...the Devil went down to Georgia....he was looking for a soul to steal....

Greetings all! Hope your week is going as swimmingly as mine is. Bibi and I are enjoying--no, not enduring--ENJOYING--our A/C-less summer in Kirksville. (Ok, so maybe today it was a bit warm, and last night we both woke up numerous times because of the heat, but still...it's not so bad for us....)

I need to tell you all about this book that I'm reading...."The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. It is an historical nonfiction novel about the construction and events surrounding the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. It's a combination of history, culture, economics, politics, and crime novel.

First off, the book is really well written. It seems very conversational, and is extremely fast paced. The chapters alternate between two storylines that are equally interesting. (The first being the construction and execution of the fair, and the second is about our countries 1st serial killer)

The thing about this book, besides being well written, besides it's captivating narrative, besides the lush descriptions and direct quotations from actual people invovled in the events, is the nature of the fair itself.

The years 1892 and 1893 do not automatically bring to mind any particular events. No individuals immediately come the front of my imagination, and I don't remember automatically any particular inventions or note-worthy creations from that time period. However, the fair was one of those, almost cinematic events, that naturally draws people and ideas to one place and time. Reading this book is like watching a really well-written movie come together....seemingly isolated characters and events are seen in a new light, when the film shows that they are all indeed closely related. That's what the 1893 World's Fair was like; it was a mingling of the past, and the future. (I'm being purposefully vague because half of the fun in this book is finding things out as Larson wants you to find them out.)

So, I guess that's all I've got right now, but seriously....go read this book.

Now!

No, go....get it.

I don't care where you get it...just go get it.


I'll wait.










Well, now you're just trying my patience. I'm very dissappointed in you. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Well, fine. I'm leaving...but seriously....go get yourself a copy.

Oh, and anyone know of any other books that bring together so many aspects of history?

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

It's nice work if you can get it...

So, I just finished "A Dirty Job" by Christopher Moore, one of my favorite authors. Man...he's good. This book is a creative and original--and down right hilarious--look at Death as an occupation. At first, before I began the book, I was a little worried that it might be a bit too close to comfort to the Showtime series "Dead Like Me", which is also a funny look at Death. However, as is usually the case with Moore, it was entirely creative and totally original. He has an uncanny knack for writing about topics that some people might find too serious to joke about. My favorite book by Moore, "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal", is a fresh look at the life of Jesus. It is both absolutely hysterical and touching, which is a difficult combination, especially when dealing with the life of the most famous man in human history.

"A Dirty Job" also tackles a touchy subject. While the plot hinges on the concept of a "grim reaper" type occupation, it in no way makes light of the difficulty of death on the people surrounding the deceased. In fact, Moore wrote this book after the passing of his mother as a kind of imagination of what death might be like.

I haven't read all of his books YET, but Moore is one of the few authors that makes me want to collect them all. It's difficult for me to loan his books out, because they are books that I know I'm going to want to read over and over again. (Like Blue Highways. Ahem, John!!!)

So, I guess I have a question for all of you...do any of you have authors that stand out to you? And, anyone know of any other books that so deftly tackle heavy topics and balance the drama with humor in such a great way?

(Oh, PS: Mom--do you still have Moore's the Stupidest Angel?!)

(c;

Hey, thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

PPS: For those of you who are on MySpace...I was, for some unknown reason, deleted from the MySpace archives this morning, and I'm not sure if I'm going to rejoin--just a heads up.)

Just another angry little post...

All right, so Bibi and I enjoyed a little Kville culture this evening, and it's been both aggrivating and amusing. First, the aggrivating part. (By the way, this post has brought to my attention my inability to spell the word agg....uh, agriv...um "agrivating.". Argh.

All right, so TSU has created this thing called the JINS course. It stands for Junior InterDiscipliary Studies. It's a course, ideally taken by juniors, that combines different areas of study. Cool. Most of the topics sound awesome. The Rock Generation, a look at rock and roll culture, and the class that this post connects to: The Art and Science of Humor. For the final exam this professor arranged for his students to be able to do one of two things: 1) Write a ten page paper. 2) Perform a 5-10 minute stand-up comedy routine at a local establishment. (Read: Bar.)

Cool! Bibi and I were excited! Our friend was performing in at, at some point, and we were also really excited about seeing other people perform, too.

So, here's my question: Why, in the name of all that is good and holy in this world, do you go to an event, in the UPSTAIRS of a bar, AWAY FROM THE ACTUAL BAR, where there are people who came for the sole purpose of hearing amateur comedy at its finest, and TALK THE WHOLE DAMN TIME?! Ok, I'm counting to ten and breathing.....................................................................
Ok. I'm better. But, seriously...the setup for this particular bar? It's got an upstairs, which is entirely separate from the physical "bar" from which one might procure alchoholic beverages. So, WHY, in the name of Aisha, would you go ALL THE WAY UP STAIRS, away from the beer, to talk during their performances?! I MEAN SERIOUSLY?! AGH!!!! Good grief!

Sorry....I probably should breathe more, eh?

Oh, and the second thing. After the comedy night, we decided to go home. But, on our way out, we ran into some friends and decided to join them, in yet another part of the bar, for karaoke. This is where I saw one of the funniest things I've seen, in a long time. And, yes, this includes the comedy portion of the night. (c;

(Disclaimer: I may, or may not, use vulgarity in this section; I haven't decided yet.)

We're sitting at the table, enjoying some fine off-key singing (I'm really good at off-key singing, so that's how I know that it was "fine off-key" singing), when I glanced behind me. Two guys, two...burley, muscular, country-folk, cowboy-lookin', beer-drinking, chaw chewing guys, were ANGRILY shouting, and violently gesturing at Tim, the man who helps run karaoke. I mean, this was some good ol' fashioned bar brawl precursor that I was witnessing. I started to get a little tense....it was difficult to see this...Tim's a friend of mine, I went to his wedding, for crying out loud...I didn't want to see him get in a fight. These guys were dropping f-bombs (ok, so I decided not to curse) left and right, as well as a plethora of appropriate, and creative, expletives. I was concerned to say the least.

That is, until I realized what they were yelling about.

These two men...these red-neck, hick, hill-billy, walking stereotypes were angry because....

they wanted to sing more.

That's right. They were angry, because they hadn't been able to sing as many songs as they wanted to. Oh...and, the really great part? The song that had sung?

What a Wonderful World.

(c;

Sometimes ya gotta laugh.

Thanks for stopping by...and, ya'll come back now...ya here?

Tommy

Ireland, Ireland...I"m coming Home...

Listening to Jeffrey Foucault right now...man, he's good. If you don't know him yet, find him. He's a folk singer, and he's just really good. My understanding is that his new CD is even better than his already fantastic older albums.

Anyway....just as a warning, this post might be a tad disjointed. (Did I use that word correctly?) I just finished "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", and I'm going to attempt to put my thoughts into some semblence of order for you, my reader. (Wish me luck.)

Part of the problem, I think, is that I read this book right after Bob Dylan's Chronicles. You see, Portrait is just about as antithetical to Chronicles as two books could possibly be. And, by this I mean in structure and form. Chronicles was almost a blur of ideas and thoughts, it was mercurial and fast paced, reading almost made your heart beat faster in order to catch up with Dylan's thoughts.

Portrait, on the other hand, was exactly that...a snapshot. Although, "snapshot" is a poor word choice, because it truly was a "portrait". Snapshots can be taken quickly in succession so as to suggest movement and action. A portrait is, by necessity, much more painstakenly produced...it is the result of a great deal of effort on two fronts: the artist, who has to capture all of the details, and the subject of the piece, who has to stay still for the duration of the sitting.

Joyce accomplished this task in spades. This work was THICK with detail; each page was another layer in the painting, adding to and highlighting the work as a whole

One of the interesting details that came up throughout the book was the repetition of the color grey....(the grey sky, the grey water, the grey beard, the grey hair, etc.) At first I didn't know what to make of it, but upon completing the story, it becomes apparent that Joyce chose the color grey with good reason. The blandness, the monotony of the grey throughout the story contrasts with the bright and vivid colors that are very carefully distributed sparingly in the text. If I may go back to the metaphor of the painted portrait...imagine a faded and timeworn painting that has just a spot of color remaining from the original creation....it stands out and is that much more meaningful because of it's proximity to the drab colorlessness of the rest of the piece.

Joyce does offer an interesting summarization of the themes in the book near the end of the fourth chapter. The book is divided into five parts, and they are: To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, and to recreate life out of life. (p. 172)

The book does, indeed as the title would suggest, convey a portrait of the artist as a young man....you are given a glimpse at what happens in a young mans life to see how he gets to where he ends up. However, it is important to note, that as in all pictures....it is not fair to expect a complete and fully accurate view of the subject. The pictures cannot show what has happened in between images, and it's difficult to truly understand the individual, to relate to the individual, to feel a connection to the individual without these key moments.


Hmmmm....I don't know if I've succeeded in shedding any light on this book or not...but, having finished it...that's what I'm thinking. So, there ya go.

Going to begin "A Dirty Job" by Christopher Moore now. (It's a bit of an abrupt change, to be sure, but I'm ready for something a little lighter.)

All right...thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

the official "review" of my blog....

Here it is....straight from the proverbial horse's mouth.

(It's amazing what you can find on the internet, isn't it?

Review of My Life
"I just saw . First-rate. The HTML is very structured. (...)If only the Linux Homepage would have an awesome page like that. It must have taken a decade to craft the page. Thumbs up. There are 41,023 characters in the HTML, which is a swell length for American users. Yes, I expected the creator to do this well. The URL has 38 characters. This length scores best in usability studies. Seeing My Life, I'm simply so inspired. The color scheme is influenced by Eastern art. The page contains 71 links, a highly usable amount. What a swell page! Watch it... this page might change your life."-- Adam Gray, Hot Site of the Week

Afternoon Delight...

No...not that kind.

