sunday, 30 september

Happy Birthday, Seth!
quote of the day: "i got to do a hot guy, and he got to do me." -rob

it's the last day of september. why isn't the year over yet? really. i did no homework yesterday. well, a little reading, but not nearly enough. thank goodness i have tomorrow off, too. i talked to bekah at length yesterday on the phone. that was very nice. and to my dad. and to my mom. all in all, it was a pretty good day, i'd say. had a big olive garden dinner, and some absolut citron to top off the evening. then i had a very peaceful dream about laying in the grass on the top of cliff park with the likes of brandon and allison and mike and katie and bekah, and looking at the stars, and just talking. i miss you spokane kids. y'all are the best.

other random cool things from yesterday: bill clinton was on campus, mandahouse missed crew practice, and i met a woman from spokane who is related to the kings.

saturday, 29 september

quote of the day: "i'm glad you didn't hide under the table" -manda

let's see. LOC yesterday. and the museum. don't take backpacks downtown. that's what i learned. and i got a list of some possible primary sources for the ol' thesis. now i need a thesis. shiznit. clinton was on campus this morning. and i met a woman from spokane who is related to the kings. that was neat. i think i'm gonna try to sleep off my illness today. and eat some thai food. aaron told me to drink vodka. we'll see aboat that, though. there were lots of french people downtown yesterday. i had a dream about puppies and ski condos last night. and about going to church.

friday, 28 september

quote of the day: "have i mentioned that i hate you?" -rob

i found $11 in dupont circle last night. that was nice. and i had some chai. and a salty oat cookie. and those were both nice, too. and that's abouts all i did. i had a few classes. found out that i didn't do as well on my psych quiz as i would have liked. and now i'm getting started on the first day of 3 consecutive four-day weekends. maybe i'll get some work done. maybe i'll pay the prison of learning a visit today. hmmmm. i had a rough night's sleep. too much mucous. i know you all needed to know that. oh, and a happy birthday to joy-lynn (sp??).

thursday, 27 september

quote of the day: "this picture shows my favorite [deadly sin]: gluttony. at your age, you might think lust is the best. at my age, you realize gluttony is much more reliable." -prof astarita

i updated random other sections of the site yesterday--from the links to the books. check it out, yo. the onion is funny this week, though i feel bad for saying that. my cell minutes startd over today. woohoo! otherwise, i'm gettin psyched for my 4 day weekend. gotta write that paper. next weekend: allison d.!!! how cool will that be? sure, i'm on duty next saturday night, but that's fine. in other news: i downloaded some fun songs today. i took a 2 hour nap yesterday without thinking about it. how great is that. sorry about the schizy update today. my brain is all over the place. have another nutterbutter peanut butter sandwhich cookie. but no peanut butter. read this week's the stranger, too. oh how i love weekly periodical day! oooooh ooooh. i almost forgot. i saw elizabeth from coeur d'alene yesterday. and she saw my necklace, and was like "whoa. did you go to camp reed?" and i said, "of course!" and then she showed me 2 or 3 very old camp reed anklets she was wearing. i love camp people.

wednesday, 26 september

quote of the day: "there should be a subject called, like, future-y." -rob

so, there were a lot of worthy quotes floating around for inclusion in today's update. they'll all make it, eventually, i think. has anyone noticed how september has dragged on for like three months, particularly compared to july, which i swear i only got 8 or 9 days of? i got up at like 6:40 this morning. gonna go to mass. gonna go to breakfast. gonna take a nap. had a slumber party here for rob last night, so he could study his spagnolo. i know the language so well, you know. that's really about the only interesting thing i have to say. tomorrow my cell plan finally kicks into high gear, and i can start calling folks in good conscience. i'm getting excited already. dream last night: history theses and yugoslavian gravesite analysis. kookie.

tuesday, 25 september

3 months til christmas! :-D
quote of the day: "you'd best be careful. you could develop a reputation." -fr. ribeiro, on hearing the topic of my history thesis

'ello. gonzaga prep is at it, again, i fear. hopefully i'll get to the bottom of the rumor i heard this morning, and then i can act quickly and decicively to correct the problem. when i caught wind of it, though, at 2:30 this morning, i got so riled up that i couldn't get back to sleep. very aggravated, to tell you the least. now i've got to head over to meet mandahouse for breakfast. and then do a shitload of reading before the day is through. last night, on duty, was relatively quiet. i did one lockout. but the lockout forms were missing, so i had to make my own form. it was quite absurd.

