i have had a requested topic for a blog: poodle.
it has been asked that i share how exactly i came up with such an endearing, masculine, and loving nick name for my partner, Jesse. well i really cannot take all the credit. in fact, the nick name "poodle" can probably originate back to my parents.
my parents have had pets my whole life. when i was born they had a little schnauzer named Asta. when Asta died my parents decided to get another dog...a poodle... named Jessie. so when i started dating a Jesse it only seemed natural to find a way to be able to tell my childhood dog and my current partner apart.
i called Jessie, Jessie and I called Jesse, poodle.
at first it was only something that we shared privately, between the two of us. at times he would complain that it was an embarrassing nickname, but for the most part he tolerated it and with time he even began to respond to the name...
"hey poodle, what time did you say you'd get off work?"
"i should be done around 5."
there have been some hurdles and stabs at his "manhood" from the name. when his brother learned of the renaming he decided to brand Jesse's snowmobile with the large letters of POODLE so that Jesse's headlight would illuminate the name in the snow, but by year 3 Jesse wasn't even blinking an eye at his new identity.
so that is the story. that is how i started dating a poodle.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sky Gazing
skylights are a bit of an architectural luxury.
i can't even say there are many homes i have been in that have had one.
i have most definitely never lived in a home on my own that had a skylight...until now.
i do not believe i have ever truly described the joy that is my bedroom here in nyc.
when i was arranging to move to ny i was unable to visit the city to check out any apartments ahead of time. that work was left to my two roommates. when they found the apt we have now and were telling me it had 3 bedrooms, i was thrilled. i need my space.
later, amanda mentioned that one of the rooms was smaller. i asked if there was a window. she said yes. so i volunteered to have the smaller room since they had done all the leg work to find the space. how small could it be?
well. it is small. the long way is about my body length plus maybe another 1/4th of me. the width way is a little smaller than the length of a traditional yoga mat's.
yup, it is small. to make it even smaller, it has extremely high ceilings and high windows.
at times it can appear very prison like.
so the other night while i was laying on my floor level mattress, gazing up at my high window i realized i was looking out at a beautiful, clear, night sky.
i could see bright stars, a puff of clouds, and blinking lights of planes going in to land at LaGuardia Airport. then just tonight i was again laying in bed and a bright light shown in my room. when i looked up at the window i saw it was the light from an almost perfectly round moon shining down. gorgeous.
so while i may have an insanely small room, i do have something that most others don't... my new york version of an apartment skylight.
i can't even say there are many homes i have been in that have had one.
i have most definitely never lived in a home on my own that had a skylight...until now.
i do not believe i have ever truly described the joy that is my bedroom here in nyc.
when i was arranging to move to ny i was unable to visit the city to check out any apartments ahead of time. that work was left to my two roommates. when they found the apt we have now and were telling me it had 3 bedrooms, i was thrilled. i need my space.
later, amanda mentioned that one of the rooms was smaller. i asked if there was a window. she said yes. so i volunteered to have the smaller room since they had done all the leg work to find the space. how small could it be?
well. it is small. the long way is about my body length plus maybe another 1/4th of me. the width way is a little smaller than the length of a traditional yoga mat's.
yup, it is small. to make it even smaller, it has extremely high ceilings and high windows.
at times it can appear very prison like.
so the other night while i was laying on my floor level mattress, gazing up at my high window i realized i was looking out at a beautiful, clear, night sky.
i could see bright stars, a puff of clouds, and blinking lights of planes going in to land at LaGuardia Airport. then just tonight i was again laying in bed and a bright light shown in my room. when i looked up at the window i saw it was the light from an almost perfectly round moon shining down. gorgeous.
so while i may have an insanely small room, i do have something that most others don't... my new york version of an apartment skylight.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
QUICK NOTES
a quick note-- my computer is coming home from its vacation in Kentucky this week!
i am hoping to be able to update my blog more often starting next week.
please hang in there and check back. i promise my witty, clever, intelligent stories will continue to come as soon as i have a reliable writing source.
p.s. thank you for all the nice comments, suggestions, and thoughts i've been able to get from so many people!! not going to lie... feels kinda good. :)
p.s.s. i wanted to send out an early Congratulations!! to the future Mr. and Miss. Johnson who will be getting married this weekend! I am thrilled to see you tie the knot Matt and Annie. I wish you nothing but eternal happiness! Muah!
