Instagram Envy

if you have to be stuck in the suburbs on a business trip, you can't ask for more than an H-Mart right next to your hotel. an oasis in a desert of chain store blandness, H-Mart offers riches such as over 20 different varieties of frozen noodles (spinach, buckwheat, sweet potato, vermicelli), fresh kim chi in quart-size deli containers to go, and a gazillion asian sodas (what's jujube???). for my dinner of champions, i selected a frozen jabchae entree (better than my lean cuisines at home) and a japanese red bean rice cake (that one not so good, i didn't finish it), paired with a cup of ginger tea. H-Mart, see you again tomorrow night!

OOJ: Lead Pencil Tricks

another verbal OOJ from work today:

kid: (pulling off the eraser on his lead pencil) i can do a trick with my lead pencil!

me: (in a fit of bravado) i know all the tricks one can do with a lead pencil!

kid: do you know how to put it under your arm and make fart noises?

me: (pause) no i do not know how to put it under my arm and make fart noises.

kid: you said you knew all the tricks!

me: i guess you proved me wrong.

OOJ: Office in the Sky

recently the universe gifted me with the best flight i've had in a long time, on southwest airlines from MDW to ABQ. the flight wasn't full, so i was able to snag a window seat near the front with an empty middle seat between me and the snoozing guy with the kindle in the aisle seat, giving me extra space to curl up my legs and spread out my stuff. i spent a near blissful 2.5 hours alternately reading magazines (NYT), practicing drum patterns on my lap ("Basic Rock [Variations for Bass Drum]" p. 10), and gazing out the window into the inky night sky. at 30k ft in the air with the constant engine drone as my soundtrack, i felt like i could write a book, compose a song- create anything. instead, i let my mind meander the mundane: how long can i wait until my next haircut (i got one last week)? what will i wear to work tomorrow? what will i search for on ebay when i get home (rebecca minkoff studded crossbody clutch)? up there, i had no idea where i physically was in space, and the absence of a geographical orientation somehow freed my brain- i hadn't realized how much energy i spend thinking about where do i need to be next, and after that, and after that. my day is a chain of place-hopping, so i'm constantly thinking forward. this flight allowed me to simply be. 

OOJ: Soup Mug

someday when i stop city-hopping, i will fill my home with pottery from new mexico. not delicate gilt porcelain, but solid, earth-toned pieces that look as if they were dug straight out of the ground. this soup mug is my newest find; i love not only its weight and texture, but also where i found it, at Hanselmann Pottery, a studio in Corrales, NM. the studio is open all the time, 24/7- i can walk in any time of day or night, pick out a piece of pottery, drop my payment in the locked box, and take it home. i can't wait to try this out at 2 a.m. someday. 

Happy Valentine's Day to Me!

i'm not a traditional person, but somehow i felt compelled to gift myself chocolate, perfume, and lacy red underwear this year. the funny thing is, i didn't plan this; i didn't realize i'd given myself the Valentine's trifecta until i was reviewing my purchases from this past week (though, to be fair, chocolate is a regular purchase for me). guess i do a good job at romancing myself :) 

OOJ: A Kid's Take on Eminem's "Monster"

here's me sitting next to a 4th grader, listening to Eminem's "Monster". the kid turns to me.

kid: who do you think the monster is in his song?

me (surprised by this insightful question about a lyric metaphor): well, i don't know, maybe 
it's his anger issues that he's struggled with his whole life.

kid: i think it's rihanna, because she screams a lot in this song.

Poem of the Day: Sherman Alexie, "Psalm Like It Hot"

i haven't had a POD in a while, but this one was just sent out by one of my favorite authors, Sherman Alexie. He's a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian now living in Seattle who- i think but i'm not sure- used to be a construction worker by day while cranking out fiction at night. i have this image of a guy walking into his apartment around 8pm, grunting a little, throwing down his hard hat on the floor with grimy fingers, and settling down at a typewriter with a beer at his side. that's how i picture Mr. Alexie 20 years ago. 

Psalm Like it Hot

I wanted to write "churning   water" but typed "churching"   instead. The water churches.   The water churched. The water   Will church again tomorrow.   I'm sure this typo has happened   To other people but has anyone   Ever called it a prayer?   I don't believe in God   But I talk to God anyway.   So, yes, I belong to the Assembly   Of the Hypocritical.   Come join us. Open   The hymn book and sing   To the (un)holy trio   Of the Farther, Sun.   And Holy Goat.