Day One Hundred and Twenty-Three: Flowerburst

I did my taxes today and will be getting a large enough refund check back to be able to buy a new camera unless some other major expenses crop up in the near future. I'm very very excited. I'm so ready to move on up from my Canon PowerShot.

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Two: Savanna

I went to the park today to enjoy the lovely weather (highs in the 60s following a couple of days of icy weather) and do some reading. It was great.

Day One Hundred and Twenty-One: Texture

It's harder for me to keep up with the project on the days that I teach. It's not that I don't have enough minutes in the day or that I don't pass lots of interesting things I could take pictures of. It's that I feel like I want to stay focused on school stuff and not let myself get distracted while I'm on campus. I'm sure as the semester wears on I'll require less focus while I'm on campus and will be able to work in some more photography time.

In the meantime, here's the lining and the wool of my coat.

Day One Hundred and Twenty: Frozen Pen

I finally ventured outside after the worst of the "ice storm" that struck north Texas. There was still a lot of ice on the ground in the parking lot, where the ground was shaded from the sun. I nearly bit it trying to take pictures of this frozen pen.

Day One Hundred and Nineteen: Battered

But not broken. I've had this phone for over three years. It's all chipped and ugly on the front, the outside screen doesn't work, and it requires some . . . finesse to get it to flip closed. But it still works and I refuse to replace it until it refuses to work.

Seven Random Things

Madam Owl tagged me to play along with this meme, so I guess I will. Here are seven random things about me.

1. I recently discovered that I am actually 5'8" and not the 5'7" my drivers license claims. I'd suspected this for a while but hadn't confirmed it until a recent visit to the doctor. I'm pleased about it.

2. People have tried to nickname me on multiple occasions, but nicknames don't stick. I don't like being called by my last name, I don't like shortened versions of my first name, and no one's come up with a really good silly nickname or set of nicknames for me. One friend thinks I'm un-nicknameable. I tend to agree.

3. I cut my own hair. Well, I've been letting it grow out for the last several months, so I haven't cut it much, but when it needs cutting, I do it. Because my hair's wavy and curly, the casual observer can't tell if I cut it unevenly anyway.

4. I always always always wear heels on the first day of teaching a new class. I like to dress up a bit at the beginning of the semester to reinforce my status as a professional, but I also like to have a little bit of extra leverage, which an additional three inches in height really can give me. That puts me at nearly 6 feet tall, taller than pretty much any female student I have and taller than many of the male students as well. It may not be fair, but it really does make a difference in the way they initially perceive me.

5. I was in the elevator at school the other day and one of the English professors, who I hadn't seen in quite a while, got on the elevator, too. She didn't immediately recognize me because my hair was different than it had been the last time we'd spoken. She recognized me quickly and commented on the fact that my hair was different. "It's longer," she said, "And black." I nodded. Then she asked me, "How did that happen?" I hesitated, unsure whether my natural first response was rude, but then, when I couldn't come up with another possible response, just said it: "Time and hair dye." Fortunately, she didn't find that to be snarky or flippant and she didn't seem to catch the quiet judgment in my eyes at her question. She didn't think it was funny, either. She just complimented my hair and got off the elevator. I wonder sometimes at how many silly things people say in regular conversation. I know I'm not immune, but I don't talk much with people I don't know well, and when I do I tend to think before I speak (sometimes overthinking so that I miss my opportunity to join in a conversation), so asking someone how their hair got longer and blacker isn't something I'm likely to do.

6. I enjoy writing a great deal. I mostly just have a hard time deciding what to write about that I think anyone else will care about.

7. Seven is one of my two favorite numbers. Four is the other. They've been my favorite numbers since I was seven and my brother was four.

Here are the rules, should you like to play:
* Link to the person who tagged you
* Post the rules on your blog
* Write 7 random things about yourself
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post and link to them
* Let each person know they've been tagged

I am not going to tag people, just because I've seen this meme going around in a few of the blogs I follow and I'm not sure who hasn't been tagged yet. If you see this and haven't been tagged yet, consider this an invitation. The internet wants to know more about you!

[Heart] Photos

I found this on a bathroom wall at a Dallas coffeeshop the other night and thought it was just perfect. There was no "I" included, just a command to "[heart] photos." And I do.

Day One Hundred and Eighteen: Downtown

It was my brother's birthday, so I drove out to Dallas to hang out with him. We went to a couple of bars and a coffee shop and spent the afternoon and early evening drinking. Cory came and hung out with us for a while, too. This was taken on my drive through downtown Dallas--I got a little confused about the fastest way to get to the highway, so I took the scenic route instead.

Day One Hundred and Seventeen: Mystery

"The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible."

~Oscar Wilde

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”

~Albert Einstein

Day One Hundred and Sixteen: Lace-Scape

Close-up on the lace of my dress. Plus a green thread from a sweater I'd worn earlier in the day.

Day One Hundred and Fifteen: Headlight

Hey, come on try a little
Nothing is forever
There's got to be something better than
In the middle
But me & Cinderella
We put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight

~The Wallflowers

Day One Hundred and Fourteen: Fake

This is one of the fake flowers I keep on my office desk. Real flowers are prettier and smell better, but I always feel bad about having to kill them to bring them in from where they grow outside and I'm not in the office often enough to keep a plant alive there.

Day One Hundred and Thirteen: Painted

Last time they painted the fire lanes in my apartment complex's parking lot, they also painted some of the plants growing up through the cracks in the lot.

Day One Hundred and Twelve: Favorites

This is one of my favorite pairs of shoes (I thrifted them for less than $5 and they fit perfectly), but I can't actually make the walk to and from school in them because of the height of their heels. So I get to wear tennis shoes while I walk and carry my favorites.

