As an English major, I've read a lot of books, including some classics, which I would have felt ok about skipping. However, it has come to the attention of some of my family and friends that I have not read all the books that perhaps I should have...specifically Grapes of Wrath. First of all, let me just say that there is simply not time in a high school and college education to read all of the classics, especially when they throw in history textbooks and other such books that consume a student's valuable time. Nevertheless, I am going to come clean once and for all. Here is a list of books that I am particularly ashamed to say I've never read:
Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell
Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
Les Miserables Victor Hugo
Little Women Louisa May Alcott
Lord of the Flies William Golding
Moby Dick Herman Melville
Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare (I know, I know...It's pitiful)
The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
The Last of the Mohicans James Fenimore Cooper
The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas
Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson
Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe
These are not the only ones, either. These are just the top twelve books I feel embarrassed about missing. On the master list of 24 books, you'd also find things like Madame Bovary, but I seem to have mustered the courage to press forward in life without that one. So anyway, that's my confession. I'm a bad, bad English major.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Engineering Blues
Today, I want to share with you all a special presentation brought to my attention by my dad. It's called "An Engineer's Guide to Cats." Perhaps it's mostly just funny to me because I'm married to one, but as a non-engineer, it's still pretty awesome if you like cats.
As the wife of an engineer, I can tell you that this is all so true. Engineers really don't eat. If I didn't feed him, I think Todd might starve. I also had the opportunity to have dinner with several of his classmates and their families. After hearing about the myriads of complicated and expensive engineering projects these people plan to do for fun, I felt much better about Todd's solar-powered rotating plant stand project.
As the wife of an engineer, I can tell you that this is all so true. Engineers really don't eat. If I didn't feed him, I think Todd might starve. I also had the opportunity to have dinner with several of his classmates and their families. After hearing about the myriads of complicated and expensive engineering projects these people plan to do for fun, I felt much better about Todd's solar-powered rotating plant stand project.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Glub Glub
I really have nothing to write about today, so I'm going to tell everyone about our miniature acquatic zoo. I know, exciting.
The Argyle Family Wildlife Center features three fascinating acquatic ecosystems. Billy, George, and Hank, our fire-bellied frogs, dominate the first. George, a bright green spotted creature, is the oldest resident and spends most of his time trying to figure out how to climb to the top of the tank and push open the screen. Billy likes to float on his belly in the "lake." Hank, sorely troubled by the lack of a female presence, constantly chirps in search of a lady love, which can be very annoying when we're trying to sleep. Sometimes, Hank throws conventionality to the wind and flirts with Billy, which usually results in a near drowning.
The resident "lake" is home to a variety of guppies, two large and very plain females, and three males with very frilly orange spotted tail fins. Occasionaly, we'll find a fresh batch of miniscule baby guppies. Unfortunately, these usually end up being sucked up by the filter, cannibalized by their parents, or being accidently flushed when we change the water. Our newest addition is a plecostomus, a gray algae eater, who I christened Slurp. I have to say I feel a little bit bad for Slurp, being the only gray ugly thing surrounded by all those frilly guppies.
The second tank is a tropical paradise, complete with a plastic rock island, REAL plants and moss (I know, we outdid ourselves), and a vine. You can stare at this tank for 15 minutes and not see anything if you aren't accustomed to Tarzan and Cheeta, our Vietnamese mossy frogs. They are fairly large and look just like mossy rocks. They like to hang on the glass with their sticky toes. Tarzan, like George, likes to hang out in the upper corners of the tank, looking for freedom. Cheeta sleeps most of the day, but readily wakes up when the biweekly crickets fall from the sky.
Finally, we must not forget Frank, Samantha, and Ralph. Todd bought Frank, an orange studmuffin, and Samantha, a spotted babe, as feeder fish, expecting them to die within a week. But they turned out to be Koi and have now grown quite large. Their days are pretty nondescript. I guess you don't have much of a life when you only have a three-second memory. They share their tank with Ralph, a small red-eared slider turtle. These are called red-eared sliders because of their red "ears" and their tendency to slide into the water at the slightest sign of danger. Sadly, Ralph's idea of danger includes me and Todd. We may not be intimidating or big to you, but I guess to a 4-inch skiddish turtle, we're horrifying monsters.
That concludes your backstage tour of the Argyle Acquatic Zoo. Tips are greatly appreciated, as our budget prevents expansion efforts.
The Argyle Family Wildlife Center features three fascinating acquatic ecosystems. Billy, George, and Hank, our fire-bellied frogs, dominate the first. George, a bright green spotted creature, is the oldest resident and spends most of his time trying to figure out how to climb to the top of the tank and push open the screen. Billy likes to float on his belly in the "lake." Hank, sorely troubled by the lack of a female presence, constantly chirps in search of a lady love, which can be very annoying when we're trying to sleep. Sometimes, Hank throws conventionality to the wind and flirts with Billy, which usually results in a near drowning.
The resident "lake" is home to a variety of guppies, two large and very plain females, and three males with very frilly orange spotted tail fins. Occasionaly, we'll find a fresh batch of miniscule baby guppies. Unfortunately, these usually end up being sucked up by the filter, cannibalized by their parents, or being accidently flushed when we change the water. Our newest addition is a plecostomus, a gray algae eater, who I christened Slurp. I have to say I feel a little bit bad for Slurp, being the only gray ugly thing surrounded by all those frilly guppies.
