The beauty of inflections
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Elizabeth's LiveJournal:
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| Friday, April 24th, 2009 | | 4:17 pm |
teaching blog
I'm starting a new blog about my teaching. For privacy's sake, it is invitation-only. Please let me know if you're interested in reading it, and, assuming I know who you are, I'll invite you. If you don't think I have your current email address, please let me know that as well. | | Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 | | 2:04 pm |
animated movies
Last night my mom and I decided to go to the movies, and after much waffling, picked The Tale of Despereaux over The Curious Case of Benjamin Button because the former was shorter and we were going to a somewhat late showing. In retrospect, I think we should have gone the other way. Mom enjoyed the film more than I did, but she hasn't read the book. I tried hard not to spend the whole movie comparing it to the book, but I kept thinking how much depth of character had been lost in the re-writing. ( I don't think these are really spoilers, but I'll put them behind a cut anyway. ) In conclusion: I advise you (strongly!) to read the book if you haven't already, but you can give this film a pass. In related news: Neil Gaiman's Coraline is also being made into a movie. On the plus side, it's being directed by Henry Selick, who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas. On the minus side, I wasn't wowed by the trailer. It seems a bit razzle-dazzle, whereas in my head I pictured Coraline's other world as something like Jan Švankmajer's bleakly (and creepily) fantastical Alice. But that's not a movie for kids, unless you want to give your kids nightmares. | | Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 | | 2:27 am |
summer skies, the stars are falling
The Perseids are here again. When I was young, Bill would take us to the golf course, which was as far as we could easily get from our neighborhood street lights. Once the police kicked us out, because "the park is closed after dark". Tonight, Josh and David and I drove up Page Mill into the hills sometime after midnight, with blankets and thermoses of cocoa. We spread out on the dry grass by the entrance to a park right around moonset, and talked about science fiction and space travel. When you are looking for meteors, you begin to second-guess your eyes - was that one? Was that? - and so it's hard to be certain of the little ones. About half a dozen times, though a blaze of light cut across a significant piece of sky, several times leaving a momentary trail behind. Amazing. Meteors are like fireworks for the contemplative and the patient. After an indeterminate length of time, somewhere around when I was wishing I had worn a second sweatshirt (in addition to the long underwear, flannel shirt, windbreaker, and wool socks) we noticed the western part of the sky was losing contrast, the fainter stars fading, like an overexposed negative. The fog was coming in from the sea. We couldn't quite see it moving, but soon Cassiopeia vanished, and then the whole sky was soft and gray. We drank the cocoa and folded the blankets. The air felt soft in the mist, which caught the beams of light from cars driving down the curves of Page Mill. Other stargazers, also giving up, going home. Soon we were among them, on our way to bed. | | Thursday, June 26th, 2008 | | 4:04 pm |
getting crafty!
I feel like I'm putting my first week of summer vacation to good use. So far I have: -cleaned my room -slept a lot -read some -spent an afternoon walking all over Golden Gate Park, including the Conservatory of Flowers and the Botanical Gardens -been crafty! Eric left a bunch of old clothes at my apartment, because he has a slight confusion between my apartment and Goodwill. Included were, predictably, a lot of only slightly worn Banana Republic stretchy t-shirts, which is kind of the Eric uniform. I had previously acquired one or two of these for sleepwear, because they are comfy, but they are not very girly. So I sat down with scissors and needle and thread, and an hour or two later had this! More feminine, yes? And check out the cute bow on the back. Success! | | Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 | | 7:09 pm |
Writer's Block: Your Theme
Hmm. For daily life, I think mine might be "Chelsea Morning" by Joni Mitchell. Or "We're Going to be Friends" by the White Stripes. Or else something off the Amelie soundtrack. | | Monday, March 31st, 2008 | | 9:21 pm |
| | Thursday, February 21st, 2008 | | 12:17 pm |
piano?
