Yet another getting-to-know-you list from Rick's blog. (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery)
1. Saddest movie you've seen: Shadowlands, and any other movie in which men cry. Seeing men cry always makes me cry.
2. Funniest movies you've seen: Clockwise and Rat Race
3. Irrational fears you had as a child: I used to believe that if the light from lightning touched you, you would die. Many summer nights I huddled in the stairwell terrified during a thunderstorm, until my mom set me straight that the lightning itself had to hit you.
4. Was there a book you had as a child that you were scared to read because the pictures were scary? My mom's Raggedy Ann books had some pretty freaky creatures in them
5. If you could have one talent in the world, it would be... skiing, but I'm so afraid of heights, I could never even get on a ski lift. Guess that's why I admire those who can.
6. Language I'd most like to master in my lifetime: English, of course. After all, I'm an editor!
7. What is your favorite city? Philly. It's a great place to live. My second choice would be London.
8. What is your favorite memory about the city in #7? The first time I went to the 4th of July fireworks with Joel. We brought bubbles and entertained some adorable kids we'd never seen before. Then we snuggled on the blanket and enjoyed the pyrotechnics show. It was fun feeling part of a community and individually loved at the same time.
9. Do you root for the favorite or the underdog? Underdog. I think Christianity has hard-wired this preference in me.
10. Left-handed people are: Fun to date. You can hold hands and still eat, write, etc. (Yes, Joel is a lefty.)
11. Animal you'd most like to see on the endangered species list: Merlins. They are the most adorable bird of prey, and I've only ever seen one in the wild. Okay, it was actually my parents' back yard...But they are rare!
12. Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? dark
13. Movie with worst casting decision: Anything with Jack Nicholson in it. He gives me the heebie-jeebies.
14. Most interesting foreign accent: I love African accents (except South African). Russian accents are just downright sexy.
15. Rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, well, or just plain tartare? Medium well
16. Have you ever had fondue? Of course. It was all the rage in the 70s.
17. Something interesting you've learned listening to NPR: That I know tons more about cars and car repair than my husband.
18. Can you balance a redox equation?: I love those crazy things. They seemed so incredibly easy that it helped me shed my math phobia once and for all. Redox equations are my only fond memory from high school chemistry, because my lab partner and I were total clods when it came to doing experiments. But that's a story for another time...
7.23.2002
A sad day
Chaim Potok, one of my favorite authors, died today of brain cancer at age 73. Here's a link to his obituary.
I was first introduced to Potok's writing in a freshman college course, in which we read his most famous novel "The Chosen." It was my first in-depth look at the lives of Jews living in America and was quite eye-opening, having grown up in a fairly homogenous mongrel-European protestant community in rural Pennsylvania. I had one Jewish friend growing up, but I never got to see what modern Judaism looked like in practice. Her parents were basically Russian atheists who got to the U.S. with help from the American Jewish community, then more or less ceased practicing once here.
I went on to read the sequel, "The Promise," as well as Potok's two books about a Hasidic Jewish artist, "My Name is Asher Lev" and "The Gift of Asher Lev." I also really enjoyed "Davita's Harp," which has a female protagonist, and "The Book of Lights," about a Jewish chaplain serving in the Korean War. I highly recommend all of his novels that I have read.
Chaim Potok, one of my favorite authors, died today of brain cancer at age 73. Here's a link to his obituary.
I was first introduced to Potok's writing in a freshman college course, in which we read his most famous novel "The Chosen." It was my first in-depth look at the lives of Jews living in America and was quite eye-opening, having grown up in a fairly homogenous mongrel-European protestant community in rural Pennsylvania. I had one Jewish friend growing up, but I never got to see what modern Judaism looked like in practice. Her parents were basically Russian atheists who got to the U.S. with help from the American Jewish community, then more or less ceased practicing once here.
I went on to read the sequel, "The Promise," as well as Potok's two books about a Hasidic Jewish artist, "My Name is Asher Lev" and "The Gift of Asher Lev." I also really enjoyed "Davita's Harp," which has a female protagonist, and "The Book of Lights," about a Jewish chaplain serving in the Korean War. I highly recommend all of his novels that I have read.
