Ugh!

Marathon training is a difficult thing to maintain when your nose decides to run one of its own.

Puffs plus lotion seems like an extravagantly unnecessary expense until your nose starts running races.

Forget races.  Catching up with Michael, Dwight, Pam, and Jim is a pretty swell way to spend a Saturday.  I've been sucked into The Office and I have no desire to escape.

Hot showers aren't a magic cure, but they limit the pain that is caused by breathing in and out.  

Orange juice and ginger and honey tea are liquid courage for a sore throat.

The whole 'sharing is nice' thing in kindergarten... it was a germ conspiracy.

The same conspirators are behind the pounding in my skull.  Aleve is my secret weapon against them.

Nyquil is also my friend.

wink or a blink?

there has been some dinnertime discussion around here about the meaning of a wink, specifically as it functions in flirting.  perhaps we ought to find better social problems to solve... like world peace or poverty.  but laughter heals many ills, especially when combined with coffee and friendship - so i ask again...

...is it bold?
...flirtatious?
...is it entertaining?
...inappropriate?
...fun?  sharing secrets between friends?  exhilarating?  creepy?
my friend from India responded with over-exaggerated stubbornness, insisting that only her boyfriend would be allowed to wink.  i haven't pulled a prank since Del Griffith moved out in december... and it incited in me a deep desire to prank someone.  so since this conversation, we started a wink-at-Freda initiative in which we ask random students to wink at her as boldly as they dared.  in our search for eligible random students to include in our sociological study, we have enjoyed numerous conversations about the meaning of a wink.  our Korean friends say that winking gives them chicken-skin (translated: goosebumps), and contend that it is absolutely inappropriate.  a few confident college students bought into winking at her with little more than a passing explanation of our rationale.  one chivalrous gentleman refused outright, but later consented, though he couldn't bring out more than a twitch or two when the moment came.  all in all... we have no conclusions except that it is entertaining to watch people's reactions when they wink or are winked at.  glance back to see who's behind you? give the eeew, that's creepy look?  wink back?  laugh?  what is said in a wink?

Folks, I am proud to announce that I am on a sabbatical from the dictionary-writing business (girl-brain is the sole addition to the collection at this point), and am now kicking some serious assignment ass.  I just wrapped up a book review that contained a solid argument and also used words like:
reductionism/reductionistic
philosophical anthropology
hegemony
orthopraxy
papyrology
exogenous.
And I can now bring words like epistemology, cosmology and ontology to a normal level of discussion for college students.  Moreover, I am happy to report that I have a newfound interest in theological anthropology.  I am so very full of big words that I might burst.  Unless y'all offer me something new to play with, that is.  Current word loves include: exculpate and lickerish.  Dying to use the latter in a paper... I have a prof who has a deep appreciation for new and entertaining words.

And now I'm going to bed.  Short word.  Good concept.  I have to say... the skilled use of short words is a neglected aspect of academic writing.  Anyone have a winner word in the short and sweet category?

That's M... she's pretty great.  My book review advisor of the week, and a faithfully demonstrator of learning via osmosis.

word of the month

girl-brain |gərl-brān|

definition: "When she decides for the sake of her own sanity not to read any special meaning into any of the actions of the men she's friends with because she knows instinctively that their kindness/warmth toward her is no different than how they treat any other woman.  She tells herself that she has no reason to think that it's anything but a friendship, and she tells herself that she likes it that way.  But every now and then, she thinks to herself, 'Wouldn't it be nice...' and dares to hope (against her better judgment) before reminding herself not to read into things.  But then she starts to wonder (also against her better judgment) if she's missing cues that she's supposed to be picking up because of her decision not to read into anything.  So she spends a substantial amount of time faithfully repeating 'JBF... JBF... JBF' in hopes of re-training her brain.  Signals the start of an emotional roller-coaster that alternates between high hopes and dashed hopes in the absence of any solid empirical evidence with regard to any changes in the relationship.  Getting off the roller coaster proves difficult, and is marked by misery/dread/resignation, versus anticipation/spring fever/excitement (the latter exists where she knows instinctively that there is something there, and is waiting for the moment it happens)."

common usage: "I have girl-brain" or "Stupid girl-brain... If he would just find a wonderful girl to date, life would be so much easier."

origin: I deem it a new word.  Because I can, and because my small poll of college-age females concurs.

