crystallyn.com

6.30.2002

based on

all the honking horns, people yelling out of their cars, the green flags with the freaky planet thing on them, I would assume that Brazil won their match against Germany this morning. Living in a Portugese/Brazilian neighborhood is sometimes an eye-opener.

Last night on the way back from the Thirsty Scholar, Joe says to me, "I hope Brazil doesn't win so that way we don't have the whole neighborhood freaking out." He says this as we pass a car with the Brazilian flag draped across the hood. Turns out he doesn't even have to deal with it-- he's off playing a baseball game this morning. And what a gorgeous gorgeous day to play. If I weren't packing I might have had him drag me along.

My cat is disturbed...when the air horn went off outside my window he wigged out. Tonight kitty, new box, new home, no more busy Cambridge street. Promise.

9:31 AM | link | up| archives |

6.29.2002

i'm making progress

being the little Everquest addict that I am, I had to get even more excited about Progress Quest. This is the most amazing MMORPG (massive multi-player online role playing game) that I have ever seen. If you want to check out my uberness, click on the realms area and do a search for Nyxa...you'll see how amazing she is. I just acquired a +23 Serrated Steely Bastard Sword. I am SO addicted to Progress Quest--and I kick butt at it.

And yes, I am a geek.

I've seen this on a few blog sites now and I figured I would follow suit in true lemming fashion and post "Crystal is" into Google and see what I come up with.

Crystal, is considered by connoisseurs everywhere to be the best Crystal in the world.
Crystal is jam-packed with adventures.
Crystal is very rarely clear.
Crystal is making tremendous adjustments within your energy field.
Crystal is not affiliated with the Daniel Swarovski Co.
Crystal is a beautiful community of about 2,000 people.
Crystal is among some of the best in the world!
Crystal is Perths No.1 choice.
Crystal is a process-- a technology-- that allows for conscious transformation and our evolution into a new world of peace, abundance,
Crystal is not available to wholesale or trade agents.
Crystal is special not only because of her weight, clarity and sparkle, but also the depth.
Crystal is one of the Largest Weyrs on Pern, able to hold close to 700 Dragons.
Crystal is ready to Adapt to Your Spirit.
Crystal is one the world's foremost experts on the subject of language.
Crystal is ancient and there are no good ways of guessing how long ago the skull shape was carved or polished.
Crystal is not healed and now the control of the evil Skekses will last forever.
Crystal is still regarded as an extremely talented and funny individual.
Crystal is currently writing her fourth Love Inspired novel.
Crystal is being completely bathed in a uniform beam of X-rays.
Crystal is an enduring gift of distinction that increases in popularity with each passing year.
Crystal is a rare Life Color.
Crystal is a symbol of beauty, exquisite artistry and wonder: the transformation of earth to light.
Crystal is best described as a form of the constellation of stars, laid out as they appeared aeons ago.
Crystal is so sexy while smoking cigarettes and blowing smoke rings.
Crystal is an enchanting blend of ancient Egyptian craftsmanship and the most sophisticated modern technology.
Crystal is made of highly volatile, toxic substances.
Crystal is always a favorite and it lasts a lifetime and beyond.
Crystal--is less ridiculous than it sounds.
Crystal is proudly grounded in the past.
Crystal is no longer merely an item of beauty.
Crystal is called a Bottle Brush for some pretty obvious reasons.
Crystal is a very quiet child with thoughts and ideas of her own. (Har!)
Crystal is always ready to experience something new and different.
Crystal is athletic and loves to be the center of attention.
Crystal is moved slowly around to the sides, lightly touching the skin all the time,
Crystal Is Cheap, Simple.
Crystal is supposedly being created by aligning SIX CRYSTALS in a STAR of DAVID configuration pattern.
Crystal is beautiful in low light as well as in bright sunshine.
Crystal is now a household name in virtually every corner of the world and has become the epitome of elegance and style.
Crystal is actually a gorgeous, pale green,
Crystal is competing with crack as the preferred drug among Black gay men.
Crystal is in very good very good condtion.
Crystal is an all purpose healer.
Crystal is not affiliated with Nintendo® in any way.
(Crystal) is usually followed by what is affectionately known as "Suicide Tuesday."
Crystal is really one giant molecule!
Crystal is just as sure he's dead.
Crystal is softer and is more susceptible to scratching.
Crystal is a single sound, and the cluster is a whole orchestra.
Crystal is often chatty and informal.
Crystal is an Exciting, Dynamic Singer, Songwriter, Entertainer serving up her own Spicy Hot blend of Cajun/Zydeco Music!
Crystal is currently chair of the UK National Literacy Association (NLA), patron of the International Association of Teachers of English.

Wow. I'm pretty amazing.

2:52 PM | link | up| archives |

6.28.2002

one thing i won't miss

about my neighborhood is the creepy Star Market near me. The people that shop and work there are SUCH degenerates. They are rude, selfish, and just plain stupid. I mean, I realize that I'm a bit of a snob, but I'm very easy to please--if you have manners, if you can communicate, if you can speak a full sentence without the word fuck in it, then you pass the test. I don't think that's all very much to ask, really. Today while in line, I had the pleasure of dealing with the spaciest cashier...completely unable to include the customer in the space between her ears for even 30 seconds. She managed to ring me up fine, took my $10 (diet coke and saline solution, ooo ahhh) and then she just sort of stood there, her back to me, one hand in the money drawer, looking off down the row of cashiers. She never said a word to me. Finally I said, "Can I have my change?" She turned to me, as though surprised that I would want my money and said, "I'm out of ones." DOH! You would think she could COMMUNICATE that to me. Meanwhile, the couple behind me (gooey bakery brownies, pretzels and sprite on the conveyer) are goggling at the Woman's World magazine that has all sorts of Fourth of July desserts on them in red, white and blue hues. "Oooo that bundt cake looks good," the haggard woman says (it looked scary). They were nice though, with the man (with several gold chains on) offering to give the cashier 5 ones for a 5, so that we could all move faster.

I'm not the only one having a difficult time with people at the grocery store. I'm a little worried though...if Bostonians are nicer than Austinites, then I'm not so sure I want to be visiting Texas! Give me friendly ol' Seattle any day! It's interesting...I find people here to be very cold, won't say hi to you, won't smile at you, rarely will go out of their way to help strangers (while driving, while at the store, etc.). Seattleites were always great surface people, friendly, polite, and they believe in customer service (I swear, not ONE store in this damn town knows what the words mean...wait, maybe Bread and Circus and the upscale restaraunts, but that's it). What I do find though is that while I was in Seattle, I had a lot of surface friends and fewer close friends. I find that the friends I have here are closer but I have less surface friends. It just takes longer to get to know people here is all...but when you do, they tend to be better friends than those I knew on the West coast. I have other friends who have said the same. I do find it fascinating that most people I know in this town are transplants from another place. Only a few of the people I know were actually born and raised here. The rest come from all over...some places fairly close like Buffalo, New York City, Maine, Pittsfield and others from farther away, California, Minnesota, Texas, North Carolina, Florida. I like that about Boston though...the people I have met tend to be well-traveled and I love to hear about other places that I have never been and to swap stories about places I have seen.

