|
|
Remember the Mattress Giant (see November 16t...
December 15, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Remember the Mattress Giant (see November 16th posting)? The Mattress Giant has spoken! The Giant "addressed the issue with Simmons, the vendor for the product, and the name will be changed as soon as a replacement product is ready. The anticipated timeline for this is in the latter part of the first quarter of 2007." Wohoo! My VISTA co-leader rocks my socks! MACC VISTAs, making the world safer for queer sleepers everywhere!
|
|
Tomorrow is my last day of work! I am so thri...
December 14, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Tomorrow is my last day of work! I am so thrilled to come home on Monday, and make apple butter, hang greenery, and buy electronica for small children! Last night was 15 Hall St.'s gift exchange and goodbye party for our friend Ven. We all pitched in and made Ven a quilt of scenes from The Little Prince, which was pretty neat. The best present by far was the titanium spork given to Janet by Mason, although Janet's 1930's logging documentary for Mason was cool, too. I am currently wearing a beautiful green scarf from Janet, and have a handmade, corn-filled icepack from Mason in the freezer. Ah, my roommates know me so well.
|
|
As some of you may have with your jobs, my VI...
December 12, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 As some of you may have with your jobs, my VISTA position comes with an extensively used (some may say abused) listserv. Today, one of the listserv members requested that we stop, or nearly stop, using the listserv. There was a groundswell of support for the listserv. In solidarity with the listserv, I wrote (and obviously emailed out) this ode:
I love it when you fill up my inbox with sweet nothings,
like there was nothing else in the world to do
but to remind me, in any way that you can,
each one stuffing in a question, a website, a frantic yawp,
that I'm not alone in
(as Paulo Freire and Myles Horton so beautifully put it)
making the way by walking.
Tomorrow is an office all-day retreat, so I'll be without VISTA listserv sweet-nothings all day long. Pray for me.
|
|
I wanted to share my Mitosis video, which you...
December 08, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I wanted to share my Mitosis video, which you can get to with YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V3MZcWjg5w.
We got our first snow of the season last night- we were all quilting away at home after my big retreat this week. This weekend I'm chaperoning a teen acoustic coffee house at the North Adams Elks Lodge- good times.
|
|
I am typing from Boston, preparing for a semi...
December 05, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
I am typing from Boston, preparing for a semi-working retreat called Early Service Training (EST) with the VISTA crew. In some ways, this is the last big required training that Carly (my co-leader) and I have to plan until late June. Hopefully I'll be able to juggle being a VISTA leader and being an on-campus VISTA better. It has also begun to snow in the Berkshires, which marks the beginning of our hibernation season, so I'm not sure how I'll manage drivng out to Boston every other week. In real life, all is well- Janet and I are making headway on the quilt, and I just convinced my room mates to get a little Christmas tree. Ah, the holiday season of over consumption begins.
|
|
My co-leader Carly called me today about some...
November 16, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
My co-leader Carly called me today about something she wanted my input on. Apparently, she decided to take all of our anti-oppression workshops to heart and give a discount mattress company a piece of her mind. Oh, how I do love an ally who's not afraid to take on a giant. Mattress Giant, that is.
Her letter to Goliath:
In shopping for a new mattress, I came across Mattress Giant's His and Her Side Mattresses. While I do not identify as a homosexual, I feel alienated by any company that assumes the only couples that share beds consist of one male and one female. I refuse to give my money to any company with such blatantly anti-queer products.
There is much more inclusive nomenclature that can be used to describe this product. May I suggest "Dual Firmness Mattresses" or "Choice Comfort Level Mattresses". By using inclusive terms when describing your products, you create an environment where everyone feels welcome.
I hope you choose to rename your product; in the meantime I will maintain my boycott of Mattress Giant. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Today, we fight for mattresses free of homophobia; tomorrow... THE WORLD!
|
|
First, happy birthday, Seraph! I hope you eat...
November 10, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
First, happy birthday, Seraph! I hope you eat raspberries and clotted cream and drink perfectly-heated tea!
Last Tuesday, Deval Patrick, my governor-elect, said something that really rang true to me about the conference that I'm organizing, which begins in six hours! He said:
Now I ask you to look around. Look around, especially those of you who have never been a part of a campaign. Every kind of person is here. You come from every corner of the Commonwealth. You come from great wealth and no wealth. You walk and you use wheelchairs. Democrats and Independents and Republicans are here. You are liberal and moderate and conservative.
You see in common how broken our civic life and how fractured our communities are. You see in common that the poor are in terrible shape and the middle class are one month away from being poor. And you know that government by gimmick and sound bite isn’t working. You know that we deserve better and we are better than that. And for a chance at a better and more hopeful future, you built bridges some of you never thought could be built across all kinds of differences -- and then you crossed them.
This guy is representing me! Me! And he cares about people! What a crazy, crazy concept. It's been a really good week.
|
|
Generic Heading
November 06, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Here are our quilt squares so far:
|
|
Janet and I have taken up quilting to while a...
