Practicing Diction

RC, the southern belle who works in my office is going to read a sonnet by Shakespeare for her goddaughter's wedding in New York next month. She lamented, "No one will uhndastand a whord I say," and then read the sonnet with hard "r's" like a Northerner.

While we were walking outside today, I heard her mumbling something. When I asked about it, she said, "Whan that Aprille..." and went on with the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales. Now, we all know that Lyssie is an expert at Middle English (I forgot which post that was...), but I was surprised that RC turned to Chaucer to practice her diction. She told me that she had to memorize the Prologue in school. I told her I did too.

Of course she printed out the whole thing for us to practice together.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Tonight there is a total eclipse of the moon at around 10:20pm (Eastern Standard Time). Check out this diagram on the NASA website to see the timeline. As I'm excited about this, I'm trying to think of the best place to see it... I read somewhere that it might be turn bright or blood orange and even turquoise. I love moments like these that have the potential to make me feel small and connected like sitting on my backpack during lightning storms.

As I was thinking about writing this post last night, I started singing the words from, "Total Eclipse of the Heart." I wish I knew all of the lyrics, but it sounded like, "Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit lonely and dah dahdadada dadadada dah dah... turn around and I get a little tired of listening to the sound of my tears... TURN AROUND bright eyes... and I need you tonight and I need you more than EVER and if you only hold me tight... I'll be holdin' on FOREVER..."

After I got out of the shower, I asked Roomie, "Do you know what that song means?"

She said, "No, but you've been singing it for the last hour."

I laughed, and she added that it's probably about someone who is so in love that her heart is totally eclipsed by love. I thought it was about someone with unrequited love who is pining. I called tinytinbird and she agreed with Roomie.

I asked her if it would make sense to link "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with the unrequited friendship that I have with my friend who is angry with me. She said, "No."

I started remembering the connection between Brain and this song. When we were in college, we used to perform at open mike night in the dining hall during dinner. Most of the time, we told innocent jokes and used Nate as the protagonist. We'd read these jokes in the Country magazines that Brain's grandma would send to him and then repeat them during dinner. Nate would leave as soon as we walked on stage. (I'll have to post some of these jokes later. They are really wholesome!)

Sometimes, we'd sing songs like Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere" with an interpretive dance. I still remember the moves to "Can you hear me callin'? Out your name... you know I'm falling and I don't know what to say..." It was a hoot. We brought the house down.

I don't remember if "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was one of those songs, or if I just remember Brain knowing all of the lyrics from another situation. It impressed me, though.

What impressed me even further was seeing that Brain's sisters still have the same love for this song. In December, I witnessed the passionate interpretation (again, knowing all of the lyrics) of Bonnie Tyler's hit song.

Tinytin suggested that I might do a compare/contrast essay about my easy and fun relationship with Brain verses this more difficult and complicated relationship with this other friend. Without getting too analytical (I do have to do some work today...), I guess I just have these two hypothetical images in my mind:

Both involve watching the eclipse. One is with my new friend, the other is with Brain.

In the first situation, I can picture myself timing a serenade of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" to match the total eclipse of the moon. I can picture this friend being angry at me and telling me that I'm insensitively teasing him. I'd apologize and miss the moon for being eclipsed by reasons and explanations...

In the second situation, I picture Brain creating choreography with his lovely bride to this song. He would have her walking in front of him as the eclipse would be beginning. He'd start softly, "turn around," she'd have some dramatic moves, and he'd go on with the song as the eclipse continued. It would crescendo to the big moment when the eclipse would be completely happening and he would be singing, "I REALLY NEED YOU TONIGHT! Forever's gonna start tonight. Forever's gonna start tonight."

Let me live like this.

President's Day

Happy President's Day! Brain used to say that it's the most romantic day of the year. I hope he's giving his lovely bride a President's Day treat today. Maybe I'll send out some cards... Like the one he made once with a picture of George H.W. Bush that said on the back, "Read my lips... then kiss them." To all the single gals and guys out there: get ready. Love is in the air.

