08.08.08

Looking forward to 09.09.09

Smarties, Anyone?

from flickr

I really don't think I say this enough: I'm ridiculously fortunate to have the parents that I have. Don't get me wrong, we do have our moments. However, they love me more than I could ever imagined being loved by parents. Today, I got a package filled to the top with Smarties. It was hilarious, just the thing that I needed to make me genuinely laugh. Why Smarties? Smarties for the smarty of course! I've been feeling a wee bit inadequate in grad school lately, so my parents were sending me bits of encouragement. Aren't they brilliant? I love it. I just don't know what I'm going to do with all those Smarties. I guess they'll be my afternoon pick me ups.

P. Elbow on Creating a Writing Voice

The following is a quotation from an article about freewriting that I read about. I really thought it was powerful and meaningful.

"Maybe you don't like your voice; maybe people have made fun of it. But it's the only voice you've got. It's your only source of power. You better get back into it, no matter what you think of it. If you keep writing in it, it may change into something you like better. But if you abandon it, you'll likely never have a voice and never be heard."

Batman is the Man for Me

After much hinting and enough pity accumulation, my hubster agreed that we should go and watch the Dark Knight. I loved it! Even my hubster liked it and asked on the way out, "Who wrote this? It was good writing for a comic book movie." Of all the comic book based movies (Spiderman, Superman, Hell Boy, Fantastic Four, etc), Batman is my all time favorite. My mom asked if I thought it deserved all the attention and money that it's been raking in. My answer? Most definitely. I don't want to give anything away because it would take away from the movie. I really enjoyed Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine's performances. Yes, Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is darker and more interesting than Jack Nicholson's.

Favorite line:

Lieutenant Gordon: "Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now...and so we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector...a dark knight."

Viva La Fiesta!

Since Thursday evening, Fiesta has been the talk of the town. It goes from Thursday-Sunday. There are all sorts of parades and activities centered around this fiesta theme. I finally got to have a little Fiesta time after my Saturday class ended. We started with some lunch of delicious Pork Adobado tacos. My hubster failed to tell me that I might find chunks of squishy slimy fat mixed in with my delicious pork, so I would actually eat it. I ended up stumbling across a huge bit of glistening fat when I got to my third taco. All I can say is thank god I ate that taco last because it went downhill after that first fat-laden bite. Afterwards, we headed down to the courthouse gardens to check out the festivities there. We ended up exploring the courthouse because the only entertainment were the dancers that we already saw at the other park.

Delicious savory tacos.

The front of the courthouse.
We went up to the top of that clock tower later on.

Dramatic fountain outside of the courthouse.
It doesn't compare to European fountains.

Interior arch. Church-like, right?

View of cultural dancers below.

It's those Spanish terracotta tiles that SB is known for.

It was shady.
I'm really not that dark.

A courtroom open to the public.
It has murals about the Spanish conquistadors
who "converted the enlightened Indians" of the area.

The legal library where we learned we can't be lawyers.

Where the Bees at?