By the end of the weekend we'll be sleeping in a new town! Oooo I can't wait I can't wait!

11:57 PM | link | up| archives |

6.27.2002

ciao!

sono Crystal! Yes, yes, I'm learning Italian. I figured that I have a 45 minute commute in which I should make the most of my time (and not on a bloody cell phone like half the other idiots out there) and so I'm attempting to learn Italiano. I debated...should I brush up on my French, which I minored in in college but never did a damn thing with, or should I try something different? Joe's mom, Rosie, speaks a little Italian...her parents were Italian and she still has cousins who live there. Her dialect is apparently pretty obscure, however, but I know she has been trying to learn more. We bought her an Italian dictionary and idiom book for her birthday and she seemed pleased. So, I thought I would try to learn a bit. I'm hoping someday we can visit too.

It's funny how close to both French and Spanish that Italian is. Many of the words cross over and some of the verb conjugations seem so familiar. I know, they are all derived from Latin but I'm talking about how much easier it is for me to recognize and pronounce Italian since I had so much French in my past. I think it will be slightly easier to learn as a result. I picked up a six CD kit to help me learn...I anticipate it will take me quite awhile. I keep repeating lesson one which is only about ten minutes long. The funny part about it is that at the end of that lesson, in which you learn how to introduce yourself, introduce a friend and ask one another how you are doing, the instructor says--"Now you are ready to meet and greet people in Italy." It just makes me laugh hysterically everytime I hear that. Yeah, right.

(BTW, this does NOT mean I want anyone writing to me in Italian...it will only go into Babel Fish for the translation.)

It's still stifling hot. 70% of our stuff has been moved...and the rest will happen this weekend. Kitty is feeling hot and displaced. Job is going well, and I think, aside from the damn big brother/censorship crap that I'll really like it. My boss is great--I really feel that we are kindred spirits in a lot of ways...same sense of humor, same ideas, same frustrations. It makes all the difference when you have someone you work for that can make you excited about the job and make you feel appreciative of that working relationship. Unlike meanie boss from the last horrid company (btw, a YEAR after I told her to change the logo, she does it...got to love it when I can say "I told you so")!

9:27 PM | link | up| archives |

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7:53 AM | link | up| archives |

6.26.2002

besides the fact

that I'm swimming in the air at the moment...the liquid heat that is pooling around me. 86 degrees, 84% humidity, I find that I am also HIGHLY annoyed with my new company's policy on personal Internet use. I can understand blocking of certain sites...but they block ALL ways to get to your personal email account. No hotmail, no yahoo, no excite (you can get to the portals, just not free email), not even ATT Broadband's email section (how I get my cable email). They even blocked the site I found in Google that is a directory of free email sites! When you try to go, you are met with a HUGE red hand in your face telling you the site is not allowed. It then apparently reports back that you were surfing the inappropriate areas. I was shocked. They don't want you to use the Internet to conduct ANY personal business. No scheduling your vacations, no planning activities after hours with friends, no checking email from your mom to see how your grandma in the hospital is doing. Nothing. I wasn't planning on surfing all day, just wanted to spend 10 minutes at lunch checking in with the rest of my life that is FAR more important than work. I was just shocked---sends such a clear message that they don't trust their employees. Apparently last year one of the company's legal staff was involved in a scandal in which he had met two young girls during the summer when they were downtown in Salem. He began exchanging emails through hotmail with them while he was at work and eventually arranged for them to meet one afternoon---he brought the booze and the dirty videos. He didn't realize that they had told their parents and they were coorperating with the police and the man was nabbed. As a result, the company is punishing the whole by the actions of one asshole. Sigh sigh.

Not sure how to get around it...anyone know any non-conspicuous sites that allow you to pick up your Internet email? I went nuts today...amazing how addicted I am to that stupid inbox. I even missed my spam!

God I'm just sitting here dripping in the heat. Not a pretty site. And since we're in mid-move we aren't going to be putting the air conditioner in. Excuse me while I melt into a small pile of goo in the middle of my floor.

9:15 PM | link | up| archives |

6.25.2002

in trying

to figure out what to wear for my first day of work, I puzzled over what I wore to the interviews...I mean, it wouldn't be good to wear the same thing again. I asked Joe if he remembered. "You wore your lucky dress. And it WAS lucky!" He said it as though really realizing that it was the truth of the matter. I had mentioned before it was my lucky dress, but I don't think he believed me. It's a long black dress with short sleeves and two white stripes down each side. It looks like it might be hot but it's not...the fabric is light and airy, even if it is heavy. I wear it with heels and I think it shows off the curves best out of all my dresses. I have had phenomenal luck whenever I wear it...be it with men, jobs, etc. I wore it to the interviews for my last two jobs. Each date I've worn it on has been successful (well at least in that the guy liked me well enough). I wore it on the first amazing, will-remember-for-the-rest-of-my-life, best-date-I've-ever-had, with Joe. And I wore it to this last job interview, which has turned into a success. In fact, the one time I didn't wear it when I wanted to...I mentioned that it would work against us. Joe was taking me out for dinner about the time of our six month anniversary and I wanted to wear that dress. He thought it was too cutesy that I was going to wear the same thing to commerate that first date. I simply had just wanted to wear that dress and that's when I told him it was my lucky dress. He laughed at me. We had the crappiest table at the restaraunt that night and had a pretty mediocre evening overall. I told him that I should have worn the dress!!

He believes me now. Tonight he says to me, "You should buy lottery tickets in that dress."

Not a bad idea.

10:25 PM | link | up| archives |

6.24.2002

nostalgia

has set in...a little bit. I remember when I was first moving to this apartment, in a particularly hot and humid August, 1997. I remember waiting for them to deliver my mattresses and I sat in my apartment, with only a single chair and a borrowed phone, reading a book until the mattress people arrived. I did some thrift shopping with Michael down on the Cape the following weekend and came back with a chair, dresser and a desk. I loved my apartment. It had charm, it was close to downtown and I could even endure the loudness of the busy street outside. It had a happy energy and it felt good.

