Tuesday, September 30, 2008

GIT

I discovered (for myself if no one else) the likely situation in which the southern word "git" originated.

When I got home last night, there was a possum hanging out in our carport. "GIT!" I yelled instinctively. The possum hurried away in terror, probably more from my car's headlights than my uncharacteristic southern outburst.

Should I submit it to the OED for word derivation?

PS "Git" in the south is a verb that means "get along"/"get out of here."

Friday, September 26, 2008

I finally did one of those things I've been saying I'm going to be do for awhile now: I actually read one of the books I heard about NPR (don't be jealous of my life). Of course, the library here often doesn't have some of the books they recommend, so I'm often SOL.

Book #39: City of Thieves, David Benioff. Two strangers during the WWII siege of St. Petersburg are sent on a mission to find... a dozen eggs. It's easy-to-read and thoughtful, not arrogant. I definitely recommend it.

Book #40: Love is a Mix Tape, Rob Sheffield. This book took me back to mix tapes my friends made for me in high school and college. Interestingly, it also has some of the most straightforward discussions of grief that I've read in awhile.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

i think i may be in love....

aren't they are lustworthy? don't they make you tear up just a bit? i'm currently living in fear that my feet will get bigger and never return to their original size, so i hesitate to get them.

Monday, September 22, 2008

I haven't written a sermon since August (I wrote two September sermons at the preaching conference; I preached the last one yesterday). Now I'm preaching every Sunday save one in October. I'm trying to even imagine ramping back up for it, and I barely can do even that, let alone write. Maybe Mondays is a bad day to try to contemplate ramping back up anything. Maybe it's time to call it a day.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Dear Lord,

Why do I work with people? I find them so incredibly frustrating a vast majority of the time.
  • The self-righteousness
  • The pettiness
  • The patronizing
  • The gossiping
  • The laziness
I've dealt with all five and more in the past 2.5 hours.

I hope someone surprises me out of my funk by doing something so not able to be described by any of the above this week.

Friday, September 12, 2008

  • Do you know what's really expensive? Paper. We go through scads of it at work, what with bulletins, announcements, newsletters, etc etc etc. I had to order some yesterday because the parish administrator is gone. The order was something like $500, and most of that was regular old paper. I'd say maybe $60 was the colorful, fun stuff.
  • So, I, of course, think I'm being all coy with this not being publicly pregnant yet gig. And some woman I don't know comes up to me at the gym and says, "You're working out through your pregnancy? That's great." I laughed really loudly because it made me nervous (note: not all my loud laughs are because I'm nervous, but this one definitely was).
  • I'm disturbed by our country and the elections. When I heard Palin was the VP candidate for McCain, I thought, "No one's going to fall for that!" I'm beginning to wonder if I gave America too much credit.
  • I went to the dentist on Wednesday. We couldn't make my next six month appointment six months out because it would have been a day before my due date. I stared at the hygenist in horror and disbelief.
***
Book Update:

I was hoping to reach fifty books for the year. I think I'll just barely do it. What's that, about three a month (for the months I have left, I mean)? Work has basically exploded. A significant number of people seem to have lost their mind/cool/health/live all at the same time. We've done four funerals in the past three weeks, and the list of people in critical pastoral care situations is abnormally high for us. Plus the rector is gone next week on continuing education. I've kept my schedule relatively clear next week, knowing that there will be more than enough to do even if all remains somewhat calm.
  • Book #33: The Art of Eating, MFK Fischer. Collection of food writings for early twentieth century important food writer. I loved her recollections of what different meals had meant in her own life in the section "The Gastronomical Me."
  • Book #34: Prodigal Summer, Kingsolver. Read it in two days. The story's set in the Appalachians, and the characters are well written.
  • Book #35: Garden Spell, Sarah Addison Allen. New author from NC. Again, fiction set in western NC. It was about the relationships of some people around my age, so it was interesting. Not this most thought provoking read in the world, but I enjoyed reading it.
  • Lots of pregnancy related stuff: #36: What to Expect When You're Expecting (no), #37: The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy (eh-- some of it liked, some of it was garbage), #38: The Mayo Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy (good).

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Cleaning Out

My mom sent boxes of both my childhood and my college years with my in-laws last weekend. She didn't tell me she was going to, which didn't please me. Fortunately, I'm getting the want to clean out symptom. I'm predisposed anyhow, but I'm also now living in fear of the loads of stuff that new people (particularly small ones that seem to require lots of equipment) inevitably bring into any household. Plus I live with an unrepentant pack rat who I have been able to convince that at least the stuff you don't really use needs to be packed away, not taking up valuable real estate space, and I prefer to stay consistent when I can.

Anyhow, I'd guess I'm getting rid of at least three-fourths of what she sent. But then there are those things that are question marks:
  • Should I bother to send the perfect attendance dance trophy and Westminster Presbyterian Midget Girls II basketball participation trophy to Goodwill, or do I save them the trouble and immediately throw them away?
  • What do I do with nicely mounted awards from high school? Can I throw those away? What about the framed governor's school diplomas (summer programs)? What do I do with those?
  • Will I really ever look at that comparative economics systems/stats/money & banking textbook again (realizing that I gave about half of them away)?
  • My granny picked up painting pottery in her 70s (which is pretty cool). She got on this Santa Claus kick for about twelve years. Every family member (and, mind you, I'm one of ... a dozen grandchildren and half a dozen great grandchildren) has gobs of it. I picked out my four or five favorites (White and Gold Santa, Toy Holding/Flouncy Skirt Santa, Noah's Ark Santa, Kitten Santa, and Quilting Santa) to keep and bring out at Christmas time, which seems like more than enough Santa Claus for any reasonable person, with a bit of a buffer if two or three break. I packed up the rest to give away. If the church ladies can figure out how to get my name off the bottom of them, I'll bet they'll sell beautifully at the Christmas Bazaar. I don't feel that bad about giving them away, which kind of makes me wonder about myself. I know my grandmother would absolutely flip her lid if she knew. I plan on never telling her.
Hurricane Hanna was pretty much a big tease for us. It got really windy, but we hardly got any rain at all.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

  • I did not like the movie Tropics of Thunder, not b/c it's not-PC, just b/c I didn't think it was as funny as it could have been.
  • The Mr and I caved and got iPhones. Our contracts were up with Veriz0n. He adores his. I am not yet fully convinced. I think it's because I'm not quite sure yet how to use the darn thing.
  • NC farmer market discovery: collard green tamales. The outside is a collard green instead of a corn husk. The inside is normal-- corn meal and meat (pork or chicken). They're awesome. Coupled with sour cream and habenero sauce... a very tasty treat for $1.50.
  • I dropped the communion kit today in my office. I love it when I spill wine all over the place.
In case you don't want to read pregnant lady stuff, I ghettoized it:
  • The in-laws were in town this weekend, and it was basically what I feared-- a bevy of unsolicited advice. Have I told you about me and unsolicited advice? I don't do well with it. That is one of the reasons I'm trying to hide the pregnancy from most people at work as long as possible. That, and, though I would like for people here to be excited, I also just want to do my job.
  • I called the sister in the Land Far, Far Away yesterday. Guess what. She's pregnant with her first child and is due about ten days after I am. My parents still don't know yet.
  • It's beginning to look like "as long as possible" means about three more weeks or so. All these "I didn't show until my fifth month" people... when you haven't gained all that much weight anywhere except your lower abdomen, that looks suspicious, if you're a woman my age. Vestments are a beautiful thing for hiding in, though.