Just finished Chronicles....it was good. I don't think I'm a big enough Dylan fan to truly have gotten all that I could have out of the book, however. So...if you're a really big Dylan fan, read it. If you're not....um, well still read it.

I'm going to start working towards Ulysses by James Joyce. I don't think I'm ready yet, so I'm starting with "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man". It comes highly recommended. However, I don't think I'm quite ready for it, yet, either, so first I'm going to have lunch.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

singin' in the rain

I'm sitting in the back room of our house, looking out the window, listening to my iPod watching the rain drizzle down through the post office parking lot. Bibi left this morning for the weekend, and I'm busy copying CD's to said iPod. It's fun. I'm also reading a whole lot. That is also fun. (c;

So, it's amazing, to me, the diverse subjects from which Dylan draws in his book....I mean, I never thought the guy was stupid, but they do say that weed kills brain cells, so I'm going to be totally honest when I say, 'holy crap! the guy is REALLY smart!!!'

He goes from discussing the applicability of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers to his reading newspapers from the 1850's so that he can better understand the language used by people from that timeperiod.

I just finished section where Dylan describes that mathematics that went into a major shift in his playing technique. It was massively and utterly confusing, yet highly interesting at the same time. He rattles off mathematical theories like it's a to-do list for a quiet fall morning dedicated to fixing up the house!

Wow...

thanks for reading....
Tommy

We are the Grapes of Wrath...so do not cross our Path!!! (Attempt Two)

Ok...this morning I tried to do this this morning, and it didn't happen...so, we'll try it again.

Sorry for the cheesy title, but I had to quote Veggietales. (For those of you who don't know what that is, carry on. For those of you who do, what are you doing watching cartoons at your age?!)

All right, so I was thinking about what I wrote yesterday about Dylan's writing. And, the thing that struck me, and that I forgot to write about yesterday, was how much Dylan reminds me of the main character from The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinback. Tom Joad exudes this sense of how things SHOULD be in the world...he is all about doing whatever he can...regardless of how small or how seemingly futile that work is....I don't know I guess I kind of see Joad as the polar opposite of Jack Kerouac....that's just my opinion, so it could easily be contested. (Holly!!!) But, I really found that I admired Joad, and looked up to him....he was someone that could easily be...sorry, not so much easily...but....well, hmm.....someone that I would WANT to emulate....does that make sense?

Anyway...thats all. Oh! Earlier this week Jenorama let me in on a new little toy for this blog. I now have a statcounter...so that means that I know how many people look at my blog! But, the REALLY cool thing is that I can see where, and who (by process of geographic origination) is reading my blog!

For instance, there is someone from Baring (I assume Dan!) reading...someone from Nebraska...(Brandon and Keri?!); someone from Philadelphia (hi Kelli!); a couple of people from KC (hi Rachel, Sarah, and Jen! (anyone else?!); as well as many others! (Georgia!!!)

And, who in the world is reading my blog from the United Kingdom?!

That's all!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tommy

insert clever title here

So, I'm reading Chronicles, by Bob Dylan. It's interesting....the thing that I've noticed, is that Dylan's voice, his manner of telling the story of his life, well, it reminds me of Jack Kerouac. But, not the "real" Jack Kerouac; the Kerouac that I imagined Kerouac would sound like before I read On The Road. See, I had this vision of the beat poets, and it was epitomized by Jack. There was supposed to be an idealism, an optimism, a hope in their writing.

There wasn't.

In all honesty, in my humble opinion, and anyone is welcome to argue with me, I think that On The Road is one of the most overrated books ever. (Of course, I can only judge based on the books that I have read.) It was a jumble of ADHD-riddled prose that seemed more focused on writing a boring sentence in a creative way, using $5 words, than writing challenging thoughts and interesting ideas. Does that make sense?

Dylan though...man...what a voice! The way he writes about so many different things all in one paragraph! It's the same mixture that you'd find in Kerouac's writing, but...it's this heart stopping mind-grabbing text that takes your breath...it's fascinating....

Man, well, it's a bit intimidating trying to write about it.

So, that's all.

Thanks for reading.

Tommy

Running Down a Dream....

Hello! It's late Sunday night....oh, wait...nope, it's VERY early Monday morning. (c; Bibi and I just spend some time out at Spring Lake. I became friends with the guy who bought the house right next to mine, right before I sold it, and he and his girlfriend had Bibi and I out tonight for dinner and really good conversation...it was really enjoyable. Bibi and I were both actively engaged in the conversation, and it was just really fun.

Today's been a pretty productive day. Bibi went to work, as I wrote earlier, and I read Into the Vicious Heart. I finished it around 7 this evening. It was thought provoking for me.

Background: My sophomore year in high school, I had a teacher who wanted us to watch Schindler's List. I really didn't want to watch it. I have no problem READING about the Holocaust, but I just really didn't want to watch a movie about it...it seemed wrong to me that I was being forced to watch something that I was, in my opinion at the time, fully aware of, and fully sympathetic to.

Flash Foward to Today: The epilogue of ITVH mentions how American and British soldiers in Europe attended showings of film footage from the liberation. At many viewings, the general audience would have many different reactions. Some people got physically ill, and some laughed because of the discomfort caused by what they were seeing. Still others got up and began to walk out. The GI's would block the exits and tell them to sit down. It was important for them to see it, not because it was shocking or explicit, but because the people, the victims that were shown in the films....they had no choice...they couldn't just get up and leave. It is important for us to remind ourselves of the depth that humans can reach in our "inhumanity". When I read this, I felt proud of the GI's for taking a stand against the people in those theaters. And then, I realized with a little bit of shame, how I had reacted to the teacher wanting us to watch Schindler's List. You see, I was REALLY mad that I had been forced to watch the movie. I don't really, in all honesty, know why it bothered me so much...but I remember that it really did bother me. And, in reading this book, I recognized a major change in myself that this book brought about. I recognize now...that there are times that might be uncomfortable....that might make us wince or make us ill, physically or otherwise, that are absolutely necessary...in order to understand who we are all linked....that this is not about me, or you, or even a small group of "us"....being a human is about being part of 'humanity'....

Ok...well, that was a bit jumbled...I hope that made sense. (If not....read that book.)

So, as I said earlier, today was a productive day. Bibi and I have been talking now for a while about our future plans. We made the decision, a while back, to agressively persue joining the Peace Corps. Originally we planned on waiting to have kids until she was 25. (I would be 31.) That was fine, when we started thinking about the Peace Corps. Now we're realizing that we may not want to wait THAT long to have kids. We'd both like to start trying in about a year. Well, we talked about it today, and we both feel very strongly that we want our 'family', not just our 'coupleness' to be more global and international. So, we're going to, at least for now, halt plans for the Peace Corps. (Now, for all of you quick-to-jump-to-correction type people, yes, we know you can't have kids and join the Peace Corps....wait for it....I'm going to address that particular issue shortly...you just need to have patience.....no, seriously....wait for it....) We realize now that there are many different options out there. And, in all honesty, there are opportunities that are not quite so mainstream that may be more attractive when the time comes. So, we're going to start looking to options for a few years down the road. (So, Sarah, and Katie, we're MOST likely going to be moving to KC in another year. (c; ) We're considering, among others, looking at the possibility of working on a Department of Defense base, and doing humanitarian work along with our regular jobs. (Lucas: "In this life there are nothing but possibilities." --Empire Records)

Wheww....that was a long paragraph.

All right you crazy kids....get a good nights rest...you're gonna need it.

Thanks for reading....

Oh, one more thing...I'm going to start the Bob Dylan Autobiography tonight. (A little light reading, after the heavy reading....)

Tommy

Easy like Sunday Morning....

It's Sunday, almost noon, and I'm sitting in our big comfy chair, sipping coffee (yeah, i know...it's 100 degrees, we don't have A/C, and still he drinks his coffee....) and enjoying the day.

Bibi just left for work, and we have a good morning together. Good conversation/discussion over breakfast, which was nice. It's wonderful being married to someone who challenges you, while still respecting your opinion, you know?

Had dinner and drinks with some friends last night. It was a lot of fun. Their kids were in and out, bobbing through the house and conversation; and a steady flow of unexpected guests made for a surprisingly enjoyable time. (We knew were were going to have a blast, but it's the unexpected that make things even more enjoyable!)

I finished the short story collection yesterday. It was good...very good. I found myself surprised during every short story, which was nice. He's a good author. (Richard Matheson, for those of you who don't want to look down one screen.)

I just started a new one yesterday. It's a book loaned to me by a friend who teaches high school history. It's called "Inside the Vicious Heart", by Robert H. Abzug. It is a collection of memories and first person accounts from Americans as they liberated concentration camps during WWII. The subtitle is, "Americans and the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps". No, not a light summer read, but one that I think is really important. I've never even considered what that must have been like....you know? I mean, I've been aware of the concentration camps most of my life, and with that constant knowledge there comes a certain...what's the word..almost numbness to the truth of what occured. But for people all over the world during WWII, it was an unexpressably horrible truth that was revealed by jouralists and GI's returning from Europe.

Anyway, not an easy read, but an important one.

Well, I'll keep you all updated...have a great Sunday, and thanks for reading...

Tommy

MUST SEE BLOGGING!!!

No, not really...nothing too important, but it's hard to keep coming up with a clever title to entice people to read. (However, it has become apparent that I have more readers than I previously thought...hi becki and john!!!)

Today's been a good day. Bibi and I were planning on getting up early (around 8) but decided to sleep until....um, well....much later than that. So, we got up and had a late lunch ( (c; ) and then we watched 40 Days and 40 Nights. (Bibi had never seen it before.) Then, she got a call from Goody's, a store here in town, and they told her that she was hired! Whoo hoo!!! Yeah! (She's excited.)

So, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. I made some corn on the cob that we had gotten at the Farmer's Market last weekend...that was kind of depressing. It seems that it doesn't keep QUITE that long, and we stopped eating when we found the...maggot/meal worm/definitely-still-alive-and-breathing-thing in one of the ears. Ugh.