November 05, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Janet and I have taken up quilting to while away the cold Williamstown winter. I'll continue to update you on it's progress, but so far, we have embroidered patches that include:
A whale
A herd of elephants
Sheep jumping over the moon
A pomegranate (see photo)
A set of molars
A giraffe and porcupine
Trees in a boat
A landscape of arctic penguins
A pumpkin
And I'm working on a pocket right now.
|
|
In the spirit of happy things, I wanted you a...
November 03, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 In the spirit of happy things, I wanted you all to know that I am about to have a baby!
I know, I wasn't showing very much, but I'm due in seven days! Twelve midwives (community advisors), seventeen doulas (student facilitators), and seventy six student supporters will be there! I'm naming her the Berkshire Institute for Student Activism, or Bisa (bEEsa), for short. I'd like to thank all the special people who have helped me eat for two since July, when the magic began.
And it will be a magical, magical beginning to a lifelong collaboration between Williams, MCLA, Simon's Rock, Berkshire Community College, Southern Vermont College, and this crazy place we call Home. As they say, it takes a village. Or in this case, an entire county.
Please don't ask me about Bisa's deadbeat dad, Bennington College. This is a time for rejoicing, not wallowing in other people's short-sightedness. Bennington will come around, once he sees Bisa's shiny little red face of hope.
Don't worry, I'll send you all graphic photos of the whole process in a week or two!
In the meantime, here is a picture of what remained of my Halloween costume after a long night of haunting Sheep Hill. two black eyes and some whistful memories of weeping children. An imprisoned witch, after hours.
|
|
While culling through my morning emails, I re...
October 23, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
While culling through my morning emails, I received a beautiful spam poem. This is my favorite bit:
And Mr. Sikes was right. By dint of alternate threats, promises, and bribes, the lady in question was ultimately prevailed upon to undertake the commission. She was not, indeed, withheld by the same considerations as her agreeable friend; for, having recently removed into the neighborhood of Field Lane from the remote but genteel suburb of Ratcliffe, she was not under the same apprehension of being recognised by any of her numerous acquaintance.
A little morning Zen.
|
|
That "clarity" you are experiencing is most l...
October 13, 2006 by Jamie in Sadie & Greg
That "clarity" you are experiencing is most likely dehydration induced hallucination...but we must take what we can get, eh?
|
|
Today I am participating in a traditional Ram...
October 12, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Today I am participating in a traditional Ramadan fast, abstaining from food and water from sunup until sundown. There are 90 minutes left until sundown. I'm doing my best to think about things other than my stomach, unsuccessfully. However, as many people have promised, I have a renewed clarity, despite my sluggish body. A clarity about date ice cream at the end of the tunnel.
|
|
Happy anniversary, Seraph and Robbie! Have a ...
October 11, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Happy anniversary, Seraph and Robbie! Have a great time curled up in front of the fire- as they say, families that read together wear tweed together.
I just saw V for Vendetta last night, which was highly enjoyable for several reasons:
1. Natalie Portman
2. Natalie Portman with a British accent
3. Natalie Portman with a shaved head
And, of course, any DC comic turned movie is totally righteous.
|
|
Adam, thank you for sharing that fantastic Jo...
October 10, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Adam, thank you for sharing that fantastic Joan Jett tune, just in time for National Coming Out Day! So, come Wednesday, give a big hand to the brave souls that keep it real across the country. May we all look as good as Joan Jett!
I spent the long weekend in Holyoke, the poorest and most beautiful city in the state. We worked with Community Development Corporation Nueva Esperanza. Spending time at such a grassroots, social-justice oriented community organization really recommitted me to my community work. Western Mass was also in its Sunday best all weekend, which made the trip particularly glorious.
|
|
Seraph, you are so so so amazing! Following y...
September 16, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Seraph, you are so so so amazing! Following your bliss is back breaking work, but you did it! I'm so proud to have you as my wicked smart sister.
|
|
The primary election in Mass is creeping up o...
September 13, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
The primary election in Mass is creeping up on us, and I was drawn this morning to one of mom's favorite sites, dailykos, and their wiki on how to run for office. http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/How_To_Run_For_Office
It would be fun if we all decided to run for elected positions- a whole new generation stepping up to the plate of representative democracy!
|
|
How strange to think that this will be the la...
September 04, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
How strange to think that this will be the last time that I will run around with "Where Am I?!"! I've spent three consecutive Labor Days living and breathing road trips, hikes, community projects, museums, and general first-year orienting.
Tutor coordination, however, will be happening without me this year. When not driving around regaling first-years with historical details that they don't yet appreciate, I've been preparing for the America Reads/America Counts coordinator hand-off. All sixty-something work-study folders are carefully labelled and filled with dates, schedules, and payroll info. The OCD part of my personality is very, very satisfied at the moment.
|
|
My first day in the Boston Office has been fi...