It seems so hard to believe that I've been here for six years now. So much has happened during that time--held numerous jobs, divorced, dated, met the right guy and he moved in. I've loved the neighborhood, the quirky old men at the corner lotto store, the wonderful Fresh Killed Chicken sign , the little one room Cambridge library, the pretty park behind the Cambridge courthouse, the desolate walk to Kendall Square, my hairdresser being just two doors down, the bank machine in English, Spanish and Portugeuse, being so close to Lechmere and the Galleria. I have grown used to this place.

And yet, the cons outweigh all those things. Take the apartment. The bedroom faces one of the loudest and busiest streets in Cambridge. We have no laundry so we have to truck it out every few weeks. We have barely any storage. No counter space in the kitchen. Street parking. No place to BBQ or sit outside. I don't have packages delivered for fear of them being taken. Our sink drips. And don't EVEN get me started on the horrid neighbors (who are still horrid--they had a great fighting match earlier this evening). The neighborhood is loud (at least my street is), the laundromat is creepy, the Star Market near my house is filthy and full of degenerates, and there is a lot of gang activity at the mall.

More and more I find myself anxious for the new place, to hurry and get out of here. To have a bathtub, to have a balcony where I can sit outside in the afternoon air and read my book, to curl up next to the fireplace in the winter, to hold dinner parties, to have peace and quiet. Oh I can't wait for those things!

8:59 PM | link | up| archives |

6.23.2002

i hate

moving. I hate packing. I hate being sweaty, grimy and covered in cat hair and dust bunnies. I hate my apartment looking like a cyclone hit it. I hate finding things that you aren't sure what to do with--keep? Throw away? Store in a box till some later date when you throw it away? I mean, what do I do with the tape deck from my Kia? I replaced the car stereo with a CD a couple years ago. The tape deck works but if I get a new car it will probably come with a CD player, so I won't bother swapping them back out. Plus, I don't think I have the security key to use the radio for the Kia anymore. So what do I do with this tape deck I found in my closet? Chuck it, donate it, keep it? I have numerous dilemmas like that.

My hands are filthy, covered with black grime from the newspapers I've been wrapping breakables in. Joe's playing baseball right now and I'm packing (he has too many games for me to go to and they're all in weird places). I'll be as stinky as he is when he gets home.

Despite the packing, I'm very anxious to get out of this place, away from the neighbors, away from the ants (and the occasional mouse), away from the loud street we live on, away from the loud people on the sidewalks below, away from the pounding bass of every 15th car that drives by.

And excited to have a place that's just Joe and I--that only we have lived in together, unlike this apartment, which I used to share with my ex-husband. I can't wait to have a dining room, with a back balcony for small dinner parties this summer. I can't wait to curl up by the fireplace with a book in the winter.

Went with Paulette yesterday to see The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Was a good movie...a great girl flick, which of course made me cry. I really do like Ashley Judd a great deal. Still, there were a lot of holes in the plot (like where the hell were the other adult siblings during the entire movie? and where was the father all those times when Vivi went nutso--he was gone, but they never explained where?) and so I guess I'll be heading out to pick up the book. I'm amazed at how fast the "trendy" bestsellers are being made into movies. There was a preview for White Oleander, which is an Oprah book club special. It is amazing to me how fast they churn out certain book/movie combinations. And for the first time ever in my life, I am finding that I prefer to go check out those types of movies before I read the book. If the movie is interesting, then I'll go pick up the book--what a switch. In the meantime, there are some amazing, amazing books that would make such excellent movies but since they didn't manage to make the Oprah spotlight they'll be passed over...

1:08 PM | link | up| archives |

6.20.2002

my life is worth

exactly: $2,072,780.00 according to humanforsale.com. I'm not sure what to think about Joe being worth $2,679,426.00. I mean, I always knew he was gold, but he's worth 600 thousand more? Jeesh.

11:08 PM | link | up| archives |

so i feel guilty

about giving the temps work. Since my last day at my old company is tomorrow, I have been training two people to take my place (no, no I'm not that good...the other temp is leaving in a week, so we just pulled both in to get ahead on the training). And since I don't have enough incoming forms for data entry to show them the system, they are filing. Boring, hideous filing, all afternoon. And I find myself feeling guilty for giving them crap work to do. It's crazy huh? But I am, I'm sitting here feeling nearly as though I've done something shameful. I guess it's because I know how much I hate to lean over a filing cabinet for hours on end. I KNOW what it is like to be filing, doing repetitive, mindless work just like they are doing at this moment. I know how utterly unfulfilling it is. I know how I always felt when I was doing work like that--sad because I was stuck doing that sort of work rather than doing "real" work.

I'm just watching the clock so the day will end and I won't have to feel bad because they are filing. Then again, if they aren't filing, I'm training, losing my voice, having to be patient (which is really hard for me, but when I am in teaching mode I manage it), etc. Which is worse? Well, I suppose that I have done a ton of filing during my time here and god knows that's all I did when I first arrived, so I shouldn't feel bad. I worked up the ranks a bit and now I'm the one that gives the temps the work to do for the most part because the women I work for are so swamped.

I can imagine some of my former colleagues and friends shaking their head at me. I can even hear Joe's voice in my head now--"but they are temps! that's what they do!" And my answer to that...I'm a temp for another day and a half! That doesn't mean they have to like what they do.

I've always believed that a good manager is the kind that understands the shitty work that the underlings sometimes have to do. And is willing to get in there and roll up their sleeves and help a bit when needed. Maybe that's what I feel guilty about at the moment--because I'm not helping. I don't WANT to help file.

God, I even create drama in my head about nothing at all. Amazing, isn't it?

2:10 PM | link | up| archives |

6.19.2002

and I definitely don't agree with

monkeyman. Niki pointed me to this editorial/statement--I wish I could add my name to the list.

10:56 PM | link | up| archives |

6.18.2002

WOOOHOOOOO

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!

Software company in Salem (Sandra I wrote you a day or so ago and now we DEFINITELY need to hook up). I'm SOOO pleased. Best part? They're giving me 10k more than I expected!

Finally, a year and a half later....

The ironic thing is that I have had more interviews this month than in the last year and a half. Tomorrow I get to call a company and tell them sorry, can't come in on Thursday...accepted an offer. :) Such a great feeling. Looks like that the economy is picking up. If they are hiring marketing people (yah the ones that spend the money), things must be getting better!

Yay me!!!

6:28 PM | link | up| archives |

not quite a flower child

but I did grow up in the 70s. A friend sent me this list and I just nodded my head...