We then sat outside on the porch while Bibi talked to her folks and I read for awhile. I'm reading something that's a "bit" out of my normal range of reading...it's a book called "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson. It's a collection of his short stories and one of his novels. It's actually a vampire novel, but it's VERY different from the vampire books I read as a kid and the crap vampire books that Anne Rice puts out. (Sorry, I really don't like her books.) For example, at one point, the soul survivor in the world is wondering about all of the legends about vampires. He asks himself why crosses affect all vampires....what about people who were Jewish before they became vampires? What then? It's interesting...

All right everyone...have a great night, and...as always, thanks for reading....

Tommy

...stuck a feather in his cap and called it....

I just finished reading "Paul Rever" by....uh, someone. Hmm....if you're interested, I'll look it up...otherwise, deal with my laziness.

I found it pretty interesting; my friend Dave uses portions of it in his high school class, and I thought it did a really good job of putting common assumptions and popular views of historical events into a factual context. It was fascinating to see how events really played out in the weeks leading up to, and the few days after Revere's infamous ride. (Hmm...note to self: Look up "famous" and "infamous" to determine if you're actually using them correctly....)

The lesson that I gleaned from this book was somewhat of a paradigm shifter. It became apparent to me, through reading this text, that my understanding of the American Revolution was...well, incomplete at best. The thing that I've always felt was the underlying "theme" of the founding of our county was the rugged individualism that was the cornerstone of my "republican party affiliation" from high school. I mean, Paul Revere rides solo throughout the New England countryside, alerting everyone to the presense of the Redcoats; individual minutemen were their own commanders, as they ambushed and flustered the British "Regulars" with their irreverent and uncommon tactics. These were the ideas I USED to have....

First of all, Paul Revere had a partner. He was somewhat less successful in his ride, but William Dawes (anyone, anyone?) performed the same function that Revere did....the difference? He didn't have a poem entitled, "The Midnight Ride of William Dawes".

Furthermore, the success of Revere's ride hinged on the sense of community and the ability of the New England people to work together for a common goal.

And, as far as the minutemen working on their own? It was, again, an example of people coming together to work for a common goal that made it not so much an "army of one", but a highly disciplined and well-oiled machinery of differing parts working in symphony.

Happy belated Independence Day, everyone!

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Hallelujah...

I'm sitting here thinking about the lyrics to the song Hallelujah, performed by many, but most recently by Rufus Wainwright. "Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken, 'Hallelujah".

The thing that I'm learning is that love is not about being right. When Bibi and I argue, I'm constantly having to remind myself that the point of our being together is not to exalt myself, it's not to prove how smart I am, or how right I am. She already knows that, she has spent time with me. She KNOWS me. The point SHOULD be to understand her point, not to slam my point in her face.

It's disGUSTing how earnestly I will argue, completely ignoring her needs in order to come out on top.

It's absolutely BEAUTIFUL the change that I see in myself, though. As we grow together, more and more in our discussions I find myself wanting to push aside the meaningless and hollow desire to be "right" and seeking a common understanding between us....it's not about a victory march of my "self"....love is about breaking that tie to "me" and forging the bond between the two of us.

I just wish I would learn faster, you know?

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

S...A...T-U-R...D-A-Y....NIGHT!!!!

Today's been one heck of a day.

Bibi and I were going to get up early and go to the Farmer's Market, but she was really sleepy, so I let her stay in bed, and I walked to the square. I picked up some really tasty tomatoes, and a dozen ear of corn. SWEET CORN?! Sweet!

I walked back and sat on the porch reading my Paul Revere book, sipping a really tasty cup of coffee (of course) and just enjoying a pleasant Saturday morning.

Around 11 I realized I wanted my "Hang-Over Special" for lunch. (No, I wasn't hung over, I just really like it in general.) So, I hopped on my bike and rode over to the grocery store and got some supplies.

Came back, Bibi had gotten up and she was going to work out with a friend. So, I relaxed, made a little lunch (saved the HOS for dinner with Bibi) and read some more on the porch. We cleaned up some after Bibi got back from working out, and then watched a movie. I then made some sweet-tea and sat outside for awhile (man I love me some sitting outside!!!) and then Bibi and I made dinner. It was SO good....Sweet Corn, roasted zuchinni in a lemon-butter sauce and the Hang-Over Special. Here it is, in all it's goodness...deceptively simple, and surprisingly tasty:
One loaf of crusty, chewy, thick sourdough bread
One Ripe Tomato
One hunk of Colby Jack cheese.

You slice the tomato into moderately thick slices and place them on a slice of the sourdough bread. (It should be about two to three slices of tomato per slice of bread.) Then you cut some slices of the colby jack onto the tomato.

Now, there are two variations:
ONE: If you are eating this concoction on morning where you're not feeling " too well", eat this cold. The bread can be toasted, but the cheese and the tomato should be cold.

TWO: Dinner or lunch, you can toast the whole thing, and it's pretty damn tasty. However, the tomato is the key; if it's not bursting with juices? Well, forget the whole thing and take two advil and a glass of water. (c;

Now? Bibi and I are playing cards and listening to some of our favorite music. It's been a great night! (c;

Thanks for reading you all....

Oh, Brandon and Keri...thanks for reading!!! I miss you guys!!!
JNo, I know...I feel BAD for not getting together with ya'll after the last day of school. And, thanks for the b-day wish!!! (c;
Sarah, thanks for reading every day!

Tommy

Roll Call Update

Sarah, apparently you're my only reader. So, thanks! (c; It's good to know that I can captivate at least one person's attention for five minutes every day.

So, thanks for reading....Sarah.

Tommy

An Angry Post...

Hey ya'll!

Well, today was kind of interesting. I woke up and made some coffee. (Nothing too weird so far.) I was sitting on our front porch reading a biography of Paul Revere (it's good, and it's very well written.) when a truck started driving by. (Again, not too weird, it IS Kirksville, and pick-up trucks are the mode of transportation of choice for the vast majority of Kirksville's citizens).

This pick-up truck drove in front of my house. As it passed the tree, just to the left of the house, I glanced up again. I saw two young guys in the truck both laughing....the one on the passenger side leaned out the window, reached deep down inside and halked a ginormous lougie (sp?!) on my car. As the spit flew out of his mouth he looked up and saw me. I immediately threw down my book, jumped up and ran off the porch. I, again, immediately, stepped on one of those spiky pine-cone ball seedlings that litter my frontyard, (I was barefoot) and ran through the yard to try and get the punk's license plate (I was too late). I called the police (yes, I felt foolish reporting it, but damn it I was pissed!!!!) and they said they'd see what they could do. I sat for another hour on the porch stewing and HOPING they'd drive by again so I could get the license plate. Yeah, that didn't happen. Ugh. Stupid asshats.

All right....more later...

Thanks for reading! (c;

Tommy

Humpty Day...

Hey ya'll! Well, Bibi and I made it back to Kville after an unbelievably relaxing weekend. We got to KC saturday, and hung out with Bibi's family and watched the World Cup game, which was cool. Then we played Vengence (the greatest card game ever) for a while. (I've gotten Bibi--and now her whole family addicted--thanks Dan and Matt for teaching me!)

We went over to my sis's house, and had a great time just relaxing and hanging out. We had good food, watched Memoir's of a Geisha, and slept in really, really late Sunday. (Ahhhhhh....) I wanted to wait and not watch the movie til after I'd read the book, but it was pretty good.

I took a book by Brett Easton Ellis with me, and--to be perfectly honest--could NOT get into it. I hate giving up on a book, but man...just couldn't do it. So, now I"m reading a biography of Paul Revere, which is good so far. (All of 3 pages.)

Sunday night we went back to Bibi's and hung out some more. We started watching True Romance with her fam, and man that's a great movie! Brad Pitt is freakin' GREAT in it. It's an excellent movie written by Quentin Tarrantino, so you should all check it out.

Went mini golfing with some friends in KC, and that was fun. Funny side note: anyone else ever witnessed a mini-golf accident that required the paramedics to come? I have. (c;

Monday morning we had breakfast with some other friends and then....Monday night...I got to see my very first Minnesota Twin's baseball game....it was GREAT! They, of course, kicked ass. (c; It was good times.

Tuesday, the fourth, Bibi's dad and I went to get fireworks for Bibi's little sister, and then we watched some more World Cup. I also got to read portions of a book that Bibi's mom is working on, which was absolutely excellent. It was neat seeing how she writes, and man does she have a knack for turning a phrase. It was absorbing, compelling, and fantastic story-telling. I'll let you all know about publishing dates so that you can all buy the first printing. (c;

Tuesday night we went to a park in Lee's Summit to watch the fireworks, and it was an unexpectedly great sight...the park was on a bit of a hill, which meant that we could see about 20 other major shows going on in the distance as we waited for the Lee's Summit show to begin. I've never seen something like that before...it was really cool.

Pet Peeve: Would someone please explain to me the logic in showing up hours before a 30 minute fireworks show, only to leave ten minutes into the program to "beat the traffic", and inadvertently (sp?!) obstructing everyone's view with your DAMN headlights?!

This morning Bibi and I woke up much later than we had planned and had breakfast with Bibi's dad and little sister. Then we got on the road, laden down with tubs of Cholay, (which if you haven't had, what the hell are you waiting for?!) some of the things we didn't have room for after the wedding and all the flowers from the wedding. Now we're relaxing and getting ready for some Chinese food. Mmmm....good times.

All right ya'll....let me know who's out there....it's the "My Life" role call....leave me a comment to let me know who ACTUALLY reads this damn thing. (c;

Oh....favorite "Knock Knock joke of the day"

Knock Knock.
"who's there?"
Madame
"Madame who?"
Ma' damn foots stuck in the door...open up!!!

And...
Why was Tigger digging in the toilet?

Answer:
He was looking for Pooh.

(c;

Thanks for reading everyone...

Tommy

Saturday...in the park....I think it's almost Fourth of July

Hey everyone!

