Indian food

Today as just generally good. My first class was canceled due to concern for our lives driving on the ice they call roads here. Erica and I hung out a lot, playing Cooking Mama, laughing, texting during class. We haven’t really spent much quality time together like we used to our first couple years of college in a long time.

And then we went to dinner with Brittni and her sister, Callahan, and their friend Ashton. There are two Indian restaurants in Columbia, and after careful taste-testing we like the Taj Mahal better. We never finish our meals, and try to strategize different ways to maximize out input each time, but we always get an appetizer, and then there’s the naan, and the food is so filling. It’s great.

And, really, the aftermath hasn’t been bad since we started this tradition.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to left-overs now that I can make some actual Basmati rice in my rice cooker to go with it. Uncle Ben’s instant just does not do justice to lamb curry.

Indians make peas taste better than anyone. Day made.

Lapidary

Today I learned “lapidary” means rock collecting. It was in an obituary that went through the copy desk during my shift.

At the end of every shift, we have “the morning after,” which is usually around midnight when the final page proofs are done and sent off to the printers. We talk about general copy editing points that came up during the night, kudos to good catches, and then each copy editor explains what they learned that night.

I caught a party affiliation misidentified for a Senator, so that was mine. You can’t assume that even if a story is filed from the capital, it will be correct.

But, this practice, while sometimes annoying because we all just want to go home, is nice because I really do learn something every day at the Missourian. Sometimes it’s a lesson in the extent of my patience. Other times, it’s the meaning of obscure hobby words.

Today, it was also how unnerving leading a meeting with completely unresponsive reporters can be. And that my car doesn’t drive too well on pure ice. And the cookies at Which Wich aren’t as good as they smell.

And, as usual, I learn the vastness of my ignorance. And how exciting that is for my future. Day made.

Crazy Heart

This is love.

Yesterday, my godson turned two. This photo pretty much sums up the day.

Today, I saw Crazy Heart. It’s the movie for which Jeff Bridges is nominated for best actor. And, he was pretty amazing in it. I want the soundtrack.

I’m not a fan of cowboy boots, but I would be happy playing this kind of music in my life. Drinking whiskey. Smoking too much. Leaving illegitimate children behind… Maybe not that part.

Actually, probably not any of it, except the music. But, the idea of it is romantic to me. I don’t know how I can be so nostalgic for all these things I’ve never experienced. Also, like, two printings of the newspaper per day, and listening to sitcoms on the radio.

Anyway, the movie is great. I even convinced Brittni to go with me to see it and Brittni loves football. So much. So, that’s a victory to me. I feel like I won the Super Bowl. Day made.

Now, I’m going to Disney Land.

I know someone who won “Jeopardy!”

My fellow first-floor Staffordian and incredibly talented reporter Lindsay Eanet won her round of “Jeopardy!” College Championships tonight. Well, she won it awhile ago, but it aired tonight. She’ll go on to the semi-finals on Wednesday. Or, it’ll be shown then. I was impressed.

And then she gave this touching speech to the upstairs party room at the Heidelberg where a big assortment of the people she’s accumulated in four years of college assembled to watch her dominate. She said, and I truly believe meant, that us being there was better than winning a game show or anything tangible she gets from it.

And that’s the kind of love I am surrounded by. In this blog, I often focus on the love directed toward me, but tonight I remembered that it’s just as meaningful to be apart of it for someone else.

Also, I brought Adam along and he was so great until the last 15 minutes. I was impressed by that as well. Tomorrow he is two years old. Two.

Grocery Shopping

I went grocery shopping this evening with Erica and Adam. And it made my day.

I haven’t spent any real time with Adam lately. And with Erica only a negligible amount more.

I push the cart, which gets increasingly harder to push as we pile it with all sorts of necessities, and things we don’t need. We always make a list. We always forget the list. Once the pile of groceries reaches the edges of the top, Adam starts grabbing boxes to open them.

He kicked off his furry Crocs about a million times. And every time, another older woman would exclaim, “He dropped his shoe! Here you go!” She would be so pleased with herself that she saved poor Adam from his Appalachian roots, i.e. my barefoot genes.

I organize the fridge, throwing out all the left-overs that sat in there for weeks. Then, I miraculously shove everything into the freezer. Erica takes care of the cupboards. We talk about how badly I need to take out the recycling. Then, we sit down to a dinner of left-overs and sandwiches because we’re exhausted from that trip and don’t want to wait to cook.

It’s mundane, but this week I appreciate it more than going out or partying.

P.S. This blog does not in any way endorse the wearing of Crocs for adults.

おひさしぶりです。

Japan reunion 2010 is on!

Daphne and Chris booked their flights to Columbia on Feb. 18 today. Daphne goes to college in Vancouver, so she has two weeks off for the Winter Olympics. And Chris is such a big-shot production assistant on the Vampire Diaries, he can do what he wants.

