1/31: In the museum parking lot is an upside down car, like a sculpture.
2/1: We sit in the basement and pass around 3-d glasses for the commercials.
2/2: A whole flock of thrush appear in the yard one day, tons of them, in the bushes and on the roof. Creepy.
2/3: I get an email from something called Babycenter.com, the subject of which is "7 Signs Your Baby Loves You." I delete it right away.
2/4: Brown lawn, ficus trees, pine needles covering the front lawn and threaded through all the bushes. All the houses look like Metairie.
2/5: In the restaurant, the wind blew through the brick wall behind us. You could put your hand down and feel it. I ate my catfish with my coat on.
2/6: We drive an hour to see a movie, then eat Italian food in a place that has autographed posters of Michael Bolton and Cheap Trick on the walls.
2/7: A band in Tupelo called -- I kid you not -- White Noise.
2/8: At the bar, a woman told a story about speed dating and how she ran into her student. We drank Blue Moon.
2/9: The presents: biscuits and a kid's cowboy hat.
2/10: We are all trying hard to breathe.
2/11: Home remedies that don't work: salt water, apple cider vinegar, grapefruit extract, chamomile, steam. Over-the-counter medicine that doesn't work: all.
2/12: A woman on the shuttle has come to Chicago to see a lawyer. She doesn't say what for. Just that she needs a hotel near Indiana Street because that's where the lawyer's office is.
2/13: I hear about the plane that crashed into a house from the TV in the elevator, between floors, and I gasp and cover my mouth, a reflex, and then get off on the wrong floor and wander the halls for a while, wishing I was home.
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1/31 the hole in the apartment ceiling grows larger, the girls don't seem concerned to be breathing in mold
ReplyDelete2/1 working out early is suprisingly refreshing
2/2 a bus driver was offended when I asked if I could get on with just my western card
2/3 i've never done my real shift at work for two weeks now
2/4 people who don't have a right to judge you always get involved
2/5 at work a boy keeps bragging about how he gets drunk every night and takes advantage of drunk girls. He pauses and looks meaningfully at me every few seconds, saying, 'no offense, of course'. such a freshman.
2/6 a tiny labrador puppy wriggled under a bench and then flopped on its belly, gazing adoringly up at its owner. too cute for words.
2/7 millionaire matchmaker is a funny show. the matchmaker woman is so full of herself and I've never seen her make a successful match
2/8 The elevator has never been so slow as I stand there uncomfortably, listening to the couple discussing whether or not to break up beside me
2/9 three friends decided to split rent in a two bedroom apartment to make it extra cheap
2/10 I'm sick again and now it's really getting on my nerves
2/11 you don't know how beautiful forgiveness is until you need it
2/12 Some kids were tossing food to a deer in the ridge cafeteria through the window, it nearly stuck its head in
2/13 I personally witnessed a black ninja squirrel attack a bird by leaping at it with swiping paws, the bird flew away squawking
1/31 It's been a little over a month in my new condo, and I still don't know how to approach my WOW obsessed roommate about his freezer hogging habits, I'm starving...
ReplyDelete2/1 The parents have announced we will be getting a new puppy soon! So happy, but still missing my old best friend :(
2/2 I really think my obsession with Wife Swap has gotten to an unhealthy level, it's just way too interesting!
2/3 Today in 270 we learned about the different titles for a person (Mr. Ms. Miss. Mrs. etc). I fell asleep in class for the first time in like 3 years.
2/4 I am really scared to get sick. So many people hack their sickness onto me during my classes, it's only a matter of time...Cover your mouths people!
2/5 I haven't seen my brother drunk like that in a long time...and Robo did not win the electronic game of darts, he is a cheater.
2/6 Getting intoxicated with females only is a very enlightening event, you learn so much about your gender, and get really really drunk.
2/7 I am sick. I think it's about time I stop referring to myself as "one of those people who never gets sick".
2/8 I find today like many Sundays, that this is probably the most interesting day of the week. People take out way too many bags of alcohol related recyclables, way too many people wake up with hangovers, and there's far too much laundry to be done. And while we commit all these acts, we get to reflect on all we've done over the past week. Hmm...
2/9 Reality is finally settling in, I WILL graduate, and I will remember what it's like to have money again, I hope...
2/10 Writing poetry is hard. But creative writing teachers really help out with assignments like "Open poem form, any style, any length, any topic." Wow, really? :)
2/11 Today in 270 we watched a video explaining why men and women can't communicate very effectively. Now I know why nagging at my boyfriend doesn't work, he just wants to do things on his own terms. But what if his own terms means it never actually gets done???
