ronery...

...i am so ronery.
sitting all alone here in class. i won't mention any NAMES, however...
you know who you are.

but whatever.

which do you want first...the good news or the reeeeally good news?

awesome. the good news is that, for the firt time EVER, i am getting a tax refund from the state of michigan.

the reallllly good news is that i'm getting the biggest federal refund i've ever gotten. even though i made less in 2008 than i have since 2004. if it weren't for the thousands i will owe when i graduate, this full-time student gig would be quite a bargain.

with my newfound millions, i will be taking a trip this spring or summer. i'm not talking about a trip to the water park (although i still want to do that)--i'm talking about a trip that requires a plane ticket and results in several days lounging on a beach somewhere. mmmmhmmm...

i. love. tax season!!!!!

strange things seen on wheels

you may remember that i have a crazy-cat-lady type neighbor. (you may also remember that my biggest fear--and i mean, my BIGGEST fear in life is to end up living in a an old farmhouse with 17 cats. alone) anyway, this neighbor embodies all that i hope NEVER to be. i mean she's really nice, but she's got some issues. one of them being she thinks that i'm 2 people (she has asked me twice about why my "roommate" wears shorts in the windter. and then i explain that she's actually referring to me, and i wear shorts i the winter because i run on the treadmill down the street.) and she's crazy-cat-ladyesque. only she has a dog rather than a cat. and she named the dog mandy rose. mandy rose is old and can barely make it down the hallway to go outside. well, i was driving down my road yesterday, and saw my neighbor (i still don't know her name) pushing a stroller...containing mandy rose. wow.

and THEN i went for a bike ride and there was definitely a man in a power wheelchair riding down college avenue...right in the middle of the lane. and college ave is a relatively well-traveled thoroughfare. he was going all of 5 miles per hour, and the funny thing was that cars weren't even passing him. it was like they were playing follow the leader.

my brother thinks that indianapolis is full of nerds and others who are socially-inept or awkward. and this is probably furthering his stereotype. thats the risk i take in reporting kaditlolii ("a day in the life of libby in indy"...the k is silent)

and last, speaking of wheels, and for your monday morning pleasure, here's a joke for you...



what's green and has wheels?

GRASS (ok, so i lied about the wheels)





ps, cedric's birthday is april 6...or so becca tells me. more on THAT in a few weeks. i CAN'T WAIT!!!

hey kathy, how was LA?

just wondering....hope you're having a good spring break. purdue is kind to their students, and gives them spring break at least bordering on the actual season of spring. iwu spring break begins in the most desolate month of the year--february. who thought that up!??

do you ever have a really good day, so good that the following day is sure to be a disappointment? maybe that's pessimistic, but yesterday was really fun and today it's totally back to the grind, and on top of that, i have this huge project hanging over my head that's due on wednesday. ugh. i am giving myself exactly 16 more minutes to waste time, and then....THEN i will impress myself with my internal motivation and dedication to the task at hand.

i got to see my brother yesterday. all you faithful blog readers out there will know that jeff is seriously the most hilarious person i know. i don't know if that's because i was raised with him and our individual senses of humor evolved together, or if he indeed is the actual most funny person in this world. it's hard to say. it's really incalculable. anyway, yesterday he did not disappoint. barrel of laughs, that's my brother. i would totally recap for you, but his humor is rather juvenile and i don't want you to think less of me. vanity > perpetuation of humor.

can i tell you one more story about this week? awesome. so, my friend allison (of running club fame, among other things) turned to me in class the other day and said "i really want a sugar glider." and since i'm normal, i didn't know what a sugar glider was. so she found a picture of one online and showed it to me. these things are like really small squirrels that can apparently "fly" short distances. anyway, the conversaion went something like this:

Allison: " I really want a sugar glider"
Me: "um, never heard of THAT"



Me: "That thing is hideous."

Allison: "It's a marsupial."


AS IF its identity as a marsupial is enough to override its appearance. no thank you.




16 minutes is up but before i go, here's a blast from the past. with spanish subtitles. so, win-win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haAhdtDmsOw

(i don't know how to embed videos, but try it, you'll like it)

note to self and others....and some thoughts on next halloween

today was rather nondescript until i got quite an education in my night class (thanks to allison for keeping me entertained throughout) and on my drive home (thanks to kristina, as you will see)
where shall we begin? how about this....i'll just summarize my thoughts here, in bullet form...