Palliating the Pink Pepster

Last summer we had a superhero party. Pandora went as the Fruity Barbarian, Billy went as Infinite Nasty (I think?), Julie went as the Master of Etiquette (very fitting), and I went as the Pink Pepster. I liked to pep people up with positive notes like, "Hey, did anyone ever tell you that your eyes are beautiful?" and cheerleading during our kickball game. Here's the Pepster in Action:

My pal from Vacamas, KevIN actually commented about my huge "knickers." Just so you know, the first rule in superhero-ing is to cover the tush, Kev.

Kickball, not so great. Cheering, the BOMB. I had the crowd cheering with Jersey accents, which is the way that I learned to cheer, "We're dynamite, we're dynamite, we're tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick tick-tick BOOM! Dy-na-mite! We're BOOM! Dy-na-mite!" I didn't make the squad in second grade, but I bet I'm one of the few who still remembers all of the cheers.

I like to be optimistic. All is usually well I'm getting enough sleep, food, and exercise. When not, I turn into not so cute Katies. Nate used to have a gallery of Nerd candies on his windowsill entitled, Nerds that Look Like Katie. Each had a little post-it note next to it with descriptions like, Morning Katie, Low-Blood Sugar Katie... It was really quite touching and artistic. I think the arts section of the Colby Echo reported that his exhibit was, "Nuanced, yet dynamic."

Most of the time, it works out a-okay for me to be positive. And actually, a lot of the time, I'm not walking around giving people rainbow stickers and daffodils. I mean, get real people! But I strive to remain an optimistic and compassionate person.

At times, however, this Pepster attitude messes me up. It's late as I write this, and I know that the Pepster will have a little less shine under her eyes tomorrow. But tonight was interesting; it has made me think about my behavior and attitude, especially in past relationships.

So with the goal of being brief, protecting my (and other people's) privacy, and not making this a public diary or therapy session, here are the top three reasons why the Pepster should dull herself in relationships sometimes.

1. It's annoying. Sometimes you have to be a little whiny to really bond with coworkers and friends. People know that you are real and not putting off a holier-than-thou front. (Let's face it, Cynical Katie and Bitchy Katie are fun, too.)

2. She becomes a Perpetual Cheerleader: Sometimes people fall into patterns of being grumpy. These people aren't her arch-nemeses like the Abysmal Aficionado or anything, but it takes a toll on the pep. For one, the Pepster risks burning out from constantly being stretched to use her powers. For two, the Pepster never has time to dabble with other Nerd personas. For three, the Pepster becomes an enabler and accepts inappropriate behavior just to avoid conflicts. In conclusion, the Pepster needs to accept if people want to be perpetually pissy.

3. Pepster isn't always clear with her intentions. Sometimes the Pepster flirts. Sometimes she means to. Sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes people think that she is putting off one vibe, while she means another one. Sometimes she knows she is putting out a flirty vibe when she doesn't really mean it, but doesn't know why she puts out that vibe. (Come on, now, Pep. Be honest now, could Elly's old Vacamas song that is sung to the tune of La Cucaracha have anything to do with it? You know the one, "I want attention, I want attention. Lalala lala lala!") Hmm.

I'll add these points to my Super Super Manual.

I appreciate Trish and Nate being my superheroes tonight and reminding me that it's okay to be a little human every now and then. Maybe I'll call Clark Kent to see if he has another pair of glasses.

Go Bull Dogs!

Since being at the University of Arkansas, my pal Brain has really embraced the Razorback culture. He can quote stats and talk about the football coach for many minutes. He even met someone named (from birth) Ray. Middle name: Zorback. Put it together and you'll see that their fans are a little bit more hog-wild than our polite Colby White Mule fans. This logo (below) is actually a little tougher than the one that was presented when I was in college. I tried to find the older logos that was a cartoon of a horse-type animal with a big head and little body. Its eyes were huge as if opened in fear, pleading, "Please don't hurt me." They were kind and sad eyes.

