We had dinner at Grandpa’s, as usual. But this year we decided to actually eat at the table and put the food on the buffet, so i tackled the job of cleaning off the buffet with Jamie’s help. It was no easy task, but i’d say it was pretty rewarding. First Grandpa’s jungle of plants had to be moved to the bedroom, and then all the junk had to be removed from the buffet and dusted and put back after the windows and the buffet itself had been cleaned. Whew! The meal was delicious (thanks Mom!), and we got to enjoy it comfortably.

I found this guy while cleaning, and he became the centerpiece.

Aunt Mary Kaye brought her little dog Joey

Mom, Mary Kaye, Lindsey, John, Chuck, Tim & Jamie

Not pictured is Grandpa, and of course myself. It was a somewhat morose dinner, as the family isn’t feeling particularly thankful this year. We still have each other though, as Mom pointed out, and that’s certainly something to be grateful for. I’m grateful for my job and my wonderful boyfriend, and for the friends i’ve made and re-made this year.

It’s all snowy right now in Iowa, but that’s not what’s got me feeling down. I’m trying to dislodge my foot from between my jaws and i’m pretty bad at that. With the dual-bad-excuse of alcohol and the internet, i’ve said a lot of stupid things lately, and i’m sorry. I went to the dermatologist yesterday and he says i have hyperlinear palms.

too many lines on my hands
and too many words in my mouth.

Go cameraphone! I’m feeling a little more comfortable with my electronic gadgets lately, since i’ve figured out how to make the iPod shuffle, and the cameraphone flash. I can’t get the G1 for less than $400 because i’m one of a few people T-Mobile doesn’t feel they need to impress, so i’m thinking of switching providers for a while to show them…

Back to the story. We headed to Iowa City on Saturday so that Nathan could show me what his college life was like. He took me around the parts of campus that weren’t damaged by the flood, including the Natural History Museum, the old capitol building and the library. Then my feet started to hurt, because i didn’t happen to have the foresight to wear or bring shoes that i can walk in for more than an hour. We went to get lunch and the first two places Nathan tried to take me to were not there anymore, so we settled for pizza-by-the-slice and were both feeling rather grumpy.

We decided the best thing to do was head back to Coral Ridge mall and get me some new shoes. I bought running shoes, since that was the only comfortable shoe i could sorta chalk up to need. They’re ugly, but functional. Then we went to Nina & Karl’s place. We got to see their apartment all pretty and clean before it got flooded on Sunday, but i’m getting ahead of myself. The four of us visited for a while and then headed to the Vine downtown, where i remembered that a restaurant’s appeal is sometimes not its atmosphere. Hawkeye fans apparently CLAP at football games on TV… i thought that was odd. The burgers were fantastic and the beer got us sufficiently tipsy, but it was only seven when we finished and so we headed to one more bar. Nathan showed me the proper Iowa way to push and kick and swing on things whilst running from one location to the next. Nina and Karl drove.

Sunday morning Nathan and i had breakfast at Hamburg Inn, where apparently a lot of U.S. Presidents have dined. We finished up the tour of downtown Iowa City and headed back to Des Moines. All in all, i think Iowa State’s campus is prettier, but Iowa City is a much cooler town than Ames. It was great to see Nina and Karl and their place, and to get a taste of what life is like for Hawkeyes. I’m not a traitor, i promise - i’m just getting to know the other side a little better.

I want a puppy!!!

Death is something i never had to really deal with until about a year ago. I remember people in my stepfather’s family dying when my mother was married to him, and occasionally a friend’s grandmother would pass away or a kid i’d known in school would commit suicide, but never anyone i was really close to. Then Joel died. And then Jason. Then Grandma. And now Joe. If these deaths haven’t affected me directly, they’ve completely upturned the lives of people i am or until recently was extremely close to. This is a new feeling for me. I always knew it was coming, but i never imagined that it would just suddenly begin and not stop, and i didn’t have any way of anticipating how it would really feel.

I guess it makes you think about the people who are still in your life and how important they are to you, more than anything. I’m so grateful for all of my friends and family. Take care of yourselves! And take every opportunity to tell people that you love them while you still can.

I cannot believe it’s November! It’s about seventy degrees outside and has been for a few days now. Nathan and i spent a lot of time outdoors this weekend, and i took some photos of the flood aftermath out by Saylorville that i’m pretty happy with. I’m going back to my photographic roots–black and white, natural light, and texture. I love it.

Roots of a driftwood tree.

We found shells along the beach. I don’t keep things like this anymore, i just borrow them.

This one is my favorite.

Also, i went back through some of my photo archives yesterday and rediscovered some shots from one of the last few Boheme poetry slams that i think are really beautiful exactly the way i took them. No editing, thankuverymuch Ethos. This was my last semester of school, so the photo is about a year and a half old.

Ghost Boy

God i love photography. And god this is the most beautiful fall i’ve ever known.

This is my Halloween costume. I think it’s pretty darn good.

Me & Bryan, post-race

Bryan, Me & Pete

I love my flyaway hair. Speaking of which, i got a haircut. It’s pretty cute.