You know you were a little girl in the 70s if you can remember: (my comments are in bold)

1. You wore that rainbow shirt that was half-sleeves and the rainbow went up one sleeve, across your chest and down the other. I think my baby sister had one but don't think I did.
2. You made baby chocolate cakes in your Holly Hobbie Easy Bake Oven. You washed them down with the Snoopy Snow Cone Machine. Yep, I remember that oven!
3. You had that Fisher-Price doctor's kit with a stethoscope that actually worked. After training with these tools you became an expert at the game of Operation. We didn't have Operation but my friend Stephanie did and we loved to play it.
4. Legos, Legos, Legos. I never really played with Legos but my brother was into them.
5. You owned a Schwinn bicycle with a floral banana seat and a basket. In the early '80s you moved on to the ever-popular 10-speed. Gosh that seat hurt. My bicycle seat was yellow and it was a rainbow painted bike (Schwinn) with a white plastic basket with flowers. And yep, Stephanie and I would ride our ten-speeds around and around our neighborhood in big circles.
6. Your roller skates had metal wheels. That they did.
7. You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute. You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island. I might have thought that about Gopher but don't remember. I loved Julie though...thought she was so cool. My parents wouldn't let us watch Fantasy Island.
8. You had rubber boots for rainy days. Your shoes actually fit inside of the boots (with a little help from your mom and some plastic bags). I don't remember rubber boots really.
9. You had Sea Wees in your bathtub. OMG this is funny. I had forgotten about Sea Wees. I was starting to be too old for them but my sister had them!
10. You had either a "bowl cut" or a "pixie" (not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill") because your mom was sick of braiding your hair. How traumatic when people thought you were a boy. Yep, this is true. And sometimes they did think that. I raised hell and finally was able to let it grow out.
11. Your Holly Hobby sleeping bag was your most prized possession. LOL I don't know if I had Holly Hobby but I must have had something similar.
12. You wore a poncho with your faux fur muff and your clogs. I had a poncho! A red one with fringe! I wanted a muff but never got one and never had clogs.
13. You begged Santa for the electronic game ... Simon. I didn't beg for it but I got one from Santa one year!
14. You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple shredded outfits. Blech! But I did watch their cheesy show all the time.
15. You spent hours out back on your metal swing set with the trapeze. YES
16. You were into Ping-Pong. We didn't have a table.
17. You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. I don't remember this.
18. You kept losing your mittens so your mom bought you the kind that were attached by a string. Nahh.
19. Your Hello Kitty pencil case was cuter than anyone else's. I don't think I had much Hello Kitty stuff but I remember that everyone had them.
20. You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad. You wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffled shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture. You despised Nellie Olson! I never wanted to be her but I did read all the books and I KNOW I had one of those shirts.
21. You wanted your first kiss to be at the roller rink. This is true, but alas, it never happened. First kiss was in 8th grade at a school dance under the mistletoe. His name was Dan Vawter.
22. You tried to make sure that no boys would grab the comb out of your back pocket and skate away at the roller rink. YEP! Do you remember those funny, flat, brightly colored plastic combs with the rounded handle?
23. Your hairstyle was described as having "wings." This is true as well.
24. You thought Shaun Cassidy actually wrote the songs "Da Do Run Run" and "Hey There Lonely Girl." I did like Shaun Cassidy but wasn't into him enough to know if he wrote his songs or not.
25. Strawberry Shortcake and her friends Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie. OMG another flashback!! My sister had ALL that stuff.
26. You couldn't wait to be old enough to wear high-heeled shoes ... the one's called Yo Yo's with the plastic heel with a hole through it. Yep, that's true.
27. You carried a Muppets lunchbox to school. No, it was Snoopy.
28. You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend or who would get to be Ginger and who got stuck being Mary Anne. Yep, me and Steph would fight about these very things on a regular basis.
29. You memorized every song in the Annie movie and know at least one person who immediately went out and got the Annie afro. Every now and then "It's A Hard Knock Life" will pop into your brain and you can't stop singing it all day. Nahh I hated that movie.
30. You had Star Wars action figures, too. No, but I was SO into the movies and I read the books. My cousin had all the action figures so I didn't need my own--we would play for hours and hours.
31. You thought unicorns were real. You mean they aren't?
32. It was a big event in your household each year when The Wizard of Oz would come on TV. Break out the popcorn and sleeping bags! THIS IS SOOOOOOO TRUE. It was a huge thing. We got to stay up late and yep, popcorn and sleeping bags!!!
33. You wanted to be a part of the Von Trapp family. I loved Sound of Music! It was a mini-event much like the Wizard of Oz thing.
34. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Wow...I so remember this. It worked too!!
35. You loved The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe so much you got the whole Chronicles of Narnia series for Christmas but never read the other books. Nahh I read all the books. And re-read them recently.
36. You crawled in a wardrobe somewhere and actually believed for a few seconds that you were on your way to Narnia. Could be!
37. You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Footloose and Flashdance soundtrack albums. This is definitely true. Every single one of those. LOL Grease especially.

38. You tried to do lots of arts-and-crafts things, like yarn-&-Popsicle-stick god's-eyes or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom. I did! All of them! I made lots of those potholders! I think my mom still has a few!
39. Shrinky-dinks! Shrinky-dinks were the best!
40. You used to tape-record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape recorder up to the speaker. I did!!!!!! And I listened to Kasey Kasem religiously and Stephanie and I would have contests on who could guess what song that came on the radio.
41. You couldn't wait to get the free animal poster that came when you ordered books from the Scholastic book orders your teacher would give you. Remember? The order catalogs looked like miniature newspapers. OMG I had forgotten about these!!! I always wanted so many books but my mom never wanted to order them.
42. You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books. Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. Yep! I read the book back when it used to talk about how maxi-pads were attached to your underwear by straps. They've changed the books now to reflect advances in sanitary protection...
43. Care Bears. Again, that was more my sister and not me. They annoyed me.
44. You thought Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" was about aerobics. I really did!
45. Wiggles jeans with the embroidery on the back pockets. I don't think I had those. I did have pastel A Smiles jeans (the ones with the triangle patch with the ice cream cone on them? Why doesn't anyone but me remember those?)
46. Friendship pins that you wore on your tennis shoes. YES! I had tons of them! I was telling Joe about these the other day but he never remembered them.
47. Shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs. Yep had those too.
48. You wore knickers. LOL I did! I did!
49. You collected Smurfs. I love the Smurfs. I saw some action figures recently when I was in Cooperstown and wanted to buy some!
50. You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer. Ahh, sad but true. Stephanie and I both wanted to be one badly.