Monday, September 21, 2009
there goes another one
on saturday i was out walking with a friend.
we passed by a gentleman sitting on a bench.
"hey girls... hey girls..."
we paused a bit.
"you look like angels and my name is Charlie. Wanna be Charlie's angels?"
; )
Thursday, September 17, 2009
should have listened
if you know me well you know i can be a bit stubborn.
sometimes i do things just because they are different from the norm (poodle can probably relate to that). this was especially true when i was younger. when i was in 4th grade i wore mismatched socks for over a year so that i could be different from my peers. mind you, this wasn't just mismatching my socks under my jeans either--oh no-- this was the early 90s. these were the days of sturup pants and scrunch socks over the sturup pants so that the world could see my protest of social norms.
this continued through out my childhood and still does into my young adulthood. but now i am finding that some of the choices that i made in clear defiance of my parents, peers, and the world in the pare are now coming back to bit me in the ass.
case in point-- French vs. Spanish.
it is well known that in the United States Spanish is one of the most rapidly growing languages spoken in communities. as in many fields, it is becoming increasingly more valuable in the social service job market to be able to speak fluent Spanish. especially in large cities (i.e. NYC) where there are whole neighborhoods where no one speaks English (i.e. the neighborhood i live in here in Brooklyn). at my VISTA site in the Bronx i have assisted with 2 different health fairs in the last couple weeks. at those health fairs i would estimate that 70% of the communities members i have had come to my resource table spoke almost exclusively Spanish.
bummer i don't speak Spanish.
why don't i speak Spanish? my school system started offering classes in the language beginning in 6th grade through my graduation, and i was required to take at least 3 years of a foreign language. again i ask, so why don't i speak Spanish?
i had to be different. i had to do something that all the other kids weren't doing and of course i had to do the exact opposite of what my parents wanted me to do. i wanted to take French. i can still remember the argument i had with my parents when it came time to pick a foreign language. i clearly remember my mom telling me that French would not be beneficial when i was older and Spanish would help me in the long run. my dad urged me to reconsider and think about job opportunities.
no thank you to their advice. i wanted French.
so here i sit: unable to speak with half the people in my site community, barley able to mumble any French (laura can vouche for that), and thinking to myself i should have listened.
editor's note: our brave heroine is currently looking into cheap, entry level Spanish speaking classes in the city. wish her luck!
sometimes i do things just because they are different from the norm (poodle can probably relate to that). this was especially true when i was younger. when i was in 4th grade i wore mismatched socks for over a year so that i could be different from my peers. mind you, this wasn't just mismatching my socks under my jeans either--oh no-- this was the early 90s. these were the days of sturup pants and scrunch socks over the sturup pants so that the world could see my protest of social norms.
this continued through out my childhood and still does into my young adulthood. but now i am finding that some of the choices that i made in clear defiance of my parents, peers, and the world in the pare are now coming back to bit me in the ass.
case in point-- French vs. Spanish.
it is well known that in the United States Spanish is one of the most rapidly growing languages spoken in communities. as in many fields, it is becoming increasingly more valuable in the social service job market to be able to speak fluent Spanish. especially in large cities (i.e. NYC) where there are whole neighborhoods where no one speaks English (i.e. the neighborhood i live in here in Brooklyn). at my VISTA site in the Bronx i have assisted with 2 different health fairs in the last couple weeks. at those health fairs i would estimate that 70% of the communities members i have had come to my resource table spoke almost exclusively Spanish.
bummer i don't speak Spanish.
why don't i speak Spanish? my school system started offering classes in the language beginning in 6th grade through my graduation, and i was required to take at least 3 years of a foreign language. again i ask, so why don't i speak Spanish?
i had to be different. i had to do something that all the other kids weren't doing and of course i had to do the exact opposite of what my parents wanted me to do. i wanted to take French. i can still remember the argument i had with my parents when it came time to pick a foreign language. i clearly remember my mom telling me that French would not be beneficial when i was older and Spanish would help me in the long run. my dad urged me to reconsider and think about job opportunities.