Tinkerbell and Tigger

The wee hours of the morning are keeping me company, as per usual, my housemates having wished me good night and retired at a reasonable hour. Amanda has not yet begun her sleep-babbling, which generally commences when the clock strikes two.  I haunt the pages of bloggers more profound than I - the clean slate, Ordinary Courage, bags4darfur, the chronicles of blunderview.  I ponder the possibility of figuring out how to start a soap box like CBear's.  I contemplate sneaking over to Side-reel to stream the next episode of the office.  Monsters that devour each ticking second, distracting me from the thought of the fun I'm missing.  I'm bored and want an adventure, but Tinkerbell stands on my shoulder reminding me that the only adventure I deserve is a journey through the pages of my neglected Qualitative Research textbook.  I look at the clock and wonder if... just maybe... I can convince myself that it's a good idea for me to rise before the sun, pack a bag, and report to the passenger seat of the black Nissan in the parking lot by 8am.  I plead with Tinkerbell for some fairy dust to take me back to Neverland.  After all... one can read about qualitative research as well in a vehicle as out of it.  Especially when that vehicle is pointed west, seats filled with good friends, and miles passed in laughter.  I know it's an irrational idea, but it's a persistent little bugger... teasing, flirting, prodding with remarkable perseverance, trying to justify itself like a teenager telling me that they were late because they missed the bus when I can smell the marijuana tucked safely away in the band in their gangsta hat.  The Lost Boys are always in Neverland, but now everybody's going, and I don't like to be left behind.  The mischievous, spontaneous, dancing little bugger calls itself Tigger, or What-About-Bob, or Hakuna-Matata-Pumba, depending on the day.  It dangles the juicy bait of a memorable road-trip before my academia-saturated eyes, and pleads to be allowed out to play.  Just for a week... pleeeease?

Oh the tension of taming the puppy-like spontaneity without losing the wild child within...  

When I grow up    If I solemnly promise to grow up... then will you let me out to play?

To Risk Love

May we bravely remove the lens through which we see this mid-February season - whether that be the rose-tinted lens of romance, or the bitter lens of loneliness.  May we muster the courage to admit how deeply we long for love.  May we risk vulnerability, exposing our hearts in all their rawness, that we may be known.  May we set aside our insecurities - looking out instead of in - that we may see others and know them authentically.  May we learn to see people - ourselves included - the way the Creator of all sees us and rest in the experience of His complete approval.  May we choose the practice of genuine love daily with the people and in the places where we feel least comfortable - for the friend we've always taken for-granted, the stranger we would otherwise walk by unthinkingly, the grocery store cashier, the girl who lives across the hall, the one we've condescended as a misfit instead of initiating real friendship; for the crush that rejected us, the clique that mocked us, the boss we don't respect, the parent we have pushed away to gain our independence.  May we grow to savour relationship as much as we crave romance, and relegate romantic love to its right place as salt and pepper seasoning instead of the sole means by which we fill our love-hungry appetites.  And in time, may your romance grow to reflect the way in which your Saviour romances your soul, knowing deeply and being deeply known, not only so that you may bask in the pleasure of rich romance (though this too is good), but that the richness of your relationship may spill over to invite others into community.


Familiar from last February?  Yup.  Like a cow with four stomachs, I sometimes feel the need to regurgitate things I once thought and wrote, having not fully digested them in all their richness.  (Just the mental image you wanted on this fine day... I know.)  Edited, expanded, refined, reshuffled.  New quote, because I've been thinking and talking about C.S. Lewis' Four Loves recently.  Much life has happened in the last year, and my thoughts have evolved with the predictable passage of time as God continues to work in me.  That... and I really wanted to write a post titled "In defence of flirting..." but it seemed like bad timing.  You'll have to wait until next week for that one.  Much love, friends!

Reading, 'Riting, and Rip my heart out

In the library with a stack of textbooks for a quiet day with two of the three R's (Reading and 'Riting... 'Rithmetic hasn't been my constant companion since 2002 at the UofL), and I am sandwiched awkwardly between a gaggle of giggling freshmen, and a corner full of couches occupied by cuddling couples.  Is it just me, or is February an awkward month?

Joined at the Lips

Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that it's not hard to find a reason to laugh at my expense.  Most of you also know that I'm usually willing to join in the laughter as long as it doesn't carry on for too long.  Like that one time... when I drove around the perimeter of Winnipeg twice, thinking the whole while that I was on my way to Alberta (if you still need to hear that outrageous story, you'll have to comment and let me know).  Or that other time... well, I didn't laugh right away that time, but it may or may not have been a story bearing a similar title to this one, involving canoodling or other such regrettable teenaged (I was still 19) behaviour... which I (yes, CBear, I admit that you were right) eventually laughed about.  But I digress... the steamy content of this story is of a slightly different variety.