2/12 I haven't studied for a test since last year's biology exam, I am mildly freaking out over this whole idea of multiple choice. I just want to write my way through the right answer.
2/13 I saw the woman today who followed my friends and me around last weekend, the lady who interrupted our talk to ask us if we've seen any aliens around, and then who asked if we've seen any transformers around, and then proceeded to invite her invisible friend into the bathroom with her. I don't recommend conversing with this lady. Oh, and I think my neighbors are coke dealers, three weeks in a row of cops, ambulences, and men delivering bags of white powder leave me with much suspicion. I'll be watching you...
This week’s theme: The Eavesdropper
ReplyDeleteSaturday 1/31: (Student) “In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, tigons were more common than ligers.”
Sunday 2/1: (Barista) “I’m sorry, we don’t sell mugs of hot water. I could get you a pot of water, but I’d have to charge you the tea price.”
Monday 2/2: (Dream-me) “Don’t worry, I’m your little subterranean friend!”
Tuesday 2/3: (Art teacher, heard by sleepy student) “His reputation was built on the pudding of great architects.”
Wednesday 2/4: (Interviewee) “Um, do I need to fill anything out?” He points to the interviewer’s papers. “No, these are just for me to take notes,” she says. He chuckles nervously, “I’m not very note-worthy.”
Thursday 2/5: (Passing cell phone chatter) “Ah ha ha ha! That’s SO funny! . . . She started crying?! . . . .Peed her pants? . . .”
Friday 2/6: (Dude) “I have a ’94 Civic that’s a $1,600 paper weight now. I rolled it. Five times. Down a hill.”
This week’s theme: Smelly
Saturday 2/7: I sleepily tug my wool sweater over my head in the morning. It smells like stale wool-lite.
Sunday 2/8: I return to find my nylon bag slumped in front of the heater—the room smells like hot dust and melted plastic.
Monday 2/9: The pot I’m cleaning is caked in the black sponge-like remains of milk boiled too long. I soak it in water to soften; it smells like an infant’s burp.
Tuesday 2/10: Wafting over from the next table I can smell soy sauce and the syrupy goo of orange chicken. Acidic and sweet, piled into a Styrofoam box.
Wednesday 2/11: Today I walked into work to find 20 baby octopi soaking in a small tub of ice water. Hundreds of tentacles, thousands of suckers. I lean in, expecting to smell rubber gloves or Hampton beach. But I smell nothing . . . . ice maybe.
Thursday 2/12: The family I work for is Greek Orthodox and today they brought two high-up priests by the store. Both had long gray beards, black robes and unbelievable rosaries around their necks. My boss asks one of them to bless the store (business has been slow), and he does. He murmurs and shuffles around, flicking holy water in the aisles, the kitchen, the office, even the walk-in cooler. By the time he’s done even I smell like rose water.
Friday 2/13: The smell of licorice spice tea reminds me of the musty mattress we used to share.
Week 5
ReplyDelete1/31: When my daughter goes up to the counter at the antique store to buy a porcelain doll an elderly man asks if she’d like another one for free. I feel skeptical, suspecting that he has an ulterior motive of some sort, but he comes back with a beautiful doll dressed in Dutch clothing; she’s even wearing wooden klompen. I ask how much the doll is really and he again says it’s free, and then he hands it to my daughter who smiles gratefully. He smiles, too.
2/1: It’s fun to people-watch in book stores. I find that I assume a lot about people (but probably shouldn’t) by the books they’re looking at.
2/2: The aroma of basil growing on the windowsill fills my entire house.
2/3: The office made from an old mobile-home smells like incense residue. The Pakistani man sitting across the desk smiles kindly as he welcomes our visit. He offers us ginger tea from his recent visit to Thailand. The tea is too strong, but we drink it and he seems very happy to share it with us.
2/4: My daughter came home with a caterpillar today. About two inches long, with layers of shell-like skin, he looks more like a centipede to me, but she insists that he will be a yellow butterfly when spring comes. Now he’s living underneath a rhododendron in our front yard. His name is George.
2/5: In February, 55 degrees feels like a summer day, but in July it feels like winter.
2/6: I like the way rooftops steam when the sun comes up and warms the shingles.