Things are going well here. Bibi and I are leaving shortly to go to KC for a few days. My friend Dave got us tickets to see the Twins play the Royals. The Twins are my favorite team, and Bibi and Dave like the Royals, so it should be a good time. (Especially because the Twins are going to kick some ass.)

I don't really have anything else to report, except that....um, well, nope that's all.

Have a great fourth, and let me know what your plans are for the duration of the summer!

Thanks for stopping by...
Tommy

June 29th

Hey ya'll! Well, today has gone well so far. Last night, (and it went past midnight, so it counts as today) Bibi and I went to Superman Returns with a bunch of friends. That was cool....it was a good time, and a great movie. When we got back, Bibi and I played a card game for a while. (I've gotten her addicted to a game called Nertz, or "Vengence!!!!)

This morning my mom called to with me happy birthday pretty early. That was cool. Then, an hour later, my sister called to wish me happy birthday as well. That was also cool. And, when I got online, my other sister had left birthday wished at my myspace page. I got a cool present from my mom in the mail, and now I'm sipping coffee preparing for the day. Good so far, I'll say.

More later, I'm sure. (c;

Thanks for reading!

Tommy

...transitions...

So, I've got this theory. Kirksville, is a town in transition. As a college town, and one with a medical school to boot, Kirksville is a a very transitory experience. People coming and going like a busboy through the diner of one's life, and all that.

I've viewed this unique aspect of Americana for the past 9 years, with a range of emotions, although amused interest was the most prevalent.

However, it has become painfully obvious, in light of recent events, that my perspective has changed, entirely unbeknownst to me. Instead of seeing this transitory town from a transfixed position, I am now seeing it as one on the verge, the cusp, of leaving. And, I gotta be honest. It sucks.

There are aspects that are wonderful. I am SO blissfully loving married life. I'm really excited about our possibilities in the near future. However, somethings have become....different....they've changed. (Although, my beautiful--and wise--wife has pointed out that perhaps the "things" haven't changed, its' actually me that has changed....food for though to be sure....)

Karaoke.

I went tonight. As I always do. And, as Bibi and I sat there...at a table full of people...it dawned on me...that we didn't "fit". I realized that the people that we were sitting with...were not sitting with us. And, it slowly occurred to me that these people, who I've considered to be close friends, have become VERY distant recently. Just a few short years ago, karaoke was the one thing...the ONE thing that I missed most about Kirksville when I left town. Now? I'm looking forward to next week being out of town and the week after? Who knows what we'll be doing....but it won't be karaoke.

And, this sucks as well. Why? Not because I'm going to miss it all that much....but there are a few people that occassionally go that Bibi and I both really want to see. And, we're going to be going out of our way to set up time to see these people...but it's a new era in my life, and it's hard to enter into these times. Hmm.....prior to signing on and actually typing these words I had a rough idea of what I was going to be writing...and it included a great deal more cursing and more pointed discourse....but this is fine for now.

Huh.

Thanks for reading.

Tommy

The wedding day...

All right ya'll....here's the deal.

The day of the wedding...Bibi and I werent' allowed to see each other....(which WAS pretty cool) and I felt pretty good all day. There were no nerves....well, there were nerves, but never doubt. It was a very peaceful nervous....is that possible?

After the tuxedo mishegoss, (which will be detailed later)all my guys and I went to the site for pictures, which were really fun.

All of my guys and I went to a great little bar after pictures while Bibi and her girls had her pictures. When we left, it was raining...(we were supposed to have the ceremony outside)...and we got back to the site. It was still raining. We were all set up inside the barn, which was great...the congregation was positioned so that their view was of the rolling hills just outside the barn. It was beautiful. I greeted some guests, and found out that our CD player had been left outside...the CD that we had made was trapped in the now broken CD player. My friend, Brendan, who was there to play one song, thankfully agreed to play some music before the ceremony and while the wedding party came down the aisle. (Which was fantastic!)

As the wedding party started coming down the aisle, I realized that this was actually it....the moment I had been waiting for for almost a year....

I surveyed the guests and savored it all as I took it all in. It was so touching, having everyone there....it was beautiful.

Then, I lost it. Bibi and her father came out from the back hall...she looked....amazing....her hair, was perfect, the veil, her dress....she looked absolutely amazing....

She came towards me, slowly looking around at everyone, and then we locked eyes, and smiled. we clasped hands, and her eyes twinkled. Our officiant welcomed everyone (which was great, thanks to Bibi's mom) and the ceremony began.

We had our friends, Brad and Jeff, share a few thoughts on committment. Then our friend Jen, the minister's wife, spoke about marriage.

Our friend Brendan, (mentioned above) and Bibi's sister sang a beautiful song, entitled "Eternal Love" (no...not the Bengal's version). While the song was being played, Bibi and I gazed into each other's eyes, and sang the song to each other.

We shared our vows, (written by ourselves) and then exchanged rings. After, we were announced, for the first time, as "Mr. and Mrs. Estlund".

And, we kissed. (c;

That's enough for now. More later...
Thanks for reading...

tommy

Preliminary Update

Well, things are going here in the Kville. Bibi and I are enjoying married life, and setting up house.

The stories? Well, I lost my ring in the Aruban ocean. We were swimming in about 5 and a half feet of water, and my ring just slipped off. I started hyperventilating, freaking out, and totally spazzing....(listen, I've owned exactly ONE ring in my life, and it's my damn wedding ring, and I DON"T want to lose it!! So, I feel it's PERFECTLY acceptable for me to freak out and scream like a little child....oh, wait...I didn't scream like a little child....well, not much anyway....)...when Bibi--VERY calmly says to me, "Hon, go get some goggles, I'll stay right here." So, I found this guy who had some snorkeling gear, he loaned me the goggles, and Bibi dove down to look for it. And...um, found it. (First look, too!)

As for the ceremony and reception? Well, it's hard to describe perfection....it was absolutely amazing. Bibi and I talked about it alot afterward, and we came to the realization that it was TOTALLY different than we thought it would be...but it couldn't have gone better! Go look at the pictures....man.

Oh, and the parasailing was fun....Bibi enjoyed it, and I thought it was cool, although one of the carabeaners (sp?) wasn't entirely closed...so, you know that scared me a bit.

All right. That's all for now...oh, I'm reading an interesting book called "The Science of Superheros". It sounds cheesy, and I want everyone to know that I didn't read comic books, but the book is pretty good.

Oh, and I love my new iPod. It's cool....mkay?

Bibi and I are going to Kansas City next weekend for my birthday and possibly a baseball game. Good times...good times.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Sometimes kids say the wisest things...

Hey everyone! I've got more to post, much...MUCH more to post, but I'm going to do it in pieces...so, here's one of 'em.

My 7-almost-8 year old sister-in-law wrote a very special book as a wedding present to Bibi and I, and I'm going to transcribe it here for your reading pleasure...

Here it is,
"Marriage Is..." by Ami.

"Marriage is being together...
Loving one another...
Standing up for one another...
Discipline...
Taking care of one another...
Jobs...
Money...
Fun...
Sadness...
Joy...
Anger...
Work...
Generosity...
Celebrations...
Talking...
Plans...
Going new places...
and most of all Love."

We just think that is the coolest thing...and, we really wanted to share that with all of you. (c; So, hope you enjoyed it.

Oh, and our wedding pictures are now up on the web, for anyone who would like to go see them...

www.collages.net

Username: 061006
Password: 10799

(They look GOOD!)

All right...I"ll give you all the juicy details about the wedding, the ceremony, the reception, the honeymoon...losing my ring (in the ocean)...parasailing, plane rides, the MASS NUMBER OF HONEYMOONERS we met...and more....later. (c;

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

I'm Back.

(c;


More later....

break from posting...

Hey everyone...um...well, I won't be able to blog for the next week and a half or so. Why, you ask? Well....um...I'm getting married tomorrow. So, that's why. (c;

books...hmm...what are those?

Well, I realized that the roots of this blog--the books that I'm reading--has largely been ignored lately, and this post is an attempt to rectify that glaring transgression. (It's also an excuse to use big words.)

I finished a new book by Steven King a couple of days ago, entitled "Cell". It's about a frequency transmitted by cell phones that creates a new national terror: Zombie-like creatures. (Anyone who has stood in line at a grocery store lately knows that this isn't too far a cry from what cell phones actually do!)

The book was interesting...I found that it recalled King's greatest work (in my opinion) The Stand. A small group of survivors attempt to place some level of normalcy into their lives after some horrible tragedy (The Stand: A plague; Cell: Zombies) knocks out seeminly all of the much relied on infrastructure of our country. There is also a "bad" guy (Stand: The Trashcan Man; Cell: The Raggedy Man--also called The President of Harvard--I prefer the second name.) The similarities between the two books were striking, and I thought a little distracting. It was, in all honesty, a bit disappointing. I used to love King's work, and this just seemed to lack originality. All in all, I would suggest reading the Stand, and skipping Cell.

(One note, King did make use of the post 9/11 terrorist fear that has America in it's grip, and that was interesting.)

I just finished another book today, one entitled Amish Confidential, by Chris Burkholder. I found that my expectations for this book FAR out weighed the actual quality of the book. It was VERY poorly written, again, in my opinion. I was really interested in finding out about the Amish culture, especially from someone who has experienced it first hand, and found that it was very boring. The writing was very immature...it felt like it was being written by a fifth grader. He was redundant, and the book lacked any semblence of organizational structure. It was confusing and the lack of a logical flow made what should have been shocking revelations (beastiality, incest, sex, drugs, abuse) dull and lackluster.

Wow...I don't think I've ever written such negative reviews of books before, have I? Hey, Hadler, apparently I don't love EVERYTHING I read, do I? (c;

Just started another book, entitled "Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About" by Mil Millington. Only about 10 pages into it, but already I've laughed out loud enough times to frighten Buddy the dog. (Poor Buddy...he doesn't understand good literature.)

All right...that's all.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

HOLY TUESDAY BATMAN!!!!