So, my two best friends from Japan will be here in Missouri with me in a few short weeks.

It’s kind of a disorienting thought. For instance, I stayed at Brittni’s house before catching a flight to California for Thanksgiving break. Brittni and I are good friends. She’s definitely someone I love and trust and value her friendship. But, when I’ve only known her in the setting of college, it was strange to see her in her house, interacting with her family as a big sister, not a college student, and to sleep in her bed surrounded by her things from high school.

I’m excited, though. They will be the first people who weren’t obligated- as in, not my parents or my boyfriend- to visit me at college.

And they will be closely followed by Ashley, Maggie and Tyler. It’s a really big month for me.

Changes

My editor left the education beat to me today. She was sick today, so I was Liz for the day.

Yesterday, I spent a solid 12 hours at the Missourian because of my eight-hour copy editing shift, plus she called me in to produce the Missourian’s response to President Barack Obama’s proposed changes to the No Child Left Behind Act.

As tired as I am, and as much as I rue having to spend hours and hours at the Missourian during my days off, I appreciate that my editor trusts me. As Ashley pointed out via text, I do love it. I love news. I love reporting. I believe journalists do important work. And I believe the Missourian, as a city’s newspaper and a learning institution is invaluable. I love participating in that in as many ways as possible. So, if you hear me complaining, tell me to shut up.

Which leads me to what makes my day: proposed changes to the No Child Left Behind Act. Finally. I try to keep my opinions on the matters I report on to myself as much as possible, but after writing my analysis pieces on the act, I feel fine saying that the act needs changed. It does. I think almost every single person across the board, of any party affilitiation, with any ties to public schools agrees that it just is not realistic, nor as helpful as it could be. Possibly not as helpful as it is harmful.

With Obama’s proposed move towards growth-based rewards and the removal of the 2014 deadline, today Arne Duncan implied they want the list of sanctions eliminated as well.

Some of you may not care about these kinds of things, but I also believe in public schools. And children as our most important resource. So, it makes me excited to see where this goes in Congress.

And, for some shameless promotion, this is the story I edited written by a talented reporter.

Confidence

You thought I wasn’t going to post today, eh?! Yeah, me too.

Today I worked an ACE shift in which I didn’t feel like I messed anything up. Sure, it was pretty quiet anyway, but I sent someone out to breaking news and read over some copy.

However, I ran the budget meeting with practically no direction. For the first time. It’s probably the easiest part of the job, but the part that intimidates me the most.

I like this job. And I like working regularly again. More than those things, I like feeling confident in what I’m doing. I’m finally getting to the point I feel fine delegating, editing and mostly interacting with editors self-assuredly. That makes my day.

Also, I realized I have a friend who was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire this year and one who was on College Jeopardy. That’s pretty sweet. I have some trivia-savvy friends.

Haircut

What didn’t make my day: J.D. Salinger’s death.

What did make my day: my haircut.

I’m pretty sure it’s been almost a year since my last haircut. I think I might’ve gotten it cut after I came back from Japan, but I’m not sure.

My starry-eyed Shirley Temple pose. Also called "fail."

Unlike a lot of people, I am excited by haircuts. I like the adventure.

Since I shaved my head, asking for the same haircut for too long gets boring. Hair is so inconsequential. But not only that, it’s replaceable. Expendable. It grows back. You can wear wigs. It’s easily fixable.

Obviously all parts of life are not as easily negotiated as a bad haircut, but too often I feel like we put an incredible amount of importance on small choices. Or even big choices.

I applied to a lot of internships for this summer, but as of yet, have not heard back from any. That’s fine. For awhile, I was stressed out, but there are other options. I can keep working as an assistant city editor over the summer. I can study abroad in Brussels. I can join a carnival and travel state fairs selling tickets to the swinging chairs.

In the end, it matters to an extent. But, in the end, it doesn’t matter really. I’ll come back in the fall and figure out where to go next.

The hairdresser asks if I want it straight or curly. Let’s try curly. Maybe next time I’ll want curly.

And maybe someday I’ll leave behind something more important than those choices I attached so much value to that stand alone, separate from where I lived or how I lived, like “Catcher in the Rye.” Rest In Peace J.D.

Exhaustion

I am tired. Bone tired. The tired that comes from too many early mornings paired with late nights. Feverish roommates and godsons.

The tired that makes bedtime at 10 p.m. seem entirely justifiable.

That is the kind of tired we all need to be sometimes. Because it means I’m doing something with my life. Last week seemed to last forever. And now tomorrow is Wednesday and I’m back to work.

I’m sure, eventually, I’ll get burnt out, but right now I’m reveling in the productivity. I even read for my Japanese Civ class tomorrow. It turns out I can do schoolwork too.

And, of course, there’s this:

And that’s what I have to say. Day made.