around the world race participant: giraffe division!

kittens got a new water dish today. the fountain one sprung a leak last night, so we splurged for the waterfall kind, thinking that since they like drinking out of the faucet...

they are all completely freaked out by it. it's kind of hilarious.

also, the muck on the wall by lola's dish is from all her sneezes. yuck.

there is a gigantic pigeon on my neighbor's roof. he's like the size of a small child. i sort of want to kiss him.

i'm trying to find a bike route to work. one that doesn't involve 4 lanes of traffic. it isn't easy.

high-fiver

1. all day nap mode
2. oatmeal with brown sugar
3. television recycling
4. mom
5. thai

24 more pola-packs arrive on monday.

in defence of boredom.

it's been kind of an issue since we've been in houston. me being bored. and in general i don't have much of a problem with it. i'm not a socialite. crowds and loud places make me want to cry. but i miss my friends. i miss sitting around and drinking coffee and playing canasta. i miss spending lazy friday mornings on the couch waiting for leah to get ready. and going to the occasional (and very very rare) show. and having lunch in a place that caters mostly to rich housewives and making fun of them and looooving the food.

but i suppose the issue is that i seem to be avoiding making friends here. and i'm okay with that. i know i shouldn't be such a hermit, but honestly, i'd rather spend 3 hours making shrinky dinks than having awkward conversation. and that's that. if i found someone who could do both (talk and help bake plastic), i'd be ecstatic. good friends are hard to come by.

back to boredom: i read an article last night about how boredom is almost a lost art. i happen to agree that some of the best things in life come from feeling bored: deep thought and creativity. for instance, my job requires very little thought, and i end up coming home with lists of new project ideas almost daily.

also, i have no idea what i'm talking about.

i need to start taking german classes.

they played the mountain goats on the bryant park project today. (yay)

hello.

tastes like chicken.

luckily, chicken isn't on the menu.

so really, what the hell is wrong with fathers in the galveston area? just a few months ago a guy tossed a baby out of a car and stomped it to death. and now. now one put an infant in the microwave. what?!?

as usual, i blame texas.

*****

i'm working on a few new things for etsy, so that's exciting. also, i can't wait to see run fatboy run. not that i'll see it anytime soon, but it sure looks funny.

also, here's what it looks like to make beer.

education is the key.

how i'm feeling.

more blurry
more quiet
a little hurt
a little hopeful

i'm having a bit of a rough week.

polaroid anxiety, which has led to the purchase of 39 packs.

i miss my friends. and my family. and a lot of things.

but i'll try not to whine anymore about it.

we're making beer this weekend. woo.

also.

seriously. best idea ever.

dear florida and michigan,

just hush it already! i mean, i'm terribly sorry that your primaries aren't popular like iowa or massachusetts, but YOU chose to break the rules so YOU get to deal with the consequences. so. let's be big boys and girls and quit with the whining. nobody wants to hear about it.

p.s. for everyone who isn't one of the aforementioned states, jeff got word today that he'll be receiving a mighty hefty fellowship which includes:

*10 grand more per year than i earned last year
*tuition
*money to buy a fancy pantsy new computer every once in a while
*some other monies for some other things that i don't remember
*and he gets to work at a lab of his choice (anywhere in the US) for 12 weeks.

vacation? i think so.

i'm really proud of him. apparently he's the only student at rice that is receiving this particular fellowship. 3 cheers for smarty pants!

p.p.s. my little book is now available in my etsy shop :)

from september to now.