7.19.2002
Prophecy
Last night Joel was flipping through a book on feast days. "Well, look at this," he said. "August 11 is St. Clare's feast day. We were thinking of naming the baby Claire. I think she will be born on the 11th."
I really like this quote by St. Clare (who started the order called the "Poor Clares"): "can a heart which possesses the infinite God be truly called poor?"
Any one else want to weigh in with birthdate predections? The doctors have estimated my due date to be Aug. 13, 14 or 17.
Last night Joel was flipping through a book on feast days. "Well, look at this," he said. "August 11 is St. Clare's feast day. We were thinking of naming the baby Claire. I think she will be born on the 11th."
I really like this quote by St. Clare (who started the order called the "Poor Clares"): "can a heart which possesses the infinite God be truly called poor?"
Any one else want to weigh in with birthdate predections? The doctors have estimated my due date to be Aug. 13, 14 or 17.
7.18.2002
I've been reading an Orson Scott Card novel about the Biblical Sarai/Sarah. I've been especially curious to see how he, being a Mormon, would approach the text.
I've found it pretty good so far, so different from Anita Diamante's "The Red Tent," written by a Jewish author who seems intent on undermining Judaism--making YHWH a pretty nasty diety, and all of His followers either stupid or evil.
I've just finished a section where Card deals with the incident of Abrahm lying about Sarai being his sister while they are in Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Card handles the situation deftly, I thought, and makes Abrahm out to be far more godly than some commentators who wig out about the deception. I've also enjoyed watching Sarai's faith grow as she stuggles to be a good wife to Abrahm and deal with doubts brought on by the crisis of infertility.
Yet to come in the novel are the covenant and the Hagar situation. Should be intriguing reading!
I've found it pretty good so far, so different from Anita Diamante's "The Red Tent," written by a Jewish author who seems intent on undermining Judaism--making YHWH a pretty nasty diety, and all of His followers either stupid or evil.
I've just finished a section where Card deals with the incident of Abrahm lying about Sarai being his sister while they are in Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Card handles the situation deftly, I thought, and makes Abrahm out to be far more godly than some commentators who wig out about the deception. I've also enjoyed watching Sarai's faith grow as she stuggles to be a good wife to Abrahm and deal with doubts brought on by the crisis of infertility.
Yet to come in the novel are the covenant and the Hagar situation. Should be intriguing reading!
7.15.2002
I just remembered another funny incident from our first childbirth class last week. Near the end of class, we worked on relaxation techniques. To help our partners be able to discern how we moms feel when tense versus relaxed, the teacher asked us to tense up different parts of our bodies then relax them while our partners touched us.
When she told us to "tense up your nose," I had no idea what to do. Flare my nostrils? Frown really hard? It was all we could do to keep from laughing hysterically. Fortunately, the lights were dimmed, so no one saw my strange facial contortions.
I really couldn't see much use in at least half of this exercise. If I don't know how to tense my nose, chances are pretty darned good that I won't do so while in labor.
When she told us to "tense up your nose," I had no idea what to do. Flare my nostrils? Frown really hard? It was all we could do to keep from laughing hysterically. Fortunately, the lights were dimmed, so no one saw my strange facial contortions.
I really couldn't see much use in at least half of this exercise. If I don't know how to tense my nose, chances are pretty darned good that I won't do so while in labor.
My boss is back! (Well, kind of). I spoke with him this morning. He and his wife and their newly-adopted son arrived in the U.S. at midnight on Saturday from Moscow. He's coming in to the office on Thursday to go over what he's missed the past 7 weeks and make plans for my maternity leave. Though he won't be back in full time until Aug 5 (or sooner if I deliver early), he will help with editing from home.
Relief is in sight. Yay!
Relief is in sight. Yay!
7.10.2002
Last night we attended our first chirdbirth class at the hospital. I immediately realized how much I prefer exchanging information with other moms and moms-to-be on Internet bulletin boards. First of all, since people in the class know my real name and what I look like, I couldn't be exactly forthright. For example, we had to answer some icebreaker questions.
What is your greatest fear?
Safe answer: "post-partum depression. You hear stories about people like Andrea Yates and it gets you a little worried."
Real answers: Being induced with oxytocin but never getting any pain medication; retching on every hospital employee who walks in the room; tearing like a cheap rag so that all bodily fuctions are excruciating for months after; having a hairy, cone-headed, cross-eyed baby with a malformed mouth incapable of breastfeeding who screams at the sight, sound or smell of me.
