In my first blog post since, well, awhile, I could cover many topics. Tales from the deli counter, stories of my impending AIM-based D&D campaign, details of the checking account dance of not-quite doom...but those things can wait for another day. Because I wrote a poem!
Props, surprisingly enough, to David Drake's novel Fortress of Glass. Once I ran through the library's assortment of Mercedes Lackey and Lois Bujold, I thought I'd give him a try. Some of the images from the book seem to have filtered their way into this poem. It's a pantoum! I think it needs punctuation, and I'll probably edit it, but the basics are there.
[hedge maze]
Math's in my head, where music used to spring
Numbers curl out with sharp-angled leaves
These soaring notes spread under me like wings
I gather feathers up in muted sheaves
Numbers curl out with sharp-angled leaves
I dance among their vertices like glass
I gather feathers up in muted sheaves
With every balanced step I gather mass
I dance among their vertices like glass
Reflecting all the light that dapples through
With every balanced step I gather mass
Momentum for a great leap, but where to?
Oh, plant me a horizon in this soil
These soaring notes, spread under me like wings
Will bear me to some fresh, immortal coil
Math's in my head where music used to spring
Playoffs!?
The baseball season has officially begun, and now that we dwell in a place where there is cable, we can watch (in Dave's case) or vaguely be aware of while doing other stuff (in my case) the baseball postseason in all its glorious merchandisable glory. I have not paid attention to baseball at all this year, so I'm anticipating my preseason picks for both the National League and the American League will be hilarious in retrospect. Mmm, retrospect.
My preseason picks:
NL
East: NY Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks
Wild card: Atlanta Braves
AL
East: NY Yankees
Central: Minnesota Twins
West: Oakland A's
Wild card: Chicago White Sox
Actual standings at the end of the 2009 regular season:
NL
East: Philadelphia Phillies (Mets finished 4th)
Central: St. Louis Cardinals (Cubs finished 2nd)
West: LA Dodgers (Diamondbacks finished dead last in the West)
Wild card: Colorado Rockies
AL
East: NY Yankees (why does being right about this make me feel glum?)
Central: Minnesota Twins (good hunch on my part there)
West: LA Angels (Oakland finished dead last in the West)
Wild card: Boston Red Sox
I have learned a few things from this exercise. I will list them in a random order!
#12. I know absolutely nothing about the Western divisions in baseball. Worse than nothing. In fact, there is only one way to make use of my opinions on these divisions. Take my opinions, write down the opposite of each, then go to your local sports betting facility and place wagers for MLB games based on the things you have written down. You might end up with cab fare home for your troubles!
A(2)(192-j). Each season, I get one shockingly correct hunch. However, it is always surrounded by abysmally incorrect hunches. I could attribute this either to random chance, with which it is logically consistent, or to the time-traveling machinations of mischievous fairies.
Stupid fairies. Er, y'know--the wingy, shiny, time-traveling, wish-granting kind. Stupid them.
#771. Picking the Yankees is apparently the smart move again. Man, I liked it better when they stank on ice. Although now, if they lose in the first round, it will be to the ChiSox's arch rival, the Twins. So I suppose that's a no-win situation for a sports-bigamizing Chicagoan like me. (*looks up at TV* Wait, why are we watching this game?)
ZZ9(pl)Za. The Cubs are always good on paper. On paper is where they have home field advantage. Everywhere else, they are like the pitching staff of a team visiting Mile-High Stadium, home of the Rockies, before the humidor was installed which counteracts some of the extra sproing given to the leathery spheres by the high altitude. In other words, grimly brave but ultimately ineffectual.
#1. If I am going to have interesting things to say about baseball, it would help to actually follow it.
My preseason picks:
NL
East: NY Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks
Wild card: Atlanta Braves
AL
East: NY Yankees
Central: Minnesota Twins
West: Oakland A's
Wild card: Chicago White Sox
Actual standings at the end of the 2009 regular season:
NL
East: Philadelphia Phillies (Mets finished 4th)
Central: St. Louis Cardinals (Cubs finished 2nd)
West: LA Dodgers (Diamondbacks finished dead last in the West)
Wild card: Colorado Rockies
AL
East: NY Yankees (why does being right about this make me feel glum?)
Central: Minnesota Twins (good hunch on my part there)
West: LA Angels (Oakland finished dead last in the West)
Wild card: Boston Red Sox
I have learned a few things from this exercise. I will list them in a random order!
#12. I know absolutely nothing about the Western divisions in baseball. Worse than nothing. In fact, there is only one way to make use of my opinions on these divisions. Take my opinions, write down the opposite of each, then go to your local sports betting facility and place wagers for MLB games based on the things you have written down. You might end up with cab fare home for your troubles!
A(2)(192-j). Each season, I get one shockingly correct hunch. However, it is always surrounded by abysmally incorrect hunches. I could attribute this either to random chance, with which it is logically consistent, or to the time-traveling machinations of mischievous fairies.
Stupid fairies. Er, y'know--the wingy, shiny, time-traveling, wish-granting kind. Stupid them.
#771. Picking the Yankees is apparently the smart move again. Man, I liked it better when they stank on ice. Although now, if they lose in the first round, it will be to the ChiSox's arch rival, the Twins. So I suppose that's a no-win situation for a sports-bigamizing Chicagoan like me. (*looks up at TV* Wait, why are we watching this game?)
ZZ9(pl)Za. The Cubs are always good on paper. On paper is where they have home field advantage. Everywhere else, they are like the pitching staff of a team visiting Mile-High Stadium, home of the Rockies, before the humidor was installed which counteracts some of the extra sproing given to the leathery spheres by the high altitude. In other words, grimly brave but ultimately ineffectual.
