Today, April 4, 2007....

I am finally posting a new blog entry to explain my extended absence. I was thinking last night that some people might thing I never returned from Egypt. But no, alas, I did return. I had a great time. Egypt is incredible, from almost every aspect.

The reason I'm posting now is to say that I have decided to take a short break from maintaining my blog in order to devote my time and energy to a new novel I'm writing. It is entitled Inauguration Day. I, admittedly, have been working on it for months and months, but I haven't been very serious about it, and now I've come to the conclusion that I'll still be working on it this time next year if I don't kick it into gear. So I'm taking a short hiatus from the blog in order to write the novel. Check the bookstore nearest you for a copy of Inauguration Day in about 2 years.

Thanks for reading. Check back later for more updates.

Word of the Day: Egypt

I'm going to Egypt in 3 days. For two weeks. I couldn't be more excited. Over the past few weeks I've been trying to prepare myself for the journey by watching videos of Egyptologists and the treasures of the ancient world. Mummies, tombs, antiquities. It's all very exciting. I've watched stories about Moses, Cleopatra, the Sphinx, King Tut, Ramases, the Pyramids... You name it, I'm a temporary scholar. I don't think I've ever cramped as much knowledge as this in such a short time. There's so much rich history in Egypt. Two weeks is not enough to cover it all.

Word of the Day: New Construction

It didn't seem as easy as it sounds to say it, but I have moved everything I own from my condo and into a new apartment. And yes, it's new. Living there is almost like I've reverted back in time two years to when my condo was brand new. No one on the planet acknowledges the existence of the address (and to prove it, I haven't received a single piece of mail since I moved in with the exception of a postcard). I had to go to the DMV in person to register my car -- something I haven't done since the inception of the Internet -- because the all-knowing super-highway rejected my address. And worst of all, though I am only 1 mile from the metro, my commute has gotten longer and exceedingly more tedious. Today I walked a mere 1/3 mile to the nearest bus stop with tears streaming down my face, not from frustration, but from the "Feels Like" 11 degree, 23-mph winds that were pelting me in the face. And I still find that more convenient and agreeable than the builder's temporary arrangement to have us all call cabs in the morning and evening in leui of a bus stop being right out front until everyone finally moves in.

So the joy of living in a brand new place, being the first resident to begin the process of wear and tear, and enjoying the top-of-the-line appliances and ammenities does come at a price, but it's well worth it for the 42-inch plasma tv and fireplace, and the extra 400 sq ft of space I now have. All said, it was a pretty fair trade. I close on the sale of my condo on Friday. An end to an era.

Word of the Day: Pupil

I've decided to get lasik surgery finally, after many years of people telling me how wonderful it is to see without the aid of glasses or contacts. I am currently wearing my glasses and wishing I could see anything outside the small 1 inch frames. I can't even eat with my glasses on because at this angle, only half the food is clear enough to identify. So, it's time. I went to the pre-op consultation yesterday to learn whether I'd be a good candidate, and while I am at no great risk of problems, I did learn one interesting fact about my eyes. They are freakishly large.

Consider this statement " Under fluorescent lighting, normal pupil sizes ranged from 2.6 mm to 5 mm. In brighter lighting, normal pupil sizes ranged from 1.9 mm to 3.6 mm." In normal light, my pupils range from 7 to 8 mm. So when dilated, you can imagine how freakish my eyes look. After receiving the dilating eye drops, the doctor measured my pupils at 8.7 mm. That's almost twice the size of a normal human eye! Now I'm worried that my abnormally sized eyes and my insanely sensitive hearing might indicate that I'm a a super hero waiting to discover her true powers, or I'm just a circus act waiting to happen.

Word of the Day: Moose

Thanks to this very informative article on how winter is chasing moose out of the mountains and into the city of Anchorage, Alaska, I now know things about the moose that I never knew before:

1. Moose eat up to 40 pounds of wood a day, enough to fill two large garbage cans
2. In a normal winter 130 moose can die from car collisions within the city limits
3. A normal winter in Anchorage produces 68 inches of snow. This year they've already had 76, and there are four more months to go.
4. Residents pay anywhere between $195 and $265 for a moose retrieval service
5. Moose weigh half a ton and will lose a pound a day due to winter conditions.

Word of the Day: Censure

1. To find fault with and condemn as wrong; to blame; to criticize severely.
2. To express official disapproval of.

Recent census data shows that for the first time, more women are unmarried than married. Not only is the divorce rate skyrocketing, the number of women choosing not to marry at all has risen, which indicates a major change in societal norms.

One article seems to think that women are now more critical than ever of our mates. Men aren't bringing home the "bacon" as much as they were before -- in many cases the woman is now the breadwinner of the family -- and men are not contributing as much as a woman expects. So us women have decided we don't need men afterall! Or is it really that we're just too critical?

I've always thought I have way too high a standard for other people. I am doubtlessly too critical of men I date. Not because I think he needs to be perfect -- because I am far from perfect myself -- but because he is ultimately a reflection of me, and if I wouldn't allow myself to behave that way, why would I want my mate to behave that way? He doesn't have to be perfect, but his normal behavior has to be fairly similar to my own or we're not going to get along. And since I no longer have to rely on another human being to make a living, or maintain my standard of living, I have the ability to be very selective. And if I never find him, that's okay too. Being single isn't the worst thing in the world.

Word of the Day: Ramen

I feel horrible about my neglect. I meant to blog about this last week and with the craziness of selling my condo and finding a new place to live, I neglected the Noodle Guy. A few weeks ago, the man who invented instant ramen noodles died. His name was Momofuku Ando. And can we all agree he's the most brilliant man to ever live? What would many of us have ever done without ramen noodles? Two thirds of all college students would die of hunger, refusing to cook anything that required more than hot water and two minutes worth of effort. My dad still uses ramen to supplement his own cooking -- which usually includes noodles, the flavor packet, salsa and some Franks Red Hot sauce. I personally use ramen noodles to make oriental cabbage salad. I crumble the noodles into the coleslaw, and if I didn't have the chicken seasoning packet how would I make the dressing? Thank you, Mr. Ando, for your unmistakable contribution to society.

Ramen noodles, by contrast, are a dish of effortless purity. Like the egg, or tea, they attain a state of grace through a marriage with nothing but hot water. After three minutes in a yellow bath, the noodles soften. The pebbly peas and carrot chips turn practically lifelike. A near-weightless assemblage of plastic and foam is transformed into something any college student will recognize as food, for as little as 20 cents a serving. The Whole Story

Word of the Day: Amnemonic

amnemonic: unknowing

I'm filling out some paperwork today for which I have to recall every detail of the last seven years including, but not limited to, every place I've lived, every job I've held, every person I've ever known, every country I've traveled too and every topic of conversative I've ever had. Okay, well, not the last part, but seriously. Who remembers all those details? Frankly, I'd like to forget half of those decisions. One of the best years of my life I spent traveling all over the world and when I returned, I was jobless and worked a bunch of temp and freelance jobs for various people. That one year is now costing me days worth of time I'll never get back, plus insane amounts of brain power spent trying to recall where I went after I left Rome.