monday, 24 september

quote of the day: "divina, you have to follow the rules." -joanna

last night at mass, amanda spilled blood EVERYWHERE. ok, well some girl to whom she was administering communion spat it out and said "oops. that's no good." which is both hilarious and heretical. how often does that happen. king's dominion was an amusement park. who knew? and when we got back to campus, i had pretty much the worst headache ever. and then i went to mass and then latenight and then did not enough reading. that's just the way it goes some days. most days, perhaps. oh. it's the last week of september. finally. will this month never end? in my dream last night, i had to get in a dirty body of water to fetch a little rowboat that was escaping/sinking, but i had a piece of paper that i couldn't get wet while doing it. the whole experience was quite aggravating.

sunday, 23 september

quote of the day: "But in a car you can never feel the Rockies. You are insulated from them by glass, steel, rubber, and speed. They become moving pictures only. It is best to see them on foot or horseback, better to know one little valley or a single peak than to remember a blur of a thousand miles." -Bruce Hutchison

i love that sore-pec/sore-ab feeling. it's just peachy keen. headed to king's dominion today. ten to eight. then eight to ten is dedicated to mass. then i REALLY need to bake a few cookies, one of which will be very big. last night i had a dream about my psych professor trying to sell me the $90 solutions manual to a history textbook he'd written. i told him i'd buy it in the bookstore. he seemed disappointed. here's a shout out to rca5. give me a call, bud, and we'll actually do something tonight. i hope the aardvark has a safe drive back from chelan to ptown today. and that he stops by the house of house. i think i need to eat and take a shower now. so i'm gonna head out. peace.

saturday, 22 september

happy autumnal equinox, y'all
quote of the day: "speaking of short but fun, i hate [no one i know]." -joni

i totally forgot to say in yesterday's update that i ran into the illustrious mary on thursday evening. she, of course, wasn't on her way to visit me, but i think i can forgive her that. i got a free book yesterday. gotta love that. Hutchison, Bruce. The Unknown Country: Canada and Her People. New York: Coward-McCann, 1942. there are only a few pictures in it. one is of maligne lake. another is of the fraser river valley. they aren't in color, of course, but that's aight. oh, and i was moderately misrepresented in an article in the chronicle of higher education. oh well. such is life. i wrote a letter to the editor, though, just to clear things up.

last night, i dremt that allison l's family was living in a village A apartment, and a lot of my friend's younger siblings (the ones who are becky's age) were there for a big party. and after the party there was a big dance-like thing that everyone left for, but i stayed in the kitchen to make sure no one stole dessert. i think i miss you spokane folk a bit.

friday, 21 september

quote of the day: "we'll have the quiz for about a half hour. just for kicks." -prof. walker

do you ever feel like you're reading your life from a script, and you're a really bad actor? i had some weird dreams last night. i don't remember all of them very well. i know that at some point, i was in a parking lot waiting for my mom to give me a ride home in a black suburban. i went to basil thai last night with rob. i think that's my favorite restaurant in DC. then we went to barnes and noble for what seemed like ages, and it made me sad that there is so much i'll never have the opportunity to read. speaking of which, i have LOADS of reading to do this weekend. and writing. write me an email to let me know how y'all are doing, eh?

thursday, 20 september

quote of the day: "i only sent two of them to the hospital. the other two are fine, i'll have you know" -mandahouse

silent peace demonstration, noon to 1 in red square. be there. also, for all you spokanites, check out my letter in this week's local planet. aardvark. i wish my ftp server were working. i don't know what's wrong. i know it's not my computer, cuz i've had no problem uploading stuff for the pride website. i guess i'll email great northern today and ask them to look into it. i'm muy aggravated. anyway, it's a rainy day here in the district. i can't see the hills to the southeast it's so overcast. it's not cold, though. just tepid and drizzly. makes me happy. haha. i'm the only one, i know. ok. i have to run. food calls. have a good one, y'all. peace.

wednesday, 19 september

quote of the day: "i've got extra pigment slathered all over me, anyway. why not put some on the back of my eye?" -prof. walker

do you ever feel like you're doing something for no real reason. my ftp server is screwed up, so none of you are seeing this daily. i keep typing, though. why? because it's nice to get these thoughts off my chest without continuously bothering ian or joe or aaron or rob. and there are some things that i don't think can simply slip away without saying something. cnn and gallup ran a poll. a freaky little poll. 58 percent of americans polled think arab-americans should be subject to more stringent searches when boarding planes. 49 percent agreed that they should be required to carry special IDs. is this the nation i call home? today, i weep as much for the threat to civil liberties as a i do for the threat to civilians.