#1. If I am going to have interesting things to say about baseball, it would help to actually follow it.
now live from under a local bridge!
Okay, not under a bridge. It was a close thing, though, and without much and prodigious help, that is where we would be right now.
Moving is complete!
Well, technically, moving was complete last Saturday. Mom, Amber and Paula all came to help us finish getting packed. And Mom, in a burst of extreme generosity and very good sense, hired some movers to do the actual loading, driving and unloading. Since after all the packing etc., just watching them made me feel tired, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been possible for the few of us to do it all in less than three days! Even with a UHaul.
So to Mom and Amber and Paula, you have our great thanks! And Mom, you gave us the getting-married present we wanted and needed most!
Our new place is pretty awesome. We have a roommate named Don, who's a cool guy and is already being a good influence on us in terms of neatness. The place wasn't just cleaned-up and nice looking for the potential renters, as it turns out. He really keeps it this way all the time. Also, he has a dog named Oliver.
:) <--- me, learning we get to live with a dog
:-D :*-) ) <----- Dave, learning we get to live with a dog
O_O >_< x_x;; <---- Shashi, our cat, learning we now live with a dog
Having experimented a bit, I've found that my new commute, if I hit all my buses, is actually only an hour. As opposed to the hour and a half it was before. Except on Sundays, when one of the buses I need doesn't run past 9pm. That, however, is okay, since Don's cool with picking me up from the bus station as long as I take a phone with me and call. And I can always explain to my manager that it'd really be better for me to not work Sunday nights.
Dave is looking for a job closer to new home, and plans to make a day of it tomorrow. This week up till now has been a flurry of (for me) work, unpacking, and various move-in chores. Like, for example, getting our wireless router hooked up to Don's internet. It works way better than the DSL at the apartment did, lemme tell ya.
So, yeah. Got new place to live. Made beef stew. Arranged furniture in bedroom. Played some KoL. All in all, a very good week so far!
Oh, and I finished [in the middle of it]. I don't think it's all that good, but at least it's done. Made me think maybe I could put together an album of "riddle songs", where each song is about an abstract concept or state of mind which is danced around but never explicitly stated in the song. (Edit 4-28-10: Actually this song IS really good. Took me awhile to notice.)
can't get me moving
unless I'm dragged up by the chains of duty
but if I stand still
I can't wave my hand and call forth beauty
gotta find what's left of me
at the end of the live-long day
gotta hope it's enough
enough, enough to give away
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
come get some, come get some from it
I loved a neighborhood
it showed me how to run and when to stand
and when I had to leave
it helped me find a solid place to land
you get so tired
of having something to prove
but underneath is fire
so you've always got to move
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
come get some, come get some from it
and it's a waste of breath
not to have a little talk on it
and it's a waste of time
not to give it every hour
and it's a waste of ground
not to lay a little rock on it
honey, you've got to sweat
to be empowered
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
come get some, come get some from it
Moving is complete!
Well, technically, moving was complete last Saturday. Mom, Amber and Paula all came to help us finish getting packed. And Mom, in a burst of extreme generosity and very good sense, hired some movers to do the actual loading, driving and unloading. Since after all the packing etc., just watching them made me feel tired, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been possible for the few of us to do it all in less than three days! Even with a UHaul.
So to Mom and Amber and Paula, you have our great thanks! And Mom, you gave us the getting-married present we wanted and needed most!
Our new place is pretty awesome. We have a roommate named Don, who's a cool guy and is already being a good influence on us in terms of neatness. The place wasn't just cleaned-up and nice looking for the potential renters, as it turns out. He really keeps it this way all the time. Also, he has a dog named Oliver.
:) <--- me, learning we get to live with a dog
:-D :*-) ) <----- Dave, learning we get to live with a dog
O_O >_< x_x;; <---- Shashi, our cat, learning we now live with a dog
Having experimented a bit, I've found that my new commute, if I hit all my buses, is actually only an hour. As opposed to the hour and a half it was before. Except on Sundays, when one of the buses I need doesn't run past 9pm. That, however, is okay, since Don's cool with picking me up from the bus station as long as I take a phone with me and call. And I can always explain to my manager that it'd really be better for me to not work Sunday nights.
Dave is looking for a job closer to new home, and plans to make a day of it tomorrow. This week up till now has been a flurry of (for me) work, unpacking, and various move-in chores. Like, for example, getting our wireless router hooked up to Don's internet. It works way better than the DSL at the apartment did, lemme tell ya.
So, yeah. Got new place to live. Made beef stew. Arranged furniture in bedroom. Played some KoL. All in all, a very good week so far!
Oh, and I finished [in the middle of it]. I don't think it's all that good, but at least it's done. Made me think maybe I could put together an album of "riddle songs", where each song is about an abstract concept or state of mind which is danced around but never explicitly stated in the song. (Edit 4-28-10: Actually this song IS really good. Took me awhile to notice.)
can't get me moving
unless I'm dragged up by the chains of duty
but if I stand still
I can't wave my hand and call forth beauty
gotta find what's left of me
at the end of the live-long day
gotta hope it's enough
enough, enough to give away
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
come get some, come get some from it
I loved a neighborhood
it showed me how to run and when to stand
and when I had to leave
it helped me find a solid place to land
you get so tired
of having something to prove
but underneath is fire
so you've always got to move
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
come get some, come get some from it
and it's a waste of breath
not to have a little talk on it
and it's a waste of time
not to give it every hour
and it's a waste of ground
not to lay a little rock on it
honey, you've got to sweat
to be empowered
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
I'm in the middle of it
beloved
come get some, come get some from it
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