this is what I feel like doing today

I ran out of gas/so I bought a new car

I left the charger to my Portland phone in Las Vegas so I went to Cingular to get a new one but instead I just made it offish-offish. I live in Chicago now. I have a Chicago phone number. I also have an Illinois drivers license. When we were asked by another guest at our hotel in Jamaica where we were from, Ian and I, in unison, said: Chicago. Wow. I have begun this monster post about my first year here, y'know: trials-n-tribs, but it is just feeling so HEAVY. I have set it aside for later. In my mind too I have begun a post about our trip to Jamaica -- for those who are curious you can visit my flickr photos, they are the initial evidence.

If you need my new number, email me for it.

ps. I'm 28 now!

Jammin'

Tomorrow morning I will embark upon my first tropical vacay. Internet, do you dare me to get cornrow braids with shells on the ends?

I Scream For Memes

 

If I was-

-a month, I would be: May

-a day of the week, I would be: Saturday

-a time of day, I would be: Noon

-a planet, I would be: Saturn

-a direction, I would be: North

-a historical figure, I would be: Fannie Farmer

-a liquid, I would be: Half & Half

-a tree, I would be: Live Oak with places for sitting on

-a plant, I would be: Clover

-a flower, I would be: Apple Blossom

-kind of weather, I would be: Foggy

-a musical instrument, I would be: Recorder

-an animal, I would be: Mole

-a color, I would be: PMS 691U

-a fruit, I would be: Peach

-a sound, I would be: Soup Slurping

-an element, I would be: Earth

-a song, I would be: Gymnopedies

-a book, I would be: Sense & Sensibility

-a food, I would be: Hard-boiled Egg

-a place, I would be: Home

-a word, I would be: Scissors

-a scent, I would be: Cookies, baking

-a body part, I would be: Mouth

-an object, I would be: One earring

-a facial expression, I would be: A mouth chewing on its own inside

-a cartoon character, I would be: Fozzie Bear

-a psycholological disorder, I would be: Agoraphobia

-a state of mind, I would be: Daydreaming

-an event, I would be: Waking Up

-a religion, I would be: TBD

-a number, I would be: 10

-an occupation, I would be: Chef

-a sensation, I would be: Itch-Scratching

-an organ, I would be: Liver

-a mythological being, I would be: Elf

-a spiritual entity, I would be: I would not have enough discipline for this

-a dream, I would be: The one where you are in the grocery store, buying the stuff you normally buy. Totally like real life.

-a drug, I would be: Vitamins

-a feeling, I would be: Anticipatory

-a mineral, I would be: A thunder-egg

-a religious icon, I would be: A Wafer

-an art form, I would be: Fine Cuisine

-a symbol, I would be: ?

-a constellation, I would be: The Little Dipper

 

Whirlwind Travel Photo Essay

January is a very busy time in the world of umbrellas. This past two weeks I've been on the road constantly, in Orlando and now in Las Vegas. Here are some photos. Posing mannequin hands just never stops being funny.

further expansion to follow

Las Vegas is a hi-lo

J.R. Nelson, ladies & gentlemen

J.R., who is a truly gifted writer, bringing a truth-tear to my eye once again. Universe, I know I have asked you already on Ritchey's behalf, and I don't know where you're at with that -- but could you please put in a good word for my friend from Chicago? The world would be a better place for it.

In(ner)terior Designer

If I didn't have such a fun job travelling the USA and selling umbrellas to the wet & weary, I would be an interior designer. I love making home. I think I learned it from my mom. Anyway, I just found this, which is about to become the biggest time-eater of Winter-Ought-Six. It is like going for a lonely walk in the early evening, and none of the homes on the street have the curtains drawn and you can see in. A professor of mine once spoke of the Dutch during the enlightenment as never having curtains drawn -- there was nothing to hide. I love looking in on others' personal zones. So intimate & interesting.

Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Year