tuesday, 18 september

quote of the day: "i don't like to be aroused that way." -prof. sabat

the last week slipped away without my noticing the passage of time. i remember going to lunch last tuesday with lauren and rob and ian. it hadn't been an hour since the second tower collapsed. and it all felt very detached. i guess it still does.

monday, 17 september

quote of the day: "when life gives you lemons, put them in your pants." -bobbo hobbo

perhaps forever, the american civil consciousness has been changed. time will tell whether it is for the better. i can honestly say that i am afraid. afraid that my nation's resolve is not broad enough to conceive of both the vengeance demanded by so many and the rights and freedoms without which we fight for fighting's sake. i fear my children's growing up in a nation so obsessed with the illusion of security that they never have a chance to know the fruits of real safety. though deadly, last week's attack was deeply symbolic. america has responded in kind. armed military personnel were posted at most intersections in georgetown. a comfort? yes. a solution? no. the illusion of security. on campus healy gates are now blocked at night. the department of public safety demands ID from those wishing to enter campus. there, anyway. the north end of campus remains open. a fitting microcosm of the US, i should think. the bush administration speaks grimly of DCA's fate. its demise--taking with it 10,000 jobs and $5 billion a year--seems imminent. the false sense of security. perhaps the american people won't bother to think that a jet at dulles or bwi (or philadelphia, for that matter) could hit downtown DC before the military had a chance to get planes in the air. even if the f-16s were already in the air, there would be no way to get a hijacked jet out of the air without killing those aboard and many on the ground--look at the unbroken development on the east coast. we are all at risk. then again, we've all been at risk for years now, the american people's naivete notwhithstanding. with bush's campaign to end evil in the world (could you believe he said that?), it would appear as if the return to that naivete is the first bullet on the agenda for recovery.

sunday, 16 september

when, after something as tragic as the events of this week, is it appropriate to stop mourning thousands of people i didn't know? when is it appropriate to resume mourning someon i did know? to quote ani difranco, "how will they define our generation in the coming decades? who will tell the story and what will they say?" granted, she was discussing the AIDS crisis, but it seems strangely applicable. i fear war. not only because the impending war is a visceral response to a planned event. if we think with our guts when our enemies are thinking with their heads, they have a distinct advantage. even moreso, though, i fear the useless, senseless, unjustifiable deaths of more innocent civilians. yes, some say, but they must be collateral damage for the crimes of their brothers and sisters. we forget that they are our brothers and sisters, that it is as unjust for any one of them to die for being born in afghanistan or pakistan as it is for someone to die for working in the WTC or the Pentagon.

saturday, 15 september

Happy 23rd Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

"but when we ask the question "why? where did the rips come from?" they say we are subversive and extreme. of course, we are just trying to track a problem to its source. we are looking for the holes." -ani

"it's a long road from law to justice. i went to vietnam. i went for peace. they dropped their bombs right where my government knew i would be. i had no right but for the love of you" -dar

"We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble with that scheme is, it's already been done. The Soviets took care of it . Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? There is no infrastructure. Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that." -Tamin Ansary

"i have seen the others, and i have discovered that this fight is not worth fighting. and i have seen their mothers, and i will no other to follow me where i'm going. so take a shower. shine your shoes. you've got no time to lose. you are young men you must be living." -dispatch

friday, 14 september

Reading an article in yesterday's Local Planet, I noticed several deeply frightening ironies. From my vantage point in the District of Columbia, Tuesday was hardly a time of anger. In fact, I found no anger in the faces around me that day, except on the glowing box of propaganda that seemed to captivate America as the tragic events unfolded. On a campus from which we could see the inferno raging at the Pentagon--a campus that sends hundreds of its graduates to the Financial District each year--grief, fear, and concern lent everyone I encountered Tuesday a dazed look. Here I am, Friday morning, and that shock has given up little ground to rage. Yesterday morning, the Muslim call to prayer echoed through this Catholic university, inviting us to pray as one community, to process our grief together.

I must admit I was happy to see Hadley's mention of St. Augustine, its memory familiar from my nine years at Cataldo Catholic School on the south hill. More importantly, though, it piqued my awareness of a glaring historical parallel to our situation. In The City of God, St. Augustine describes an event with as much contemporary significance as the tragedies we experienced this week. In 410 the Visigoths sacked Rome, a city that had stood unassaulted from abroad for over eight centuries. A shock wave rippled through the Western Empire. Disbelief, though, was soon replaced by fear. Anger followed quickly. Pagan elites blamed the Christians for tainting the empire and angering the gods. Christians had gained a footing in Roman society relatively recently. They were, by and large, found in cities. They advocated seemingly radical changes in age-old social institutions, but they had been co-opted into Roman culture for the most part. On Thursday, similar accusations were waged by Christian elites. Jerrry Falwell, appearing with Pat Robertson on The 700 Club asserted that the "pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way" shared the blame for Tuesdays attacks. The had made "God mad."