Hey ya'll! Well, since I've arrived in KC, we've just had an amazing time. We had lunch with my mom, stepdad, and one of my sisters, and that was awesome. Great time relaxing, and my sister has a wonderful house, and it was just really nice and relaxing. Hung out with Bibi's family, and that was great, too. Good times abound.

Sunday night we hung out with friends, and that was nice. Yesterday, we got together around noon, and made our itinerary for the wedding, which was good. Every little thing we do that needs to be done before the wedding, seems like a symbolic huge step towards actually getting married, and I get more excited with each step!! I've had a perpetual grin/smile on my face since we got here. (And, even more importantly, I've had what an old friend used to call, a "soul grin" on the whole time. MAN I"M EXCITED!!!)

We also were able to line up someone to play the song that we really wanted to have played at the wedding, and that looks like it's going to go really well.

Oh, and along the excitement lines...
BACK STORY: Junior Year of high school, a Sunday in the spring, after church: I was absolutely stoked about joining the peace corps. IN FACT, I called them and asked about the possibility of joining before college. Realized, that wasn't going to happen. (They aren't that needy, they can actual limit volunteers to college grads (for the most part.))

FLASH FORWARD TO 16 MONTHS AGO: Bibi and I discussed how we had both kinda wanted to do the peace corps at one time. Conversation fizzles.

FLASH TO A MONTH AGO: Bibi and I realize that we want to wait to have kids for a couple of years, we are going to be in Kirksville until next year, but after that, well, the whole world is open to us. Why not? Why NOT?! Heck, let's go for it!! C'mon, when will there be a better time for us? So, yesterday we spent a bunch of time online researching and we're absolutly psyched about the whole thing. And, there is a conference in July about the Peace Corps in St. Louis, and we're planning on going. WHOO HOO!!!

All right...more later!

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Monday, Tuesday, Happy Days....

Hey everyone! I'm sitting here in our living room, typing away on my laptop--which is now internet enabled!!!--updating my blog. whoo hoo!!!

Bibi and I are leaving here in about 20 minutes to go down to KC for the rest of the time til the wedding. I. Can't. WAIT. !!!!!

Just had to pack for the next two weeks, as well as for the honeymoon. (THAT was awesome!!!)

All right....I"ll update from KC...hope everyone is doing well!!!

Oh, and Steven King's book, Cell, is really really good. More later!

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

...

Well, at last the day is here. I am done with school for another
year. It's always a bittersweet time. I'm going to miss these kids a
great deal. They're a good bunch, and I have a lot of fond memories. Good
times, good times.

Wedding plans are coming together. Bibi is amazing. She's really doing an
amazing job of organizing and situating, but I really feel like I'm a part
of the process--as much as I can be, before school is out.

Today is another one of those cool days where I get to play a fun song for
the kids...."School's Out" by Alice Cooper. Yeah, that's right. I'm THAT
teacher. (c;

Oh, and I found a HIlarious clip of the Peanuts Gang dancing to OutKast's
"Hey Ya", which I'm showing to the kids, too. (Thanks, Matt! It's
AWESOME!!!!)

Well, until later...God bless, and have a great day!

Thanks for reading...

tommy

Update

Hey everyone...

just wanted to drop a little note.

The year is winding down. Tomorrow we go on our major field trip of the
year. At 7:15, we (7 of 8 fifth grade classes) will board school busses
and ride two hours to Nauvoo Illinois, where we will spend our day touring
an 1840's village. Good times, good times.

We've gotten Bibi's things moved into our house, and she's leaving this
afternoon to go back to KC til the wedding. It's getting down to crunch
time, and we'll admit, it's a bit scary. (Not the actual being married
part--we're both cool with that--but the throwing of a huge major shindig
has us both a bit harried.)

On a much sadder and personal note...Kaya, my beautiful boxer is not doing
well. She's doing very poorly, actually. She's been incontinent for more
than a year now, and it's not gotten better, even with different
medications. I talked to the vet, and he told me that basically, at this
stage with her age, we can put her through an extensive and costly (+$2000)
set of tests, which will (given the aforementioned age) have slim to no
chance of providing helpful answers, or we can consider what no dog
owner/lover wants to consider.

She's been an amazing dog, and Bibi and I will miss her immensely. We
spent about half an hour last night taking pictures of our little girl and
I'm really not looking forward to the appointment tonight. Someone sent me
a really sweet poem/story today about the "rainbow bridge" and that was nice.

I'll talk to you all later, and God bless....

thanks for reading...

Tommy

greatest news today.

Knight Rider is being made into a movie. That. Is. AWESOME.

That is all.

greatest news today!!!!

Knight Rider is being made into a movie. That. Is. AWESOME.

That is all.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Testing

So, we're going to test this new-fangled thing out...so, this'll be short
in case this doesn't work.

My thigh is the color of a smurf. And, it hurts real smurfing bad.

Today starts the beginning of the end of the year for me. I've gotten
everything planned, everything scheduled and the end is in sight. So, I
got that going for me.

Oh, and seriously, if you haven't read "Lamb" by Christopher Moore...what
are you waiting for? It's ded-funny! (Oh, um...except, if you happen to
think that God doesn't have a sense of humor...then, um definitely DON"T
read the book. Yeah.

Karaoke tonight, looking forward to that. And, I'm taking requests if
anyone has one.

"Lost" tomorrow night. Wow, what a great show.

What About Brian? was great last night....left Bibi and I both SCREAMING
for another episode. (If you haven't watched it yet, check it out in
re-runville this summer.

That's all.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Hey ya'll!

So, just tried something, and we'll see how it goes.

Things are going well. School is gearing up/winding down, and I"m enjoying myself, and I believe the kids are, too. I'm getting married in less then 5 weeks, and I can't wait.

I'm in our new house, and I love it. Great location, nice time.

This weekend I had my bachelor party, and that was fun. My stepdad came up for it, and brought me his old bike. It's great! I rode it to school today, and promptly proceeded to run into a telephone pole on the way home. (Please--don't ask.)

The bike's ok. (The front brake needs to be checked out.) And, my thigh has a MASSIVE bruise on it. Yeah!!!! (Sarcasm.)

I'm re-reading "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." I LOVE this book. Absolutely hilarious and really interesting look at Jesus' human side. Good stuff.

All right, I think I've worked out so that I can post more frequently. We'll see.

Off to watch the Season Finale of What About Brian?

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Midweek Update, and a request...

So, things are going really well. The new house is awesome, school is fantastic, Bibi is great, and things are good in general.

I just finished up "Thank You for Smoking". Really good book. Very funny. I wanna see the movie now.

I took up "Assassins of Memory" again. It's about people who reject the idea of the Holocaust. It's very interesting, but really sad. Scary, too.

The request: Jim, you mentioned that I can post by sending an e-mail...can you send me an e-mail so that I can learn how to do that? Thanks!!!

Tommy

Hey ya'll. Just a quick note. Bibi and I moved me into the new house...and, it's awesome!!! I got out my record player, which I haven't had out for a while, and that was awesome. I put on The Who's "Baba O'Reilly", which, as my avid readers know, is my favorite. School's good, everything's great. My bachelor party is coming up, and I'm excited.

Looking forward to this weekend. Great band on Friday night, and I'm going home for the day Sunday. Good times.

Later...

Tommy

Update

So, went to the doctor today. My REAL doctor. Found out this morning that the guy I went to at the ER has almost killed three people by misdiagnosing, and thought to myself..."hey! Self, you should get to the doctor!" So, I did.

The real doctor told me that in all liklihood (sp?!) I pulled/strained/twisted something before the pain set in, and wouldn't have felt the effects until long after, when the muscles had a chance to tighten up. So, there ya go.

Oh! Bibi and I have REALLY exciting news!!! WE have someone to marry us now!!!! Dr. Dereck Dashke, of Truman State University has been ordained, and he will be officiating at the ceremony. It's awesome...he's a good friend of ours, his step-son was in my class last year, he goes to karaoke every week, and I was the photographer at HIS wedding, last summer! (It's a small world after....anyway.)

So, that'll be good.

This weekend was fun, and now Bibi and I are realizing that we are absolutly SLAMMED between now and the wedding. Every single weekend from here on out has multiple goings-on, and the weeks are just as busy. We are currently moving me into our new house, and it's EXCITING!!!! (c;

All right people...thanks for reading, and for what will MAYBE be the last time...
Life soundtracks, anyone? (c;

Tommy

pain in the....back....

So, I woke up today, feeling pretty damn good. My back felt great, and I felt fine. I was going to go sans coffee today, in order to kind of facilitate cleaning out my system. Everything was going fine...head was good, class was good, everything aces...until after lunch...just shortly after lunch.

Up until then, I have to admit my pain, on a scale of 1-10 had been at most a 5. I thought it was bad, but in retrospect, given what I know now about pain, it was AT MOST a 5. We were playing a spelling game after lunch, and I started having this intense stabbing sensations in my back...and, within five minutes, I was almost on the floor...I swear, I held the tears back until I went out in the hall. (Then they flowed like wine.) I got a sub, Bibi picked me up, and we took me to the hospital. There I had multiple tests done, x-rays, etc, all so that the doctor could tell me:

I have one leg that is longer than the other one. This, in turn, has set my spine off kilter from my pelvis, which in turn led to me crying like a little girl.

However, they gave me some kind of pain medicine that is one step down from morphine, so I feel fine now. (c; (mmm....happy tommy....)

Oh, and my new addiction "Deal or No Deal" was good tonight.

That's all.

Oh, and Bibi and I are going to KC this weekend for her sister's birthday, and some wedding stuff. It'll be good to get out of town for a bit, and I don't have school Friday, so that'll make the weekend extra sweet.

All right, more later...

Tommy

boo

So, I was going to post this morning before school started, but came to find out that my employer has blocked blogger from the school web. So....no more blogging for tommy, 'cept at Bibi's house. (I love you Bibi!!)