Nathan and i found a little wooly caterpillar later that day - a live one, surprisingly. We’ve seen lots and lots of smooshed ones lately. I’m not sure what’s going on with their population this year or why they love to crawl along sidewalks, but i’m glad i finally found a nice big live one to play with. I don’t think i’d done that since i was a little kid, back in Eugene.

We named him Steven. At first i thought i’d keep him, but then i decided that was mean so i just let him do a little mini Race for the Cure over my hands for a while before letting him go. We experimented with putting him on different trees in Nathan’s yard until we found one that we thought was good and safe.

We also carved pumpkins this weekend, but mine sucked. I tried to do the Obama logo but A. that’s really unoriginal, and B. i bought a white mini-pumpkin that turned out to actually be thicker than a normal pumpkin, so i couldn’t get it to glow like i had hoped. Nathan’s is cute though…

It was my idea to put the seeds in the eyes. At least i can take cred for that.

Stranger : That’s a pretty ring you’ve got.

Me: Oh thank you, i got it in Paris.

Stranger: What is it..?

Me: (showing it to her) It’s a rose.

Stranger: Oh, yeah i’ve got a rose on my ankle. My mom’s name is Rose, my middle name is rose, and i’ve got two girls; [Sarah] Rose and [Jennifer] Rose. We’re all a bunch of roses.

Me: Hm, wow.

I turn back to the counter, assuming the conversation to be over. A minute of silence.

Stranger: I don’t like silver, but that’s a really pretty ring. Is is silver or white gold?

Me: It’s silver, yeah.

Silence again. I converse with the pharmacist for a minute and continue waiting.

Stranger: Is it raining out there? It wasn’t raining when i came in but it’s looking really dark. Doesn’t it look dark out there?

Me: No, it’s not raining. Just threatening. Yeah it does look dark out there.

The pharmacist asks if i’d like to pay for my groceries there. I say yes, she bags my apples, apple cider, cereal and milk.

Stranger: Oh my kids love that stuff.

Me: What… the cereal?

Stranger: Naw the… cedar.

I nod. I ask the pharmacist whether i can get a roll of quarters if i get cash back when i pay. She’s not sure, has to check with a higher-up.

Stranger: Yeah, you can. I’ve done it before.

By now it’s been cleared, i’ve swiped my card, hit the appropriate buttons.

Stranger: You just pay with your debit card, and put in your pin number, and when it says cash back you hit ‘yes’–

Me: Yeah i just wasn’t sure whether she had quarters here or not.

Stranger: –And then they give you quarters. You just weren’t sure if she had quarters..?

The transaction ends. I say “Have a nice day” and smile at the woman as i leave, figuring the poor thing probably gets the cold shoulder on a regular basis.

Seeing each other every-other day just isn’t cutting it for us anymore, so Nathan and i went out again last night. We went to see Religulous, which was nothing if not entertaining.

Commedian Bill Maher says it’s time for we who doubt to speak up about it, so i suppose i’ll go ahead and voice my opinion on the film.

First of all, I’m pretty certain this film isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about what they believe. Religion is deep-seated, and I haven’t come across any particular creative work yet that i think could single-handedly change a person’s entire outlook on life. Atheists and Agnostics generally seem to think that the way they see things is so obviously correct that they fail to open anyone’s eyes by really exploring and working out the questions. Secular works tend instead to tout a certain point of view as fact the same way religion does.

This particular documentary, being conducted by a commedian, is certainly entertaining for those of us who already understand where he’s coming from, but i think the way the questions were asked was moreso poking fun at people than really trying to understand what they believe and why. He interviewed people who seem to take their religion to the extreme–Televangelists, the self-proclaimed reincarnation of Christ, a man who helps homosexuals become heterosexual (and although he was himself gay once does not believe that anyone is inherently gay), a man who portrays Jesus at a theme park in Israel, etc. I’d be interested in hearing more from the theologians and the average people on the street.

I’d love to see this movie turned into a television series, because i think that Maher made a good point in the end–that religion is really the cause of most of the death and destruction in the world–but didn’t illustrate that point thoroughly enough. It was a fun film that came to a sobering conclusion, and it seemed slightly disjointed. I see the connection, but it wasn’t really shown to me. The idea that people must be skeptical of religious ideas because of the tragedy that we really create or allow to be created in the name of God reminded me of Sam Harris’s book The End of Faith, of which i’ve only read a couple chapters. It’s a heavy topic, but horribly important.

Interesting points raised by the movie:

• Most people agree that the gospels of Mormonism and Scientology are ridiculous. God is a human being who lives on another planet..? There are aliens inside all of us called Thetans?? But we accept the stories of Christianity whole-heartedly: A virgin birth. Rising from the dead. Talking snakes and burning bushes. Aren’t those equally ridiculous?
• The story of Christ is older than Christ. It bears striking similarity to the stories of prophets of older religions. I’d never heard this before. A carpenter born on the 25th of December to a virgin performed miracles, had twelve apostles, was killed and then rose from the dead. Nope, not Jesus Christ, but an ancient Egyptian myth.
• Atheism is a luxury. When you’re in real peril–hiding in a foxhole, for example–you reach out for whatever gives you comfort, and in almost all cases that is God, in one form or another. A higher power. We who have little to fear may have the luxury of not clinging to something greater than ourselves. I’ve noticed this lately, but never heard it put quite this way. It makes sense.

