Nocturnal Activities

I set my alarm for 3:15am, stumbled out of bed around 4, peered up at the sky and saw this...

...and then stumbled back to bed.

Two Days til Burning Man

Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

Donnie Darko is a film about:

A. A troubled youth with psychological problems who has visions of a demonic rabbit who foretells the end of the world.

B. A troubled youth who is trapped in an alternate timeline that is growing gradually more unstable.

C. Death, God, Faith, Time Travel, Love, and Sacrifice.

D. All of the above.

Did it really happen? Was it all in his head? Or all in ours?

It is all of that and more. Plus, it has one of the best soundtracks in the world. And with the midnight show playing at Camera 12, I finally get to see it on the big screen.

5 Days til Burning Man

Two Poems

The Ride

The horse beneath me seemed
To know what course to steer
Through the horror of snow I dreamed,
And so I had no fear,

Nor was I chilled to death
By the wind's white shudders, thanks
To the veils of his patient breath
And the mist of sweat from his flanks.

It seemed that all night through,
Within my hand no rein
And nothing in my view
But the pillar of his mane,

I rode with magic ease
At a quick, unstumbling trot
Through shattering vacancies
On into what was not,

Till the weave of the storm grew thin,
With a threading of cedar-smoke,
And the ice-blind pane of an inn
Shimmered, and I awoke.

How shall I now get back
To the inn-yard where he stands,
Burdened with every lack,
And waken the stable-hands

To give him, before I think
That there was no horse at all,
Some hay, some water to drink,
A blanket and a stall?

~Richard Wilbur


Summer Storm

We stood on the rented patio
While the party went on inside.
You knew the groom from college.
I was a friend of the bride.

We hugged the brownstone wall behind us
To keep our dress clothes dry
And watched the sudden summer storm
Floodlit against the sky.

The rain was like a waterfall
Of brilliant beaded light,
Cool and silent as the stars
The storm hid from the night.

To my surprise, you took my arm–
A gesture you didn't explain–
And we spoke in whispers, as if we two
Might imitate the rain.

Then suddenly the storm receded
As swiftly as it came.
The doors behind us opened up.
The hostess called your name.

I watched you merge into the group,
Aloof and yet polite.
We didn't speak another word
Except to say goodnight.

Why does that evening's memory
Return with this night's storm–
A party twenty years ago,
Its disappointments warm?

There are so many might have beens,
What ifs that won't stay buried,
Other cities, other jobs,
Strangers we might have married.

And memory insists on pining
For places it never went,
As if life would be happier
Just by being different.

~Dana Gioia




7 Days til Burning Man

A dream slowly fading...

"Well here we are, just the four of us that started out together," said Merry. "We have left all the rest behind, one after another. It seems almost like a dream that has slowly faded."

"Not to me," said Frodo. "To me it feels more like falling asleep again."

~The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King







14 Days til Burning Man

Well, I'm back...

...and ready for a new adventure!

Salisbury, MD

Thursday

Leslie and I had just enough time to pack our bags and check out (the hotel people very kindly let us leave our bags in the office) and race downtown for a quick tour of Little Italy and the Inner Harbor. We took a water taxi around the harbor and got a nice view of all the restaurants and hotels and museums they have built up down there. Wish we had more time for those museums! We had some scrumptious desserts at Vaccarro's in Little Italy. The streets there would look like Europe except for all the cars and ugly street signs. Then we took the Metro/lightrail back to our hotel and caught the BayRunner Shuttle to Salisbury (about a 2 hour drive).

We were met in Salisbury by one of our instructors, Dr. Patty Dean. She drove us around the "scenic route" to view a little bit of Salisbury before we stopped to have dinner at the Market Street Cafe with our other professor, Dr. Ernie Bond. They are both very friendly, down-to-earth people with a love of books and talking. ;-)

Leslie and I had the pleasure of staying in The Carriage House, a very nice, on-campus accommodation like a little cottage. I wish our entire trip would be like that, but I know there will be times we'll be "roughing it" a little more.


Friday

We had class at Salisbury most of the day and met some of our fellow students (some will be joining us at the airport).

Afterwards, we drove out to Assateague Island for a view of the ocean and a glimpse of the Wild Ponies. Yes, they have wild ponies in Maryland! They were really something. Tame enough to get close to, but not enough to touch.

Then we drove through Ocean City, a very "beach boardwalk" kind of popular tourist place (very east coast feel) and had dinner at Macky's right on the water. Great sunset!


Saturday

Brief class this morning again. Met with one of our guest authors, Bernice Steinhardt, author of Memories of Survival. She tells of her mother's survival in Poland during the Nazi occupation. The beautiful embroidered illustrations were made by her mother before her death in 2001. I really enjoyed meeting and speaking with Bernice. Also, I got a signed copy of the book.

This afternoon, we are off to BWI airport and on to Iceland!!!

Wednesday Highlights

Baltimore, MD

• Learned to navigate both the Light-Rail and the Metro.
• California: Gold. Maryland: Green.
• First stop: Lexington Market. It's kind of an old-fashioned street vendor marketplace, except it's indoors (and air conditioned!). After this, a "super" Safeway is just another big, dumb grocery store.
• Ate crab soup for lunch with some really yummy cornbread.
• Found Edgar Alan Poe's grave.
• Walked around in circles for an hour trying to find "Edgar Alan Poe House" but never did.
• Went back to Lexington Market and had a "snowball" (a kind of slushy) to recover.
• In spite of being sweaty and exhausted and looking like hell, a very nice old man told me that I was a "beautiful lady" and that he wished he had a camera so he could take a picture of me. ;-)
• Checked out the Harbor and took a quick tour of the US Coast Guard Cutter Taney. (Will go back to the Harbor tomorrow I think)
• Met up with my classmate Leslie and her Sri Lankan friends.
• Had the *best* crabcakes in the world for dinner.
• Humidity sucks.