For the first time since Tuesday, I felt anger. Not at an invisible enemy in a far-off country, but at the media, at Falwell and Robertson, at President Bush. The ease with which each has capitalized on this tragedy to indoctrinate a specific hate in a fearful American people sickens me. I will have no part in such a cycle of hate, and I urge you to listen critically, to think logically, and to work actively for a more just and peaceful world.

thursday, 13 september

quote of the day: "the sound of war is a child's cry..." -ani difranco

what is the memory that's valued so highly that we keep it alive in this flame? what's the commitment to those who have died we cry out they have not died in vain? we have come this far, always believing that justice will somehow prevail. this is the burden, this is the promise, and this is why we will not fail.

pray for those affected. pray for justice. pray for peace. work for peace.

wednesday, 12 september

song of the day: "light one candle" by peter, paul, and mary

the pentagon is still smouldering. the fear of yesterday morning and the confusion of yesterday afternoon have been replaced by anger in all too many. please, pray for those effected. pray for justice. but most importantly, pray for peace. the following days, weeks, months--perhaps even years--will be among the greatest tests our nation has ever endured. now, though, is a time for grieving. grieving our lost loved ones. grieving our lost sense of security. grieving the pain that so many throughout the world have felt for so long. lord, make me a means of your peace...

tuesday, 11 september

song of the day: "i will remember you" by sarah mclachlan

yesterday was the roughest day i've had in a long time. i'd like to ask you all to say a prayer today for the repose of the soul of chad engstrom, and another for his family, as they struggle through this most difficult time. jan, pam, todd, and carmen: my thoughts and prayers will be with you. god bless you. i'd also ask you to pray for my godfather, who suffered a heart attack yesterday. though i sit here in DC, my heart truly is in spokane with those i love. god bless you all.

monday, 10 september

quote of the day: "i've just lost respect for the whole world." -i cannot recall at this moment

oh no! not another week. i had weird dreams last night. i have a load of stuff to do this week. not such a big surprise, i know, but still. i'm interviewing an applicant for the AA position this morning. perhaps lunch with ian. hopefully a lot of reading will get done, too. argh. overwhelmed. at least i'm on duty tonight. that's for the best, really. have a good one, y'all!

sunday, 9 september

Happy 21st, Justin :-(
quote of the day: "i'd have sex with a sheep if it were socially acceptable." -eric

i screwed up my shoulder climbing a tree last night. damn. i think i'm in the same boat that aaron was in when he did that cliff diving thing. i have some stuff to do today. should eat, i think. and do that homework thang. yesterday, i tried to lay in the sun on the esplanade and do homework. instead, i took a 3 or 4 hour nap. i don't know. i try not to pay attention to time when i'm on weekend. either way, i got a nice lil tan. then i had dinner at san marzano. and now it's sunday. blech. that's alright. i just have to do loads of work today. and go to mass. have a good one, y'all.

saturday, 8 september

quote of the day: "in even the furthest flung cities, you find bath-houses." -prof. paxton (again)

is it just me, or is september plodding along at an almost unbearably slow rate of speed? thought so. the protest went well, i must say. two of them got to speak to their president about their concerns. it probably won't change much, but at least their opinions are on the table. today is the day of homework. oh yes indeedy. i was on duty last night. two fake lockouts. one real lockout. one bulb in the elevator destroyed. one pane in a window knocked out. one night of disturbed sleep for bubba. ah well. now i'll go to copley beach and spend the day reading on a blanket. then i'll go to parties tonight, perhaps. that 4 day weekend last week was such a tease! at least i get according to queeneytoday, eh?

friday, 7 september

quote of the day: "sometimes cannibalism, but mostly sex" -prof. paxton (history)

happy half birthday, beckers! i think i'm going to celebrate by going down to GW for a protest. i love my job i love my job. i realized last night that all my classes every week are compressed into 37 hours. how weird is that? anyway. anyway, i've got a book to read before heading down to protest, so i've gots to run. dops called to wake me up at 7:00 this morning. jerks.