August 23, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
My first day in the Boston Office has been filled with meetings and big city bustle. Leaving the Williams office is difficult, but this is the best way for me to really show my support for my VISTA co-leader, Carly. We swore in three new VISTAs at the downtown office of the National Corporation for Community Service this morning, which was quite official. Nothing makes me love my job more than swearing my allegiance to the constitution and vowing to defend it from foreign and domestic enemies. It makes the newbies a little nervous, though- CIA agents make the same vow.
|
|
Stewart, the new coordinator of Community Eng...
August 18, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Stewart, the new coordinator of Community Engagement in my office, and I, just moved into an office upstairs together. It's twice as large as my old office, and I'll have it to my lonesome for mornings. In the afternoon, Stewart and I will be sharing, which I'm actually quite excited about.
I'll be in Boston for three days next week, and then flying to the Dulles International Airport Hotel for fun and games at VISTA Leader training next Monday. I'm trying to think of fun stuff to keep my co-leader and I occupied- MadLibs? Workshop Bingo? I'd love your suggestions.
|
|
Work is exhausting at the moment, but I'm loo...
August 08, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Work is exhausting at the moment, but I'm looking forward to having dinner in my old haunt (Noho) with the Western Mass VISTAs tomorrow. I'll stay overnight in Holyoke and spend all of Thursday workshopping at Mount Holyoke with the new VISTAs, whom I have not seen since pre-service orientation in July.
The weather is absolutely pristine here. I planned to drive to work this morning, so I could drive home for a quick dinner and then drive back for an evening meeting, but it was too beautiful out. Instead of going home, I gathered victuals from Ephporium and reminded the grocer that he looked like Harold from Harold and Maude. I feel like one of the old ladies who was in Rick's Boston congregation- every Sunday, she'd say the same thing to him: "God is good and god is fair, to some he gave brains, to others, hair." I just go around telling people they look like movie characters who fancy women sixty years their senior and like to fake their own death.
|
|
Sorry for not posting in a month! I promise, ...
August 04, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Sorry for not posting in a month! I promise, all is well and good, and we've now moved into 15 Hall St. Having a potluck with friends last night confirmed my growing sense of the new place- that it's beautiful, and we're lucky to have it. I still haven't feng shui-ed yet, which is my weekend plan. Just me, Janet, and a bunch of decorating magazines and catalogues.
|
|
I'm sniffling away at VISTA pre-service orien...
July 11, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
I'm sniffling away at VISTA pre-service orientation in Eastern MA. Other than the leaky nose and bulging throat nodes, PSO is going very well, and I'm slouching into the world of VISTA leaderdom with as much dignity as I can manage with wads of tissue clinging to my nose. The new corps is great, and I think I'll scrape by for the week on vitamin a (advil) and tea. The ocean is, of course, a lovely touch to the week, and my VISTA co-leader is making up for my cold by being her generally hilarious, attentive, and lovely self.
I just can't wait to see all of you on the west coast.
|
|
What a fourth! Janet and I dressed up like Al...
July 05, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 What a fourth! Janet and I dressed up like Al Gore, face mask and all, and marched with Images Cinema in the Williamstown 4th of July parade to promote An Inconvenient Truth. After much marching (Spring St. is nearly half a city block long), we headed over to hear the Declaration of Independence read aloud, with the British response, in the Chapin Rare Books Library. We saw original copies of the founding documents and got to cheer and hiss at some actors from the Williamstown Theatre Festival. The rest of the day involved lying still and reading magazines in front of the fan, but all in all I think we did our patriotic duty.
I am feeling a little better about my job, although I had a super asstastic meeting with Informational Technology yesterday. I could go into it, but I think the cartoon says it all.
|
|
I found this old photo of a group of friends ...
June 30, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I found this old photo of a group of friends from Williamstown, and realize that Nick, Kareem, Sara Ansell and I are the only ones left in town. Sniff.
I'll be coming into Portland on the 16th- late on Saturday night, or early on Sunday morning, depending on your generational vantage point. Dad promised to fix my teeth on Thursday morning, but I've also been promised fun at the beach. I leave late on Tuesday night for to the daily grind. I had a great lunch with a student this afternoon, a fellow who, while introverted in my first two years working together, has become quite disarming and inspiring. I've also had the honor to eat with a group of my student colleagues about once a week to dream up programs for next year. Student leadership development is so easy with students who knew how they wanted to change the world in sixth grade.
|
|
Last night I was lucky enough to meet Will, C...
June 27, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Last night I was lucky enough to meet Will, Callie's special friend, who went to school with a colleague of mine. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a conversationalist after 9:30pm. Will is healing well from his grueling journey, so any cold beer and human contact seemed to make him buoyantly happy.
Work is not fantastic at the moment, and I'm counting the days until I can spend a little quality time on the left coast.
|
|
I'm looking forward to next week's semi-vacat...
June 16, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I'm looking forward to next week's semi-vacation in Boston and Cape Cod! Our VISTA Close of Service will be this week near Province town on the tip of Cape Cod. While I will still be acting as VISTA leader in training, there should be moments to relax on the beach and not think about Habitat for Humanity's wetland problems on their newly bought land, who will coordinate the America Reads/America Counts tutoring program next year, or if we'll fill the VISTA corps by pre-service orientation in early July.