Week 6
2/7: There is a guy that works at Wal-Mart that has a serious comb over, but it’s different than a normal comb over because he combs it into a point that makes him look a bit like a vampire.
2/8: The way my dog tips his head and wags his tail with delighted enthusiasm every time I speak to him makes me feel a little sorry for him, which is odd since he’s so happy.
2/9: Apparently it is not possible to purchase Ambrosia apple trees in Washington because they’re patented. It never occurred to me that a tree might be patented.
2/10: I miss the Mexican restaurants in California.
2/11: Today the house where my daughter takes piano lessons smelled like recently cooked fish. The smell permeated throughout the whole house and I felt like I could smell in my own clothes for the rest of the night.
2/12: Valentine’s Day was celebrated in my daughter’s 3rd grade classroom today. The teacher asked them to about what they liked about each other. A lot of the kids wrote they liked their friends because they were “weird.”
2/13: I heard that we may get to see an aurora borealis tomorrow, which would be great because I’ve never seen one.
1/31- I'm told that esbestus is in fact still a thriving component of our university's architecture and that as long as we don't put holes in the walls (say...for posters) we won't get cancer.
ReplyDelete2/1- I've been given a picture taken of my dog before Christmas at a boarding kennel. He picks at a big red bow he is forced to wear and has sad eyes. I guess they thought it would be cute.
2/2- My family photo wall is lacking three pictures.
2/3- A conversation about movie starlets yields a mutual conclusion: classic beauty pales in comparison to unique beauty.
2/4- Time spent with shoulder exercises: three weeks or more.
Apparent improvement in my shoulder alignments: zilch.
Conclusion: I don't know, I'm not a doctor.
2/5- I'm Twenty-One!...I have a midterm tomorrow...: (
2/6- An angry little man interrupts my birthday celebration in front of my family by ramming up against me and calling me a fake upon hearing that my birthday was actually one day prior. Also...An angry little man gets thrown from a bar and arrested. HEH HEH
2/7- My brother (Age 26) and I (Age 21) pop the screen out of my stepfather's window to take a midnight stroll to the ocean and dish about brotherly things. We get lost on the way back. Cody doesn't bark when we come back. He's got our backs.
2/8- Pow Wow is my new least favorite expression.
2/9- We are story tellers. The world and our dreams are story makers.
2/10- Beards are AWESOME. I want one simply so that I can claim that a daily shave is a necessity. I have a two-days-following shadow.
2/11- I am proud of the unflattering picture taken of me on the Mercer Island Half. If it turns out a murder was committed on the run, it shall conveniently disappear.
2/12- I have discovered somewhat of an affinity for Graphic novels. Especially the ones with lots of pictures...: )
2/13- Hide and seek is great, but I prefer the version where the person in hiding does the surprising.
1/31 - Tricky sticks make everything in the fridge smell like garlic.
ReplyDelete2/1 - A young man chains his bike to a tree with a large metal lock and places the helmet around the bike's handle.
2/2 - It is never encouraging when ever piece of mail you open has a return envelope inside.
2/3 - A mason jar with beer caps collects dust along the glass.
2/4 - A 'birthday cake' shot actually tastes like birthday cake. Who knew a shot glass with salt around it could actually taste like a piece of cake!
2/5 - The cigarette smoke from the neighboring porch seeps through the window sill into the bedroom.
2/6 - A couple stands discussing which type of allergy medicine to buy,while blocking the entire aisle for three people waiting to go down the aisle.
2/7 - One of the only males in the movie theater talks back loudly to the movie screen clearly annoyed his girlfriend made him go and see a romantic chick flick.
2/8 - People who only talk about their dire financial situation tend to put everyone
around them in a bad mood.
2/9 - A red car swerves across the yellow line as another car weeves dangerously in and out of traffic almost clipping the red car.
2/10 - Why do some people speak with fake accents? If someone was born, raised and currently lives in Washington state where did the British accent come from???
2/11 - By the time the two coats of purple finger nail polish is put on it doesn't look purple anymore.
2/12 - A middle-aged man sings along to a song in his car making faces as he sings.
2/13 - Sitting inside an SUV with the window rolled down, a woman directs a teenage boy on how to pump gas.
1/31- Two kids are getting coffee at the espresso stand across the street. A guy in a car is trying to navigate around them, and it looks like he has plenty of room, but he still just sits there and honks his horn over and over.
ReplyDelete2/1- People who don't drink beer for the reason that it has too many calories are often the same people ordering disgusting neon blue 4000 calorie mixed drinks.
