First Impressions (Day Sixtyone, Paragraph 67)

When I saw this photo, I thought, "That looks like a CLE*." The expressions on everyone's faces are all looks I've seen on faces at CLEs before(from left to right starting with the guy in the plaid shirt):

PLAID SHIRT GUY: I knew I should have brought the New York Times Saturday puzzle instead of the TV Guide puzzle . . . what am I going to do for the next three hours?

BLONDE WOMAN (just behind the guy in the tie): If I put my hand on my chin - like this - and squint my eyes just so and open my mouth as if I am just about to breathlessly say, "Wow, your Honor, that is the most fascinating thing I've ever heard" maybe my Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted on the papers and I won't have to do oral argument next Tuesday morning . . . ."

TIE GUY: I'm going to chuckle at all the appropriate places in this presentation. Everyone needs to be reminded of how clever I am.

ARGYLE-GLASSES GUY: Is my facial hair holding me back professionally?

BLONDE GIRL: This dude is totally trying to see down my shirt. Ewwww. Does my hair look okay?

BEARD GUY: Is that the chick from first year contracts over there? Is it? Dude, I have to poop. God she looks awful.

MR. BIG COLLAR: Oh yeah. You want me girl. You know you do. Stop being coy. I see that look in your eyes. Don't deny it. Everyone can see it.

MS. BANGS: Ugh. I'd rather be at the office. Wow. Too much cleavage, today I guess. Oh well. No one is looking at me anyway.

SLEEPING WOMAN: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

BLUE SHIRT: Hey! Someone's taking a picture! Why is someone taking a picture at a CLE? Who even brings a camera to a CLE? Where is that waitress with more coffee? Wait, is this my good side?

TAN SUIT: I have to pee but the door is so far away everyone is going to watch me go pee why did I sit so far from the door I have to pee but th edoor is so far away . . .

BLONDE SLEEPER: Must stay awake. Must stay awake. Must stay awake.

And yes, this really is a CLE class. Sometimes the first impression is right on.

*CLE is Continuing Legal Education; most states require that lawyers take a minimum number of credit hours every year or two years to assist in staying current with new developments in the law.

Photo credit: Jesse Michael Nix on Flickr

I Want To Go To There* (Day Sixty, Paragraph 56)

Doesn't that look heavenly? Instead of heavenly, I was going to say sublime but that seemed too corny once I really looked at the name of the photographer for this shot. That got me thinking about the word sublime. It doesn't take much to get my train of thought derailed. So I'm looking up the meaning of sublime. And I'm researching the origins of sublime. But it doesn't really matter what sublime means, or even where it came from, does it? The point is that this was supposed to be a post about how much I am jonesing for tranquil turquoise waters and white sand but my brain just won't focus on that for long enough for me to write something decent and engaging about that. And I think I have recently bemoaned my failure to vacation so I should really hold off on whining about that for a least a month or two. So anyway, I guess what I'm getting at here is that my brain does not process information in a straight line. I generally end up putting on a fairly polished and organized front when in reality I am down a rabbit hole somewhere thinking about whether or not a word means under a citrus fruit.

*Thank you, Liz Lemon, for the title of this post.**

** Thank you, Jenelle, for the asterisk idea.

Photo credit: sub_lime79 on Flickr

Doggy, Daddy, Potty (Day Fiftynine, Paragraph 53, 54 & 55)

Poor Maggie.* The Boy has become obsessed with the dog. He runs around the house yelling, "Doggy! Doggy! Doggy!" Maggie runs around the house looking for places to hide. The only real problem is that the Boy's "doggy" sounds very similar to his "Daddy" which sounds very much like his "potty" as well. This has made it tough to figure out what exactly we're talking about but the past few days it has been getting a little easier to figure out what is going on.

"Doggy" will generally be accompanied by a little bit of running about searching out/chasing the dog and then a sprint that ends in a schreeeeeeeeeeching halt just before the Boy hits Maggie's invisible force field followed by big grin and a chorus of "dee-dee-dee-dee-dee!" (that is the Boy singing and grinning; the dog is looking terrified by now!). Before the rapture takes over and the Boy tries to penetrate the demilitarized zone, I go over to show him the right way to approach the doggy-doggy-doggy and how to pet her with "nice hands."

"Potty" is something the Boy will say when he sees someone headed to the powder room or if he hears a toilet flushing and I think maybe (just maybe) he may say it sometimes when he is relieving himself (how cool is that - I may not being changing his diaper until he is 10 years old!); "potty" is also generally accompanied by the sign as well - so if you are paying attention this one isn't too tough to pick-up on.

"Daddy." Well the "daddy" has been a little rough because the Man is away on a little guys trip for a week. It has been a tough few days for the Boy. He clearly is aware that something is not quite right but he seems to be adapting to the Man not being around. The worst of it was when I ran the vacuum the other night - the Man's job - the Boy was just beside himself looking for his "dah-dee?" Heartbreaking. We will both be glad to have the Man return home - tomorrow night! Hooray!

*Just so we are all clear, this is not a photo of Maggie but this is a very sweet looking puppy!