no thank you to their advice. i wanted French.
so here i sit: unable to speak with half the people in my site community, barley able to mumble any French (laura can vouche for that), and thinking to myself i should have listened.
editor's note: our brave heroine is currently looking into cheap, entry level Spanish speaking classes in the city. wish her luck!
beware of the bite
i really love dogs.
i always grew up with dogs and i am truly looking forward to the day when i live in a stable enough environment to have my own.
until then, i will be forced to google all the 100's of dogs i see walking the streets of new york every day (that has been another awesome thing about new york...all the dogs!)!
but i found out earlier this week that even the simple act of smiling at a cute dog can bring comments from men; as i mentioned in a previous blog the comments from males to females in this city is constant.
while walking in the bronx with a coworker, a dog and his owner were walking towards us. it was a puppy with big, goofy paws and ears that'll take months for him to fully grow into.
i proceeded to do my normal routine i do almost every time i see an adorable pup, i started smiling and cooing how cute he was to my coworker. the dog's owner must have been able to read my facial expression because as we passed by the pair he leaned into me and said..
"if you wanna pet the dog you can pet the owner too."
seriously?
i always grew up with dogs and i am truly looking forward to the day when i live in a stable enough environment to have my own.
until then, i will be forced to google all the 100's of dogs i see walking the streets of new york every day (that has been another awesome thing about new york...all the dogs!)!
but i found out earlier this week that even the simple act of smiling at a cute dog can bring comments from men; as i mentioned in a previous blog the comments from males to females in this city is constant.
while walking in the bronx with a coworker, a dog and his owner were walking towards us. it was a puppy with big, goofy paws and ears that'll take months for him to fully grow into.
i proceeded to do my normal routine i do almost every time i see an adorable pup, i started smiling and cooing how cute he was to my coworker. the dog's owner must have been able to read my facial expression because as we passed by the pair he leaned into me and said..
"if you wanna pet the dog you can pet the owner too."
seriously?
Sunday, September 13, 2009
skype?...what's all the hype?
i have to apologize for not being able to write as often as i would like.
my computer suffered from a little "new city anxiety" and decided to stop turning on 2 weeks ago.
my roommate has been kind enough to let me use her computer while my computer is going through intensive therapy at Best Buy's Geek Squad.
i am hoping to get it back within the next week.
a new computer activity i tired this week though was skype.
if you have never skyped before it is using your computer to call another computer. then you are able to talk to the other person through your computer. if you have webcams you can even see each other on the screen.
my roommate amanda had been skyping with her sister and suggested i try it with poodle. i proposed the idea to poodle and he bought a webcam. we were both super excited at the idea of seeing eachother and talking. just like if we were at home in Crystal.
so friday was the big night we decided to skype for the first time. while amanda was setting up an account i started getting really nervous to see poodle; my palms began to sweat and my stomach was flipping all over.
right when we are about to make our connection i looked down and realized....
I WAS WEARING THE SAME TSHIRT THAT I HAD LEFT MPLS WEARING 3 WEEKS AGO!!!
poodle couldn't see me wearing the same shirt! this was going to be our first connection on skype and i had to make a good impression! so i ran into my room and had to find something else to wear! i decided on a red tank top.
it was time. amanda called poodle's computer and then he was on the computer screen. i couldn't help, but squeal a bit. we said awkward hellos, both smiling from ear to ear. i brought poodle on a tour of my apartment and then i took the computer into my room so we could chat privately. after we had settled in (and poodle went through 20 different camera angels to find the one he liked best) we sat and stared. there was nothing much else to say past our normal nightly conversations.
skyping was cool don't get me wrong, but i found that it didn't give me what i was looking for.
with the evolution of technology, personal touches disappear from communication. poodle and i can talk through out the day whenever we like--text messages, emails, cell phone calls--which is comforting to know, but also lacking the classic tones of romance.
my late grandpa was a very gifted artist. while he was courting my grandma he would send her postcards with beautiful pictures on them illustrating his love. my dad has a series of those postcards framed in his office and when i think of those i can't help but say...skype, what's all the hype?
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