Monday, October 15, 2007

Living life as one big resume-building experience gets old. I have begun seeing people as commodities/tools to be optimized and exploited. Is this normal?

I'm currently knee-deep in the NSF GRFP application...I'm proposing a rather ambitious project to elucidate paramutation mechanisms (Lit reviews are more fun than homework). I guess it's a good sign that I really enjoy this part, being as it's what I am going to do for a living, haha.

A portrait of my mind at the end of its tether: every time I think about how many things are on my to-do list, I envision Ursula singing "I'm a very busy person and I haven't got all day!"

Disney allusions: the ultimate litmus test for insanity. Or as Michael J Budds would say, (referring to Joan Sutherland as Lucia) "she's nuttier than a fruitcake!"

A more mundane tid-bit: I made salmon cakes with some grated zucchini, yellow squash, lemon juice, pepper, and fresh tarragon from my garden. Yum!

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Happenstance:

Right now, there are three (3) construction worker-types (with chain saws and toolbelts, oh my!) in my backyard cutting down branches from around the telephone lines.

The kicker: none of them are as beefy as my boyfriend.

And I would really rather just take a nap.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Ok. I'll just say it.

I am obsessed with Strauss' Elektra. Craig and I checked out the DVD and watched it a couple of weeks ago (The 1989 Eva Marton Vienna Staatsoper). Most of the scenes can also be found on youtube.

It can be angular yet voluptuous--and Eva Marton is a beast...basically it requires shouting for two hours over a full orchestra with constant brass.

The opening line "Allein! Weh, ganz allein" gets me every time.