Today was decent....I woke up yesterday with this unbelievably bad back pain...it felt like someone was stabbing me repeatedly in the back. Didn't think anything of it...just though maybe I slept on it wrong. However, my overactive imagination has turned it into kidney stones, kidney infection, or perhaps I woke up in a tub full of ice, and there is a slit in my back, and I don't remember....

Finished New Religious Movements. It was REALLY good. Very enjoyable read, and very readable, at that. Plus, I have it on good authority, that Bibi and I might be getting the author to officiate at our wedding! (c'

I'm reading a book I picked up from a good friend of mine who teaches high school. It's called Assassins of Memory, and it's about people who deny the holocaust. Interesting so far.

All right! More later!

Thanks for stopping by!

a quick note...

Here is a link to where Bibi and I will be spending our first week of wedded bliss...

http://www.lacabanaaruba.com/Images/HighResort.jpg

How was your weekend?

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

struggling...

this week has been really hard; really, really hard. It's had some massive ups, and some fairly substantial downs.

I'm struggling with the concept of personal responsibility. Specifically, how I'm going to emphasize this unbelievably importnat concept to my students. There seems to me to be a complete and total lack of this value/quality/characterstic in my (some of my) students..and it's really frustrating. I can't really say anything more than that, but suffice it to say, I'm cooking up some lessons on accountability. Any suggestions will be duly noted and utilized.

On the up end of the week, Bibi and I are officially going on a honeymoon, and we're ecstatic! We're going to Aruba, and we bought our plane tickets earlier this week. (Thanks Bibi!)

I'm reading New Religious Movements still, and it's fascinating. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Rastafarians, and the Family Movement. Very intriguing. Curious theological ideologies. I found the idiosyncratic language used by Rastafarians quite inspiring, in all honesty. I've heard the whole Jamaican "I and I" phrase before, but I did not understand that it symbolizes the unity in the Rastafarian community, in that all people are connected, and when you say "I and I" for the pronoun "we" you are signifying the interconnectedness of the group. Really cool.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Tuesday

So, I voted today.

Voting always--and, I'm honestly not being sarcastic here--fills me with a huge sense of pride and accomplishment. I turned 18 the summer before my senior year in high school, and was able to vote in the 96 election for president. It was really cool to be able to vote before all of my friends, and it really showed me how awesome a responsibility--and priviledge!!!-- it is to be able to vote. Every time I vote, it really makes me feel good, and I love talking politics--in recent years I've become more interested in what other people have to say as opposed to telling people what I think--and today was no exception. Good times...good times.

Oh, and New Religious Movements is going really well. It's interesting reading about this groups from their perspectives...instead of just hearing about it from an outsider explaining what the religion believes, you know? So, if anyone wants to read it, let me know!

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Interesting fact...

This wednesday, at 1:02 and 3 seconds, the official date and time will be...


01:02:03 04/05/06.

Pretty cool isn't it?

That's all....reading a really good book called New Religious Movements about...well, new religious movements...VERY interesting stuff...I'm finding out things I really didn't know...I'd recommend it. (Plus, a couple of friends of mine wrote it!!! (c; )

Have a great Monday!

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

morning constitutional...

So, about a week back, Bibi's car went kaput. We talked and decided that we were fine as we are, and we didn't need to worry about getting a replacement...we became a one car family. I gotta say, it's been a breeze so far! I mean, I'm at work all day, so I obviously don't need a car, and the town we live in is small enough that, in all honesty, I really don't need to worry about it all that much anyway. Take today, for example.

Bibi had a late night of studying last night, so this morning I drove over to her house, and dropped off the car. I didn't want her to have to get up, so I walked the rest of the way to school. It was about four blocks-ish, maybe a quarter to half a mile. (FYI--My ability to judge distances is not to be trusted...). It was 7:00, and I had to get to school in time for a meeting about the infamous MAP testing. Needless to say, I was NOT looking forward to the meeting, but couldn't help but enjoy the walk...it was a breezy 40 degrees, I'd wager, and the sun was shining...it was absolutely peaceful and serene...I had my coffee, the sunshine on my face, and a balmy (Bibi and I looked it up...it means mild and refreshing!!!) breeze brining alive every inch of my skin. It felt glorious..it really did! In fact, the morning has been less than ideal, (challenges, problems, situations, etc.), but all I can think about is how damn good my morning is REALLY going!

I might want to continue doing this!

Maybe not when it's raining though...(c;

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Personal Update

So, before you read any further, know that this is a post that will be delving into a fairly personal topic. However, if you would like to read on, please do.

Bibi and I have discussed in the past the idea of "charting" as family planning, and pregnancy achievment. I had ironically read a little about this at a friend's blog, and my favorite tv show has done some really funny episodes all about cervical mucus, cervical position and temps. So, I was prepared somewhat.

However, Bibi's mom gave us a book called, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility", which is basically a really well written guide to fertility and the changes a woman's body goes through during their monthly cycle. Bibi and I agreed that we would read it together, and I have to say...it's been AWESOME. The book is absolutely fascinating, and we are having such a blast learning about the charting process as a couple.

Just a couple of things that I've though about as I've been reading...(nothing profound, but interesting nonetheless)

--why is it that most of the "responsibility" for birth control is placed on women, when women are fertile for only about a 1/4 of their cycle, and men are fertile ALL the time?!

--why do they not tell men about the crazy range of side-effects related to common birth control methods, so that we could possibly be a bit more understanding?!

--the human body is absolutely AMAZING. it's awesome, in the TRUE meaning of "awesome". It's awe-inspiring.

All right...that's all.

Oh, still reading Good Omens, still enjoying it. Also bought a book yesterday called "New Religious Movements," that was edited (put together) by a good friend of mine who works at Truman. I'm excited about it!

Ok...thanks for reading...

Tommy

Good Omens

I'm reading a new book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, called Good Omens. It's mainly a humorous take on the end times, with the misplacement of the Anti-christ, all hell breaks...well, um....loose.

Anyway, I liked this one passage, and thought I'd share it...

"It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people."

Yeah.

Tommy

Pimp name

So, in honor of....well, um...it being a....Monday...I though I'd revisit an old site and rephresh things....so, here it is...my pimp name.

Fine Ass Estlund Skillz

Word.

Peace out Homies....I be chiggity checkin' you all latas....

today

Well, we just had a "distinguished guest" in my classroom...the honorable president of our local university came to our classroom to see our 7 wonders of kirksville project. It was cool...the students--entirely on their own--spoke about the wonders of the CDC (now defunct, thanks) and the theatre department (which is basically being shat upon regularly.)

It was quite heart-warming to see. (c;

Oh, and here are my 7 wonders of kirksville...

1. The window seat at Java Co. (Left hand side, facing the square.)
2. The steps of Kirk Memorial building.
3. The "fort" at the old school building adjacent to Centennial Hall.
4. The house on Jefferson Street where I used to sit on the porch drinking iced tea with Souther Comfort with Brendan and Brad.
5. Rainbow Basin.
6. The lounge in the 300's of MO Hall, where I spent so much time my freshman year.
7. My classroom. It's where I learned what teaching meant, where I learned so many lessons about life, and love, and human nature, and most importantly...where I met the love of my life.

Oh, crap, that sounds REALLY bad. My fiance, Bibi...we met when she was observing in my classroom. Yikes....gotta be careful how I put that, eh? (c;

All right...

later!
Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Oh, weather report says 5-10 inches of snow....here's to hoping....

Hello from KC...

Hey everyone! It's me! I'm typing this at Dave's computer, pretty late in the night, over Spring Break. I hate his keyboard, so this will be short. Bibi and I came to KC last Friday, and we've been going going going ever since. I will say two things... (maybe more...I'm not really planning this thing...)

1. LOVED the book Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbradnt. (Spelling?!) Absolutlely amazing storyteller. I couldn't put it down--a man who hasn't watched a single horse race in his ENTIRE life. GREAT story.

2. Wedding planning has been great. Got the tuxes, got the food, working on the DJ. Great stuff.

3. www.chucknorrisfacts.com is FREAKIN' GREAT!!!!!!

4. I love Bibi.

5. Reading Portnoy's Complaint by Phillip Roth. It got a lot of flack as being quite controversial--which it deserves, but the underlying themes are pretty damn good.

That's all. Back to KVille tomorrow. Fun times, fun times.

Thanks for reading...how's your week going?

Tommy

Realization...

You know...

I'm pretty damn blessed.

That's all.

In other news...

Todays been a really great day. Other than the very sad news this morning, today has been very good. I'm enjoying a new book (Postville turned out to be an excellent book...you should read it Brad!) on Seabiscuit. The woman who does Karaoke in town bought it for me at a garage sale about a year ago. (talk about small town life; it was very sweet of her.) One of the after school teachers is sick, so I've got about 8 more students in my group than usual, and it's going REALLY well. I've got a couple of the kids that teachers talk about (vis. problem kids) and it's going swimmingly. They don't really know what to think of me, (they've seen my around, know that I'm somewhat strict, but they're a little afraid to test me.) I like it. (c;

All right...more later...

Tommy

Kirby

Today is a sad day. It's a sad day for baseball, for America, and for me. Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins great, died yesterday, one day after having a stroke. The reason this is so striking, is that when I was growing up, one of the things I remember so vividly is watching the Twins playin the world series with my dad. I still have The Twin's Homer Hankie from '87. My dad let me stay up late just to see the Twins play, and Kirby was our favorite player. In fact, my dad's Golden Retriever is named Kirby, in honor of Puckett.

He will be missed.

Postville Part Deux

So, almost finished with Postville. I have to say, it has turned out to be quite interesting. Once I got past the constant stereotyping of Iowans, it was really well written. The author, Stephen Bloom did an excellent job of laying out the complexities of the conflict. You take a group of Fundamentalist Hasidic Jews, who believe it is crucial to separate themselves from those around them as they are the Chosen People, and put them in a very unique setting, such as rural Iowa, and it set the stage for an interesting battle ground.