The weather here is pristine, and the town is currently crowded with Williamstown Theatre Festival interns, striding down Spring St and waiting to be discovered.
This is from a Memorial Day BBQ at Nick Baker's house. Oh, the things we do to keep ourselves occupied...
|
|
Ohmygoodness! This is the day that Anna Monas...
June 09, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Ohmygoodness! This is the day that Anna Monas, Jenny Minnity-Shippey, Donald Duck, and I were born! Jenny and I are now perfect squares, Anna Monas is a prime number, and Donald is a timeless mathmagical adventurer! Uzaib dropped in this morning to apologize for not being able to come to my birthday party, satiating my despair with a cow-dotted milk-shake making Moo Mixer. Very Williams College, whose mascot is the Purple Cow. Alas, like Uzaib, most townies are engaged with Alumni Reunions this evening. It's too wet and rainy for an outdoor shindig, but we still have an indoor porch and some very enthusiastic mathmagic lovers. With Uzaib engaged in reunions, we are now able to pull out the booze and pig roast, which we had previously decided against in deference to his religious beliefs. However, my supervisor and chaplain to the college will also be attending, so we'll have to keep our revelry to interfaith-appropriate levels. Thank you for the well-wishes! I couldn't be a happier 25.
|
|
When I need to chill out at work, I stop emai...
June 07, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 When I need to chill out at work, I stop emailing and start using the telephone. Today is a chill day. After a morning of telephoning, I am eating my day-old half-off sandwich, parusing a four-page typed to-do list, and trying to consider when to take a vacation this summer. Nothing makes me feel more in control of my life than eating lunch at my desk and parusing my calendar for vacation time.
It will most likely rain on my birthday, and I'm a little nervous about Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land- my apartment is tiny and oddly shaped, and doesn't have many appropriate walls for projecting. We'll have to get creative.
|
|
I sit in a steamy office so full of popcorn, ...
May 31, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
I sit in a steamy office so full of popcorn, canned soup, and ramen that guests must perch in the doorway and I must leap over a plastic bag of non-perishable surplus from the dorm collection drive. It will eventually arrive at the Williamstown Food Pantry. I walk to work on most days, so these things can pile up.
My 25th birthday plans are becoming more grandiose by the day. I'm having a BBQ in our back yard with an outdoor screening of Donald Duck in Mathmagicland (1959)on 16mm. Yay!
|
|
Anna just joined the Symphony Parnasis, a com...
May 23, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Anna just joined the Symphony Parnasis, a community orchestra in San Fransisco! She's playing Shostakovich's 5th again, and while she's played it three times before, the orchestra is both spectacularly good and everyone is spectacularly friendly. So it looks like she's really integrating into the San Fransisco community.
Everything is absolute madness with Where Am I?! leader training this week, but in an exciting way. Keeps me on my toes.
|
|
Seraph, you must see Thank You for Smoking, w...
May 21, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Seraph, you must see Thank You for Smoking, which is the most smart and hilarious film I've seen all year, and involves the main character kidnapped and covered in nicotine patches. But that's not even close to the funniest part of the film.
I am re-reading The Lathe of Heaven by Ursala K. LeGuin, which is so phenomenally good and uncanny in its forecasts that I would also require all to read (or re-read!) it. On pg. 49 in the Avon paperback version, there's a mention of the president's "happy faculty for fouling a quotation." I wanted to laugh out loud in the coffee shop. And bits about Afghanistan and global warming that make me shudder.
I'm off to Northampton to have lunch with friends that are there for their 2nd reunion. Oh, how time flies.
|
|
Yes, yes, happy birthday to Anna!
I have ...
May 16, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Yes, yes, happy birthday to Anna!
I have my Americorps VISTA leader interview on Thursday, forcing me to re-read all of this apologetic service-learning theory. Is there a more self-deprecating discipline than "service-learning?"
Everyone else in the world believes that service is infallible. But the bleeding heart academics that actually do service-learning flog themselves for promoting oppressive power dynamics between the campus and community. Sigh. I, of course, love it.
We're having a late May downpour this week. It keeps the caterpillar population from getting too cocky.
|
|
The end of the semester is upon us! Oh, how I...
May 09, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 The end of the semester is upon us! Oh, how I weep at the leaving of my favorite seniors, the stress of spring trainings, and the joy of having the entire campus covered in Eastern Tent caterpillars, or scum from heaven, as they are commonly known on campus. Students have begun to chalk caterpillar epitaphs across the walkways, and overheard popped-collar conversations have been replaced with hateful caterpillar diatribes. I was talking to the president last night, and even he, the year-round tie and v-neck sweater wearing king of prep, was undone by their presence. I've never seen the campus so uncomposed, screaming like little boys as they duck from the spindly caterpillar masses parachuting from the trees. It's a little satisfying, actually...
|
|
Last night was the Campus Life Awards, a mome...