Should I buy a piano from Craigslist for $100? Or is that idea Just Plain Dumb? Edit: It was sold to someone else. This is probably for the best, all in all. | | Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 | | 2:37 pm |
letters to those who cannot reply
Dear Isaac Asimov, You wrote mysteries! They are delightful. Of course, you also wrote science fiction mysteries, like that sequel to "Marooned Off Vesta", but these are so excellent. They're so exactly your style, but mysteries. I love your little homages to Agatha Christie. I am sorry that you are dead. Otherwise I would actually write to you by post. Your charmed fan, Elizabeth --------------------------------- Dear Clouds, What are you doing out tonight? I cannot see the eclipse at all. Please go elsewhere, at least for a few hours. Then you can return whenever you please until December 2010, when this happens again. Disappointedly, Elizabeth --------------------------------- Dear Christmas tree, It really is time for us to part, isn't it? I always have trouble with these goodbyes. Fondly, Elizabeth --------------------------------- Dear Cinnamon Rolls, I'm sorry I screwed you up on the first batch. I don't know just what I did, except when I was done I had a lot of extra melted butter, and you wound up sort of tough. I didn't mean to give you less than my best. I made up for it in the second batch, though, by paying extra-close attention. And oh, you responded well to that. You were soft and gooey and wonderfully sticky. Than k you! Sweetly, Elizabeth | | Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 | | 12:24 pm |
| | Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008 | | 6:07 pm |
opinions, please
I'm updating/rewriting my resume. I've used Microsoft Word for this job in the past, but must admit it's a bit finicky. (There's something odd going on with the bullets so they are not 100% consistent (though too close to tell just by looking at the printed document).) Should I use something different? I know LaTeX looks very nice, but I have never used it before and don't want to spend twenty hours learning how. How steep is the learning curve? Should I look at some other program? Other advice? | | Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 | | 6:49 am |
Wednesday morning
To all the students, tech workers, &c. who have always wondered why we don't stay on daylight savings time all year: it is because of people like me. I, too, am saddened that it gets dark around 5:15 these days, but right now I've been out of bed for 20 minutes and there's just enough light in my kitchen for me to see my Cheerios. By the holiday break, I know I'll be leaving the house in the dark again, though. Last night I went swing dancing for The First Time. I went to about two or three lessons back at Swarthmore in 2004, and really didn't remember anything from them, so I was nervous. Tuesday is also not a great try-something-new kind of day for me, because I usually feel a bit mentally exhausted from a day of school, and, indeed, last night I had a headache. But there were so many wonderful people in from out of town - Em! Jamie! Joy!!! - who were going, not to mention wonderful locals, that I had to try it out. And it was fun. It dawns on me that I write in ways I specifically instruct my children not to write. I guess the difference is that I know what rules I'm breaking when I break them. Thanksgiving is going to be marvelous. | | Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 | | 11:09 pm |
Earthquake!
I was driving in Sunnyvale, and stopped at a traffic light - but my car kept moving. Shaking, really, almost a rolling feeling. My first thought was, "Who's playing music with too much bass?" But I couldn't hear anything. Next thought: "Is something wrong with my car?" Nope, it was a 5.6 earthquake centered south of here. Apparently the biggest damage it caused was along the lines of a broken jar of jelly here and there. Certainly I am unhurt, as is everyone I know. I do think I might have alarmed my mom by answering her phone call, "I'm fine! I'm not hurt!" It turns out she hadn't heard... was calling for unrelated reasons. Oops. | | Friday, June 29th, 2007 | | 10:09 am |
mix swap
So I'm going to be driving across the country this summer. The following things are essential for a road trip of thousands of miles: trail mix, coffee, maps (though a lack thereof would make for an exciting trip), and MUSIC. The last is possibly best accomplished by mix CDs. Ideally from one's friends. Thus: If you send me a mix CD, I will mail you one in return. Leave me a comment or send me an email with your address, and I'll send you mine. (I know I have an outstanding bargain of this sort with one of you *cough ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) foxfourcough* - I'm working on your mix. Let me know what you want. Also, are you still in Swarthmore?) If you want a mix with a certain theme (examples: Canada, pirates, transportation, contra, music to dance around to while baking bread), or in a certain genre, let me know that; otherwise I'll just take a guess based on what I know of you. Incidentally, I don't care if I know you well in real life, or not at all; I'm still curious to hear what you listen to. I have some 70 hours of driving ahead of me - give us something new to sing along with. p.s. Why haven't you seen Once yet? I mean it. Current Music: Once soundtrack, again. | | Thursday, June 28th, 2007 | | 3:00 pm |
If you haven't already, I very much recommend that you go see the movie Once. Beautiful cinematography and lovely music and a sweet story. | | Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 | | 9:43 am |
seven glorious, the after-school special
