masks, a skeleton key, a smashed up license plate, and a few other things. We were to choose one of the objects and then use it as a ...

Julie and I were talking today for awhile during work and she found something on the Web that she sent me as a link and I have not laughed that hard in a really, really, really long time (well, except for the other day when Liz almost made me pee). But I was crying, it was almost painful to laugh that much. And coincidentally, there's a line in Jazz , the Toni Morrison book I read for tomorrow's class, that's about laughter and how it is about the most serious thing in the world. I'll try to find the quote to put in here after my class today. So Liz is moved in to her new air conditioned, windowy apartment on Wilder and she let me come over to do laundry and I did not bring her a present and I ate all of her food. But I am a friendly neighbor! Jodie's coming for a visit tomorrow and I can't wait! I bought an air mattress at Target the other day so that she can have her own room (in the second whatever it is. Closet?). She may be surrounded by shoes and skirts, b...

I woke up a little disoriented this morning for some reason--couldn't at first remember if it was Saturday or Sunday. We have tomorrow off for whatever special day it is---Memorial? Labor? The 4 th of July? Yesterday, had my second appointment with the chiropractor, a very nice man who cracks my neck with a loud pop. I started going because my friend from work sees him and she told me that our insurance will pay for the massages he prescribes--this happens to be true. I've had one half hour massage so far and another scheduled for next Saturday. My only complaint is that the massage therapist talked a lot. It's really hard to carry on a coherent conversation with someone when your face is stuffed into a cushion and that other person is pummeling your back with her fists. Somehow, we managed. Every time I go to see the chiropractor, I am reminded of that book, The Road to Wellville --the book about the guy who started this sauna/spa/resort for bored rich people. The chirop...

What is it that makes someone socially awkward? Is it a way of walking, with toes splayed out or head jutting forward? Or is it how you hold your body in a chair with your knees too far apart or too close together? I guess it's this palatable sense that you are worried about how you appear to others that makes one seem awkward. I know I'm awkward on many occasions--I don't like long pauses and fill them with jabber, I don't like conflict and will deflect it with a joke or a self-deprecating comment, and I don't like being stuck in a conversation with another awkward person for more than 2 minutes. And there's definitely a difference between nerdy people and strictly awkward people--though you can be a nerdy awkward person, you aren't necessarily always an awkward nerdy person. I've known plenty of nerds who seemed utterly fine with themselves and though maybe were boring, they weren't charged with this strange energy awkward people have. I'm alwa...

I love the subway. I saw a girl on the train yesterday who had grown her hair past her knees. She had it in one long braid. My dream at the age of 10---to have Rapunzel hair. When she stood up to exit the train, the end of her braid brushed against my knee. Also, in the morning, I sat across from this high school age boy in a bright pink shirt. He was very cute and sweet looking. Later in the day, on the way to the doctor's office, I saw the same kid. I recognized him because of the shirt. There are two kinds of people who ride on the subway--those who are nervous about getting out of the subway car in time and so make you stand up before we've reached the stop and those who wait until the last second to get up and out. I am the latter. I like to think I'm tricking people who think they can predict what I'm going to do next. You know, because so many people are watching and all. I didn't go to my class last night b/c I had two appts., but I did ask the teacher for t...

Sorry to spoil it for your, but Winnie/Tessa is the nation's newest most famous engaged person to the Bachelor from Ipenama. This is of course the only important show in the entire season and I missed all but the last five minutes of it due to social obligations. I saw him smile when he spotted WT coming down the aisle, I saw her Little Mermaid blue dress, I saw him get down on one knee and he asked her to marry him and she said yes and then I think he spun her around in a circle and nearly dropped her off the edge of the balcony into the water. Here he is trying to pick her up and almost toppling over b/c they weigh about the same: Isn't this the dorkiest picture you've ever seen? It looks so awkward and painful for both of them. Anyway, I have no idea what he said to Bevin but I bet she faked a heart attack right after he told her she wasn't going to be his special lady. Tonight is the special "tell all" show so I'll watch that, and try to be a better s...

Shawn (who insists that if I had gotten to mentioning him in the last post about music, would've written that Neil Diamond's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" reminds me of him. I guess this is true, but it wouldn't have been my first choice) sent me a link to a blog of a woman who has been fighting breast cancer--who went into remission and got married and bought a house and who now is having a recurrence of the cancer. It sort of puts into perspective the dumb shit that I obsess over every day--my appearance, my writing, my lack of savings--and makes me realize that I could be grappling with much, much more. And maybe will some day, but not today. She's doing all of this positive stuff like visualization and meditation and reading and holistic medicine and unholistic medicine--everything she can attempt to fight back. Don't you wonder how you would do in a similar situation? My fear is that I would give up immediately and become a morphine addict right ...