I never could have said such things in front of these other nice, earnest young couples. After all, I've worked so hard at keeping up a front of normalcy as I go about in the world.
But now you all know some of the contents of my twisted imagination. Fortunately, you only know what a Lego version of me looks like. Whew. My weirdness is safe for now.
What is your greatest fear?
Safe answer: "post-partum depression. You hear stories about people like Andrea Yates and it gets you a little worried."
Real answers: Being induced with oxytocin but never getting any pain medication; retching on every hospital employee who walks in the room; tearing like a cheap rag so that all bodily fuctions are excruciating for months after; having a hairy, cone-headed, cross-eyed baby with a malformed mouth incapable of breastfeeding who screams at the sight, sound or smell of me.
I never could have said such things in front of these other nice, earnest young couples. After all, I've worked so hard at keeping up a front of normalcy as I go about in the world.
But now you all know some of the contents of my twisted imagination. Fortunately, you only know what a Lego version of me looks like. Whew. My weirdness is safe for now.
7.07.2002
Just to confound Rick, I thought I'd do two entries in one day. Waahahaha!
Joel helped me add a few more links to blogs. One addition, Great Scot, is the journal of one of my first pals from college, Jonathan Ferguson, who is in Taiwan teaching English. A particularly humorous aspect of this cross-cultural experience is the fact the Jon is 6'6" tall, trying to navigate in an environment of petite people.
The past two days, we had the privilege of hosting a Blog friend (in the flesh!), Tolle Blogge (aka Russ Reeves). Joel of course talked his ear off and dragged the poor man all over Philadelphia to show him our fair city. Just a warning if any others of you need a place to stay while in the area. ;-)
In a 24 hour period, Russ got to eat out and window shop in Manayunk; see La Salle's campus, historic Germantown, the Lutheran seminary, Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River, Chinatown, Penn's Landing, and a 25-minute fireworks display; take several walks in Wissahickon Park with dog included; eat a big home-cooked breakfast; worship at Tenth Presbyterian and tour the historic building; grab a picnic lunch; eat in Rittenhouse square while listening to ragtime music; wander around a July 4, 1902 festival; and return to our house via a very circuitous route past Eastern State Pennitentary, Girard College, St. Joseph's Prep, north Philadelphia's urban renewal, and Deliverance Evangelistic Church--just in time to head out to Lancaster to settle in at the seminary to begin his week of research. (Whoa, that has to be a record-breaking run-on sentence if I ever saw one.) And he probably thought he was going to have a restful time away from this three small children. Not while Joel's Tour-Till-You-Drop is in operation.
Joel helped me add a few more links to blogs. One addition, Great Scot, is the journal of one of my first pals from college, Jonathan Ferguson, who is in Taiwan teaching English. A particularly humorous aspect of this cross-cultural experience is the fact the Jon is 6'6" tall, trying to navigate in an environment of petite people.
The past two days, we had the privilege of hosting a Blog friend (in the flesh!), Tolle Blogge (aka Russ Reeves). Joel of course talked his ear off and dragged the poor man all over Philadelphia to show him our fair city. Just a warning if any others of you need a place to stay while in the area. ;-)
In a 24 hour period, Russ got to eat out and window shop in Manayunk; see La Salle's campus, historic Germantown, the Lutheran seminary, Fairmount Park along the Schuylkill River, Chinatown, Penn's Landing, and a 25-minute fireworks display; take several walks in Wissahickon Park with dog included; eat a big home-cooked breakfast; worship at Tenth Presbyterian and tour the historic building; grab a picnic lunch; eat in Rittenhouse square while listening to ragtime music; wander around a July 4, 1902 festival; and return to our house via a very circuitous route past Eastern State Pennitentary, Girard College, St. Joseph's Prep, north Philadelphia's urban renewal, and Deliverance Evangelistic Church--just in time to head out to Lancaster to settle in at the seminary to begin his week of research. (Whoa, that has to be a record-breaking run-on sentence if I ever saw one.) And he probably thought he was going to have a restful time away from this three small children. Not while Joel's Tour-Till-You-Drop is in operation.
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