• new worlds #5- various authors
• the western lands- burroughs
• bluebeard- vonnegut
• the adventures of huckleberry finn- mark twain
• skinny legs and all- tom robbins
• persuasion- jane austen
• the short stories- hemingway
• gravity's rainbow- pynchon
• brave new world- huxley
• as i lay dying- faulkner
• galapagos- vonnegut
• a farewell to arms- hemingway
• the sorrows of young werther- goethe
• emma- jane austen
• hocus pocus- vonnegut
• deadeye dick- vonnegut
• player piano- vonnegut
• sirens of titan- vonnegut

some of my favorites from today

steel drum.

there are technically a few days left of winter, however here on the gulf coast we seem to be nearing mid summer.

clue #1: i wore a tiny, almost non-existent tank under my regulation lightweight cardigan today and am currently sweating my ass off.

clue #2: the aisles at target were teeming with ladies destroying the poor swimsuit racks. while i am not in the market for one myself, i completely understand their need to go swimming on this nearly 90 degree day.

clue #3: topless convertibles never go out of style around here, but today i spotted one being occupied by a visor-wearing couple. i don't really know what else to say about that. i guess i didn't realize you could even buy visors these days.

and while i could come up with about 10 reasons why i shouldn't, i'm gonna go take a walk. i haven't taken any pictures in ages. i think my cameras feel rejected lately, and that makes me feel bad. plus jeff gets free beer at school today, so he won't be home for a while.

it's just hot. here's me being sweaty.

hey. you in the bushes.

big news!

after a month of me saying "please please please. but only if you have time. please. pretty pretty please...." erinroddy.com has had a serious overhaul. i finally got my act together and figured out what i actually wanted, and today i somehow made a cute enough face for jeff to put his homework down and help me make it happen. because he is awesome like that. and super cute, besides.

i'm kinda thinking about considering either looking into a masters program or maybe just taking some classes at one of the numerous universities in houston sometime. i found a job (at the museum of fine arts in houston) that i was literally drooling over, and the only requirements i'm missing are a few years experience in art conservation. now, i happen to believe that i possess this skill, but i really don't have any way to prove it without a degree of some kind or a job at a museum (which would most likely also require this same sort of experience...which really just isn't fair, but suppose necessary.) so. if you have any ideas of how i might be able to prove this, please let me know. or, if anyone has any ideas about how i might gain this experience without having to pay tuition, i would be much obliged. if i had been smart, i would've worked at the international photography hall of fame in okc when i had the chance. but obviously i'm not smart. "what do i need to learn conservation for," i probably thought to myself. ugh. THIS is why, erin. THIS.

also, the only reason i looked to see if the museum was even hiring for anything is because i was recently outed at work as a democrat (a.k.a. enemy). i've done so well at laying low since we've been here. and given my recent experience in dealing with the lovely combinations of day job + politics.... well, i'm just keeping my options open, that's all.

by the way.

super delegates are sons of bitches.

at least in texas.
or, rather, at least in harris county, houston, texas.

you know who you are.

it's becoming one of those days.

(these magnets are in my shop)

um...

for all those people who give me a hard time every year for refusing to get a flu shot, i give you this:

"Officials at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta say the flu vaccination-which usually prevents about 70 percent to 90 percent of infections- this year is effective against only 40 percent of the circulating viruses. That's because health officials guessed wrong about which viral strains would be most common this winter... Another problem this year is that flu viruses are evolving to be immune to anti-viral drugs..."

same old reason jeff doesn't allow anti-bacterial anything in the house. you have to get sick every once in a while to keep from dying from something stupid like a cold. just sayin'.

now. i'm gonna curl up with some kittens and watch pride and prejudice (and hope hope hope it's better than all the other versions i've seen, and maybe even resemble the book *gasp!*).

oh, mr. darcy.

also, i wish my resume had an appendix.

so far

these two ladies have been the cool kids in my shop. i need to make a few more this week.





also, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (Tom Robbins): great book, terrible movie. really awful.

his luggage is stuffed with good beer.

i just dropped jeff of at the airport, and thus begins my quiet week. he's spending his spring break in oklahoma (seeing NOFX) and colorado (skiing), and i'm spending his spring break crafting and shaving the cat. good times :)

it's amazing how much quieter things are when he's not around. and he doesn't even make that much noise.

also, i need to take some pictures. i haven't done much of that lately.