1. my piece of advice to a certain classmate who shall remain nameless....taoism is pronounced "dow-ism" not "tay-oh-ism" probably should look that one up BEFORE the presentation. i'm just passing on a bit of advice to my friends. no offense to the aforementioned anonymous classmate. just trying to prevent future mistakes. and hey, i'm a truthteller.

2. next halloween, i am totally wearing a shirt with lady stitched on the front(as in lady in the tramp) and allison is going to wear a shirt with the tramp on it (a picutre, not the word) embroidered on it...and THEN (And this is the kicker)...there's going to be a string that joins the two shirts (the spaghetti).
ok, so i bet you're not getting the visual. just trust me, it's going to be a-ma-zing. you will want to be there...you will want to be at that party.

3. um, if you're going to cite your sources in grad school, probably should just go ahead and leave off the reference for a GOOGLE SEARCH you did. in other words, google.com is not an acceptable source. seriously???

4. and finally, my friend kristina totally CUT ME OFF on the highway tonight. friendship severed.

however, no fears my friends, she called me 2 minutes later to apologize. friendship reinstated.

(and that was really sweet of her, but also just a wise PR move, as she would have heard ALL ABOUT it tomorrow. instead, i'll just inscribe it here for years to come in the blogosphere, which we all know is kind of a big deal. never underestimate the power of the blog.)

wow. was not expecting that

sooo, today i spent piano lesson #2 with my little buddy levi (the four year old who's blind--told you about him last week). anyway, i said "hey levi, let's try an experiment," and then i proceeded to just play chords and ask him to tell me what notes i was playing. and he could do it! i played the c-major chord for instance, and he goes" that's a c chord. c-e-g"
it was eerie. keep in mind, he's 4 and, up until today had never even learned about chords. and now he knows every single chord, and can recognize them upon hearing them once. and then, and this is precious, he told me that the bells at his school are "F mixed with A". in other words, the bells at his school ring in F major apparently. or d minor. anyway, i wish you guys could be a fly on the wall when i'm there. it's unreal.

ok, if that was all lost on you, i apologize. but i am totally blown away by that kid.

in other news, i am totally NOT a fan of the new facebook setup. your thoughts?

that's all i've got, kidlins. i am trying to actually do school work (i have been slacking off with no excuse for the past 6 weeks or so)....and so i should get to work on one of two projects.

happy st. patricks day!

hello from the big mitten

i took a spur-of-the-moment trip home this weekend. i might tell the story later.
for now, i'll just say that it was a beautiful drive up, and really really good to see some old students and families at the gcs auction last night. stayed up late last night as my mom told hilarious stories about her school's "talent show auditions." one of the kids wanted to sing some song called "g spot" in the school's talent show. inappropriate. and sad. but really funny too.

and i am totally out of the loop when it comes to popular music, but please tell me that's NOT some mainstream r&b song that kids can hear on the radio. what, i ask, is this world coming to??

ooooh, my parents are taking me to silver beach pizza. jump around. my mom is driving so that my dad "doesn't have to spend his own money on gas." haha

this was kind of funny before. maybe not really now.

JOE: So, TULIP
How much of that you cool with?
I just met a group of "Lutheran" double-predestinators/limited atoners and it was a little weir.d
(The orthodox Lutheran position is generally single predestination, which I realize is a contradiction to human minds, but, "the wisdom of God is foolishness to men" and all that.)
You left the chat by logging out or being disconnected.

ME: you are c=razy
and i'm in class, so we will have to discuss later

JOE: crazy??
You mean... theologically?

ME: no, more of on a personal level

JOE: or in that this is what I've chosen to discuss on my lunch break?
ah, well.
correct
It's good to be loved.

ME: ha
you're welcome

JOE:I've also lately become fond of referring to things as "the error of Rome" if I find them too Papist and "the error of Geneva" if I find them too Calvinist.
It's sweet.
I suppose I could also say "the error of Constantinople" if I find things too... iconoclastic?
But frankly, how often does THAT come up??