It's a chilly day in Winnipeg... -40 degrees Celcius or thereabouts.  Loving a hot cup of tea on a cold day, especially when contained in her beautiful Thermos brand, stainless steel go-mug, Jenni packs along some freshly steeped tea.  Jenni - knowing that no drinks are allowed in the sanctuary of the church - reluctantly leaves her full-of-hot-tea go-mug in the car.  She knows that it will have cooled considerably by the time she emerges from the church, but this trusty go-mug is a loyal friend, and will leave the tea at least tepid at the end of the evening.  Jenni thinks fondly of her Thermos-brand go-mug and warm tea throughout the church's annual general meeting and the post-meeting small group get-together.  On emerging from her small group meeting, Jenni is very thirsty, having consumed excessive quantities of Jelly Belly candies while laughing and talking with said Bible study group.  After starting the car and pulling out of the church parking lot, she grabs her stainless-steel Thermos-brand go-mug to take a sip, but finds that the mug is painfully cold on her bare fingers.  Not wanting to freeze her poor fingers on cold metal, she slips her cold hands into her warm mittens and picks up her stainless-steel-Thermos-brand-full-of-tepid-tea go-mug to try again.

Do you see where this is going?
Please tell the poor, silly character in this story to go back and think again.
Or just laugh at me...
...that works too.

Multi-tasking like a pro (they don't allow cell phones while driving in MB, but no bans on hot drinks yet), Jenni shifts down, maneuvers into the left lane, and lifts her mittened hand holding the stainless steel Thermos-brand go-mug of tepid tea to her lips; she discovers that when cold metal meets wet skin (ie; lips), it sticks.

Go-mug: 1, Jenni: 0.

Postscript: Although the devoted, loyal friendship between Thermos-brand and Jenni has become somewhat adversarial in nature, they continue to share a deep bond, though no longer at the lips.

Benny's Movie List (edited version)

Having gathered additional feedback (thanks to KP, Melissa & Ambrose, KZ, and CBear), I have modified, subdivided/categorized/prioritized, and evaluated Benny's Movie List:

Additional comments:

1. Benny is me.  A nickname that someone tried (persistently but unsuccessfully) to make stick.  Benny spends very little time in front of the television because....

2. Our DVD player is now broken.  I shall have to find another one... Amanda has a tendency to press pause on whatever she's watching, and then go about the rest of her day/go to bed, forgetting entirely that she was watching a movie and put it on pause.  Apparently, repeated all-night pause episodes are tough on DVD players.  Regardless, it's probably a good thing, as this list is long and has the capacity to consume a lot of time.

3. I am confident that the List will shrink as time goes on, and I continue to modify, subdivide/categorize/prioritize, and evaluate it.

Movies I really want to see:

Pitch Black (instead of Chronicles of Riddick...this is the original Riddick...the one you should be familiar with - the one that existed before hollywood got their paws on the storyline) (as per CBear)

Love Actually (KP - my Korean friends RAVED about this one when I lived there.  Not sure why I didn't just go out with them on a Sunday afternoon and watch it.)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Inception

Devdas (or another Bollywood... did you know that Bollywood is a bigger film industry than Hollywood?  And I know nothing of it... must find out)

Fightclub - (This one might be this afternoon... have been dying to see it).

The Godfather

O Brother, Where Art Thou

Nausicaa of the Wind Valley (anime... I lived in Korea.  You'd think I would have seen some already, but no... need an anime experience so I can form an opinion on the subject)

Indiana Jones (any of the first 3)

There will be Blood

The Hunt for Red October

Slumdog Millionaire

Anna and the King

Toy Story 3 (CG... have heard it's the best of the three)

How to Train Your Dragon (CG movie)

Water (Freda)

Zoolander (this is what Ambrose calls 'an absolute must'... kind of dreading it, but feeling tired of not knowing the background when I hear it referenced by people)

Kill Bill

City of God

The Brothers Grim

Robin Hood (Prince of Thieves - starring Kevin Costner)

Star Trek

The Departed

Donnie Darko

The Prestige

Amelie (foreign - CBear, Angelle)
The Saint (Angelle)
Swing Kids (Angelle)
Moulin Rouge (Angelle)
Hairspray (Angelle)

Movies that I would watch again and again and again:

Shawshank Redemption (So very very good.)