Bloom was sympathetic to both groups, all the while struggling with his inherent link to the Jewish population as a fellow Jew. Throughout the book, the reader sees Bloom's open and honest struggle with what is right and wrong. He sees how off-putting the Jew's behavior is (arrogant, condescending, racist--and proud of it!!--, and their immediate claim that any and all arguments against them is anti-semitism) as well as the close-mindedness some of the Iowan's exhibit. Sometimes, as we see in this story, there are reasons that generalizations are made, (not to say it's right) and it's easy to get caught up in an emotional state. Bloom is often caught in the middle of these two battling groups, and comes to find that he is reluctantly--but inevitably--drawn to the Iowans in this conflict. The behavior of the Jews of Postville--while right in their own minds--is too much to expect the Iowans to put up with. The pentultimate and proverbial last straw was a crime--viscious and unimaginable that was ignored and condoned by the Hasidim. An elderly shop clerk was shot, at point-blank range, by one of the Hasidim, and the Lubavitcher's (the Jew's in Postville) came out in force to show their support. For the SHOOTER. Because the victim was "just a gentile", it wasn't that big of a deal, and was not worthy of their sympathy.

Obviously, this is an accouting of the situation in Postville, and this case-study should not be extrapolated unto any other groups, and certainly not used as a description of Hasidic Jews as a whole; but it is an interesting view of one horrible experience of race problems in recent history.

I'd recommend it as an interesting look at race/religion relations in present day Middle America.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Lent

I'm giving up Sarcasm for Lent.

I feel like I'm in a bad episode of Friends.

And, it's going to last for 40 days.

New Deal

I recently stopped reading a book, which I rarely do. In fact, I don't think I've "quit" on a book in almost four years. Last time I did it was shortly after my sister moved to Kansas City. Man...how long ago WAS that Sarah?

Anywho, I'm not reading a book I bought about 6 years ago, that I never got around to. It's called "Postville", and it's a recounting of the conflict that occurred in Postville Iowa between the residents of the town and the Hassidic Jewish population that moved in, in order to run a kosher slaughterhouse. So far I'm only a little way into it, but it's been exceptionally frustrating. The author is a self-proclaimed big-city journalist from San Francisco, who is blown-away by the quaintness of small town Iowa. He moved to Iowa City (just 25-30 minutes away from my hometown of Cedar Rapids) and continually lambasts the community for it's "backward" qualities. He mocks the "behind-the-times" rebelliousness of the U of I student body, the back-roads, country-bumpkin, hill-billy, barely veiled antisemitism he meets at every corner.

Now, to be sure, I have no doubt that he--unfortunately--met with some ignorant people in his time. But his only visit to Cedar Rapids was to visit the Linn County Pork Festival (which, by and by, I've NEVER heard of) instead of visiting the Science Station, the Symphony, the Community Theatre, or the Cedar Rapids Art Museum.

It's frustrating to see my home town portrayed in such a two-dimensional and stereotypical fashion. I'm sure that moving to Iowa was a shock to his system, but his account of his co-workers at the University of Iowa only choice of recreation being hunting, is hardly the case. Sure, people in the midwest hunt. But there's more to do than that!!!!

When I bought the book I was looking forward to an analysis of two very different cultures coming together in an unusual way...not a static and one-sided description of how small-minded and sad our midwest way of life is.

I will continue...I will read on...but I'm frustrated for now.

That is all.

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Yea Hump Day

So, today has been incredible so far. Man! Last night started it all off. It was kind of...um, well...crappy for Bibi. Her basement is flooded with sewage. Um...again. So, her landlord put her and her roommates up in a hotel her in town, and we all hung out in the hottub for a while. Then, I went to karaoke, which was great, and I overslept a LITTLE this morning, which meant that I'm well rested.

Today though...man aLIVE today. (c; Well, I absolutely LOVE teaching Social Studies, and this morning has been a Social Studies-tastic day. Both classes have been ON. I mean, bing bang boom, we're answering questions, explaining causes and effects, etc. etc. etc. It's been GREAT!!!!

And, it's like 65 out, which translates to NICE. (c;

All right, I'm going to go spread my sunshiny happiness somewhere else. Have a GREAT Wednesday everyone!

(c;

Tommy

doodads

So. I was cleaning off my desk at school, when I re-noticed a paper weight I have on my desk. I was given it as a Valentine's Day Present by a girl I dated my second year teaching. It says, "Mr. E" on it; it's a glass circle about an inch thick and about two inches in diameter. I'm not using it as a paper weight, I'm using it as a decoration on an already cramped and crowded desk. Do I keep it?

soundtracks...

Hey ya'll! So, I've upped the number of "Life Soundtracks" I've received. I now have 10, although that's not from ten different people--some of you have made Life Soundtracks Volumes 1-4. (Although the four disc is actually going to be an anthology...the four I have are just of the years 20-25.)

So, for those of you who were thinking about doing it...and didn't...or thought I'd forgotten, well, GET CRACKIN!!!! (c;

This weekend was good. Saw Lewis Black at Truman Friday night, and had a small scavenger hunt for Bibi afterwards for her b-day. Saturday was relaxing...did laundry, read, organized CD's, etc. Bibi's new sorority formal was Saturday night, and we go there a bit later, which was great, b/c evidently there was some drama--imagine that...drama at a sorority event...huh--and we missed it. (I prefer no drama with my festive events, thank you very much)

Sunday was a lazy day, lounging around and relaxing....Grey's Anatomy was GREAT last night.

Still working on The Best and the Brightest. It's a bit slow going, but you can't exactly gloss over the events leading up to the Vietnam War, can you? (c;

Oh, and for those of you who aren't paying attention to the Dubai Ports deal; The company that is attempting to purchase the ports has requested that we take time to fully investigate the deal and the company to make sure things are on the straight and narrow.

Sounds solid to me. (As it did to the three government agencies that all investigated the deal prior to approving it....which, you know, they did. (c;)

Love ya all...thanks for reading...

Tommy

PS

Oh, one other thought...Bush just claiming, "People don't need to worry about Security"...well, golly that's not REALLY gonna make people feel better, now is it? So...after all of the other thoughts...he's just not really doing much to further his cause.

Views in the News

For anyone who reads the news, you can hardly read two lines, or listen to 2 seconds of the news before hearing about the controversial Dubai-Ports deal. It strikes me as very interesting. First of all, I do NOT claim to be an expert on all things UAE, however, I have done some (limited) research on Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, and I thought I'd use this forum to throw out some ideas.

The UAE HAVE indeed been allies to the US and Britain in the "war on terror". There is also evidence to show that the 9/11 terrorists used UAE transportation (airplanes, boats, etc) prior to the attack. I believe it's also been suggested that one or two of the terrorists were from the UAE. (I'm not sure about that one though.)

However, the UAE has been making dramatic strides in promoting freedom, peace, capitalism and democracy for the past 50 years. While the so-called "terrorist connection" may look bad, I'd like to remind you that the terrorists got flight training IN the US, I believe, because we're a free country...we don't like to question or stifle people's freedom's. (In the UAE, they're trying for the same idea--freedom).

The whole "port-authority" issue has been blown a little out of proportion. Some may not understand exactly what the deal entails. First of all, the US did NOT sell to the UAE. The ports in question (six of them in all) were ALREADY owned by Britain. So, in fact, Britain (one of our strongest allies) sold the ports to Dubai. Second, security would NOT be under UAE jurisdiction. That would still fall to the US. WE would be in charge of that. Furthermore, historically speaking, when ports ARE owned by other countries, the employees of said port are generally speaking natives of the host country. (Americans would still be the main source of labor at the ports.) So, it's not like the sale will mean an influx of "scary and questionable people of Arab descent." And, this brings me to my final point...

I decided to see what the UAE perspective was on all of this. I quote from the Dubai.com website (yeah, yeah, no accounting for bias, but that's another issue all together!!!):
If the United States can't work with a moderate, friendly and socially liberal Arab ally like Dubai, it may not be able to work with any Arabs at all.

It's important to remember that Islam is not the cause of terror. It's important to remember that Arabs are not Terrorists. It's important to remember that one major goal in the "war on terror" that has been overlooked for the most part is fostering positive relationships with other countries around the world. Arabs DO NOT hate the US. The UAE, specifically wants to work with us. (Of course, this deal will be beneficial to Dubai, and all UAE citizens, but we can't fault them for wanting to grow as a country.) We should NOT close ourselves off to friendly countries because of a specious argument. To other countries, our reticence looks like Arabphobia, and that we can't afford.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

The Pearl--Revisited

I've decided I want to talk a bit more about the Pearl.

Steinbeck does something quite amazing. He sets the story in a "primitive" village, where the main characters--a husband and wife, and their baby--live by diving for Pearls. After their baby is bitten by a scorpion, they realize that living day-to-day is taking a horrendous toll on their existence. Kino finds the "Pearl fo the World", and immediately all of his wildest dreams are realized. He speaks them--which sets in motion unavoidable obstacles. It is clear now that riches have changed him. He is isolated, separated, and cast out into the world. The people around him--his neighbors, friends, townspeople--are all viewed in a new light.

This book, this story, this look at ourselves, is a mirror. How often have we simply wished that we could get that lottery ticket, some mysterious benefactor would bequeath us with some exorbitant sum and all our problems would drift away. If we could just get 'enough' all would be made simple; right? Money is our problem, and if we could just get a little more...the problems would be gone. Right?

In reality, it's not the money that's the problem. It's ourselves. We get ourselves into situations that cause strife. We are the problems...not money. Steinbeck shows that money, wealth, materialism are realities in our world--we can't ignore them. Living does take money...(when Coyotito is bitten, he really does need medical attention, although the doctor that treats him is a jackass) and so we can't remove ourselves from that scenario, but recognizing it....recognizing the ACTUAL causes of our conflicts, instead of pawning them off on an easy scapegoat, will bring us just that much closer to an actual solution.