It all seems so innocent in the face of what today's youth are exposed to...

11:16 AM | link | up| archives |

6.17.2002

generated

from Rob's Amazing Poetry Generator--I got this after plugging in the URL to my site. The following poem was created using words from crystallyn.com:

We could
sleep.
The heart of Leaves by tying
rocks to work
into feelings of some
shopping I tried to get when
she
has been
one no shampoo or
here will be more
in Cooperstown and still on
some shopping I feel the book directed me
take me
Right now! that I love
with the biggest patch of
Fame. which brings some way You
are appearing to
create a flight
from down houses
listening to hurry to have been
hemming and I think that will just
happen, as I moved to
your joint finances, which turned
out to their failure, the puddle had
baseball Hall of watching the
stands.

pretty cool, huh?

3:06 PM | link | up| archives |

life is upside down

i tell you! Flashback: June of last year, just turned 30, jobless since February without a single interview in sight, homesick, 20 pounds heavier, sad, depressed.

It's true that when it rains it pours and here I am, moving into a new apartment (bigger! better! laundry! fireplace! balcony! parking!) in two weeks, four job interviews this month (with one hopefully extending the offer this week--my fifth interview is today), healthier, in love, more in touch with the world around me, going back to school in the fall, 31 and happy.

I never do things the easy way. It's all or nothing for the most part. My life has never been one long smooth path but rather a series of sometimes violent ups and downs. I think in my past I must have been a drag queen--it's all drama for me. If there isn't drama, I usually find some way to create a bit of it.

Lately I feel how my cat looked this morning as I was getting dressed for work. He loves to sit on my big old green chair in my office, which faces into the sun every morning. First thing when the office door is opened he finds the biggest patch of sun he can find, stretches himself out and lies there, glowing, eyes barely open and looking perfectly content. It's a pretty nice feeling.

The day is looking great already--my site was chosen as a Coolstop Best of the Cool Daily Pick!

8:46 AM | link | up| archives |

6.14.2002

one of my favorite

novels is House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. I noticed that this is the book up for discussion at Xeney.com and I think that I'll be keeping out the book (rather than packing it before our impending move) and re-reading. I devoured it on a flight from San Francisco to Boston (708 very large and packed solid pages). I picked it up initially because I was so intrigued by the layout of the book, its haphazard paragraphs and crazy typesetting. In reading it though, I discovered a treat, stories within stories, mazes within mazes, and one of the best cerebral experiences I had had in a long while.

I'm finishing up another Peter Mayle book, Hotel Pastis, but I think that I'll be re-reading House of Leaves again. When I had originally bought it back in 2000, barely anyone had read it and the House of Leaves site was different, unfinished, and mysterious. There weren't message boards anywhere that really talked about the book. A little flyer inserted into the book directed me to Danielewski's sister's band--Poe. I eventually (probably a year later) picked up her album, Haunted, and was pleasantly surprised. What was intriguing is how she tied the music back into her brother's book.

Reading some of the posts on Xeney.com makes me want to get re-reading and jump in and discuss. It's been so long since I've been able to have great book discussions (Greg, get your butt out of China so we can actually TALK to each other!). One of the Xeney forums had this link: Idiot's Guide to House of Leaves which features some great information. I suggest not really perusing it until you've read the book, however--it's a spoiler site, but full of great information and food for thought.

4:17 PM | link | up| archives |

i told you that

things were looking up. Paulette may be able to tell me more (would love a new chart!) --Michael will just scoff, but hell, I really like my horoscope for the week:

An interesting week ahead, in which you see the pitfalls and obstacles that have so far prevented you from reaching an important goal or relating to someone in the right way. You now see them so clearly that rather than be held back, or stopping fearfully in your tracks, you plunge forward and put them all to rest. This is really the beginning of the new start you have been initiating for some time. A Solar Eclipse in your own sign, conjuncts Saturn and opposes Pluto and it is this that enables you to snap the chains that have so far held you back. The same holds true for your joint finances, which have been going through a tricky phase, but look set to be reborn. This doesn't just happen, as you are well aware, and you have already put a lot of hard work into getting this issue sorted out. But now it pays off, and you are delighted. Venus moves into Leo later in the week, which brings some happy meetings with new people, either in person or over the Internet. Your more permanent relationships are also set to bring a smile to your lips after a time of difficulty.

1:39 PM | link | up| archives |

6.13.2002

grit and pieces

of my teeth are what filled my dreams at 4AM. I dreamt that I was talking to our realtor, Dolores, and suddenly I could feel my mouth filling up with little pieces of chipped enamel and broken bits of my teeth. I remember trying to clean it all off my tongue, horrified and embarassed at the same time. She didn't seem to notice that I had little bits of teeth on my fingers as I tried to talk to her. When she did, she acted as though it is a common occurence and I shouldn't be too alarmed. I would just manage to pick all the flakes and tooth chunks out of my mouth and begin talking again when more of my teeth would break, leaving sediment and jagged edges and me entirely frantic at the fragility of my gnashers. Finally, one of my incisors fell out onto my tongue. I was distraught, knowing that I had to hurry to a dentist..I was trying to push the tooth back in place and at the same time talk to my mother (who was suddenly there in Dolores' place) about how I didn't have insurance and what should I do? I woke up shortly afterward, very upset.

Teeth dreams are an old universal dream and typically signify anxiety of some kind, often in relation to feeling out of control or worry about how you are appearing to other people in your life. This is certainly true in my case...we still need to sign the lease on the apartment (tomorrow), have a 4th interview (over the phone) tomorrow, have been anxious about money, had someone online (that I don't know but is on a message board that I frequent) imply that I must be a loser because I met Joe (nearly two years ago) through an online dating service, all tying back into feelings of being out of control and concerned about my self-esteem in some way or another. But dang, why with my teeth breaking in pieces? It was awful.

12:31 PM | link | up| archives |

6.12.2002

talk about big brother

This is, quite literally, the most disturbing violation of personal privacy that I have seen to date.

11:14 PM | link | up| archives |

6.10.2002

take me out to the ballgame

and there is no better place for that than in Cooperstown, NY. Rarely have I been somewhere that is so nostalgic, charming and all-American. Cooperstown is located in upstate NY, about an hour west of Albany. We got up early on Friday morning to drive the 4.5 hours to get to the sleepy little town. It was bucketing rain as we left Boston, and we were relieved when the precipitation disappeared when we hit the NY state line. I had a moment of surprise when I discovered that I-90 runs along the Erie Canal for awhile. I hadn't really ever given much thought to where the canal really was and found myself amazed that the beautiful river was actually man-made.