2/2- I can't help but notice I put a lot of stuff about people's bad driving in here. I guess it's an easy trap to fall into when you live in a town full of people who parallel park by going in head first, running over the curb with their front tire, reversing, reapproaching in the exact same way they just tried, repeating this a few times, pausing to look around to see if anybody is laughing at them, and then giving up and leaving their car two feet from the curb.
2/3- The crazy guy who walks around downtown with a boombox was playing some kind of adult contemporary inpirational bullshit today. I realize now that the proper context can make any music good.
2/4- Two huge, brand new, lifted Chevy pickups drive by and a crowd of kids point and laugh.
2/5- There's something about being crazy and the government being after you. If they're crazy, how did they come to such a strong consensus?
2/6- The fireman explains that while our bonfire isn't technically illegal, we're going to have to get used to not having things like this because "in a couple years, Bellingham will be the size of Seattle."
2/7- There is a toenail on the bookshelf. Someone either brought it in from outside, or they were actually clipping their toenails here. I'm at an ice cream shop.
2/8- There is a pile of dead ants under the sink.
2/9- There is a note taped to all of the cash registers in the VU that says "smile and say have a nice day." Am I supposed to feel good after reading that when their employees smile and say "have a nice day?"
2/10- There are different crowds that coincide with different times of day at the grocery store. I find that it's most fun to go when it's all old women.
2/11- A woman is screaming at a truck driver for parking in the alley, saying she's going to call the police if he doesn't move. The things he says to her next put a smile on my face. She doesn't like them so much.
2/12- Some girls are walking down the sidewalk and talking back and forth in fake Chinese accents. For some reason, I think if I told them they were being racist, they wouldn't get it.
2/13- Kids are at their best when they talk way too loud, as in "That guy smelled bad!"
I previously posted my Week 5 observations on Week 4 when I didn't see the prompt up, but I'm going to repost them here just to make sure I was counted.
ReplyDelete(I don't have observations for week 6)
WEEK 5
1/31
Roomba vs. Roomba is not a very exciting robot battle.
2/1
Library books are starting to pile up everywhere. More incoming than outgoing. Reaching critical mass.
2/2
A loquacious, elderly gentleman wants to sample many candies. Around his neck, he is wearing a gold chain and pendant bearing the All-Seeing-Eye and pyramid. Isn’t that a symbol of the Illuminati?
~
Is this man an Illuminato? If so, he’s not doing a very good job keeping it secret.
2/3
You can tell a lot about professors by their bookshelves.
2/4
Lots of people say "Haggens" (or "Haggen's" or whatever).
~
PSA follow-up: look at the sign and tell me what it says.
2/5
Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say "you can do it" and mean it.
2/6
The fictional observation count is steadily rising.
WEEK 7. Sorry I put these under different weeks guys...it's just I work until 11:30 on Friday's after class so I can't wait lol.
ReplyDeleteSaturday-There’s only three clouds I can see in the sky. And that obviously means God is really pissed at someone.
Sunday- My mother told me that I’d kill poor Igor if I kept sharing my hot chocolate with him. I argued that a little powdered cocoa wouldn’t hurt the strong fella. But I’m afraid it could have been the chocolate.
Monday- She often pulled her moods from different shelves like books; but the worst book she pulled was when I broke the mantle.
Tuesday- The AM was the time she made tea and looked down on the world from her wooden stool.
Wednesday- I’m familiar with veterinarian office schedules, and I’m familiar with the fact that usually a week in advance is fair enough warning to be scheduled into an appointment. It’s been three months and they still haven’t called me back about my bird. She died last month.
Thursday- His paws were heavy, but his body had turned to bones.
Friday-The smell of fresh oranges reminds me of the day my dad died. He never smelled like oranges, but if he was a fruit, that’s what I’d categorize him under. I don’t think I was old enough for him to peg me as a fruit yet…maybe he’d say I was an apple or cherry pie because he did always called me his “sweetie-pie.” And sweetie could be any fruit. Or maybe he thought of me as a potato? Yah, a potato makes more sense—sweet potato!
On the bus: A mom teaching her 2 year old to hold and talk on a cellphone.
ReplyDeleteA reaction is not a reason. Valid experiences can lack intellectual soundness.
What use is there in categorizing everything in life? Does categorizing really equal knowledge?
I see the world as a empty clam's shell, the city curves around the bay and clouds curved down to to meet the mountains in the distance. The shadows are blue and gray offset behind everything. There is a white haze over the buildings.
