type of arson in which a hamster is set on fire and let loose in the building to be destroyed in order to prevent detection of the cause. often associated with insurance fraud, sometimes in conjunction with city orders for the building to be demolished due to extreme structural deficiencies or otherwise hazardous conditions.
or, you could just plug in a giant home-made construction fan with an inadequate electrical cord for the draw of the device and accidentally leave it on over the weekend following begging for leniency from the city council late on a friday afternoon.
if i had dreamed that i could actually make a living doing music, i would have practiced a lot more, and it might actually have turned out to be possible. still considering taking cello lessons again, despite the fact that it's definitely too late for that. except i could be practicing on my own and i almost never do, so maybe i should force myself into that discipline before i find a teacher and buy myself a new bow.
mmm.... i really want a new bow.... and a looping pedal....
www.myspace.com/jelloslave
what i really need to do is just pick something and get over the fact that there is no possible way i can be as excellent at every hobby as i'd like. so much musicking and gourmet cheffery and yarny-weaveration and trying to read all these books that someone calls important and the never-ending quest for respectable upper body strength.
i cannot be zoe keating and mollie katzen and kelley petkun and margaret atwood and freaking keri shrug all at the same time. it might be time to acknowledge this.
also: summer's looking busy.
posted by renee 2:39 PM
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Favorite Tee Shirt of the Day
"The Bible talks about Saint Paul, but it doesn't mention Minneapolis"
in yellow on black, worn by an old hunchback man wearing a big backpack and headphones and clutching his discman nervously while scuttling down the skyway.
today i worked three jobs, twelve hours during which i spent no time at all in front of a computer
i would like more of that, please
also, facing an uncomfortable dilemma where i was awarded something i did not earn but righting the wrong involves pointing out the unethical behavior of the person who basically did me a favor with consequences following which involve me doing a bunch of work i'd rather not do anyway which ultimately would not be examined closely enough to change the results except, potentially, out of spite for my judgment
thus, contemplating the burning of bridges.
ALSO: working at the city council is great. REAL LIFE, you know? the crazy people and the angry people and the criminals showed up tonight. what seems to matter to the staff is work getting done and doing the right thing. and man-o-man that's refreshing.
tonight a slumlord made the following argument: 1.) the inspector said my porch was enclosed so he could cite me for lead paint. 2.) but then he cited me for two broken windows. that hardly sounds enclosed to me. 3.) so then i fixed the windows like he said.
and a tax-defrauder said to the cop who came and sat near him: "tase me, bro" the cop declined.
posted by renee 11:15 PM
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
I am afraid The decay of idealism Is inevitable
Accumulated disappointment Weighs heavy On lofty dreams, so Shrinking Sinking Toward something manageable Is the only possible fate
So we stop dreaming of a world worth living in And paint a picture instead Of the little place we might carve out of it Not considering the happiness of others But only our right to escape And forget
If this steady decline Corresponds to our stockpiling Our impenetrability
I dream for myself An immaterial life
And for the earth Just that each generation With all of our more-and-more Might keep its eyes open to the now oh so visible struggle Of this aching planet A little longer than the last
posted by renee 12:17 PM
Sunday, May 11, 2008
friday pedal to midway in the stands chatting away what's the score again?
talking too loudly the old guys in front of us think we're a riot
to the parking lot for a mid-game beer. inside they rob you sober
later friday everyone here's white especially the band, but they play prince covers
you're from st thomas and drive a mercedes benz. i'm sure you earned it.
even later friday a banana fight like flirting adolescents yellow mush, shrieking
saturday blonde highlights, fake tan a BA in marketing? welcome to uptown
eight dollar french fries and twelve dollar martinis (ambiance markup)
pick up line: hey, babe let's have five kids together. showing commitment?
sunday up in my bedroom windows open, birdsong, breeze too hard to focus
writing haiku in stead of researching felon disenfranchisement
bracing myself for the IRB and beginning my hunt for funding for my masters thesis.
pretty freaking exciting, actually. i want to talk to 18 and 19 year olds living under their parents' section 8 voucher to find out what they think about their employment aspirations, educational goals and future housing careers. the fact that this makes me positively giddy should tell me something, perhaps, about what i should do for a living.
the other thing that makes me giddy is the prospect of bicycling to a minor-league baseball game where i plan to consume beer and cheese curds in the sunshine.
hooray for spring!
p.s. hopefully i will be inspired to write haiku, but not yet.
posted by renee 3:14 PM
Sunday, May 04, 2008
looking at motorcycles again, which is likely to become a spring ritual.
one ad on craigslist notes that XXL helmet, XXL jacket and XXXL chaps are included. the seller notes that he can no longer ride due to his knees....
and i think "your poor knees..."
harsh.
also: i poked around in a bunch of old houses today in the dayton's bluff neighborhood of east saint paul. most of the area is a historic preservation district and there are dozens of incredible turn of the century homes, most of which are now deteriorating pretty badly. i just love coming around the awkward corners and finding a staircase to an attic, a pristine built-in armoire surrounded by peeling paint, or a whole room that my general sense of space wouldn't have realized should be there. i can't imagine ever buying a house built after 1925. and i wish that the '80s had never happened - really ugly black and pink carpet should never cover up pine floors.
can't figure out when i got so obsessed with houses, or why...
theoretically, after graduation, i should start saving up for a downpayment for a house. but i really do want that motorcycle....
posted by renee 4:40 PM