Photo credit: Threasa Solomon Photography on Flickr

(Day Fiftyeight, Paragraph 52)

Am I an art critic? No. Am I an expert in photography? No. Can I take a decent picture? No. Do I know what I like when I see it? Yes. This photo here to the right is pretty interesting once you stop caring what it may or may not depict. The yellow lights reflecting off the water perfectly mirror the boat*, pole*, and white light in the bottom left corner of the shot. So even though the subject matter is not immediately apparent, there is a symmetry about the photo that is visually pleasing. The lights reflecting off the water create a warm, golden palette. Imagine the image in a large gilt frame at the end of a hallway - it would seem like you could keep walking right into the picture until you reached the water's edge. Lovely.

*If you are curious about what is depicted in this photo, maybe a little detective work in the related set of pictures will help reveal what it is. I'm thinking a bamboo oar on a row boat in India. What do you think it is?

Photo credit: Dainis Matisons on Flickr

Hot-cha-cha-cha (Day Fiftyseven, Paragraph 49, 50 & 51)

I was so hot! I was on such a roll! I was doing so well! What a big shot I thought I was! Writing a paragraph everyday is easy - no problem - heck some days I can even write TWO without even trying! Well I guess I am in a bit of a slump seeing as how I am about a week behind in posts. Which makes this a good time to review how this blog is working for me. Also, we are coming up on the two month anniversary (that makes it sound so important, doesn't it - anniversary!) of the beginning of this whole endeavor.

Is it doing what I want it to do? Am I doing what I want to with it? Am I writing everyday? What can I change to make this better? Obviously, if you are out there, dear reader(s) [HI HOLLY!!!!] please comment on these questions as well as any other thoughts you have about this blog.

For me, for right now, I think that I am letting my life get in the way of the objectives of this blog. I do not have the chance to write the way I really want to (well constructed, fully thought out paragraphs with hopefully no spelling or grammar errors) because I like to write at work and I have to, well, work at work so that is something of an impediment to my writing! I think the format works pretty well - ever changing source material with no limits on how that material is handled. I need to figure out how to write more. Maybe I need to suck it up and sit in front of the computer at night even though I sit in front of the computer all day. Or maybe I need to put a time limit on creating a post. And I could designate a certain time of day to pull off the Flickr shot and write. That could be my designated "mental health" time - like a smoke break for my brain. I need to think about this a bit . . .

Regardless, I do not want this blog to become a chore. I want it to be fresh and fun for me and for anyone who is out there reading it [HI AGAIN HOLLY!]. I also do not want it to become like working out - something that I enjoy when it is a regular part of my life but which also causes stress when I need to figure out how to fit it back in. I don't want this brain exercising to fall by the wayside.

Photo credit: ChrisGoldNY on Flickr

Snap, Crackle, Pop (Day Fiftyone, Paragraphs 47& 48)

There was a "huge" and "crippling" snow storm in my state yesterday. The kind where roads - even major thoroughfares - don't get cleared by the next morning's commute time. The kind where schools are closed for the second day in a row. Pretty serious, right? The snow fall total is under six inches. Pathetic.

Thunderstorms are more par for the course here. And where I live - near the ocean - the storms are dramatic. One side of the street is clear and sunny, but turn to the other side and it looks like night. The lightening lights up the sky like it is day - for just a quick blink-and-you-will-miss-it moment. BOOM. The storms are exciting - you can feel the front come in - one second you are drenched in sweat, struggling to breath in the fetid air and the next you are chilled, breathing in the coolness. BOOM. Electric. BOOM. Rain fills the sky and then the humidity returns . . .


Photo credit: R.P. Piper on Flickr

Old Girl (Day Fortynine, Paragraphs 44, 45 & 46)

Guilty is how I feel most days and annoyed is how I feel most of the other days and nostaligic probably rounds out the group. My old girl Maggie and me have been through so much together. Relationships (good, bad, short, long). Moving (often). Single party girl (whoo hoo). Marriage (still holding!). The "second dog" experiment (failure!). Children (well, child anyway). Always content to be where ever I set her bed down but always a bit of a needler. She was a terror as a puppy but mellowed out as she got older - to the point where I took her to the vet when she was three because I was concerned that she was sick; the vet said, no - she was just three.

She turned 13 this past Valentine's Day. Her black coat is flecked with white. She has a mask of grey around her eyes. Her fatty tumor sways to and fro like a breast augmentation gone awry. She is underfoot when you don't want her around and absent when you wouldn't mind seeing her. She stops on the stairs for a big morning stretch as I'm racing down to get to work. She sheds like crazy. She has weird lumps all over her body. She smells. She won't let me trim her nails. She does not cuddle. She behaves like a cat - affection and attention are on her terms only. Her aloofness has increased a thousand-fold in the last few years to the point that I barely am permitted to pet her.

But she is still my dog. She is still my responsibility. She is still my first dog - ever. I will always remember her as a tiny pup with gigantic ears that didn't grow - they are still the same size now as they were when she was bitty. I know she isn't gone but she isn't the same dog now as she was even a few years ago so when I think of her it is with nostalgia. Maggie will always hold a special place in my heart. My first dog. I will always love her.

Photo credit: tedmurphy on Flickr