Since being a new student at UNC Asheville with my 3 credit hours, I think I'm going to follow my friend's lead and embrace our little UNCA Bulldogs.

I'm only going to wear blue and white on the day of the "big game." Who knows if that big game is football or gymnastics or basketball. Hey, UNC-Chapel Hill is pretty good at basketball, right? I think that the sports fans don't actually call it "UNC Chapel Hill," though, I think they just call it "Carolina." Right? So is UNCA called "Carolina: Westside?"

There's so much to learn! I'm going to the bookstore to buy some drink cozies, little pom-poms and a stadium seat. GO TEAM!

.....

Actually, I think I need to reconsider this for a moment. My hesitation lies not in a lack of school spirit (I just thought of this cheer, "We're more than OK.. we're UNCA!"), but in the hyper-macho way that the bulldog looks.

I know that it's silly to put so much thought into the logo, but I love that branding stuff. I love clever packaging designs, posters, and book jackets. I do judge (and buy) books by their covers.

I used to read Adbusters for its anti-consumption stance, but then I discovered that I like it more for its artistic design. I like clever design, regardless of whether its intended to make me buy a belief or buy a burrito.

So when I started to look up these logos, I started to notice things like the little drip coming out of the Razorback's nose as if it were exhaling so violently that it spewed spit. Notice the eyes on the three logos on this page. I would describe them in this order: 1. scary and agressive 2. intelligent and discerning 3. insane and macho. I don't like those mean mascots. I'd rather have the confident and calm one like our sinewy mule.

Now, I know I'm not a competitive athlete (someone has to come in last place, right?), so maybe I'm missing something about how these mascots inspire the Venus Williams of the world. For all of you athletes out there... any thoughts? Maybe I'll go buy a REAL bulldog to inspire my school spirit.

Until then, I think I'll look into the Student Government Club.

Bettin' on Baby

My good friend Sarah is about to have a baby. It should be a good one, since Sarah and Charlie are fabulous.

Because we have bets on the due date, I hope she waits until the 22nd of January (down to the hour would be nice, but I'll take what I can get). There's a trophy involved.

The fact that Charlie suggested that we bet on Sarah's due date doesn't really surprise me since a wager has already been made on this baby... way back in 2001.

You see, Charlie and Nate were throwing rocks at a stump. Nate made the wager that if he hit the stump, he'd get: naming rights to Charlie's first born child and the right to have said child after his or her 8th birthday. (Nate didn't want the hassle of those first few years.)

Charlie lost the bet and Nate declared the child's name to be Sponge.

Sarah and Charlie were dating at the time, and they got married a couple of years later.

So about 9 months ago, Nate was visiting me in Asheville. It was a beautiful Saturday, so we went out to breakfast at the West End Bakery with all of the children under the age of 4 in West Asheville (and their parents, clearly). The bakery was brimming with board books and baby bjorns. As we were sitting outside, I asked Nate, "Do you think Sarah and Charlie will have a baby soon?"

Nate replied, "Ooooooh, I'm not ready."

I said, "Nate, you have 8 years to get ready..."

Later that day, Sarah called to tell us that she was pregnant.

Jump forward to last night. Sarah and I were talking about the birthdate bet, and I told her that one of two options would be ideal:

1. She holds off until January 22nd (I'd like that trophy...) or

2. She has the baby today (January 16th). It's Nate's birthday; he'd have an easier time remembering Sponge's birthday if Sarah have her baby today.

Sarah has always been the most grounded, wholesome, and logical of our friends. She could give us advice, cut our hair, and fix a car all within the same day. She's the beautiful mediator who smoothed me over when Nate spit in my face back in college. (Granted, I did tell him I had whooping cough and coughed on him... ) Sarah also understands the importance of bets in our lives.

This is all to say that I'm sure Sarah would help us all out.

She'd help Nate by having the baby today.

Or help me out by holding out until the 22nd.

And of course she'd help her husband out by helping him uphold his end of the bet.

Sure, she'll miss baby Sponge after his or her 8th birthday, but Sarah's that type of wonderful.