I was worried about going to Cooperstown, sure that it was going to be a fairly boring trip, with me doing the girlfriend's duty of watching the games and feigning interest in all the baseball paraphenelia at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Driving from I-90 down to Cooperstown, the scenery, while pastoral and green, solidified my thoughts when we began passing lots of little trailer homes, run down houses and minature rusted car lots on the side of the road. I was glad that I brought a pile of books with me.

Then we came up on Lake Otswego, a beautiful lake that is the inspiration for Glimmerglass of James Fenimore Cooper's tales. The houses abruptly changed from being run-down shacks to manses with sweeping lawns and lake houses with charming little swimming docks and wrap-around decks. Driving past the Glimmerglass Opera House, I had hope that perhaps this trip would be more interesting than previously anticipated. There was clearly culture in the area and as such perhaps there might be more to do than sit on some rusty bench at an old baseball diamond. I was very excited when we drove past the Farmer's Museum and the beautiful Fenimore Art Museum. There would be something to do after all!

Then we drove into Cooperstown, a very charming little town with big houses and a traditional Main Street lined with little shops and restaraunts. We located our hotel, the Tunnicliff Inn, which turned out to be in the heart of town. That was the best part about the hotel, unfortunately. The hotel claims to be the oldest hotel in Cooperstown and I would have to agree with that...it was shabby and rundown and a waste of money for $105 a night. They led us into the smallest hotel room I have ever stayed in, with the cheapest, roughest sheets (the beds had rubber mattress covers on them and they didn't even have fitted sheets so that when you slid your hands under the lumpiest pillow ever, you could feel the rubber cover). No shampoo or conditioner. Light out in the bathroom, white curtains and blinds on window (so it was bright as hell when the sun came up at 5AM...we ended up putting a blanket over the window so we could sleep). The bed squeaked terribly whenever you rolled over or shifted...any amorous activity would be something the entire floor would hear. The shower stall was so tiny you could barely turn around. The staff was friendly and the location was convenient, and while it was clean...I've stayed in Motel 8's with similar or better accomodations. THAT is the only rant of my weekend.

Joe had baseball games at Doubleday Field, which turned out to be beautiful and historic. The field was immaculate and behind the scoreboard behind left field, a beautiful white church spire shone in the afternoon sun. It was the perfect place to watch a baseball game and I had a great time. Grabbed an ice cream cone and watched Joe's team (Boston Cubs) play against the Medford Angels, winning 8-6. Joe batted 2-4 with 2 runs batted in and one stolen base. The Sunday afternoon game was a lot of fun as well, with the Cubs winning 10-4, and Joe hitting 4-5 with 1 run batted in and two stolen bases! There was an announcer for their second game and it was great to see other tourists stopping by to check out the game. I even managed a slight tan from sitting in the stands.

In between there, we checked out the Baseball Hall of Fame, which turned out to be pretty cool. We also did some shopping (I picked up a Cubs hat, not because I like Chicago, but because the Boston Cubs use the same hats). Checked out the other museums I mentioned above, and also had a slight diversion to the Brewery Ommegang, where we happily sampled the wares.

Saturday night we had dinner at one of the cozy eateries and then headed over to one of Joe's teammates rental house to watch the Tyson fight. Turns out that they didn't have a cable box though, so couldn't order the pay per view. We ended up listening to the fight and watching the blurred images on the TV--you know, the same blurring you get when trying to watch the porno channels without paying for them. It felt so illicit. I love hanging out and listening to guys talk though--I was the only woman there and it was hilarious listening to them tell stories of the things that they did when they were young...fireworks was the topic of conversation for awhile. One of the guys was telling us how he and his buddies tried to torture some grasshoppers one time, by tying rocks to their legs and dropping them into a puddle to drown them. The next day when they returned, the puddle had dried up and the grasshoppers were still there, and still alive. Not satisfied with their failure, the boys took the butt ends of bad fireworks and placed them in a ring around the grasshoppers and lit them on fire, burning them to bits. I was trying to picture these kids tying rocks onto those grasshopper legs and was left in a fit of laughter.

All in all, a good time was had by all!

9:21 AM | link | up| archives |

6.6.2002

31 is better than 30----so far

Some of you know the neighbor saga (if not, go here or here or here) and that Joe and I have been looking for a new place to live.

~SIDETRACK: Small neighbor update...they bought an entire carload of plants last night...back seat and trunk FILLED...must have been about 20 or so houseplants. Now remember, they are living in a studio (this week it has been J., his mom and his sister and the pitbull) that can't possibly be more than 400-500 square feet total. On hot humid days in Boston--my god, I can't imagine living on the top floor in a jungle hothouse, which is what it will be! BBQ is still on the roof. One of these walks home from the T I'm going to stop by the fire department (2 blocks away from home) and ask them "how legal is it..." ~END SIDETRACK

Well, we had found a GORGEOUS apartment in Belmont and fell in love with it. Top floor of a two family home (elderly couple beneath us which means peace and quiet!). Dark hardwood floors and a cozy interior. Lots of storage space and closets, working fireplace, balcony, two blocks from the bus to Harvard Square in a quiet neighborhood. They would take the cat. Two drawbacks:one, no refrigerator--which I learned when I moved to the East coast 6 years ago that the landlord doesn't have to provide--and two, the rent is $50 more each month than we could really afford. The realtor, a wonderful Irish woman named Dolores who I will recommend to anyone looking for an apartment in the immediate western suburbs of Boston (Watertown, Belmont, Arlington, Waltham, etc), had thought the landlord would take $1500, but it turns out they wouldn't. So we were heartbroken.

Today, however, Dolores calls me back and tells me in her magnificent Irish brogue, that the landlord has changed their mind! Now we just have to pass the credit check (Joe's credit, unlike mine, is impeccable, so hopefully that will counterbalance my spotty history). Cross fingers, knock on wood, send good vibes, say prayers...I'll take any positive energy that I can get right now! I want this place desperately.

Plus, for the first time in a year, I have a good feeling about an interview that I had this week, even though the position is in Salem and that would mean a bit of a drive for me. To top it off though, the place where I'm working now that has been hemming and hawing about hiring may have a more definitive answer for me. The woman that I'm reporting to here will know after her afternoon meeting if she has the go-ahead to hire more resources. I had pretty much given up on them potentially hiring me full-time, so to know that she will know yes or no is good news.

Paulette, perhaps you should check my chart and let me know if this good stuff is all going to work out or not? *grin* You were right about the going back to school, even though I didn't want to believe you at the time!