thursday, 6 september

quote of the day: "everyone can talk about two things: history and sports" -the prof. in my thesis seminar.

slowly but surely, the sheer shock the the gramma's house thing is wearing down. it makes me acutely sad to think about, but most of the time now i can just not think of it. i don't know what will happen when i go home, though. sorry to go on and on about it, but it really does seem like a big deal to me. for god's sake: i get nostalgic when i throw away shampoo bottles! you really can't expect me to just let that house slip from reality into the realm of memory.

it's thursday. that means it's almost weekend. this afternoon is gonna be crazy, though. i have class from 1:15 to 2:30 and 4:15 to 5:30, and then i have to set up for and actualize our LXR/nevils opening cookout. i don't know HOW i'm going to make it to my 8:30 meeting on time. hopefully i will. or at least i'll make a cameo. i'm gonna run now. have a good one, y'all!

wednesday, 5 september

quote of the day: "i have no excuse. i just got drunk" -my psych prof.

finding my way back to sanity again. though i don't really know what i'm gonna do when i get there. take a breath and hold on tight; spin around one more time, and gracefully fall back to the arms of grace. cuz i am hanging on every word you say. and even if you don't want to speak tonight, that's alright with me. cuz i want nothing more than to stand outside heaven's door and listen to your breathing. that's where i want to be.

i still haven't quite come to grips with gramma's house being sold. i probably won't ever accept it fully. my real wish is that the russells might decide to move to spokane and into the house. it's not likely, i know, but i can always hope. and maybe someday, should it leave the family, i can buy it back, to keep as our spokane residence. in other news: i'm already ready for another summer break. this year is gonna be a mother-**. i just seems so busy all the time. this must be what it's like to be my mom. i can't even imagine. so, mom, props to you today.

tuesday, 4 september

quote of the day: "i'm stuck" -the little boy at the NSO concert sunday

not ok, mom. so, yesterday, my mother decided to inform me that she'd decided that my gramma's house must be sold by christmas. now, don't get me wrong, i understand that it's probably in gramma's best interest to move out of a house that requires her to ascend steep stairs on a daily basis. but i think that this selling business is going far too quickly. to tell you the truth, i'm really quite upset by the whole matter. if i could, i'd buy it myself, and rent it out for a few years, until i could seriously consider moving into it. unfortunately, i can't. if my parents bought it now, they could rent it out and i'd buy it off them in a few years. i just really would prefer if it could stay in the family. there must be a way to make it work. argh. among the saddest days ever, i must say.

monday, 3 september

quote of the day: not so much a quote as amanda smashing her fists together a la izma in the emperor's new groove as if to say "hit...him...on...the...head." oh how i love that movie.

this is the weekend that won't end. it's pretty amazing. in the future, though, i'm gonna have to start doing a lot more work. perhaps today. i'm, theoretically anyway, going to a barbecue at jen's house this afternoon. and on a run with mandahouse. and i have a staff meeting. and i'm on duty tonight. despite some hoodlums tearing a few things off my bulletin board last night, it was pretty quiet, all in all. the nso concert was really cool. i had some sort of dream about a car on fire. and jeff's house in spokane.

on this labor day, remember the words of woody guthrie: "there's a better world a-comin, don't you see? when we'll all be union and we'll all be free..." perhaps today we can all reflect on everyone whose labor gives us the things that we use every day, and think about whether there's anyway for us to contribute to a more just world for them, whether they're in the US or elsewhere.

sunday, 2 september

quote of the day: "i think i'm gonna have josh send me some leather" -manda

yesterday was a nearly perfect first day of september. once summer is over, though, i'm always just ready for thanksgiving. and then christmas. let's get there, folks. kevin is alive. so that's good. and i got a chance to talk to joe yesterday, which helped a lot. i took a nap. did laundry. ate two meals in newsouth. tonight: national symphony orchestra concert at the capital. meet in the lobby at 6:30, and bring $2.20 for subway fare. unfortunately, i'll be missing the first 8:30 mass of the year. but i'll be back for that next weekend. have a good one!

saturday, 1 september

Happy 21st Birthday, Rachelle!!
quote of the day: "manda, give hugs, not kisses" -becky

when i was out last night, i thought of about a katrillion things would have been good in my update. now i forget them all. i really wasn't feeling the party scene last night, but it made it into my dream nonetheless--i was at an AMAZING house on the ocean, and we were having a party of cataldo people. funny. i don't really know of anything else to say. i'm doing homework til i die today. i hope each and every one of you has a wonderful month of september. i want to go back to banff.