Yuck!

I was grocery shopping this morning and all of a sudden had a craving for a sandwich I ate ALL THE TIME during college. I think I invented this sandwich, having no recollection of eating it on other occasions. I loved this sandwich in college. I would crave it, make it with care, and on a good day, make an extra for one of my roommates.

So after finding the ingredients at the store, I anticipated my reunion with the sandwich all morning! I was so excited for lunch. At the first sign of hunger, I carefully made the sandwich exactly how I had perfected the recipe over the years. My excitement and hunger grew. 

I sat down, took a bite of the sandwich and savored the familiar taste. I slowly took a few more bites, continuing to enjoy my creation. 

And then much to my surprise, I had a very unfamiliar feeling. 

I wanted to throw up! I looked at the sandwich and wondered how I ever enjoyed this collision of tastes, textures, and colors between two pieces of bread. I was disgusted. 

Amazing what you think is delicious in college on a work-study budget. 

Any one else have a "in college, I used to eat..." story? 

"Oh, the things I have seen..."

Bruce and I have been looking for an apartment for a few weeks now. We have spent many a weeknight, rushing home from work to meet someone with keys to our potential home, only to find that people live in VERY different living conditions than we do. Our home isn't spotless by any means, but we do tend to be on the "tidy" side. To be messy is one thing, but we have seen some crazy stuff in people's apartments. 

Here are some my favorites:

• a framed picture of a women parting the back of her hair to show her exposed brain
• a model skeleton, standing at the foot of someone's bed
• a mosaic dinning room table tiled with 1-inch orange tiles (if you are thinking this sounds cool, it wasn't. It was scary)
• A COMPLETELY yellow kitchen
• a dining room floor covered in dry cat food... it was crunchy to say the least
• a four room apartment: one painted neon blue, one painted neon yellow, one painted neon green and one painted white
• molding PAINTED "marble" with various brush sizes and paint colors, a feature that not only covered the whole apartment, but also that the landlord referred to as real marble!

Thankfully, our search may be over considering a pending apartment application that is in process! 

I like to listen

Free! Free! Free!

Slightly depressing, but always interesting... something I like to listen to.

Movies, Movies, Movies

Things We Lost in the Fire

Interesting story about a recent widow who befriends her late husband's best friend after years of resenting their friendship. Benicio Del Toro (who plays the husband's best friend) is incredible in this movie. I felt that he captured the stunned, life-shaking aspects of grief beautifully. 

My only problem: I didn't find Halle Berry's portrayal of a grieving wife to be believable. 

Rating: Recommended. 

Into the Wild

A true story of a twenty-something bucking the system and working to find himself and the meaning of life through wild adventure. Beautifully filmed in natural America, this story is full of awesome scenery, entertaining characters, and reflective internal dialogue. I must mention that much of the music in this movie is done by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (who is a resident saint in the Cunningham household). 

My only problem: This movie is really heavy. Watch it when it sun is out.

Rating: Highly Recommended. 

Across the Universe

A love story set in the political and social unrest of 

the 1960s. The cinematography is incredible in this movie! It is awesomely creative. Even the music (mostly Beatles songs) are creatively reshaped and placed throughout the movie.

My only problem: I am a literal realist, so watching such a creative, abstract movie is really hard for me. I am too connected to "figuring it out". 

Rating: Recommended.

Michael Clayton

A smart story of a large law firm caught in the middle of an environmental scandal involving hundreds of people and billions of dollars. The story is fast and smart. The former E.R. star, was convincing and sharp throughout the film.

My only problem: Loads of dialogue in this one. Watch it with the subtitles on... it will help!

Rating: Recommended. Watch it with my brother if you can, because apparently aside from being a giant, he is also very good at explaining complicated movies.

On another note, I must mention that we also tried to watch Rendition this weekend. It was so bad, we stopped it after the first twenty minutes. Rating: Not Recommended.

Intake Turns to Overflow

When I am tired, I go into "intake" mode. I read books, watch new movies, listen to talk radio, read the newspaper, sit in silence... absorbing as much as I can. I find this practice to be incredibly refreshing for me. This is how I recover. (Note: the frequency of school days off in the spring, also helps in this recovery!) 

While the length of this process may vary in nature, the end is incredibly abrupt. It does not  transition or wean, but rather stops unannounced and shifts into "overflow". Overflow is exactly what it sounds like: when all that I have absorbed, received and taken in... simply comes out. 

The following posts (and those to come later this week) are signs of my overflow. 

I hope you enjoy them.

One day

One day, I want to have enough time and energy to think of something like this, find people to join me and then perfect it!

My Giant

I have a younger brother named Peter who up until a mere six years ago, I referred to as my "little" brother. I am two years older and because of this honor, had full authority and leadership over him throughout our childhood. As a child, I was notorious for getting Peter into precarious situations and holding him hostage, until my parents came and rescued him. I would make him be "the dog" while playing "house" (leash included), "time him" as he went and got things for me... your basic power-happy-older-sibling-manipulation, really. 

My rule and reign over Peter, however, ended abruptly one day. 

We had been left home alone for an evening and we started fighting about something. (Prior to this event, our fights would consist of your basic sibling exchanges of verbal and physical punches in which I ALWAYS came out victorious.) But, that evening was different. Our fight began as normal, following your basic teenage fight format "You little ____"/"I am going to ____ you"/"If you even ____, I will _____". However, somewhere in the middle of the fight, after saying something that really made him mad, Peter lunged towards me, picked me off the ground by my shoulders, looked me dead in the eye and said, "If you ever say that to me again or touch me, I will hurt you." As he let me go, I fell to the ground stunned. It was then that I realized that he really was bigger than me. Somewhere in the midst of my reign and rule, he had grown over a foot taller than me, gained a significantly lower voice and had enough physical presence to shut me up. 

I was no longer the boss.

I have since come to terms with the fact that I can no longer boss Peter around and wouldn't dare enter into a physical contest of strength. I have settled into my stature and assumed a less powerful dominion. I now refer to Peter as "my giant"... simply because he is. From my vantage point, he is huge. 

Well, apparently I remark about his height quite a bit, even to my students. Yesterday, as we were talking about how some trees in the rain forest are over 15 feet tall, we began comparing 15 feet to things we can see. The conversation went like this...

"Are they bigger than our cars?" Girl A asked.

"Yes", I replied to stunned little faces.

"Are they bigger than the swings?" Boy A asked.

"Yes", I said. 

"Are they bigger than our principal?" Girl B asked.

"Yes", I said in the midst of "wow" and "whoa" swirling around me.

And then I called on Boy B.

"Boy B?"

And in a hushed, shockingly reverent voice, Boy B asked, "Mrs. Cunningham are they bigger than your brother?"

"Yes, they are, Boy B." I replied softly.

"Wow," he said. "They must be really huge".

Tired

It's been awhile.

Too much has happened in the last two weeks. Things I never expected, planned or prepared for. And I am now sitting, wrestling actually with the residue and as a result, I am tired. My brain, my emotions, my body needs rest. It feels good to say that, good to claim, that yes, life has for a bit worn me out. 

...

On the upside, I feel an anticipation for good things to come. I don't know much of what the next few months will look like, but I will say that growing deep somewhere beyond my fatigue is an excitement. 

And that alone is refreshing.

I am off to read, to fall asleep in my favor position--in the pages of a book.

More to come this week!