Tomorrow morning heading to Cooperstown NY to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Joe has a couple games there so I guess I'm going to go hang out with wives and girlfriends and watch his team play. One of his teammates has rented a house and has a big BBQ planned for Saturday night. Should be fun. Maybe I'll land a bit of a tan as well.

Plus I have the new Moby cd finally and the new Breeders album. 31, so far, is working out just peachy.

3:19 PM | link | up| archives |

6.5.2002

and yes

I'm officially old. Can't trust anyone over 30 and well, I am now.

3:59 PM | link | up| archives |

6.3.2002

ed asked, i answer

Ed over at edrants.com posed the following questions to me as part of Blogger Insider.

Ed: I've also recently seen "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T" for the first time and I enjoyed it immensely. What real-life figure found itself transformed into an amazing dream universe when you were a child? If there wasn't anyone specific, was there anyone who manifested themselves within your dreams or nightmares when you were a child? And can you describe the extent of this figure's Stage 2 participation?

Crystal: That movie was incredible, wasn't it? I found myself in such awe when I was flipping channels and found it. Who knew that cable actually had great cinema! I was a very imaginative child but I can't really say that any real-life figures found themselves in my mind-world. I was much too fanciful for that. I tended to find myself immersed in the worlds of the books that I was reading, and would create elaborate fantasies that stemmed off of the characters and situations within them. I was a big fan of fairytales when I was young, and Grimm's and East o'the Sun and West o'the Moon were some of my favorite books. Later I started picking up the books my father left around, which were generally science fiction and fantasy paperbacks. He was reading Piers Anthony's Split Infinity and Blue Adept books when I was about 9 or 10. I remember reading them avidly and telling the story to my cousin, Rhett, who is the same age as me. We spent that summer acting out the books and creating new stories. I'm sure that was also mixed in with whatever Star Wars movie was out at the time. I was five when the first one came out and I imagine that I envisioned myself as Princess Leia at some point. I adored that movie and watched it at the drive-in with my father on the hood of the car. Rhett had all the action figures and we would play for hours in the gutter on his street in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Ed: One thing I've been curious about ever since reading "Animal Farm" in high school is precisely how many Berkshire boars roam the earth. (Napoleon was a Berkshire boar.) Having recently set foot in the Berkshires, can you give an honest and descriptive assessment of whether the boars discovered by Oliver Cromwell have made their way to New England?

Crystal: Guilty confession--I've never read Animal Farm. I've read 1984 but Animal Farm remains on my growing master list of things to read. I am, unfortunately, not the best person to ask about the boars' presence here in New England, but I DID see a potbelly pig...a really large one...lying on the lawn of a home we were passing by (it must be noted here that many other plastic lawn ornaments were also present at said home). It's funny though, how all of New England is named after places in England. Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, Belmont, Southhampton, Northhampton, Barnstable, Norwich, Kingston, Gloucestor, Taunton, Reading, Plymouth, Chelmsford, Portsmouth, Brighton, Lincoln, Lexington, Falmouth, Bedford, Salisbury, Dorchester, Dartmouth, Woodstock, Newport, Leominster, Yarmouth, Hull, Beverly, Lancaster, and countless more are all cities in England as well as in New England. Hence the naming of the Massachusetts Berkshires, I'm sure.

Ed: I'm feeling the imposing age of 30 in a few years myself. Describe your 30th birthday. What helped you get over the hump? And has it been more or less difficult over the past few years to come to grips with an age that is unquestionably adult? Why? What tips can you offer for those who have not crossed the threshold? (And as an aside, dry skin? Come on. The visage you've put on your "Me" page, with the incredibly cute smile, has every indication of a knockout!)

Crystal: 29 was actually more difficult for me to accept in some ways than 30 ways. And 31 seems to be the same. The middle year was of little consequence for me...a bridge between two worlds, I suppose. I don't think that I'm over the "hump" at all! I find myself at a loss sometimes, when I think about the fact that I am an adult, that my world is full of responsibility that I cannot escape. Unlike the years of college and before, I can't slack off or there are consequences. It's like this temp job that I have--I can't take time off or I don't get paid, which means I can't pay the rent, can't buy food, etc. I find that life in general is more like this temp job--if I put in the time then there is return, if not, then there is consequence. Crude analogy but I find it true in many ways. Not to say that there isn't pleasure and happiness, but within that the weight of responsibility is heavier. I also find myself worrying more, a bad acquired habit from my mother. Then again, at the same time I am very hopeful. I feel better about myself now than I ever did in my twenties, more secure in my body and with who I am. I can look at compliments such as the one that you gave (thank you!) and take them with more stride and belief than I would have five years ago. Advice? The same as I should give myself today...enjoy life as much as you can, because it only will change and become more complex in the future.

Ed: How many concert ticket stubs have you collected? When did this hobby start? What was the last one you added to the pile?

Crystal: Hmm. 30 or 40 probably. It's actually not a formal hobby by any means, and I have no clue where a lot of those stubs actually are. I've saved them all but some are in journals, some in scrapbooks, some in boxes amidst piles of photos of my past. I was in radio for several years in my early twenties and I worked for Virgin Records for about a year as well and so I saw a LOT of concerts. The majority of those I never had tickets for, rather, I was on a guest list. The last few years have seen me at less shows (although there are a many that I would love to go to...Peter Murphy this weekend...grrr I'm out of town!!! They Might Be Giants just played and I missed it, etc.) usually due to schedule and until recently, the lack of someone to go with. I've seen several bar bands in the last couple years but the most recent actual concert was Duran Duran, about two summers ago. I FINALLY got to see them, fifteen years after I would have really wanted to see them. Still, I had a blast and laughed because the whole audience was filled with women around my age who had dragged husbands and boyfriends to go see them.

Ed: Peter Murphy? Were you at one point a Goth? And, regardless whether you were a Goth or not at one point in your life, how do you account for the Goth's inability to recognize the majestic vertiginous allure of a spire?

Crystal: Yes, yes, Peter Murphy, for whom I have four ticket stubs. I still fail to see why he's such a Goth sort of inspiration, unless you go back to the Bauhaus days. His solo work tends to be very uplifting, lush, poetic, full of love and brightness. He has a whole album (Cascade) of love songs, for example! I wasn't a Goth...I'm a tiny bit too old for that and I loved the poppy 80s music too much. I did wear a lot of black and had odd colored hair but I was more a "waver" than a Goth. I do like a lot of music that is considered to be Goth, such as Dead Can Dance (mostly for their prowess in performing wonderful medieval music) and Miranda Sex Garden, but I also love indie stuff like TMBG, Get-up Kids as well as bands and artists like New Order, Garbage and Moby but then swerve into the realms of Chet Baker, Enya, Yo-Yo Ma and a myriad of classical artists. I tend to like "happy" music more than dreary pieces. As for the dizzy allure of a spire? I'm afraid that I'm failing to understand that particular allusion too!

