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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

"Snow is falling...

...like forgiveness from the sky." -Darlin' by Over the Rhine

I used to take writing entries sooooo seriously. I think.

Now sometimes I avoid writing b/c it makes my life less stressful. I don't want to try to be entertaining. My resolution, is to write shorter blogs, more often. But I make this resolution ALL THE TIME.

I could write everyday if I just posted my favorite quotes out of books I've read.
But that would be lame. (unless this was my blog's purpose and then it would be Non-lame)

This is how Anne Lamott feels about libraries (and how I feel about libraries)
"We were there to celebrate some of the rare intelligence capabilities that our country can actually be proud of—those of librarians. I see them as healers and magicians. Librarians can tease out of inarticulate individuals enough information about what they are after to lead them on the path of connection. They are trail guides through the forest of shelves and aisles—you turn a person loose who has limited skills, and he’ll be walloped by the branches. But librarians match up readers with the right books…as Barry Lopez once said, “Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive"….If you are mesmerized by televised stupidity, and don’t get to hear or read stories about your world, you can be fooled into thinking that the world isn’t miraculous—and it is."

I haven't done a good job calling people to hang out. It's because other things are hanging over my head. Like cleaning out my closet, and going through all my possessions that are in boxes. It's silly that that incapacitates me to be social. Or maybe it's just a good excuse. Maybe I'm not so much going through "culture shock" but a funny adjustment to routine.

It snowed here, and it was beautiful. Although I'm not enjoying the cold wind. I was trying to put groceries in my car on Sunday, and had to hold my breathe so that the wind could not assail my lungs.

There is a house I've always struggled to see when I'm driving about. So much so, a friend and I tried to...dare I say, "trespass" once to see it. But now it's not just a house anymore. Someone has bought it, and the land and has torn down all the trees that once masked it's majesty. They are building on the property, but are keeping the mansion. Much to my delight.

My parents small group came to our house on Sunday, and I fed them Posole, Tortillas de Maseca, Pico de Gallo (although it didn't have much jalapeƱo in it), and two kinds of salsa. It was fun! It was the first time I'd cooked in 2 weeks and surprisingly easy to get Chiles de Arbol. I didn't even have to go to the mexican stores. My mom took the right things to work today to eat Ceviche de Tuna, my other favorite food, but then called me to make sure she was eating it right. I may try to make some dinner appointments and cook for other people. Let me know if you wanna come over!

Next Tuesday I will have blogged for 1,900 days. I'm saying it now, because I know I'll have forgotten by then. The important becomes ordinary.

I'm hopping to go out dancing, and go to bed early. To see tons of people, and enjoy the peace and quiet. To eat all these foods I don't eat in Mexico, to be 15 pounds lighter in January. To study Medical Spanish, to take a break from thinking. I AM a living paradox.

ok. One more quote.

from Graham Greene's Power and the Glory
"When you visualized a man or woman carefully, you could always begin to feel pity—that was a quality God’s image carried with it. When you saw the lines at the corners of the eyes, the shape of the mouth, how the hair grew, it was impossible to hate. Hate was just a failure of imagination."

3 comments:

Hannah said...

I want to come over and play. And I really love that last quote. And I am really impressed at your Mexi-savvy cooking skills.

And I miss you.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jen,
I just thought I'd leave a comment, as I've been reading a few of your posts on your blog. This was a really good post, have you ever thought about writing a book?

Anyway, I'm guessing it's pretty cold in Ohio now. I went surfing this morning in Santa Barbara. :)

Jen said...

I have thought about writing a book, but that would be a lot of hard work! Thanks for the compliment :)


Hannah- I miss you too. a lot. can I just say that I was surprised by my Mexi-savvy cooking skills???