May 05, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Last night was the Campus Life Awards, a moment at the end of the semester when us staff get to say nice speeches about the most active, committed, and all-around lovely students on campus. I brought home a huge bouquet from the chocolate covered strawberry and truffle table. While splitting the mound of exotic flowers into manageable arrangements for our tiny apartment, I decided to chew on the tip of a succulent palm. Note to our loyal readers: DO NOT CHEW ON UNKNOWN PLANTS, even if they come from a flower shop. I spent the rest of the night with a mouthful of ice, weeping at my stupidity and attending to my swollen tongue, mouth, and throat. It's the people like me that make life interesting for ER staff.
And congrats to Seraph!
|
|
This Sunday, Janet convinced me to attend a t...
May 02, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 This Sunday, Janet convinced me to attend a two and a half hour yoga workshop with her, titled "Sowing Seeds in the Souls Deep Soil." I suppose the title "Ripping your Muscles Apart and Making You Like It" was already taken. Anyway, I can move again, but continue to grimice when attempting to sit. I didn't think my ribs could hurt this much from "expanding opportunity in my heart." But it was pretty cool to feel the bones in my spine loosen beyond logical understanding when I pretended to be a sunflower. Yeah.
|
|
Janet, Purdy and I are in the middle of an al...
April 25, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Janet, Purdy and I are in the middle of an all-Harry Potter film festival. Hopefully we'll be able to finish the next two this week- we all have in congruent schedules that prevent watching more than one film a night. Janet had her real Chinese Film Festival to work last night, so we had to start at 9:00 last night. I'm such an old lady that I couldn't even make it through the Basalisk. Neither of them had ever read a Harry Potter book or watched one of the movies, so I feel quite privileged to be their Potter ambassador.
|
|
Last night my roommate Janet brought home the...
April 20, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Last night my roommate Janet brought home the 1983 book "Color Me Beautiful," the catalyst for the Color Draping movement. I'm an Autumn, as you may have guessed from my golden skin, gold-flecked blue eyes, and my honey brown hair. Janet, on the other hand, is teetering between a Winter and Autumn, though the book assures that only redheads can actually teeter between seasons. We spent an hour trying to decide weather her hair was "charcoal black" or "blue black." An important distinction, as she'll have to throw out half of her wardrobe and would like not to throw out the wrong half. But we had fun trying on camel color t-shirts and magenta dresses and trying to determine if we were "pink" or just "ruddy."
|
|
This morning I got a wake-up call from my goo...
April 19, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 This morning I got a wake-up call from my good friend Mauricio, who is living with his wife in Durham, England and getting his PhD. I helped produce a Spanish radio show with him and a few of his Spanish TA friends last year, and he's starting his own Uruguayan/Argentinian music show in Durham next week. The UK university system is not as engaging as the American system, but he's finding his way. We spent lots of time together last year when he was getting his Master's at the Center for Development Economics.
Anna just returned from a two-day energy audit trip to a dairy and a new UC campus in the San Joaquin Valley. Hearing about the way such simple things as milk cartons are made is amazing. Her job is a little like accompanying Mr. Roger.
April continues to flash before my eyes as I bring more and more work home with me to catch up for my long weekend. But I'm busy in the best way, and excited about this weekend, where every campus group is trying to save the world at the same time. The joyous pressure certainly improves this corner of Massachusetts.
|
|
This is us in the cafe
April 16, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 This is us in the cafe. Hooray!
|
|
Anna, Emily, Linda, and I just got back from ...
April 16, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Anna, Emily, Linda, and I just got back from the Boulangerie, a very nice cafe in Cole Valley where they live in San Francisco. We've had a great weekend, and the weather has been alternatingly sunny and pleasantly rainy. We're going to make a Russian Orthodox Easter dinner with kulich, pascha, beet-dyed easter eggs, and challah for our unobservant Passover observers, i.e. secular yeast-loving Jews. Anna and I decided that I am not going to move to San Francisco in August. We'll see where I will be. Despite the change in plans, the weekend has been worth the red eye flight this evening back to Williamstown. A wonderful Easter and Passover to all from me and Anna, who love you all!
P.S. This lovely picture is of Buddy, my new friend, the undead dog. He appears to have an "auto-immune disease," euphemism for "zombie". Fortunately, he doesn't appear to eat brain, although more than once a good scratching produced handfuls of decomposed dog chunks. He's owned by Anna's family, though they can't bear to touch him.
|
|
I'm going to see Anna this Thursday in San Fr...
April 11, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I'm going to see Anna this Thursday in San Francisco. We don't have anything special planned, but it should be a solid visit, and perhaps we'll dye some Easter eggs with her family and spend some time with lovely Luke.
Work is incredibly busy, but very satisfying. Seeing the end of my tenure creeping up has made me desperately nostalgic for the minutiae of happiness that holds this job together- waving to a half a dozen people on our little main street and getting to use college funds for the betterment of the community. Sigh. But I'm looking forward to a real job with a real salary and real benefits. I'd sell babies on the street for dental.
|
|
I forgot about the little phone booth! I reme...
