I just visited some extended family that I have not seen for several years.

Best quote came from a 7 year old, accordion-playing boy (child of a cousin):

"Um.......... I.......I thought you were a cowboy............but you're not."

mood: amused tags: i-am-a-cowboy

While standing in my shower and trying to decide which shampoo, which conditioner, which body wash and which face wash to use....

I remembered being in the Peace Corps, and living at the same economic level of my host community.

Like all of my neighbors, I had a single bar of soap to wash everything.  EVERYTHING.

I used it to wash my hands.

I used it to wash my face.

I used it to wash my body.

I used it to wash my hair.

I used it to wash my dishes.

I used it to wash my clothes.

I liked red Lifebouy, like Connie, my landlady.

mood: contemplative tags: soap-as-marker-of-social-class

If things were not interesting and busy enough already, today is ALSO our TEN YEAR wedding anniversary! Wau!

mood: chipper tags: decades

So last night, while enjoying rich conversation with friends at Artomatic, it was suggested that I change my business cards to reflect my new degree.

However, this is not possible. I explained that the office where I work does not want people to put their degrees(or other titles) on their business cards, aside from their job title. (Not sure why...)

To circumvent this rule, Justin made this awesome suggestion:

"Just change your name to Dranita Bright."

I am so amused!

mood: amused tags: name-changing, titles

Today a woman in my office building passed me in the hallway and said, "Hello, Linda. How are you today?"

My name is not Linda.

So either a) she thinks my name is Linda, or b) she thinks I'm pretty and wanted to tell me this in Spanish.

I'm gonna go with b.

mood: amused tags: linda

( Don't marry your cat, no matter how handsome he is )</div>
 </div>

tags: distraction

For anyone who has not heard, here's my big announcement: I successfully defended my dissertation on Thursday, June 4!

( WAY more detail than anyone needs... )

mood: disbelief tags: dissertation defense

I'm printing my dissertation (all 8 chapters!!) for my committee.

Hoping to find time to copy it, bind it and deliver it tomorrow.

And now I hope to catch my breath before my defense on June 4.

mood: indescribable tags: dissertation

One of my friends just posed this question, which was just what I needed to think about at this moment.

Marie  is just wondering about what you liked to do as a child that you don't do anymore? Has anyone else given up some fun little things that you miss?

It made me remember that when I was about nine, we lived in a small, rural village, and we would ride our bikes out to a field where there were horses behind a thin wire fence. We would take carrots, and while we fed them to the horses, we would comb their manes with our fingers. 

Wasn't that a good question?  I  wonder how others might answer it...

mood: reflective tags: hmmm

Sorry for limited commenting on the blogs of others. Busy/ stressed does not begin to capture what's going on.

In sum:
( Can you spare $10,500? )

mood: anxious tags: clarity, deep-breathing, focus, stress