Metrophobic

adventures in gardening

2009-07-15T18:46:00.006-04:00

I'm on vacation this week, and have spent the past few days doing kid-friendly fun things: swimming, movies, Funplex (which is like Chuck E. Cheese, but with an outdoor water part, too. Ugh). But in the mornings, I've spent an hour or so playing gardener, weeding the flower beds and planting a few things:

The gardens, until this week, were untouched for more than a month - the previous owners stopped maintaining them after a certain point (understandably), and then during our first few weeks here, we got buckets and buckets of rain. So the lavender bush at the back of the house is choked out right now (my project for tomorrow); it took me an hour to clear a two-foot-square space around the lilies in the back garden. And we've found a ton of these gross, sort of pre-historic looking things:

The roots are sort of like long, white teeth. Every time I yank one up, I shiver a little - they creep me out for some reason. I found one that was almost as tall as me - it started to droop as soon as I pulled it out of the ground, but it really is probably about 4 and a half feet tall, from root to tip. Yuck.

And then there are these little guys:

They almost had me fooled - they created a nice ground cover in the front garden, between the lilies, and I was hesitant to rip them up:

But then I got clarification from my master gardener (my mom), and tomorrow they will be saying au revoir to their little home.

On the plus side, I have a very healthy pair of hostas in the front yard, and a lovely, lovely hydrangea that is just coming into bloom:

At some point in the next few days, I'm hoping to get to Ash's, a great plant supplier at the Farmer's Market, to buy some more perennials and take over that spot in the front garden, where the weeds are now.

As the summer goes on, I'll start to prep a back section of the yard for next year's vegetable garden. Until then...

notes

2009-07-09T12:28:00.003-04:00

**During NaPoMo, when I was participating in the Poem-A-Day challenge, I wrote this thing. It was a quick little draft of a poem, mostly designed to get the idea on paper so I could come back to it later. It was based on a Huffington Post article I read, which gave few details about the case, and even fewer about the man himself.

Today I decided to do a little work on the poem. I wanted a more realistic picture of James Hines, so I decided to try and google him. What I found was a wealth of information, collected over here at Soul Detective. Red Kelly, the author of the blog, has put the interwebs to good use, and has managed to collect an incredible amount of background on James Hines, including his history as a musician and his life beyond the music. Also up on the site are mp3 files of a large handful of Hines' songs - which are, by the way, incredibly good, and I have been grooving to them all morning.

The poem is only a little further along than it was this morning when I opened the file - I'm heading back to workshop tonight with some old friends, and hopefully will get some direction. It feels like a poem that may never turn into anythign substantial, but it's a poem I feel compelled to try anyway.

I think I'm just really struck by how much info Red Kelly had managed to gather. I mean, I don't very often write about people I don't know, and when I do write about them, it's usually based on what I do know about them. It's rare that I invent a history for someone in a poem, and then find their actual life later - it's sort of like opening a long-locked closet and finding my mother's high school prom dress, or something.

**I found this week the Twitter feed of the daughter of someone that works at my company. Strange. Like seeing him in his underwear, as a coworker said.

**Last night D and I went to Woodbridge to hear the super cool Tony Gruenewald. During the open mic, this totally granola guy who wasn't wearing any shoes read a poem that was totally an attempt to pick up someone else in the room. I'm pretty sure it's the first time I have ever seen a poem-as-pick-up-line in real life, and I'm also pretty sure that it worked.

**The photography class 20-shot final portfolio is underway, in addition to a weekly project that requires 16 shots. Sigh. That's a lot of pictures, but I feel confident I can make it work.

**It is so hard to get motivated today.

Happy Thursday. Go listen to that James Hines over at Soul Detective. My personal favorite: "Guilty of Adultry." Go on, have a listen.

weekend recap

2009-07-06T08:53:00.002-04:00

So Donna and I had big exciting plans to head to NYC yesterday to try to catch tickets for Shakespeare in the Park, featuring Anne Hathaway as Viola in Twelfth Night. We got up at 4 a.m., arrived at the park around 6:10 a.m., and sat in line until 10 a.m. At this point, someone from the theater company came through with an extended metaphor about the Rock of Hope, the Tree of Chance, the Grass of Uncertainty. He told us, "You're sitting in the Pebbles of Go The Hell Home." Boo. No luck.

So we headed instead over to the International Center of Photography, to see the Richard Avedon Fashion retrospective. Three words:

A. MAZ. ING.

I loved it, as I expected I would. Avedon had an amazing sense for staging a photograph - he would set up his models in the foreground with their suits and dresses by famous designers (Dior seemed to be a regular), and in the background he would place these insane "extras" - street contortionists, naked trapeze artists. Even though there was so much drama taking place in the background, I was still drawn initially to the models. Amazing.

What really blew my mind, though, was the photographic fable - In Memory of the Late Mr. and Mrs. Comfort, a series of color photographs featuring Nadja Auermann, created for the New Yorker. The link about does the series little justice - the photos, in person, were vibrant, arresting and complex. Of the 25 in the series, only five photographs were on display (these five: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), but they were gorgeous. We went over them twice, carefully studying the details of each, discussing our favorites and generally just being in awe.