The second tank is a tropical paradise, complete with a plastic rock island, REAL plants and moss (I know, we outdid ourselves), and a vine. You can stare at this tank for 15 minutes and not see anything if you aren't accustomed to Tarzan and Cheeta, our Vietnamese mossy frogs. They are fairly large and look just like mossy rocks. They like to hang on the glass with their sticky toes. Tarzan, like George, likes to hang out in the upper corners of the tank, looking for freedom. Cheeta sleeps most of the day, but readily wakes up when the biweekly crickets fall from the sky.
Finally, we must not forget Frank, Samantha, and Ralph. Todd bought Frank, an orange studmuffin, and Samantha, a spotted babe, as feeder fish, expecting them to die within a week. But they turned out to be Koi and have now grown quite large. Their days are pretty nondescript. I guess you don't have much of a life when you only have a three-second memory. They share their tank with Ralph, a small red-eared slider turtle. These are called red-eared sliders because of their red "ears" and their tendency to slide into the water at the slightest sign of danger. Sadly, Ralph's idea of danger includes me and Todd. We may not be intimidating or big to you, but I guess to a 4-inch skiddish turtle, we're horrifying monsters.
That concludes your backstage tour of the Argyle Acquatic Zoo. Tips are greatly appreciated, as our budget prevents expansion efforts.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
A Tuesday Reverie
Oh, wow. I'm not sure what to say about all these inspired names! I'm simply torn between Jessica's "Gus Gus" and Mom's "Makahalan." Although I think Dad had a good idea with the cat thing, except that "Chester Argyle" would be even better than the others. It kind of sounds like an English aristocrat. Todd was looking at a baby names website and found names that mean "the fox," which is the meaning of his own name. There are some pretty interesting ones, including "Balgaire," "Crevan," "Devoss," and "Refr." So many choices!
It's my mom's birthday today. The big 37! Ok, not really, but she says birthdays make her feel old, and she can't be old until she has grandchildren. But I don't think being old is a prerequisite of being a grandparent. Look at my Grandma Palmer, for example. I think she does more in one day than I do in a week! My baby will have some pretty neat grandparents and an awesome great grandma. Anyway, happy birthday, Mom. :)
It's my mom's birthday today. The big 37! Ok, not really, but she says birthdays make her feel old, and she can't be old until she has grandchildren. But I don't think being old is a prerequisite of being a grandparent. Look at my Grandma Palmer, for example. I think she does more in one day than I do in a week! My baby will have some pretty neat grandparents and an awesome great grandma. Anyway, happy birthday, Mom. :)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...
Well, it's officially official! For those of you who thought I already graduated last month, that's not 100% correct. The University has no problem letting you revel in the graduation celebration and then never giving you a diploma. But now, according to the all-knowing, all-powerful Campus Information System website, I am now a honest-to-goodness card-carrying graduate. Yay.
I'm also another year older. I went to work yesterday 21 and left 22. Pretty exciting stuff. It was a very nice day, and I only threw up once! Whew! Thanks, Baby A.
Speaking of babies, I thought it would be fun to hear everyone's suggestions for baby names. No guarantees of course, especially if you propose that I call it Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz or Mohonrimoriancomur (that means you, Jessica).
I'm also another year older. I went to work yesterday 21 and left 22. Pretty exciting stuff. It was a very nice day, and I only threw up once! Whew! Thanks, Baby A.
Speaking of babies, I thought it would be fun to hear everyone's suggestions for baby names. No guarantees of course, especially if you propose that I call it Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz or Mohonrimoriancomur (that means you, Jessica).
Thursday, June 5, 2008
I'm Back!
I know, I know, it's been forever since I updated my blog! My sincerest apologies. The truth is, I haven't had much to write about until now. But now I can finally tell everyone the good news. I'm about to join the ranks of the moms. We're expecting a new little bundle of joy in January. Around January 19. We just saw the doctor yesterday, which was pretty fun. So if my mom hasn't called you yet (and there's a good possibility that she has), now you know. Right now I'm nice and sick. I've been trying to perfect methods of keeping down my breakfast. Unfortunately, none of these methods seem to work on a consistent basis. Any suggestions?
In other news, I'm looking for a new job. After riding around in the cold rain for four straight hours yesterday, sniffling, coughing, and trying not to puke, I just about quit. I thought it was supposed to be summer by now! The only problem is that we can't afford me not having a job. So if anyone has any bright ideas on where I can look for a job in writing or editing, I'm all ears.
Well, there's not too much else going on. Todd's on a house plant kick, so I'm letting him build a rotating solar-powered plant stand for our many green friends that he's so fond of. I finally got my car back after my last car mishap and I'm really happy not to be taking the bus, mostly because it means I can sleep for an extra half-hour. That may not sound like a lot, but when it's the difference between 5:30 and 6:00 in the morning, it's a BIG difference.
I'm signing off for now, but I'll try to update a bit more often. :)
In other news, I'm looking for a new job. After riding around in the cold rain for four straight hours yesterday, sniffling, coughing, and trying not to puke, I just about quit. I thought it was supposed to be summer by now! The only problem is that we can't afford me not having a job. So if anyone has any bright ideas on where I can look for a job in writing or editing, I'm all ears.
Well, there's not too much else going on. Todd's on a house plant kick, so I'm letting him build a rotating solar-powered plant stand for our many green friends that he's so fond of. I finally got my car back after my last car mishap and I'm really happy not to be taking the bus, mostly because it means I can sleep for an extra half-hour. That may not sound like a lot, but when it's the difference between 5:30 and 6:00 in the morning, it's a BIG difference.
I'm signing off for now, but I'll try to update a bit more often. :)
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