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The End of the Endless Bookstore?
I was in the symbolic space of what was once Brand Books last night in my dreams but instead of it leading to the Endless Bookstore - a place I've visted in separate dreams over the years, truly wondrous, rambling, impossible and filled with books, antiques, and more - I couldn't get beyond the parts of it that had been cleared out. This is the ( Read more... ) -
Return to the Neverending Cemetery
I dreamt of the Neverending Cemetery (or is it Cimetière), one of the more elegant, enchanting recurring dream locations I have. There's no end to the hidden copses and mysteries you can find there and it's absolutely lovely, scattered with statues, fountains, mausoleums and other tucked-away buildings. The last dream I had there, I got to stay ( Read more... ) -
An Awesome New Year's Note
This morning, I woke up to this note from a former student:
"I was unable to get a English 1A class last semester that fit in my schedule. This last semester I, seeing that English is not my favorite or best subject, hesitantly took an English class. Unfortunately and fortunately it was an extremely hard class. Mostly because he was a hard grader ( Read more... ) -
Elegy for a Student
I had a new experience as a teacher today that nobody thought to warn me about, and while I understand why, that doesn't make it any easier.
This afternoon I was talking with my mom about my inspiring former student, Gail, and since I was home I decided to check in on her Facebook page - only to discover that Gail passed away this summer. Gail ( Read more... ) -
Fighting My Way to Health With Fight Club
"People are always asking, did I know about Tyler Durden" (11 ( Read more... ) -
The Luxury of Whining
When most of your life is going well, you get to have first world problems. My number one ongoing first world struggle is with space, or lack thereof, and that has been the case whether I've been living with someone else or living alone. I love my apartment, my neighbors, and my neighborhood, and I've had to admit that I am not up for a move, ( Read more... ) -
My weight loss tracking, 2010 - 2011
2010
I didn't weigh in at the very start of my diet/exercise regimen or for the first few months. I'd hit 250 and gotten disgusted with scales some time before, however; that was my maximum weight. I started counting calories, reducing my intake, changing my diet, and exercising in earnest in June.
October 9: 216
November 10: 210
December 10: 199
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105 and counting
Today, it becomes official: I have lost over 100 pounds since I changed my life last summer. I weighed in at 145 this morning and I'm still in the process of imbibing enough coffee to believe it. Even though I normally take my measurements every few months, I took them today for the hell of it. So I'm posting this here so I can come back to it ( Read more... ) -
Graduation Day, Redux
My mom called me this morning and played a round of "guess that tune" with me, until it was clear that I was hearing a pattering of the graduation march in the background. It turned out that she was watching the DVD of my MA graduation ceremony on her new, bigger screen - and then she started getting teary-eyed about it ( Read more... ) -
The Bottom Line
I knew that I shouldn't have weighed myself today, the second day of my period, but it's the appointed time. Normally, the two things don't coincide and I get to weigh myself in relative peace, without all the horrible hormones swirling around the outcome. I wish I had listened to myself earlier today and left it alone but I had to do it if I ( Read more... )