Hmm...these blogs can be dangerous things...for anyone that is reading this...these revelations are all directed back at me, and should not be taken as an indictment of anyone else. Except you. (c;

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

e-mail

If anyone has e-mailed me since yesterday at about 4:15, I haven't gotten it...my e-mail is not working. Argh.

Weekly update

Hey ya'll!

Well, it's been awhile, b/c we've had an unexpected vacation! On Wednesday, we knew that it was going to be messy over night, and it might get kind of slick. Well, Thursday I woke up and it was VERY icy, but I didn't think we would be let out of school, so I went ahead to school. After sitting in my classroom for a half an hour working, I decided to go down to the main commons area and chat with some fellow teachers; it was then that I found out school was cancelled. Unfortunately, many kids were already on their way/at school, so they had to turn around and go back. It was a very confusing an unfortunate situation.

We also found out Thursday night that school was cancelled for Friday. I had been subpeonoed for a child custody battle, and that was settled out of court, so that meant my Friday was completely free. (Oh, and we didn't have school yesterday, which added up to a five day weekend for yours truly. Whoo hoo!!! (c;)

Friday night I held a huge party for Bibi, as her 22nd birthday is tomorrow, and her sister and best friend were able to come into Kville for the weekend. That was fun--although, afterwards, when we went to Pancake City for grub-postparty--a college student called me sir. SIR! Can you believe the nerve?! Dammit--I'm NOT a SIR yet. Argh.

The rest of the weekend was relaxing and nice. Oh--since last I talked, I've read a few books. The Shroud of the Thwacker was amusing. It was kind of monotonous, but overall enjoyable. And, for the record--Sara!!!--I did not LOVE it. It was good, but not fantastic or anything. After that I read "the Pearl" by John Steinbeck. HOLY crap. WHAT an amazing book!!! (That one I did love!) Steinbeck--can he do anything wrong?! I submit that he cannot!! (Well, literary wise...I don't know what kind of a person he was or anything.)

Now I'm reading a book by David Halberstam. He's one of my favorite non-fiction authors. It's a book called "The Best and the Brightest", and it's a look at the Kennedy administration's involvment in the Vietnam situation. Basically, Halberstam takes a look at all of the people involved in the administration--how their strength's and weaknesses, their power--and lack therein--led to the inevitable quagmire that was Vietnam. I'm nuturing a growing interest in the politics of the early-to-mid 20th century, and the national attitude towards media, communism and politics in general is absolutely fascinating!

All right...have a great Tuesday! (c;

Thanks for reading...
tommy

v day

Imagine, if you will...a fifth grade classroom. On Valentine's Day. Every single student pumped so full of chocolate that they literally cannot control themselves. Noise, energy, excitment, confusion, joy, unnaturally high levels of endorphins running through their little bodies. Can I tell you how much I'm looking forward to after school today? Third graders running on cupcakes, cookies, sweetarts, and smarties. Ugh. I wanna brush my teeth just thinking about it....

tommy

Yesterday

So, yesterday something cool happened. I don't know if you remember, faithful reader, that at the start of the day, even before my students were in the room, I was prepared for a good day. I had listened to my 'good day' music, and was pumped.

Well, during the morning routine, I decided to tell my students that it was going to be a good day. I told them that it was entirely possible to wake up and just decide that the day was going to be a good one.

Jump to Social Studies. After our last test--which, in all honesty--SUCKED, I had really upped the effort in this chapter; we took the test yesterday, and we discussed it when everyone was done. I asked them what they had thought of it, and one student raised her hand and said, "well, some of the questions were kind of fun to answer....like, I knew a lot about the question, so I could really write a lot and that was fun." HOW COOL IS THAT?! I just smiled and said, "who remembers what I said at the start of the day? It's a good day!!!"

ok...that's all.

Tommy

Musical tastes...

I've been listening to some random collections of music lately...and here's what I've decided.

I like happy music. I like 'upbeat' music, melody-wise. Songs like Wonderful, by Everclear, Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve (I think?!), 100 years by Five for Fighting, Beautiful Day by U2, and of course, Baba O'Reilly by the Who. Songs that get you pumped, songs that have that unknow quality that just gets the old heart beating a bit faster, puts a smile on your face, and a bit of a strut in your step. I don't know what it is, exactly, about those songs...but man, those and a few others just get me going like NOTHING else. I'm ready to take on anything, to do my thang, as it were. I'm listening to Jack and Diane right now, waiting for the kids to come back to the room, and that's another one. (c;

It's gonna be a good day.

tommy

...

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love snow.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Wednesday.

The Comfort of Strangers

All right...

So, going into reading this book, I knew it would be strange. It was described as a twisted and wholly disturbing little book. Well, the friend who recommended it usually has very good taste in books. We can almost always discuss at length nearly any topic, as we both read a lot, and we both read a very diverse selection of literature.

This time...oh, this time...

I stayed up until 12:30 (for a teacher--that's REALLY late) finishing this damn book. I was about half way into it when I went to bed, but it just kept getting odder and odder; and, in all honesty, it was a lot like a horrific traffic accident that starts out small. At first you kind of gawk because you're interested, and then you want to see where it's going and when it's done, you're left in a daze, completely unable to do anything other than mumble incoherently to yourself about the awful things you've just seen. Only, in book form.

Yeah.

Starting "The Shroud of the Thwacker" by Chris Elliot next. (Yes, THAT Chris Elliot.)

Thanks for reading...
Tommy

Monday Monday

Hey ya'll...

So, this weekend was kind of eventful. Friday night Bibi had sorority stuff, and my man Dave came into town. Hung out, went out, had good times, by all. Saturday we went to Java Co., read, relaxed, etc. Sat afternoon Dave decided to go back to KC, and I got ready for Bibi and my date. We were re-enacting our first date. That was awesome...we had a great time, had good food, watched "Garden State" (if you haven't seen it...I highly recommend it) and just relaxed and had a VERY pleasant evening.

Sunday, after we went to Java Co., we went back to Bibi's house and decided that we needed to investigate the stink that had been emanating from the back area of the house all week. After cleaning the area, Bibi was really concerned. (And, with good cause.) Finally, either Bibi or her housemate thought we should check out the basement/cellar. There is a trap door right in front of Bibi's room that leads to the basement. So, we opened it up, and I started down the steps. At which time Bibi said, is that water down there? then we noticed the smell was a lot stronger. Then we turned on the light. Then we all almost threw up. Eight and a half inches of poo-water was standing strong in her basement. We know it was eight and a half inches b/c yours truly measured that nasty-arse stuff.

With a ruler.

Oh, and someone drove their car into Ophelia Parrish yesterday, too.

Watched the SuperBowl at Il Spazio. The guys who own it were trying some new dishes, and we got to try them out. VERY good.

Then we watched Grey's Anatomy. VERY VERY VERY Good.

Now it's Monday! Woo Hoo!!!

Oh, and I finished The Prophet. Unbelievable. Probably one of the most impactful (is that a word?!) books I've ever read. It was fantastic...I'd recommend it whole-heartedly.

Now I'm reading The Comfort of Strangers as per a friend's suggestion. (Thanks Brad.)

thanks for reading...
Tommy

Serendipity, Fate, Hand of God...you know, good stuff

So, something very cool happened last night, after something not cool. Let me explain.

I got home from school, and went apartment shopping with Bibi. Then we had dinner, and she went to her sorority function, while I went home to read. Well, I went home to read, but decided to play Nintendo instead. (This factors in shortly.) My friend Dave called me, and he and I chatted...he and his wife are having a hard time, and he's coming up this weekend b/c she's moving out. We talked, and it was a good conversation.

I stopped playing my game, and decided to read a little bit. I went to get "America" but realized that I had left it at school, which has NEVER happened before. No biggie, a book from www.bookcrossing.com had arrived yesterday in the mail. I tried to read, but really couldn't concentrate. Bibi called me, and i went over to her place with my book. She noticed that I wasn't reading, and was really sad...I know that Bibi and I are not Dave and his wife; but seeing your best friend get divorced after 7 months of marriage makes you think about all the things that are out there that you can't possibly be prepared for, try as you might. Bibi was sitting on her bed trying to comfort me, and she saw the book. "The Prophet" by Kahil Gibran. She opened to the page I had read about 17 times--and not caught a single word--and started reading.

"And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you, believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden."

She looked up at me, and I looked at her, and we both smiled. Yeah, love is hard. It's going to be hard, and undoubtedly, there are going to be times of difficulty we can't prepare for. But we are choosing love, and we are choosing to follow love together.

Biblically speaking, a Prophet did not NECESSARILY read the future...a prophet was one who saw through the present to the reality of the situation. I have to thank Kahil Gibran. We still have prophets today.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Interesting thoughts...

After last night's State of the Union address, many interesting conversations have been had, I'm sure. One thing that I was pretty bothered by was the "obvious violation of freedom of speech" in the arrest of Cindy Sheehan. I thought it pretty horrible that she was removed from the gallery of the capitol for wearing an anti-Bush shirt, until I read this article on cnn.com...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/31/sheehan.arrest/index.html

Evidenly, it wasn't as cut and dry as I thought. Seems a congressman's wife was removed for wearing a shirt that said, "Support Our Troops." So, it wasn't just a case of Cindy Sheehan being gagged, and her freedom of speech being trampled...it was a bit more complicated than that...there are rules in the Capital that prohibit "demonstrations." Whether one agrees with that rule--the fact of the matter is IT IS a rule--and in this case, it was enforced in a non-discriminatory fashion.

Huh.

Reading "America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" by John Stewart. REALLY funny stuff. (I got it for Christmas a year ago, and my pile of books JUST got down to where I'm reading it now.)

Good stuff...oh, and I feel kind of cool. Evidently my description of "For the Time Being" was pretty persuasive, as a friend has requested to borrow it. I feel cool! I was able to convince someone to read something based on this site!!! whoo hoo!

Oh, and a coworker gave me her Life Soundtrack today. Great stuff!!!

thanks!!

(for reading....)
Tommy