Gladiator

Life is Beautiful (International... Possibly my favourite movie of all time.  Best watched in Italian with English subtitles.  If you have not watched this yet, please let me know and we will make a date of watching it.)

To End All Wars (CBear... best addition to the list yet!  As Mike has not yet seen it, I informed him that I have started a movie list for him as well, and he is obligated to watch this one.)

Sound of Music (Melissa - this one brings back a lot of nostalgic memories.  We used to play VonTrapp at our house... we were only short by two kids... and one person had to sub out to be the one blowing the whistle).

Fiddler on the Roof (As a child, I dreamed and played that I was the second daughter... I like her.  And I like the Matchmaker song best of all.  For a happy afternoon, I watch the first half only and imagine a less complicated ending.)

P.S. I Love You (Most favourite of all chick flicks.  How can you not love listening to someone with a great Irish accent?)

Braveheart

Last of the Mohicans - (The soundtrack... mmmm.  This is the soundtrack with which CBear persuaded me that soundtracks are a legitimate genre of good music.)

The Pianist

Little Miss Sunshine (I must say... LMAO.  Perfect combination of satire and dark humour, reality and the ridiculous.  New favourite comedy.)

Finding Forrester - Melissa (I think I watched this one with you and Ambrose)

Good Will Hunting (CBear - A new discovery for me this fall... loved it)

Movies from the list that I've seen and thought they were okay/good:

Snatch

Schindler's List

Children of Men

The Dark Knight

Princess Bride (KZ) - I have watched this one again and again and again and again (x10)... so it has been relegated to this list of movies as I'm kind of tired of it, the humour has worn thin.  Still though... good.

Saving Private Ryan (CBear)

Crash (CBear - Loved it.  Hated it.  Made me laugh and cry and angry... Would watch it again and again, but it hurts my heart too much.)

No Country for Old Men (CBear - I didn't clue into the fact that it had NO music! Watched it with S in theatres when it first came out and felt a little disturbed by the fact that I LOVED it so much.  Too intense for me to watch often, but glad I saw it.  There's one coming out in a bit by the same director that also looks promising.)

The Ghost and the Darkness (Melissa - Watched this one at Gospel According to Hollywood in the last week of November 2002... interesting week.  About a week before you and I became friends, if I remember right.  Don't ask why I remember that evening so clearly.  Sat with Chris from Kenya - remember him? - and listened to his hysterical peanut-gallery commentary on how bad the Swahili in the film was.  Troy's discussion was awesome.  Redhead Dana informed me that I'm an introvert - random conversation.  I think I got a ride home that week with our mutual friend Candice and some guy who drove a blue chevy cavalier...)

Office Space (this one is from Ambrose)

What About Bob (another one from Ambrose... and he's right.  It's a classic)

Bridget Jones Diary (KP - Guilty admission... I hate that I love Bridget Jones.  When I'm having a feeling crappy about myself day, she's one of the first to find her way into the DVD player, unless Sandra Bullock is available to hang out - I like her too.)
Australia felt like a strange cross-pollination between Bollywood and old westerns filming style... just when the storyline was reaching its natural resolution, the writer introduced a brand new plot-line and conflict.  My feelings on the subject are ambivalent.

Movies that stole my time and won't give it back:

The Titanic

Tristan and Isolde

The Holiday

American Beauty

Independence Day

Movies I might watch if an opportune moment presents itself:

E.T.

Legends of the Fall

Anchorman

Hot Rod

Austin Powers

The Usual Suspects

War of the Worlds - (Like CBear's advice - will try to find the audio)

James Bond: (Again, I like CBear's advice - one from each Bond era)

Eagle Eye

Cloverfield

American History X

The Green Mile

The Nightmare Before Christmas (claymation)

V for Vendetta

Chronicles of Riddick

Babel

1994 Pride and Prejudice (BBC version) (KP)

French Kiss (Melissa)

Dodgeball (again...Ambrose)

The Blairwitch Project - first person film style (CBear)

Robin Hood (Russell Crowe... have heard mixed reviews, but CBear recommends it, and I generally trust her taste implicitly)

Total Recall

Iron Man

Taken

Get Smart

The Neverending Story

The Fifth Element

Interview with the Vampire

The Game (Michael Douglas)

Resident Evil (1st one only)

Terminator 2

Trainspotting

Heat

Platoon

Departures (Japanese)

The Professional (a.k.a. Leon)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind