22 things

TODAY IS MY 22nd BIRTHDAY

by now you know the things i love (i.e. the pittsburgh penguins) + am interested in (i.e. everything), the things that inspire + excite me (i.e. YOU), so here are 22 things, random + (hopefully) endearing things, that you probably did not know about me…

one. i seriously adore packing for any trip of any length, and will do so days in advance, but it takes me weeks, literally weeks to unpack.

two. i eat most finger foods with a fork: french fries, pizza, orange scones, even klondike bars (okay those i eat with a spoon).

three. i’m a high school drop out, i got my GED at sixteen, and my friends threw me my own mock prom. it was AWESOME!

four. i sing the theme to mad men whenever i get really excited about something. it’s entirely instrumental.

five. i can be incredibly crass, lewd, and profane. seriously. we’re talking off the charts verbally obscene. especially during hockey games. no joke, it can be borderline surreal.

six. i’m a medical procedure virgin. i’ve never even had to have my blood drawn, but everyone else in my family has health problems.

seven. i have zero first cousins, and very few extended relatives period.

eight. i take 90% of my showers at night. the later the better.

nine. i sleep in several layers of pajamas…even in the summertime

ten. i am a total TV junkie. i watch/have watched many many shows, and even if i don’t watch it, i’m always up to date on all TV news. i also have trouble not judging people who don’t like any TV.

eleven. i started going to live concerts at age five, and have never looked back. to date i’ve been to around sixty-five concerts, but that’s probably rounding down. even though i’ve become busier over the last few years, i still go to at least 4-5 a year…usually with my mom :)

twelve. 76 is my favorite number. i also love 12.

thirteen. two of our cats (the ones you don’t see as much because the youngest, chuck, is by far the most photogenic) are turning sixteen this month, which means they have been around for three-quarters of my life, which means when they finally “go”, i will be an absolute wreck.

fourteen. i grew up watching soap operas religiously. another world, specifically, ruined my perception of love.

fifteen. i shook jack johnson’s hand before a concert in ohio two summers ago. we were also in the front row of the GA section of the pavilion. the entire venue was sold out, and to look behind us and see tens of thousands of people…it was one of the highlights of my life.

sixteen. i. love. cheese.

seventeen. even though i don’t blog about it too much, my brother + i are total and complete lord of the rings and harry potter nuts. we’re talking, thinking about getting tattoos, have been involved in ongoing discussions about certain characters + plot points for over nine years now, couldn’t love either more level of obsession. jordan lived in florida when books five + seven of HP came out. he flew up for 48 hrs both times just so we could read them together. yep. we’re those kinds of super mega fans. (but we don’t like the harry potter movies. i stopped seeing them after the fifth one. i love the story too much to see it be mishandled so badly.)

eighteen. i get claustrophobic pretty easily. it sucks.

nineteen. i have an absolutely hideous passport photo. it’s hilarious!

twenty. when i was very very young we had a hammock in the side yard. when we moved, none of the trees on our property worked right for one, and it made my five-year-old self extremely upset. i’ve yearned for another hammock ever since.

twenty-one. in 2011 i intend on living alone for the first time in my life. i couldn’t be any more afraid or excited. :)

twenty-two. my closest family + friends rarely call me alison. i often go by al, but mostly they call me missy. (random, i know)

THANK YOU…

for your continual kindness, compassion, humor, and wit. i love you all!

xo Alison

something surrendered

the weather is morose today…

and it makes me want to buy {this umbrella} shared by {a lovely being}

it is morose and gray and chilling. even the birds are quiet. if yesterday reflected that afternoon i spent at moonstone beach in california last october, then today ohio is a moor in northern england i’ve never been to but am very familiar with. when i woke up this morning, i immediately padded downstairs, made my tea extra hot, and lit a single amber candle. i couldn’t decide what music i wanted to listen to while i edited my film criticism paper, so i made a playlist compiling the most gentle, deepening, rain worthy artists whose names start with A.