March 02, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
I forgot about the little phone booth! I remember how grandpa would water the lawn from the second story porch as grandma and I would enact scenes from Little Bear Goes to the Moon. The smells of damp green things and the musty basement and grandpa's aftershave in the bottle with the blue ship. And the lady's man red hat he wore when he visited Eugene that always impressed my boyfriends!
|
|
What is it about doctors and having the affec...
March 01, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
What is it about doctors and having the affect of refrigerators? What year do dentists receive the course in fascist bedside manner? I just got my teeth cleaned and checked today, which consisted of the nicest lady hygienist molesting my mouth for 45 minutes, which I promised her, as I tongued my swelling gums, was a "meditative experience," only to be psychically battered by the old prune, Dr. Ross! He told me I had two cavities, due not to the fact that I hadn't had my teeth cleaned for two plus years, but because I had never properly learned to floss. I floss daily! He proceeded to show me the proper flossing technique by sawing my tender gums and pounding my chest with both fists for emphasis, while holding the floss between his fingers accusingly. No introductions, no "thank you for padding my nest egg, you poor, stupid, uninsured girl". If I were still in Northampton, I would have spit in his withered eye and demanded my $175 dollars back. But all I can do is talk bad about him online and come home to get my chops fixed.
|
|
All is well in frigid Williamstown! I've full...
February 28, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 All is well in frigid Williamstown! I've fully moved in to 45 Hall St, and while my room is smaller than any Smith dorm room and the apartment is as big as my attic room in high school, my flat mates more than make up for the place's petite size. Purdy, the volunteer firefighter and recorder for the blind and dyslexic, has infinitely helpful roomie skills- carpentry skills, lifting skills, and the skill of having a truck, which runs on vegetable oil! Janet is quiet but wonderfully generous. It's not quite like having Anna around, but there's always something interesting to come home to.
And Anna loves her new job! She feels valued and important and supported in new challenges, which is great to hear. She also loves living with her aunt, uncle, and two cousins. I love living vicariously through their urban antics. These are her feet and some cloudless perfect view. Very San Francisco.
|
|
Sam's still working on drawing? Awesome! I ch...
February 22, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Sam's still working on drawing? Awesome! I checked out some local continuing ed courses, and I bet he could take drawing at LCC. Most of the classes are from 7-9pm, which may be a little late for a six year-old, and you and Jamie will have to have that "nudity as art" discussion if he takes a live model course, but I say it's never too early to start drawing from life. Either that or you could sneak him into a gentleman's club. Though the models don't keep still for very long. But seriously folks, life drawing changed my life, and certainly my appreciation of the female form.
|
|
Now that Anna has left for Detroit en-route t...
February 21, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Now that Anna has left for Detroit en-route to San Francisco, I have all the time in the world to commit to my job. I was at a meeting until 10:30 last night and then got into work an hour before the rest of the office to get out some fliers for a children's hurricane relief party. My friends are also doing their best to keep me busy with various cultural endeavors, though I don't think I can stand to see another Dukes of Hazard rerun.
This is a picture from the website Found- I believe it was found on a playground. If you can't read it, it says "Crossing the Delaware/ Snakes/ Wolves/Space/The Century." Obviously the beginning of one awesome story.
|
|
Anna and I just got our Valentine's day/4th y...
February 16, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Anna and I just got our Valentine's day/4th year anniversary presents in the mail today: Anna's delicious fair trade chocolate for me, and two matching pairs of chocolate brown low top sweatshop-free sneakers. We're enjoying some bizarrely wonderful springlike weather. It's lovely.
|
|
Oh, Seraph! I'm sorry you're feeling overwhelmed
February 15, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Oh, Seraph! I'm sorry you're feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you can find something in the Whitaker neighborhood, so when I finally convince Anna that Eugene is the best place in the world, we'll knock off your next door neighbor and make that bridge we always dreamed of.
I'm afraid that I was sick through Valentine's Day, but Anna and I had our favorite person, Annamo, visit and make us a delicious dinner. Anna is saying her final goodbyes to Northampton and its lovely citizens today, and is flying west on Monday.
WCFM, the radio station I'm a dj for, now archives its shows, so you'll be able to listen to me online! www.wcfm.williams.edu.
I had lunch with Danny Siegel, who founded the Ziv Tzedakah Fund- its all about Mitzvahs- fixing the world- with small projects. I think that's all nice and good, as long as charity and community-building don't obscure people's entitlement to fair wages, health care, education, and social security. As exciting as giving part of your Shabbat dinner to the poor, paying taxes and supporting workers gives people the dignity and income to buy their own Shabbat dinner. But I obviously couldn't say this to a revered figure while he was endowing us with his stories of Mitzvah heroes. I had to send emails to my own Mitzvah heroes. Ack, I'm already missing the students I work with, and I have four more months with them!
|
|
Anna and I are in New York with her brother Noah
February 11, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Anna and I are in New York with her brother Noah. We get to see Marshall this evening! As nice as vacations may be, we've had a little too much adventure for our country-bumpkin taste. We popped a tire in a pothole last night in the Bronx, were nearly conned out of a load of cash from a freelance tow truck impersonating our AAA service, and spent today getting a new tire. I can only hope that we don't get smashed by the blizzard on the way home. Whew! We can only hope that San Francisco is a bit warmer and friendlier.