ME: this is going on my blog, fyi

How DO blind people drive?

asked my brother, one sunny day in 1989. i think we had just watched an episode of the golden girls, and rose's blind sister joked about how she was going to go for a joyride. or something like that. so the wheels in jeff's head began turning (no steam was involved) and he will never live that one down.



HOWEVER, i just got a new piano student, and he my 5-year-old neighbor who happens to be blind. um, yikes--uncharted territory. i told his mom i would give it a shot, but also let her know that i have no idea how to teach blind children how to play the piano. especially since my knowledge of music theory is shady at best. he's an adorable little boy, and has always been really good when i've talked to him, but i guess he "doesn't like to follow directions." but honestly, what 5 year old does? so THAT's nothing new.



i just got two very sweet emails from wonderful friends, so my day has officially been made! EVEN IF i can't go to running club this week, EVEN IF i didn't iron my shirt this morning. it looked more acceptable in the dim closet light.



now for your reading enjoyment, I have taken the liberty of googling "golden girls theme song lyrics" and have posted them below. a complimentary trip down memory lane:



Thank You for Being a Friend by Andrew Gold - Golden Girls Lyrics
Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true your (sic) a pal and a confidant.
And if you through (sic) a party
Invited everyone you ever knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say thank you for being a friend.





--um, did anyone else notice the two incorrect homonym uses? come ON.
AND did anyone else note the sheer irony of the golden girls' theme song being written by a guy whose last name is GOLD? pretty sure that's not a coincidence. pretty sure that's DESTINY.









**sorry it's so pixellated. the price you pay to have blanche's face just a little bit bigger on your blog. alas**

bubble: my favorite word. it just pops out of your mouth

it is not, however, my favorite movie. actually, it's not a movie at all. (bubble fans, hear me out)

beth once rented a film called bubble. she loved it, i did not. i once rented a movie called legally blond two: red white and blond. i loved it, she did not.

i generally avoid critically acclaimed films. (save one huge exception, "titanic," but  that doesn't count beause shortly after it won all those awards and millions of 14 year old girls flocked to the theater to see it for the 18th time, it fell out of fashion.) anyway, titanic was also a "movie," not a "film." movies are fun and tell a story rather than trying to make a political point. films are generally dark pieces of art written by some tortured genius who has carried some of that teenage angst into adulthood. in short, movies are entertainment, films are art. and while art is great, i usually want to be entertained on a weekend evening with my $9 (plus 3.90!!!!! for a kids size diet coke). that being said, slumdog millionaire was really really good. it definitely had a story, and it was certainly artsy, it made a point and opened your eyes, but it was also thoroughly entertaining. it was even better than the two movies i've seen recently (shopaholic and he's not that into you). so, i stand corrected and i will be sure to give art a chance in the future. 

i know i've been lax in writing on here. hilarious stuff anyway (jk,tk). it's just that my life has been going on--nothing too exciting. even though every day spent with libby is an adventure, right? so i should have tons to say, but alas, i do not. i saw howie mandel the other day on tv for some new show he's in (like candid camera i think) anyway THAT made me wonder how many hours of my life i spent watching bobby's world when i was a kid. probably somewhere around 72. which means that there are approximately 3 days of my life that i will NEVER GET BACK. 

now i could go around calculating things like that all day (once beth and i calculated how much time of our lives in high school would be spent in band, and it was something utterly ridiculous like 8.9%)....anyway, the reason i'm thinking in these terms is that i'm doing a bible study on ecclesiastes and the final chapter of the study book is called "life is short so live like you mean it." and i know that's just a catchy phrase the author used to sum up the end of ecclesiastes, but it really struck me. learning to live intentionally is a process and i feel like i've made some progress in that area, but i waste so much time on the inconsequential stuff in life.  this idea is one that i've been thinking about a lot--how can i live in ways that will be meaningful to others, abandon the selfishness and sloth that can fill my day if i let it, and do things that matter. THAT, my friends is a huge question, and i'm not sure there is AN answer. but there's certainly room to grow. 

hubris=excessive pride. always the tragic flaw

just something to think about

 

(c) bgp

bob loblaw law blog

say that out loud. 

makes me laugh every time

redemption...trifecta...soapbox

hi kids, 

you know what today is? tuesday. the happiest day of the week. AND i'm coming off my first day of subbing, an interesting an politically-neutral episode of oprah (for once), running club, and of course biggest loser. AAAND i drove only when necessary today. redemption.

here's the problem. well, the three problems. the trifecta, if you will (oh, i will)...

