a faerie tale for octopetry

Once upon a time, a boy named Adam convinced a girl named Halsted that the plural of “octopus” was “octopetry”. For a short while after that, the girl told everyone she knew about this new, strange plural form. She was very proud to see the shocked and confused looks on faces all about her. She was disseminating knowledge. One day, the girl recited this important fact to her generative grammar professor. He laughed so hard that he nearly toppled over his lectern. The girl gazed around the room at her classmates, who were all laughing along with the professor. The girl was shocked and confused, but she laughed too, thinking this must be a very funny joke indeed. Later on, she found the boy, and she kicked his ass. Metaphorically, of...

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Posted on 31 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

clothes faerie

O god, what did I do? I just spent an unreasonable amount of money (for me, probably reasonable for the rest of the universe) on a slip and a skirt. The slip is plain and black and straight … until just under the knee, when it turns into a layer of black tulle. The skirt is iridescent black and burgundy with various asymmetric gathers, making it look like stage curtains! The skirt is a bit shorter than the slip so just the black tulle sticks out of the bottom. It’s floofy and pretty and I even have burgundy lipstick to match. Brina is going to cover me in ‘parklies and glitter and then we are going to dance all night at Inkbot’s birthday bash! Fear Hinx and Binx on the dance floor! (Yes, there will be photos …) Current...

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Posted on 30 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

something else

I woke up at eight o’clock to the sound of my father’s voice, slightly higher than usual, a surefire indication that something was wrong. He told me that my great-uncle Herb died. I don’t remember much about Uncle Herb, but I remember that whenever I would go to his house as a little girl he would hug me so hard my ribs hurt, and he would make me laugh. I hung up the phone and whispered, Goodbye, Uncle Herb. You always made me feel loved. Thank you. Then I fiddled with my website a bit, unable to figure out what to do with myself. Now my webcam page displays the last four tracks I’ve listened to in iTunes. It doesn’t relate to Uncle Herb’s passing at all, and maybe that’s why I did it, although I am renowned for my...

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Posted on 30 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

retro-effing-grade

So Mercury did go retrograde yesterday, and will be so through 20 September. I knew it. To wit: the network at work fell down, cutting off internet access for the entire campus. I struggled massively with one poem before finishing it; another, a pantoum, is just not behaving itself at all. My ex-whatever (the H-word is now too good for him) informed me that he no longer wants to have any contact with me, instead preferring to read my website for updates on my life. Sleep does not come easy; when it comes, I can only stay asleep for a few hours, and I wake up confused and lonely. And the worst part of all is that I feel everything I say to those closest to me somehow comes out so very wrong. It is time for me to go visit the ocean. I will bring her tears, and...

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Posted on 29 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

un-movement

I took my Movable Type blog “quill” down today. It’s just not worth it for me to have personal writing in two places; I’m writing here again, mostly in locked entries, in case you’re not seeing much of substance. Feel free to remove , the syndication of quill, from your friends list. And if you want to be added to my friends list, post a comment to this entry and introduce yourself. I have also re-posted my poetry at http://www.cygnoir.net/words/. I will work on a better format for the pieces soon. Current mood: Current music:

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Posted on 27 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

so let’s go home and make a mess

After escaping the utter chaos that was the library yesterday, I went home and finally watched “Monster’s Ball”. It didn’t exactly cheer me up, since it is an unremittingly depressing film, but I was glad I saw it. Unfortunately, the sex scenes left me worse off than I had been earlier in the day. I don’t know why people were complaining about them in the reviews; I find realistic simulated sex much more titillating to watch than porn. Afterwards, I felt cranky and restless, and I tried to drive to Target for no particular reason, but turned off the expressway way before I got anywhere near it. I thought sleep might suit me, so I tried that for an hour, then woke up with some odd certainty that I would find FunkyPlaid online. As...

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Posted on 26 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

this is a perfect day for

This is a perfect day to come home to someone wonderful, make crazy “my day sucked” love, fix dinner together and eat it in bed while making plans to treat ourselves that weekend with a trip to our favorite bookstore. And then make love again. My mom told me once about a couple she admired greatly. Every single night, they would take an hour and talk, or take a walk, or make love, or read to each other. They continued the routine even after they had children, and may still to this day. I think that is so utterly beautiful, and it is what I want. Funny how a certain type of library-related stress makes me yearn for romance and lust. No wonder I’m in this line of work … Current mood: Current music:

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Posted on 25 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

they all came back

It’s the first day of the fall semester where I work, and things are getting A Little Crazy. One of my favorite professors came into the library and asked for a PowerPoint tutorial. I replied, “So you’re asking me to help you with your homework?” and he laughed. “Yes, I am.” I was honored, truly. It was an hour well-spent. I got to look at slides of the Sistine Chapel, and make a professor giggle with my silly jokes. One of the student assistants who did an abysmal job over the summer asked me for his schedule today. I took him into my office and explained that I wasn’t giving him any, and why. He seemed apologetic and penitent at first (especially after he was caught in a lie), then returned just a few minutes...

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Posted on 25 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

begin/end/begin

I just returned from SFO. FunkyPlaid has embarked on his year-long adventure. I wish I had words right now. I might feel better if I could write anything more than this. But so be it; this is all I have to say.

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Posted on 23 Aug 2003 | Comments Off

it’s time

Whenever I hear “Fred Jones Part 2″ by Ben Folds, I sob. Sometimes there are tears, and sometimes not. Today there were tears. Fred sits alone at his desk in the dark there’s an awkward young shadow that waits in the hall he has cleared all his things and he’s put them in boxes things that remind him that life has been good twenty-five years he’s worked at the paper a man’s here to take him downstairs and “I’m sorry, Mr. Jones, it’s time” there was no party and there were no songs ’cause today’s just a day like the day that he started and no one is left here that knows his first name yeah, and life barrels on like a runaway train where the passengers change they don’t change...

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Posted on 22 Aug 2003 | Comments Off