Well, it's not really after school, because I 'm still working on reports. First of all, several things that are not glorious: 1. I have failed to buy a car. I was thisclose (I had signed an agreement to purchase!) and the dealership that my dealership was going to trade with sold the car to someone else. So I'm not sure where that leaves me, other than without a car. Fortunately, there is time before I need a car. 2. My desktop is now having Issues. Or possibly A Subscription. I was trying to transfer data to the laptop (!!!) (I need to name it) and managed to upset the desktop (which never had a name). It turns out that it has thought, for the past two years, that it was still supposed to be connecting to the Swarthmore server, and I finally managed to make it realize that it hasn't been. Thus, I now can't log in to my desktop. My data is there, but I can't get at it... the bright spot is that a bevy of computery friends have been helpful, and Nick (taking up his Dorm Tech sword and shield again) thinks he can recover my data. 3. There has been a LOT of working on reports lately. ...on to the glorious: 1. Although working on reports takes a lot of time, and is not the most fun, it is pretty non-painful. Also, I am earning money for it, not to mention a lot of gratitude. I've taken on more work than I normally would have had in my position, and it is clear that the people involved appreciate that. That's a really nice feeling. 2. I had a very nice game of Scrabble last night, and managed to play "queer" on a triple word score, also gaining points for "damager". 3. I was out walking yesterday and found a Starbucks card lying on the pavement. It turns out it had $14 on it! At the rate I go to Starbucks, that's about a year's worth of free chais. 4. I get my roommate back today. I've missed him. 5. Pandora, which has helped me get through these evals. 6. I managed to go for a second run yesterday, before breakfast. Following the rule of returning to running*, it felt pretty awful. But I did manage to run for 20 minutes, which was my goal. Also, Nick has shown me this Google Maps application for tracking distance, which is fantastic. 7. Picnics with Sarah - two of them - bread and cheese and fruit and chocolate; my favorite kind of meal, all on a picnic blanket in the park. I think I could picnic every meal all summer long and still be delighted by it. 8. On the walk home, I came across a lemonade stand on Sand Hill, run by three kids. The younger boy was holding up a big marker-drawn sign that said "LEMONADE STAND 25 CENTS A CUP", and they had a toy cash register on a table. I pulled a quarter out of my pocket before I crossed the street, and was greeted by a hopeful, "Would you like some lemonade?" The taller boy pulled the pitcher out from under the table and poured me a sizable cup. These kids are not making a profit, I mused, though fully aware that the endeavor had doubtlessly been bankrolled by mom and dad. "Have you had much business?" I asked them, and the girl shook her red hair. "No, you're the first one," the tall boy said. Who knows how long they'd been there, for under ten cents apiece... I wished them well, and they waved back at me when I turned around half a block later. I drank my lemonade as I walked through neighborhoods where kids skateboarded (why is it that kids know so much better than we do how to just "mess around"?) and a field of dry grass where ground squirrels darted into holes. I called Katie when my lemonade was gone, just because I had to tell someone about it, and we made a pact to always buy lemonade from every stand we came across, just to make the world a little better. I've found so much out here to love. *My experience, every time I come back to running after a hiatus, is that the first run back feels pretty good and reminds me why I liked running so much. The second run makes me feel like I'm going to die, right there on the side of the road. On the third run I've regained a little ability and it feels great. Despite this, I never go on the fourth run, and months later have another pretty good first run. | | Sunday, June 17th, 2007 | | 10:18 pm |
mood control
It's one of those transition times again. Mood control: coffee with lots of sugar (bought for me is a plus), windows down, 70 mph, '90s pop on the radio, singing along. Soon I will be home, where huge green maple leaves are a canopy over the picnic table where my mother will serve sliced strawberries and I will drink beer with Bill. These are the things Eric left: a shoebox, his bicycle, a pair of jeans that fits me, clothes to take to Goodwill, about ten M&Ms in the bottom of the bag, and (!) a laptop for me to use on long-term loan. My guitar is sad that no one will play "Hey There Delilah" on it for six months. I have let tea mugs lie around the house. I should gather those into the dishwasher. Mood control: running with Nick, along the Embarcadero, under the watch of the Bay Bridge, feet bouncing out the old familiar running rhythm. Lately I keep comparing my life to media. Which friends are like a sitcom, which parts of my experience are like a movie, when the camera would pan out wide and what music would be on the soundtrack. On Friday night, we ran around the playground and played on the swings and then lay looking up at the stars and drinking champagne. I was giddy over how wonderful it is to have friends. Someday I'll be able to climb all the way to the top of the rope at the rock gym without pausing to rest my arms even once. I wish I were done with work. It will be good to earn some more money, but it also would be good to get some of the other loose threads in my life cleaned up. Mood control: sleep. | | Thursday, May 17th, 2007 | | 10:29 pm |
are all computers crazy today?
Every time I hit my apostrophe key in Firefox, the find toolbar pops up at the bottom. This is inconvenient if, for example, I want to use a contraction or show possession. Wait, it's not happening in this window. It was happening when I was posting a comment on kid_prufrock's journal, though. Is this normal? | | 5:00 pm |
email I got to send today
Subject: library7 From: myaddress@myschool.org Date: Thu, May 17, 2007 10:57 am To: techhelp@myschool.org Priority: Normal Hithere, ThespacebaroncomputerLibrary7doesnotwork. thanks, Elizabeth | | Saturday, May 5th, 2007 | | 9:30 pm |
| | Monday, April 23rd, 2007 | | 9:18 pm |
songs revealed
Answers to the music quiz behind the cut. If you want to take a stab at it first, click on the link above. ( No, just give me the answers, darn it! )It was fun for me to guess which of you would guess what... that's always my favorite part of these. I also felt like that represented my musical tastes fairly decently. There was a heavy dose of nostalgic music near the beginning but it wound up with a song Mike sent me on a mix... I liked that, too. Looking at all the things in brackets, you can get an idea of how weird it is when I choose "Shuffle Songs" on my iPod. Nevertheless, I do it ALL THE TIME. I'm not sure what this says about me. |
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