adam arcuragi + the acorn + alexi murdoch

it’s like they’ve been creating music together forever. i like it.

so, anyway, here is what happened at my mother’s oncology appointment yesterday. basically, none of the numbers are good. all of the numbers are scary. we’ve officially entered the upsetting and confusing “would the side effects of the chemo be worse than the symptoms you’re experiencing now” valley of uncertainty and annoyance. for now they have decided to hold off as long as possible. which is july. not two or three years like it was estimated in january. july. as in three months from now, as in harry potter’s birthday, post nhl season, when we watch 1776 and cry. that is, if she doesn’t develop a major infection and/or end up in the hospital between now and then, in which case july would become today.

ugh.

positive thoughts, right? positive, uplifting, smile inducing thoughts. such as…

this moment ::

sidney tied for the rocket richard trophy

{yep. that’s our boy}

these songs ::

the annuals’ “springtime”

mimicking bird’s “burning stars”

“the inexorable march of time” by the farewell circuit

bon iver’s cover of “come talk to me”

“the end” by peasant

{all of which can be found here}

these moments ::

spring cleaning

outside the college of arts and sciences

outside bob evans :)

aravis, my familiar

splash of cream + two splendas

antique breakfast

since i started writing this post, something surrendered in the atmosphere, and the sun has come out in full, spectacular force as though on cue. i’m thinking about moving my study session out onto the porch with a huge cotton blanket and a pudding snack for company. which in itself is another thing to smile about.

have a lovely tuesday❤

cheers [darlin']

Alison

heroes and avocations

and all the good you’ve done will soon be swept away
you’ve begun to matter more than the things you say
~judas, jesus christ superstar

if you celebrate easter, i hope you’ve had a lovely sunday! ❤

so i realized this morning that for all my ambivalence about this holiday, jesus is all over my house. there’s the framed antique photo in the living room my mother decorated with various shades of glitter glue, complete with glitter stigmata, which we would have to hide when my grandmother and great-grandfather used to visit. there’s mary’s face over several candles in the kitchen. there’s my deep love of the musical jesus christ superstar and no-to-secret ambition to play to role of judas someday {he has the best songs}. and there’s that junk mail anglican jesus bookmark taped to the bathroom mirror as a daily dose of inspiration and irony, looking complacently somewhere past my right shoulder as i brush my teeth. although to be fair, buddha makes his fair share of appearances. as does ganesh and st. francis of asissi and various mythological figures. which got me thinking…every other aspect of my life is something akin to a patchwork quilt: my musical tastes, my educational background, my heroes and avocations and relationships, so why should my spirituality be any different?

okay. that’s enough religious talk. here are some photos from my weekend ::

addictive

wolf + stories

birthday cheer

bookshop

oh my

other delightful things about today ::

:: yummy soup + french bread, book shopping, and sugary donuts with a wonderful friend on her birthday

:: a regal gold box filled with decadent truffles from see’s candies

:: getting ready to put all the potted plants back out on the porch

:: finding volume A of the norton anthology of american literature for $1.99

:: making pretend polaroids on polaroin.com

:: the new essie nail polish line that includes the shade “neo whimsical”

:: finally buying a paperback copy of harry potter and the deathly hallows, thus accepting it really is the final installment

:: the pillow section at world market

:: reveling in the OT win the pens pulled off yesterday

:: lusting after these things

{antique bird cage scarf/snoozer loser ny}{piano man umbrella/modcloth}

what are some delightful things about your sunday?

cheers [darlin']

Alison

the geek love in me

it’s friday & i am smitten for…

:: photographs.

rest stop between akron, oh and cranberry, pa, my penguins gear haven

evening light

bliss

my new crosby jersey. my life is now complete!

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:: t.v. dexter, sarah connor chronicles, breaking bad, mad men, glee, the office. all of these dvds arrived at the library [have i mentioned lately we have one of the best library systems in the nation?] within days of each other and are now stacked up on the television, beckoning me with their special features and various gorgeous men.when it rains it pours, right? looks like the rest of my spring break is going to spent in my grey blue sleep robe, the sun shining behind closed curtains, with copious amounts of tea and toast. to which is say…joy!