After visiting the ICP bookstore (where we grabbed a copy of Sally Mann's Immediate Family, which may prompt another blog post later) we headed over to the Times Square area for a quick stroll around and some lunch, then a bus ride home.

Exhausting day, but well worth the trip.

weekend plans

2009-07-04T18:00:00.001-04:00

Heading up to Northern Jerz tonight for the beginning of Rachel and Donna's Most Awesome Shakespearian Adventure.

Cross your fingers I make it home alive.

aghast

2009-07-02T15:48:00.002-04:00

Sigh.

I mean, really, I take back all those nice things I said about thinking I could learn to love a city like Fort Worth.

Anniversary of Stonewall. Coincidence?

because you were lacking in reading material.

2009-07-01T08:28:00.001-04:00

Two new poems up at Decompression this month. Yeah.

being awesome WIN

2009-06-26T16:42:00.002-04:00

Last week, Kim Ficera, author of Sex, Lies and Stereotypes, and all around kick-ass person, posted a note on Facebook that she was looking for guest bloggers for her blog, Pimp My Wry. After a brief email exchange, I present to you my being awesome WIN for this Friday:

my guest blog over at Pimp My Wry!

I take on Elisabeth Hasselbeck's plagiarism scandal - check it out for yourself!

And while we're at it, let me just jump up and down like a little girl for a second: Kim Ficera posted something I wrote. All kinds of yay!

how about we just glue some quarters up there instead?

2009-06-23T12:47:00.003-04:00

Donna and I are having trouble.

You see, I bought this adorable house, and we moved into it about two weeks ago. In the living room, there is a wall that is perfectly-sized for a large piece of art. The space is probably 4.5 x 4.5 ft, and we painted the wall a deep green color (I believe the color was Holly Green, for those who are interested). We've spent a few days discussing what might end up on that wall, and we came pretty quickly to the same conclusion: rather than spending $20 on a cheap poster and another $20 on a crappy frame from Target, we agreed to spend some time looking at original pieces of art - photographs, canvases, whatever. We like the idea of supporting artists who are producing original and exciting work, as we are trying to do just that with our writing.

It turns out, though, that we have hugely different aesthetics. I don't know enough about art to really clarify or classify it accurately, but I can say this: we both like very different versions of "moody" art. I like photographs and paintings that are sort of dark, black-and-white, broody, lonely. Donna likes the more romantic version of moody, I think. Some examples:

I like this. She likes this.
I countered with this. I think she liked it, but not enough.

I tried StumbleUpon today - I have "photography" listed in my interests on SU, and sure enough, I found something I like:

Kevin Van Aelst, who takes some amazing photographs.
My favorites (so far):
Serotonin
Circulatory System (Heart On Your Sleeve)
Right Thumb

Clearly, I like nerdy art, too.

The question now is: what are the chances these photographs are anything near affordable? This dude has done editorial work for some major media outlets, and as much as I like supporting artists who are alive and working, I am broke-ass artist myself. So hm.

new poem

2009-06-18T07:23:00.000-04:00

"The Second Fall" is up in Sotto Voce's Summer issue.

Hooray!

dramz in L'ton

2009-06-11T20:07:00.002-04:00

So I bought a house.

I mean, really, what could be more stressful than juggling a full-time job, taking two classes, raising a son, trying to maintain some momentum in poetry, and being part of a relationship? I decided that wasn't enough, so I threw the house in for good measure. But clearly, the universe decided that still wasn't enough, because the day after I settled on the house, the house ate my cat.

This is my boyfriend:

His name is Duncan. He's fat. He's cuddly. We're best buddies. He has another girlfriend named Cocoa, who is cute, but not nearly as fat or cuddly.

On Saturday night, Donna and I left the new house and headed back to the condo for the night. On Sunday morning, we couldn't find Duncan. But we did find that the access panel in the bathroom was dislodged - clearly the work of Smart Evil Kittehs.

Cocoa ambled out of the access panel after about an hour. Duncan, however, remained inside. For four days. During the course of those four days, he didn't make a damn sound. Clearly, he was pissed about the move, and was hiding. But I was convinced that he either a) got stuck in a small space because of his fatness and couldn't get out; b) fell inside a wall and died (seriously); or c) ate something terrible inside the wall and was dying. At various time over the four days, I lined up animal control, pest control, and someone to cut open my walls. I also visited Lowe's for a flashlight, and came home with a crowbar, too - I was ready to open that shit up myself.

Last night, Duncan finally came out of the wall, and we sealed up the hole. But sheesh, people. Kittehs are good at making me worried.

poetry news

2009-06-10T10:23:00.002-04:00

Two new poems, "The Second Fall" and "Via Dolorosa," accepted by Sotto Voce this morning. And guess what? They pay!