Ed: Life: less filling or tastes great? Why?

Crystal: Tastes great. Although at times lately a bit sour. Still there is something to be said about sour, just not all the time. I tend to learn from the world around me and so I try to take the hills and valleys with that in mind. Even when things are rough, I find value in the experiences. I sometimes think that I'm lucky to be a writer, because my awareness of the world around me is keen and I can find poetry in both folly and fortune. I also can admire the marketer who came up with that slogan. :)

Ed: What is your favorite French phrase that you regularly come across in books?

Crystal: I wouldn't say that there is a "favorite" phrase. Ed is referring to a comment I must have made somewhere in my multitudinous pages about how the 6 years and my Minor in French has left me mostly with an ability to understand various French words in my reading. A great case in point is the book that I am reading now, a birthday present from Joe's wonderful parents, called A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle. The book is littered with French phrases and it's wonderful to understand when the author writes: "her dining room was a converted mill, and her cooking was 'pleine de force et de soleil (translated literally as full with force and sun).' And to understand words like "merde" when I come across them, which invariably results in a hearty chuckle.

Ed: I see that you write poetry and that you studied music. What instruments do you play? And is the haiku overrated or not omnipresent enough? In addition, what do you think of archy and mehitabel?

Crystal: Studied music is a serious overstatement (where did I write that?!). I played trumpet for a few years in junior high (6-9th grades), which has certainly given me a heightened appreciation for music (and I can read sheet music), but the best result I had from that is that I could play "Eye of the Tiger," which was one of the songs we played for a parade I was in.

As for the haiku, I think that early traditional haiku is very beautiful. For example, I love reading Basho Matsuo's haikus.

It has rained enough
to turn the stubble on the field
black.

Gorgeous, precise and the imagery sinks into the reader. That said, I'm not one to necessarily go out and buy a book of haikus for my reading pleasure. I find them more enjoyable in sparse quantities, a bright, poignant, flash of light amidst collections of longer works. Haiku is one of the first poems that grade school children are taught once they understand syllables and it's such a wonderful teaching tool to understanding rhyme and meter within poetry. I have also seen some awful haikus out there, but that's just like anything. To get the gold you have to sift through dirt.

As for Archy and Mehitabel,
"the life of a female artist
is continually hampered
what in hell have i done to deserve
all these kittens..."

Ed: Did you have a William Shatner fixation when you were growing up? And how can any reasonable person explain his strange and kitschy magnetism?

Crystal: No fixation, thankfully. Never had the hots for him or anything. I did watch it faithfully with my father when it was first in re-runs in the early seventies. I love the old Star Trek best of all. He was a really charming young man (and a freaky Iron Chef, I may add--what was up with that smoking jacket?) and of course it only made sense that he got all the girls. My boyfriend Joe jokes about which episodes that Shatner "got some." I see the re-runs on all the time on Sci-Fi (I think I've literally seen, in the course of my lifetime, each episode upwards of 20 times apiece). The other night I watched the episode Miri and I tell Joe about it, mentioning the "grups." He says to me, "Kirk didn't get any in that episode." "But he wanted to," I pointed out. "Did you see the way he always was looking at Miri?" Joe merely nods and says, "Kirk was also a pedophile." As for his magnetism, I can't say, but Shatner is getting more and more kitschy as he gets older, that's for sure. But really, he was TJ Hooker! How can we not still like him?

Ed: How does one effectively get around in Boston when two thirds of the street signs have been effectively removed by Bostonians? Is there any suggestions you could give for the beleaguered out-of-towner looking to circumnavigate those glorious rotaries?

Crystal: This is SUCH an awesome question. When I first moved here, I was lost. Lost lost lost. My friend Michael used to tell me that it was because Bostonians don't WANT you to get anywhere. The only thing you can really do is stop and ask people if you are lost. Become adept at looking at a map and seeing that streets connect and by the shape and length of the street and where it might be in relation to the one street you know that has a street sign, you might be able to tell where you are. This is possible because Boston used to be cowpaths for the most part so it's not on a linear grid. Mapquest is actually sort of okay...you can look at the directions, lengths and turns and sometimes figure it out without street signs. Always ask for landmarks when you are going somewhere.

Rotaries...ONE RULE: The cars ON the rotary have the right of way--ALWAYS. That said, be a tiny bit forceful and take any open opportunity that you can or you'll have people behind you honking for not doing so.

Ed: I have such a twisted sense of humor that among one of the first things that popped into my head when I read about the horrible India-Pakistan crisis was Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." This culminated in actually playing the song to my roommate to illustrate the severity of the situation. Are there any deranged associations you've made recently that you've had the misfortune to act out in public? Please cite examples.

Crystal: Ummm...no. I can't think of any deranged associations I've made lately at all. That's not to say I haven't made them, but I know that I haven't acted them out in public, regardless. Hehe.

Ed: Is there any real way to salvage the bad rap that poetry has taken in recent years? And do you have any ideas on how we lead an assault to cut up callow blockbusters at all Barnes & Nobles to encourage a larger poetry section?

Crystal: I find it interesting that poetry has mostly only dwindled in the last 50 years, since the advent of television and mass media. Children are taught poetry very early on and the majority of children love to read and write poetry. This dies off somewhere in junior high when they are taught to explicate poetry. It becomes more of a chore for students than a literary love. At this point, poetry starts to be seen as sentimental drivel by many kids whose interest now lies in solving the latest FF or talking about Buffy episodes. What's even more interesting is that poetry is more accessible than ever but that also means that there is a lot more bad poetry to be had. I'm not sure how to marry the technical and the enjoyment factor up once more but it's something that I have actually wanted to do more research on. Kings used to pay dearly for a well-written poem and today...well, perhaps that's the problem after all, things of a cultural matter are secondary to our government, to our schools, to our world leaders, and of course that means poetry has become secondary as well.

I think I'm lucky though, living in a place like Boston that has a longstanding literary tradition. One of my favorite places is the Grolier Poetry Bookshop, a tiny store with thousands of volumes of poetry. The Borders downtown near my work has a very large section of poetry and I am never for lack of something to read. And for the most part, I can usually find the authors I want on Amazon or Powells. As far as leading an assault? Not sure if that would be worth much but there has to be better ways to put poetry back into the mainstream consciousness. Gumball Poetry is one great example. Now why didn't I think of that?

11:23 AM | link | up| archives |