Personally, i’ve seen and heard plenty that paints religion in general as being pretty much ridiculous. I agree with it, and apparently about 16% of people now agree with it. But i still feel like part of a very small minority that thinks that the idea of God or a great spirit or a higher power of any sort is probably also ridiculous. I want to hear people talk about the root of this thing, which is God. Is it really only fear that drives people to believe?

Spiralling by Keane

Bar #1 of the evening

The first bar the three of us visited was a piano bar in a high-rise with a spectacular view of the city lights. I had an eight-dollar mojito that really ought to have been my last drink of the night. But…

Bar #2

..We continued on to the Deschutes bar, where i ordered a Jubelale. It wasn’t my taste, so i traded Dust for whatever he was drinking.

Me & Dust

The third and final bar we visited was the Blue Moon, where i refrained from partaking in the refreshments.

Bar #3

Saturday i felt pretty awful, and that was the day of Dad’s wedding. He had to get me some nausea medicine so that i would be able to to function as his photographer. It was a nice ceremony, and the Hungarian dinner afterward was delicious.

Me, Dad & Dustin

I had to stay in that night to sleep off my maladies, and the next day Dustin and i hit Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom Rack before heading back to the airport. He flew back to Oklahoma, and i headed to California to visit our grandparents. Dad and Mary joined up with me there on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the three of us headed to Laguna Beach.

We had all sorts of wonderful food and drinks over the course of the week. The Adamo family is pretty small, and all were present except for Dustin for a couple of the feasts. We talked about our ancestors and i wrote down all the dates and names i could glean from the older generation. I’m contemplating going back onto Ancestry.com to try to track down some long-lost cousins so i won’t feel this mild obligation to have children anymore.

We watched some classic movies and struggled with the new technology, listened to forties music and discussed various physical maladies. The weather was perfect, of course, and yet we never used the patio because it was either “too hot” or “too cold” to do so. Grandma got mad at me once or twice for not saying “goodnight” or “good morning”. It wouldn’t have been a trip to Grandma’s house without that happening. I think i’d better visit more often, for multiple reasons.

Happy Steph. <3

The photo collage i put together for the service

The cover of the program i created for the service

The chapel where the service was held

After the service the family had a big dinner together, and then we gathered at Grandpa’s house and sat around a fire pit in the back yard talking for hours. It was really lovely, and i only wish that all my siblings could have been there. I heard talk of an upcoming family reunion, so hopefully a similar gathering will take place under happier circumstances soon.

We miss you, Grandma.

Bryan, Robby, Erica and Jesse

Neal and me being gangstas

bar lights at the Red Monk

Yesterday was successively the peak and the crash of the past week or two. I had an incredible date after work, and when i got home i realized i’d missed several calls and messages from my family. My grandmother had passed away an hour previous, much to everyone’s sad surprise. I was able to be with my mother within a few minutes of hearing the news, and so were quite a few of our family members, for which we’re thankful. I’ve never actually experienced a death so close to home, and so i don’t know what to expect from here on out. I’m really grateful for all the support i’ve gotten from friends both old and new. I’m doing alright. I love you guys.

This is just how the story goes.

So i got this little Target coupon book in the mail yesterday. I guess the former resident of this apartment was on their mailing list for one reason or another, and i’m benefiting from that. It’s two dozen or so pages long, and each spread has three coupons on one side and a portrait on the other, like so:

I needed a bunch of stuff anyway, so i took it with me to Target today. I found a couple of things that i thought were blog-worthy.

I didn’t even need any pasta, per se–or have a coupon for it, for that matter–but this packaging grabbed me. I thought it was lovely, especially compared to all the other bread-and-butter pasta packages.

I checked out the ice cream ’cause i happened to have a coupon for it, and - lo and behold!:

Green tea Haagen Dazs?? Hell-o! I’ve been looking for green tea ice cream for years and all i could find was some dairy-free crap that tasted as bad as it sounds. But now A. i’ve found some, B. it’s freakin’ Haagen Dazs, and C. I saved a dollar on it, which makes it extra-sweet.

I bought a ton of stuff, and when i got home i flipped through the coupon book again to see if there were any coupons left that i might use, and suddenly the design made a whole lot of sense:

How clever!

And the final reason that i love Target is that soon, with the help of my dear friend Kelly who occasionally works at Target and therefore gets an employee discount, i shall acquire a new iPod touch for as much as $57 off the retail price. Hell. Yes.

So, the new iPod touch has Nike + built in! And actually you can get that in a software update for your old iPod touch, too, but (Edit: Gizmodo has confirmed that Nike + only works with the new iPod touch, not the old one or the iPhone) the new one is obviously cooler and they’ve dropped the price by $100. The 32gb model is still $399, but i’m thinking as soon as they start having to refurbish them in a few months i’m gonna GET ONE!

Christmas would be just about perfect…

Made by paddy

Those are all computer-related icons. I looove these! I found them on Etsy, totally worth the money. I feel like a true web geek now.