I'm so glad grandpa is safe in PA. Huge hugs!
|
|
I'm so glad you and Sam like the Spiderwick C...
February 08, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I'm so glad you and Sam like the Spiderwick Chronicles! Squee! The artist is from Amherst, and would always come in to Essentials and sign our store copies of the series. I think the tale is classic and the drawings burst with energy.
Safe journey to mum and grandpa!
|
|
This morning it finally hit that Anna will be...
February 07, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
This morning it finally hit that Anna will be leaving in a week and a half. We have to throw out or move most of our belongings in a week and a half! All of our friends are coming to claim our furniture and oddities for their own at the end of the week and hopefully the rest can be donated away. I'm moving into a tiny bedroom in a second floor apartment about the size of my high school bedroom, but with two other people. It should be an exciting change- discarding the inessential and living as most recent college grads do. I don't plan to eat on paper plates for the next five months, though.
The new semester is speeding past, and tutor placement is consuming my brain. Actually, a big clump of my brain just came off- either that or my scalp is dry. I hope everyone is getting excited for candy hearts and frilly things!
|
|
Anna and I are in the kitchen and I am warmin...
February 02, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Anna and I are in the kitchen and I am warming my bum on the oven, as we have turned off our heat because it was so warm today. Oh how the night spites us. Anna is spending her days tying up loose ends and bothering me at work, which has finally gotten busy since my colleagues have returned. I found a new apartment with two very special people to share it with, and it's even in the same neighborhood. I'm dreaming of sitting on my porch this summer, eating ice cream and chatting with my neighbors about revolution and the Steeplecats baseball game. I'm moving from Linden Street to Hall Street at the end of the month.
|
|
Anna finally gave notice at her job in Willia...
January 30, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Anna finally gave notice at her job in Williamstown and she'll begin in San Francisco on Monday, Feb 27th- I know- so soon! We're trying to cram in all our east coast visiting in the next month. I'll still be holding down the fort here, but I'm seriously thinking about moving into a smaller apartment until Mid-July/August. We'll see. Big excited hugs to all!
Here is a picture from the learning circle I'm co-facilitating- exhausting, but hopefully very productive for the participants.
|
|
I just called mom, who updated me on grandpa
January 28, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
I just called mom, who updated me on grandpa. He is indeed eating more and regaining some strength, but the tumor on his lung is cancerous, and the oncologist in Florida has not expressed a positive prognosis. The hope in the hearts of Meg and mom is to get him up to Philadelphia when he is strong enough to travel. She and Bob (bless him) will be staying a little longer than expected in Florida, and Betsy will arrive on Friday and stay with grandpa for a week. Mom sends all of her love, and I sent all of ours.
Missing you all-
|
|
Ah, Adam and I chatting away like school girls
January 27, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Ah, Adam and I chatting away like school girls. It isn't just the two of us- after a day of feeling very down that Anna and I would have to live apart for five months, I've been excited and jittery about the move for a couple of days. Perhaps it's that I spent what felt like a half an hour scraping ice off the car this morning. Additionally, I think I like sweaters as things that make you cozy, not things that keep you from dying of hypothermia in your own home.
|
|
If I hear anything more from mom about grandp...
January 25, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
If I hear anything more from mom about grandpa's health, I will make sure to let you know. For now, he's in the hospital and will be going into rehabilitation for a few weeks. He's hurt his back a bit, which is why we're now aware of the large thing on his lung. Bob and mom say that he's eating well and in good spirits.
Anna is still away in Salt Lake City, but will return on Sunday, when I pick up my co-facilitator for a learning circle workshop. It's what I did in Tennessee in November! Learning circles are well described here: http://www.e4ce.org/LearningCircles/Introduction.htm.
I am looking for jobs in San Francisco, possibly too hastily, as I still have six months here. After working for the big gorilla in town for two years, I'm eyeing more community-initiated development stuff. I also had this awesome meeting with two guys from the local Carpenter's Union this morning, and am feeling pretty good about organizing.
|
|
Anna got the thing, and we're both very very ...
January 21, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Anna got the thing, and we're both very very happy. So I will absolutely see more of you all! Hurrah! And no one will get confused about whether I live in Mississippi or Michigan after July.
|
|
Anna is headed out of town today and will be ...
January 19, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Anna is headed out of town today and will be in Salt Lake City all week. She's had to repeatedly tell the engineering firm that she works for that she doesn't ski, and still she might have to ski. It's a hard life, I know.