These poems are two of the final three that needed homes before I could move forward with Imprimatur. I have only one left, "Eve Considers Her Life," and while I think I might struggle to place it, I'm ok with that. Sotto Voce holds exclusive first rights for 120 days, which means that the poems cannot be republished during that time period. This gives me four months to find a home for "Eve," and / or to come to terms with the idea that she might only ever live in Imprimatur.

I can now also get serious about laying out, setting and binding the project. Finally.

this is what's wrong with america.

2009-06-01T12:31:00.003-04:00

Seriously.

Kanye West: Proud Non-Reader, Author.

Two things:

Dude needed a co-author for this shit?

Who on earth agreed to publish this? As far as I can tell, it's self-published.

where i have been lately

2009-05-24T17:41:00.002-04:00

and why my posts have been all grumpy-like:

I'm moving (knock wood) in, like, 2 weeks. I have managed to pack most of the 600+ books that Donna and I have accumulated, which is a significant portion of the packing.

I'm also away for the next week and a half (though home on the weekend) for work, which seriously interferes with the amount of stuff I will be able to get done. Fortunately I'm keeping the apartment through the end of June.

2009-05-19T11:25:00.002-04:00

Camping was awesome. The rain held off till Sunday; my new tent was stellar; the food was excellent, as was the company; Jacob had so much fun; there was a beautiful gigantic beetle.

Pictures here.

Roll on July.

happy weekend

2009-05-15T15:04:00.001-04:00

it's thursday i'm in love

2009-05-14T09:40:00.001-04:00

This little guy makes me happy.

one night only

2009-05-11T11:23:00.003-04:00

+
_____________________

Reading Tonight (Barnes & Noble Market Fair, 7:30)
Supreme hotness.
Trust me, you don't want to miss this.

book it!

2009-05-07T08:36:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, I stayed late at work one night - till after 7 - to figure out a problem with the rosters. Blah, blah, boring details - but my new boss gave me a gift card to Barnes & Noble for $20 as a sort of "thank you" for the effort. It was a nice gesture, and even though I am 100% convinced that Borders and Barnes & Noble are evil empires out to destroy the magic of independent bookstores, I fall victim to their seductive ways every time.

Before I went to NY for work, I had a talk with Jacob, who really gets bummed when I have to go. He loves his dad, and being at his dad's is fun, but I like to think he misses me when I'm gone. Disrupting the routine, all that stuff. And we had just finished reading one of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and he was keen to go get another. So I promised him that when I got back, we would go to the bookstore and he could use my gift card.

Last night was the night:

(we also snuck in a piece of cheesecake, and Jacob had his first taste of chai)

I love that I can now take my kid to the bookstore and hang out.

He'll be coming to the bookstore again on Monday - this time, in Princeton, when I give a reading for the Delaware Valley Poets with my favorite reading partner, Anna. Barnes & Noble Market Fair, 7:30. I bet if you come, Jacob will be happy to share a cheesecake and a Wimpy Kid book with you.

Be there or be square, kid.

maine is so totally gay

2009-05-06T13:24:00.001-04:00

All right Maine!

zOMG

2009-05-05T10:15:00.001-04:00

Ashley is back in the States!

2009-05-03T06:15:00.002-04:00

I'm heading to the West Chester area today for work; new class of reps to be trained, and I'll be staffing an HR helpdesk, essentially. As of right now, it's 6:16 a.m., I can't sleep, and so I'm watching reruns of Family Matters. Classes started Friday - Photography and Math - and I'm already exhausted, though I'm a bit ahead in the assignments.

I miss NaPo.

NaPoMo Day 29

2009-04-29T10:46:00.002-04:00

I'm throwing in the towel.

My work life has consumed pretty much everything else recently. I have not taken a lunch in days, which means that my during-the-day writing time is non-existent. And in the evenings, if I'm not housekeeping or running to teeball, I just really want to go to bed.

I'm kind of pissed - I was three poems away from finishing. But I just can't see a way around this.

There's always next year.

NaPoMo Day 27

2009-04-27T13:07:00.003-04:00

My life has been such for the past few days that even blogging is hard to do. Ugh.

I'm out of Free Verse Photos, and haven't had time to do more.

However, I'm mostly on track with the poem-a-day challenge; you can see the index of my poem thread here. I do need to write a catch up for yesterday, plus one for today, but I don't think it'll be a problem. I will reach the 30 poems in 30 days!

NaPoMo Day 22

2009-04-22T21:20:00.005-04:00

Free Verse Photo Poem:

from e.e. cummings' "i carry your heart with me"

Day 22 of the poem-a-day challenge: Martha Stewart Claims She Has Been Struck By Lightning Three Times

PJH + me = Happy, Happy

2009-04-21T16:53:00.003-04:00

PJ Harvey is coming back to Philly. Yeah!

Tickets are $38.50. Boo.

But I think I'm going to splurge and go anyway. Who wouldn't want to see this???

Well, probably plenty of people. But I'm not one of them.