Austen

Tim has to read Pride and Prejudice for a class of his, so I have decided to read it with him, as I periodically do. (Like when I read Cat's Cradle--the entire book--out loud to him in the course of our drive to and from Boise over Thanksgiving weekend. This was a new experience for me.) This will be my second time reading the novel, I believe. I haven't studied a lot of Jane Austen, and so I hesitate to be a literary critic and publish my thoughts on my blog . . . but whatever, I will anyway.

I can't deal with the ridiculousness of Austen's novels, though intentional, at times. I read Sense and Sensibility not long ago and was frustrated by the lack of depth in characterization and lack of development of the relationships of the characters.

Pride and Prejudice is one of her better novels for this reason, in my opinion. The relationships that end in marriage (as they always must in Austen) are actually developed more, it seems, and the characters themselves are more believable and likable to me. Emma was so annoying to me when I read it like four years ago because I just hated Emma's character and didn't think she deserved anything, but I quite enjoyed the recent BBC film adaptation currently airing on PBS (which was introduced to me through another blog, and which we watched in ten-minute installments here). (And so did Tim.)

Anyway, here's a quote from Pride and Prejudice that I just read and sort of find to be apt, or at least partially true (but with its limitations of course):

"I wish Jane success with all my heart; and if she were married to him tomorrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness as if she were studying his character for a twelve-month. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation, and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life."
(Vol.1, Chapter 6)

before and after

Gee, I really wish I had the photos. But I was stupid enough not to take them. Just like I'm stupid enough to miss the exit I need for the airport three (count them, THREE) times. I'll never forget that I-80 is the freeway to be gotten on. You wouldn't think driving to the airport would be that hard. But apparently it is. Or it was for me this morning. (Sorry Lindsey! Let's laugh in twenty years. Right now, I'm still in pain over it.)

But let me paint a picture with words:

Imagine a crockpot. I put in some curry stuff (very descriptive, I know) to cook in said crockpot. Later on, I came home, excited to cook the rice to go with it and EAT (which I love doing, can I just say that?), and saw not what I put in the crockpot, but rather, its charred remains. A solid mass of black, burned to the edges of the crockpot, burned to itself. Sending up killer odors instead of the delightful (although strong) scent of curry.

This was a week ago. After alternately soaking, washing, scraping, Bar Keeper's Friend (thank you, Sarah), and oven cleaner (with overnight action), an additional washing (all occurring over the ensuing week period, approximately), I think it might be salvaged.

Glory be.

I didn't think it was possible, but apparently, miracles do happen.

P.S. Do you ever do really stupid things? But then it ends up being ok?

I have an announcement

I like spaghetti.

once upon a time

A high school friend recently posted a status on Facebook that said

" J____ loves a kicking baby."

I really love reading things wrong.

I read "J____ loves kicking a baby."

Delightful. Mostly because I'm fairly positive she is a good mother, and a kind human being, and certainly, if she weren't, she wouldn't broadcast the fact on Facebook.

Which blog to blog?

I didn't know where to post the Christmas tree lauding, so I decided to do both (via a reference on this blog to the oft-neglected married-person blog)!

Here's the link:
http://timandarowan.blogspot.com

I'm not shy about drawing attention to this in all the ways I can think of (Facebook, other blogs, etc.). I'm mostly hoping that someone will really appreciate my bloggage. And that somehow, I'll know they appreciate it. When people comment on my blog, it makes me feel so good.

And tell me please: Why is that the case?

Chicago!

This post may not be what you think it is. Mostly I'm talking about the Chicago Manual of Style. You know, the orange bible?

I've been having this problem of late, so I decided to ask Chicago about it (via their Q+A).

I even composed a rhyme--a sort of rain dance--for good luck:

Got a burning grammar question, or maybe two.

Chicago, I'm counting on you to pull through.

(Q+A, Q+A, Q+A, rah-rah-rah!)

Here it is (If you have any thoughts, please tell me.):

I know that 6.123 says that a question mark should never accompany a comma or period because it is stronger than these punctuation marks. But what about a colon? I have several times wanted to compose a sentence with a similar structure to the following:

"Which of the two following phrases are more correct?: 'our house, mine and Tom's,' or 'Tom's and my house.'"

I don't know how to punctuate this sentence. (And on an unrelated note, I'm not sure how to avoid awkwardness when it comes to joint possessives where one of the possessors is a first-person personal pronoun.) Is there a way to do this easily? Or do I need to rewrite?

kitty?

I've never really been a cat person, but there's this little kitty crying on our porch, and has been for a while.

See, we came home, and it ran around the corner of the porch, and appeared, and I said "Hi Kitty!" And then it responded to that, and came over to me, and rubbed against my leg, and the like. And then all of the sudden I was kind of sympathetic to this creature who was so needing attention of some kind.

So then it followed me inside. And I thought, "Why not let it stay here?" And I have always thought, "I never want pets." (Maybe not always, but I think I can safely say, all of my married life.) So I'm not sure what's happening here.

Tim had to pick the cutie up and take it outside. And it's been on the porch ever since. Meowing and crying. And my heart is pained by that.

redesign

i should learn more about html, css, and such, because it would be cool to know.

future, uncharacterized

Maybe this is selfish of me, but I think that I like the sound of a job where usefulness is immediate and not removed. Where people ask you questions and then you give them answers, and then you have the satisfaction of knowing that you've filled someone's need, no matter how small it was.

Someday, I want to be a librarian. I think. I'm not really sure what this entails. I am not sure what "information science" is about, really. All I know is that I like working in libraries. I have worked in a couple. I like the environment of openness that seems to accompany the places: openness of people (we all stand around wanting to help people when we work there, as well as do other things), openness of knowledge, and openness of learning. (Because they are both available and accessible.) Even the building is open, usually. Unless it's a certain kind of library maybe (one less appealing).

I also think that a place where you feel like you're doing something to improve the place itself, because you have some sense of initiative and creativity, and you can find ways to improve the way things go, is so incredibly great.

And libraries are so integral to the community they are a part of. I want to be a part of building this, because I have come to a realization that I don't much love the corporate model. The one (there may be many, and maybe this isn't one) where you are confined to cubicles for the better part of your living days, and where you stare at a computer screen, and you don't interact with humans much, and where you're just trying to make money, and where other people just want to make money, and it's all about accomplishments and authority and position.

This is all well and good, but I want a part in something bigger than that.

I wish I knew more about these things.

Fact: Computers make for less good pyschotherapists.

My friend K (who married an Italian, remember her?) posted this website on her Facebook recently. I thought I needed someone to talk to, and I decided to try it out.

I have had this pressing problem of late that I really needed to figure out. So why not give it a go, I thought?

Well, the following is proof that computers really have different functions than human beings (If that was in question.):


P.S. Most of this is a joke . . . except for the part about Tim calling me Jackie Chan. That part is true.