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:: harry potter. there’s something about spring break that brings out the geek love in me. every year i find myself devouring the harry potter series as though i’m eleven, fourteen, sixteen again. there was the infamous spring break of ’01 where i re-read the first three in two nights, the fourth my the fourth night, and started over again before my mother convinced me to join functioning society for a few days, which resulted in what we now refer to as “harry potter munchies”.  i’m always somewhere in one of the books, but this week i’ve been really reading them, less as a fan who grew up with the messy haired hero, who has that impenetrably connection with the story and characters in that special way only a childhood love can, but as a literature fan, a reader, a grown.up. and…my god they’re good. in every way that counts.

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:: an inadvertant haiku.

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:: balloons. as you may remember, the night before opening ceremonies, my friend heather and i blew up roughly 45 red, white, and blue balloons for our olympic celebration. we took a few and made a funky cool balloon mobile type thing, and the rest we let float across the floor, in a fun, celebratory, albeit semi annoying type way. [try walking in heels through a path obstructed by giant balloons] well, it’s been over a month now since we blew up those dozens of balloons, and in true cooper fashion we haven’t touched any of the decorations [i have issues with closure. let's not even go into that]. recently the untied balloons have mysteriously gone missing. here’s what we know: there are about ten sequestered under the dining room table. about ten have drifted down the steps in the kitchen to the basement, i suspect at the will of the cats that are probably using them in some fiendish midnight plan of theirs. a few balloons have predictably popped along the way, resulting in anyone who is around shrieking, then laughing. but let’s do the math, folks. that still leaves around fifteen balloons missing. fifteen missing balloons. and i can’t figure it out. our house is small and there are only so many places for them to go. did they dissolve with the resolution of the winter games? do we have balloon elves, scurrying in at night and stealing them? where have all these balloons gone?

i have to say it’s a little disconcerting.

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:: weheartit.com.

{psst: want to join in the fun? here’s “my heart”}

have a wonderful weekend!

cheers [darlin']

Alison

unkempt rowboats

don’t threaten me with love, baby.

let’s just go walking in the rain.

~ billie holiday

it’s raining here. it’s raining wonderful, cool spring rain. it’s dark and dreadful and it’s a little after 10am and the candles are already lit. all the blanket are fanned out and the tea is hot and sweet. i love it.

it’s also spring break for me. i especially need to soak in this spring break because i’m taking a poetry class first thing this summer, which means i won’t get a proper break until late june. then i’ll have three full weeks off before i go back for another summer session. oh, joy. ;)

but here are some genuine ”oh, joy” things i want to accomplish this next week ::

:: take the long way to mogadore reservoir and take pictures of the wrens and unkempt rowboats

:: watch old movies like the thin man, or his girl friday, or the valley of decision…or all three

:: have a wine and cards night with some friends

:: put electric president on constant rotation and have a spontaneous midnight dance party to first rate people

:: spend the afternoon at java jo coffee bar in berlin, ohio, eating delicious panini sandwiches and watching elderly couples walk by with their fanny packs and amish fudge

:: start my witchcraft in early modern britain paper like a good girl, and make note cards for the next exam

:: take a day trip to pittsburgh to wander around pitt and figure out when i’ll finally be able to transfer…and try not to stalk the boys

:: survive on mixed berry smoothies, pastrami sandwiches, coffee and girl scout cookies

:: fill up my favorite mustard leather hobo with colored pencils, my moleskine, adrienne rich’s collected early poems, and bic pens and walk to alder pond, spending some time writing at the overlook

:: have a geek night that includes playing lord of the rings monopoly…while watching glee…and discussing the king’s cross chapter from deathly hallows

:: wear open toe shoes even when it’s not really warm enough

:: finish breaking bad s.2 and the john adams miniseries

::  read your blog

have a glorious weekend!

cheers [darlin']

Alison