I'm finishing up a grant at work. I'm actually not bad at applying for grants, which I never thought would be the case. Being a grown-up/competent is way better than anyone ever told me.
I finished the Subtle Knife and am scrambling, with limited success, to find the third and last in the His Dark Materials trilogy. I'm shaking from withdrawal at this very moment. But that could be the frigid weather.
|
|
Oh, and my phone died, so if I don't return a...
January 17, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Oh, and my phone died, so if I don't return any of your calls, it's not because I don't love you. Another situationally appropriate gem from 5ives.com:
Five ways I tend to feel after speaking with Sprint’s Customer Service:
1. Like I was just traded to another inmate for 2 packs of menthol cigarettes
2. Like I’ve been slapped repeatedly with a half-frozen sturgeon
3. Like I’ve accidentally just agreed to finish the homework of every kid in my middle school
4. Like somewhere in a big Sprint building, there’s a fat man with a monocle and a top hat smoking a cigar while dancing a jig and holding a fat bag of five-dollar bills with my bewildered face on it
5. Very, very unclean
Oh, and I'm reading Phillip Pullman's The Subtle Knife, which I'll send off to the west coast once I'm done with it. Not to give anything away, but I'm getting the feeling that the protagonists are actually trying to kill god. Whoa.
Anna and I are thinking very seriously about the thing I mentioned over the winter holiday. So we may see more of all of you! Soon!
|
|
Anna and I have just returned from a lovely 2...
January 17, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Anna and I have just returned from a lovely 2nd Annual Community MLK Day dinner. Our friend Mark and I had a fascinating discussion about ASL Deaf Culture vs. cochlear implants- his sister has a cochlear implant, and if you recall, the title of my IHS senior paper was something like "cochlear implants or throwing your Deaf baby out a window: You think you know which one is worse? Think Again." Or something like that. Anyway, a fitting chat for the occasion. Hope you all heard my equally enlightening radio show program this morning: "Freedom Songs or Pirates throwing you out a window: You think you know which one is worse?" Just kidding. I love freedom songs. But there was some Sweet Honey in the Rock and a song about grog.
|
|
Something special from 5ives
January 13, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
Something special from 5ives.com:
Five things I’d ask every Supreme Court nominee if I sat on the Senate Judiciary Committee
1. If you knew to an absolute moral certainty that you could capture and consume a live infant without being caught, how many do you suppose you could eat in a weekend?
2. Have you ever been spanked erotically by someone who was not your current legal spouse? Just yes or no, please.
3. Nominee, do you regard these slacks as accentuating my basket in an un-senatorial fashion?
4. Describe in single words, only the good things that come into your mind about…your mother.
5. Kindly rise, and sing the 1979 hit, The Piña Colada Song, also known as Escape.
|
|
I signed up for a non credit chess course, an...
January 11, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I signed up for a non credit chess course, and spent two hours last night learning about and playing my first real game of chess. Well, it was more like a guided lesson by the most amazing teacher ever, fittingly named Adam. Adam showed me the absolute beauty of the board, building sweeping combinations and creating pressure points to disrupt the opponent's march toward your king. It was breathtakingly intricate and lovely. While I did not engage in combat, I sense that the trickery and meanness of competatition will be worth the inherent glory and perfection of the game.
Next time I come home, we are all playing chess.
And I finished Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass, which you really should pick up.
|
|
A few weeks ago, Anna found that a cat and th...
January 08, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 A few weeks ago, Anna found that a cat and three kittens were in residence in the broken-down garage in our backyard. Anna's been trying to get a good view of them for a while now, and we thought we should send it on to you. It might be noted that kittens possess all of the scientific qualities that generate the "aww" response in humans. See http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/03/science/03cute.html. "Cute cues are those that indicate extreme youth, vulnerability, harmlessness and need, scientists say." And you wondered what it was about your kids.
|
|
I hope you are all enjoying your weather as ...
January 05, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I hope you are all enjoying your weather as much as I am enjoying mine. I love and miss you all very very much.
Anna and I are having our usual Saturday night madness. That is, she's downstairs attempting to make sushi for the first time. Later, we'll jet for a David Bowie/Elvis/Stephen Hawking birthday party. I don't think we have to dress as our favorite, but it's still tempting. So many choices... We've just met a very nice librarian who is hosting the party.
|
|
The screen is illuminated by the last inch of...
January 01, 2006 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 The screen is illuminated by the last inch of candle on the menorah. We are nearly ready for out New Year's dinner and evening of blues in Adams, a tiny town just south of North Adams (surprisingly). Our friend AnnaMo got us a beautiful children's book for Chanukah called "Africa is not a Country," which is highly recommended. Anna loves the "Ma Pickled Everything Last Summer" print, and it will make a great addition to the kitchen that I am infinitely blessed to finally be sitting in. Last night's layover in Chantilly, VA has made me feel grateful for my favorite mug, my favorite chair, and my own temperamental plumbing. Happy New Year!
|
|
Older Posts
|
|