Blog for Choice Day 2009

Today, the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, is Blog for Choice Day. The topic for this year's event is this: What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?

I have so many hopes for the next four years. I hope that Obama follows through on the statements he has already made about supporting Roe v. Wade and providing better healthcare and birth control options so that abortion might not be necessary as often. I hope that people like this will not be allowed to continue to abuse and lie to their patients. I hope that the legislation passed by George W. Bush that cuts off overseas aid for organizations that discuss abortion as an option and that allows health care providers to refuse treatment that conflicts with their beliefs will soon be overturned.

I hope that, as a result of Obama's leadership in this arena, pro-choice individuals can begin to feel that their choices, their bodies, and their lives remain theirs to control instead of living in fear that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, that Congress will pass further legislation allowing pharmacists and healthcare providers to even more easily deny us our choices and our freedoms, and that women around the world will be forced to make do with less than they deserve.

Day One Hundred and Eleven: Free

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.

~William Faulkner

Day One Hundred and Ten: Gum Monster

I'm not sure if there is anything to say about this one. It is what it is.

Day One Hundred and Nine: Railroad

I spent the afternoon and evening with Cory, which was nice, except that I couldn't shake this stupid headache. We went to a park in Dallas and walked for a while, which helped my head somewhat, but after a while the headache was back.


This railroad track appears to be unused, but Cory stood guard for me anyway while I crouched in the middle of it to take pictures.

Day One Hundred and Eight: Red Bubbles

Clearly, I've gotten a little behind in posting my daily photos. I will be attempting to catch up today.

Day One Hundred and Seven: Do Not Enter

Seriously.

Day One Hundred and Six: Ow

This wasn't a bad day overall; in fact, it was quite a good day. But by the time I remembered to get out my camera, I had quite a headache (from walking into the sun at the park for too long), so this is what I came up with.

Day One Hundred and Five: Moss

It still kind of weirds me out when I notice people watching me take pictures. I was walking around outside my apartment building, taking pictures of the ground and, after having done it for several minutes, thinking myself alone, I noticed someone sitting in a car in the parking lot, watching me. I literally jumped and practically ran around the corner to another location--with no audience. Then I felt silly for reacting so strongly.

Day One Hundred and Four: Nosey

I felt sick today, so I just stayed in bed and read and napped. Since I didn't leave the bed, I took pictures of kitties.

Day One Hundred and Three: Violence

This statue of an angels preparing to slay Satan (I presume?) with a sword is outside a Catholic church in Dallas near Cory's house. I'm not sure why this particular image was chosen to honor the person whose name is on the plaque on the side. I don't think this is how I would want to be honored.

Day One Hundred and Two: Bud

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

--Thich Nhat Hanh

Day One Hundred and One: Empty

My dad is in town from Florida. He and his significant other are moving back to the area very soon. Since he was in town, I went to dinner with him and Cory. That was fun. I think it went well.

This was also the anniversary of the death of an ex-boyfriend of mine. He died five years ago (after we'd already broken up) while on a vacation to Colorado. He was only 31 years old.

Day One Hundred: Wipers

I finished Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion and got to spend time with Cory. I enjoyed both a great deal (although I do have a few criticisms of the Dawkins book, things that I would've liked to have seen done better).

Day Ninety-Nine: Barbed Wire

I had to go to the dentist in the morning. I hate going to the dentist. And then I spent the afternoon cleaning up my apartment. But after that I got to see Cory, who was finally back in town after a trip to Lubbock with his sister. We had an early dinner and then I spent the rest of the evening avoiding work. All in all, not a bad day.

Day Ninety-Eight: Sill

Essentially, I didn't bother getting up today. I mostly stayed in bed and read Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion. I did a little bit of cleaning around the apartment and at least took out the trash and checked my mail, but yeah, mostly stayed in bed.

Day Ninety-Seven: Frozen

The weather has gone from temperatures in the 80s on Saturday to freezing rain today. That's Texas for you. I'm doing my best to avoid all of it. The warmer weather brought mysterious allergens; the cold brings . . . cold. I'll just stay inside, thank you.

Plus, I have no real reason to go anywhere this week. Everyone has gone away. Cory's in Lubbock; Zachary's on the west coast (San Francisco today and Portland later in the week); Kim's gone back to Indiana; Kristi's either traveling for work (maybe New York today?) or at home with her husband. That just leaves me and the kitties.

Day Ninety-Six: Measuring Up

Today has been a very lazy day. I made a list of things to do over the next few days, though, so I am prepared to be more productive tomorrow.

Day Ninety-Five: Ding!

I'd planned to go ride my bike at the park today since it was unseasonably warm (in the 80s!), but it was also unseasonably allergen-tastic and I had sneezing fits every time I went outside. So I stayed in and read instead. Today I read Naomi Neale's I Went to Vassar for This?, which is fluffy chick lit with a nod toward some feminist-y ideas. It was mildly entertaining and avoided being outright offensive, even though the ending was weak and the protagonist stupider than she should've been.

Day Ninety-Four: Trash

We are not special.
We are not crap or trash, either.
We just are.
We just are, and what happens just happens.

~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Day Ninety-Three: Smirk

This is simply a small sign with an arrow pointing toward the ground that I spotted on a utility pole while walking around the neighborhood today with Cory--or, if turned at an angle, a smirky little face.

Day Ninety-Two: Fallen

I was sad for most of the early part of the day, but the evening was great. Cory and I had dinner at Banana Leaf (awesome Thai food), then went and got chocolate at the grocery store for later. He'd gotten some free wine earlier in the day, so we went back to the house and played games with Scott and Lisa while eating chocolate and drinking. It was a lovely way to end the year.

Happy New Year, everybody!