This teacher is a PHD,
today wearing a plain white T.
It is incongruent.
To think ideologically is different than writing ideologically. Although to maintain honesty (to make thought true) the Outer needs to reflect the Inner, after training at least.
In the far future there is one job anyone can get quick cash doing. Minimum wage as an empathic sufferer. A six hour shift absorbing the miseries and pains of those who have better jobs then you.
There's this band that technically does everything right, they communicate emotion exactly in phase with youth sensibility. I don't like them. They are superb but not what I want to hear.
Bought a tape recording of a mandolin virtuoso at the Salvation Army for 25 cents (it was half off day). I thought it was going to be polka. Now its my new favorite album.
Illuminate vs. entertain. That is the question. Whether 'tis more acceptable to dance tragic ballets or blaring rave. To starve, to sell out, no surety for one method or the other, ay caramba!
It was a collaborative effort between the future and the past, later they would go on to feud, and sue for residuals, but at this moment they penned the story side by side.
Where do you go when you're lonely, where do you go when you're blue? So many covers, but nobody answers the question.
A man on his cell with his girlfriend. In front of him he is reading the Readers Digest, open to the That's Outrageous! section. "Are you crying?" the man asks.
2/7- It seems like there are so many garbage cans everywhere overflowing with garbage but when you are walking with not enough hands and something to throw away, where the hell is the garbage can?
ReplyDelete2/8- Is expiration date really ever the day that that food item expires?
2/9- It was easy to look at the world today because everything seemed positive in a "not trying" kind of way
2/10- Everyone still wears watches even though they use their cell phones to tell the time.
2/11- The movie quote of the week is "the best way to make a dream come true is to wake up"
2/12- I would rather pick up crap from an elephant than a little stuck up toy poodle.
1/13- All the words are blurring on the pages of this book and its because I should be doing school work if anything... I think i will keep reading.
1/31/09 – The serpent nestled in her stomach, sliding through her lower intestines.
ReplyDelete2/1/09 – She scoped up the little girl and ran frantically along the empty sidewalk, screaming for a taxi.
2/2/09 – The customer dumped her out onto the floor sending coins, shinny tubes of lipstick and tablets skipping and rolling over each other across the tiles.
2/3/09 – She counted the seconds from the moment when the tea cup was dropped over the balcony and the crunching smash announcing its meeting with the pavement.
2/4/09 – The huckleberries dripped from brittle branches dangling above the chimney.
2/5/09 – Blood dripped from her mouth after slicing open several taste buds in the attempt to seal an envelope.
2/6/09 – On the top of the hay stack hill, the little cottage titled slightly to the left, the windows curved and sealed in snow.
2/7/09 – When my foot falls asleep the tingling sensation drives me into hysterics.
2/8/09 –She looked into her basket of blueberries and imagined them coming to life as so many one eyes violet creatures with little frilly legs.
2/9/09 – The swan waddled up to the pudgy little girl on the park bench and stole her muffin.
2/10/09 – The berries dripped from the brittle branches over the barn fence.
2/11/09 – Her mother gave her a locket from the thrift store, still holding an unknown gentleman’s picture
2/12/09 – Over the years, hi knuckles swell larger and larger with each pop until they are twice the size of the bone.
2/13/09 – His scalp began to peel and wind around his hair, shriveled and white.
Wonderful weather waxes and wanes from the West today.
ReplyDeleteRhythm deaf. I swear some people are rhythm deaf.
My lipstick cactus is blooming in February probably because I forgot to water it for a long long time.
The baby caught my eye and grinned at me, jumping up and down in his stroller, and he squealed his delighted when I laughed and made a funny face at him. Glancing up into the furious scowl of his Mother, I wondered if she felt threatened by me, or jealous?
My mustache is becoming a part of me.
ReplyDeleteOne nun calls the other nun a whore. Both women are confused.
The rain in Bellingham comes sideways and hit windows like waves.
Dr. Pepper, oh sweet Dr. Pepper if you were a woman I would make you feel loved.
I think I’m beginning to lose faith in technology, all it does is distract.
My mustache is slowly evolving, becoming more disturbing and Mexican.
How often can you wear a pair of pants before you wash them?
My throat constricts, the muscles grow tense.
I would really like to live in New York, but I fear that what I know as New York could be lived only in photos and tour guide groups.
The rain outside hops and skips off the cement.