--i was surrounded by people at running club but felt utterly and existentially alone... allison's on vacation. waaah. 

--i am totally torn--do i watch the biggest loser or american idol?? 

--i just bought new nail polish (that did get approval from the kids i was subbing today. score.)--it's that quick-drying stuff. what they don't tell you is that it's also quick-chipping. i swear, i put it on, and the stuff had already begun to chip off before i even had my shoes tied. and they call this progress. 

other than that, life is good. oh except one thing. i have lots to say about the bachelor last night. i don't know if any of you watched it, but i actually stayed up til 11 not only to watch the finale, but also the after-the-rose special. here's the recap--jason proposed to melissa on the finale, but then--6 weeks later--broke it off to pursue a relationship with molly, who he dumped on the finale. i know, a mess, right? his reasoning was that he never lied to either of them--his feelings were "real" at the respective times he expressed them, and he had to "follow his heart." he didn't want to "live with regrets." .......the utter selfishness and pride (masked as the hurt that comes with living in the moment) that underlies his reasoning and actions were all too clearly revealed, though. he should be feeling very exposed. i am so tired of the lie we are fed by people in the limelight, that we need to just do what's best for ourselves. it is prideful, ugly, and ultimately harmful. 

ANYWAY. after my confession about the bachelor i wanted to clear things up and let you all know that while i did watch the bachelor, i am in no way succumbing to the ideals (or lack thereof) it promotes.

now that we're clear on THAT...

have a great week. 

catharsis.

ohmygoondess, i'm addicted to the bachelor. 

and i hate the entire premise of it, but i watch it everysingleweek.

confession

i actually drove the 0.2 miles to the workout room-slash-free internetroom today. no big deal, you say? ok. well.  imagine you're at point A, looking across a parking lot, albeit a rather long one, to point B. you want to get to point B without putting sweatpants on over your running shorts. you also need to get not only yourself from point A to point B, but also your computer, ipod, and water bottle. so you drive. to a building you can see from your window. that my friends, describes the past 2 minutes of my life. i was overwhelmed by guilt at having burned some percentage of a tank of fossil fuels, so i thought i'd blog my confession, so that it will not happen again. next time i will walk. hold me accountable.

(as someone born with little to none self control, i rely heavily on accountability partners--for everything from not eating too much candy to wearing my retainers at night. i must say that while i love my multitude of accountability partners all dearly, they've DROPPED THE BALL. i eat candy like it's my job and haven't worn my retainer since last year. in fact, one of them, linda, knows about my candy weakness, and brings it to work for me. sabotage. 

in other news--you're talking to indianapolis' newest and finest substitute teachers. i had an orientation today, and already have two days this week (spring break) lined up. heck yes. i observed in one class as part of the orientation (which is cool, even though i've spent 3 years in a classroom, but whatever)...and the biggest issue i forsee is having to deal with kids saying things like "holy crap" (it's a christian school). but with teaching, you never know...in my three years' stint at gcs, i had a girl light her hair on fire, another kid slice his finger open, and multitudes of inappropriate comments that, looking back, probably deserved more than the benign reprimand that they actually got. but i miss teaching so much, and i'll deal with whatever comes my way. they know i'm a science teacher, so i'll be mostly subbing in science classes, and they expect me to actually teach. yay! 

i know you're on your edge of your seat: what's the latest song with which i am obsessed this week (note the correct, though cumbersome use of a preposition)....well, wait no longer. it is "down the road," by kenny chesney. confession part deux---i heard it on my way to my grandma's and was surprised at myself when i started to cry :( . i get weepy and sentimental often when i'm there. being in the town my mom grew up in makes me kind of sad. there are lots of reasons for this that i'm not going to go into on such an open and impersonal forum. but it happens. hence the tears. 

awww, an old lady just came in and got on the treadmill. old people working out are kind of cute. you know what's not quite as cute? my father, doing yoga.

 (dad, if you're reading this....um your hair looks nice).