hey there

i'm trying to get back into the habit
of using my blog more.
i used to blog several times a week
but that was mostly back during
xanga's heyday.
sometimes i miss those days.

tonight i feel like summarizing.
a bullet-point entry of sorts
except the drawn-out kind.

speaking of bullets,
my boyfriend and i almost got caught
in gunfire whilst driving through
north minneapolis last monday.
bullets rang out 100 feet in front of us
and folks went running.
we were shaken but fine
and as far as i know no one was shot.
it's not my favorite part of town.

both scott's garden and mine are doing great.
spring came very late this year and our only
hope of having a decent harvest would be
if fall arrived late too.
i am happy to say that it is still in the 70's
nearly every day, sometimes even 80. :)
in spite of the warm fall
the shorter daylight hours are encouraging
the leaves to turn and it's so pretty.

i think i am almost sub-consciously
preparing for winter.
wintertime here lasts many, many months
and this means lots of time in the house.
i've never liked the color or decorating
in my dining room
(which is very open to the livingroom)
and i finally worked up the motivation
to paint the room and also change everything else
about it that i found drab.
the room has gone from being a dark reddish-maroon
to a bright spring green.
now i'm working on curtains, photos for the wall, candles,
all of the this and that.

okay, my boyfriend and i
are playing with legos (really!)
and i've got to get back to building a castle.

-nicole

pins and needles

two weeks ago i was diagnosed with
carpal tunnel syndrome
and i'm not very happy about it.
my left thumb has been tingly all evening
and sometimes i awake in the morning to
painful and clumsy hands.

i thought only people who spent
their days typing got this disorder
but i was ignorant.

natually i've been reading online about cts
so that i can properly understand and deal with it.
tonight i came across this website
and this gem of a photo.



though he promises that
"the hand center will care for you,
just as i care for my own family"
i would not let this guy near my hands.
he's way too tan and way too excited
about that needle.

see ya, rnc

i'll admit i was excited about the convention,
and not because i'm a republican (i'm not)
but because i thought having my city in the national
spotlight would be exciting.

many riots, peaceful protests and
(hundreds) of arrests later, i'm glad it's over.
the national news hasn't had much to say about the
conflict between st. paul police and the protestors
and press but it's been significant.

not having been over there myself
i tried to believe that the police were being reasonable
and that those who were being tear-gassed, tazed, beat,
detained and arrested were being altogether
unreasonable and dangerous.
i honestly knew better but i wanted to believe
that only those who were being a threat were
themselves being threatened.

and then wednesday afternoon my boyfriend, scott,
rode his bike through downtown minneapolis
to pick up a textbook he'd ordered
that was waiting for him at the post office.
he biked along a road he takes often
as it has a bike lane.
during the ride he saw a small barricade in the road,
nothing too significant
and there were no signs to indicate
that he couldn't continue on through-
no construction or anything that might explain it.
(we now suppose that someone of significance was in the area).
he noticed some officers on the corner but they were
just standing around and so scott road along,
thinking nothing of it.

halfway down the block the officers saw him and one of them
yelled, "hey! get out of here! you can't be here!"
scott immediately obeyed,
turned around and went back out the way he came
and was going to find another way
to get to the other side of downtown.
but for some reason the police weren't gonna have that
and about six officers started to chase him.
one of the officers yelled to the others,
"anyone can grab him!"

scott was aware of the aggressive behavior
the police in st. paul have been exhibiting all week
and was very afraid
so he pedaled with all his might
until he was safely away from the officers.

i got so upset when he told me the story later.
it's a good thing the officers didn't lay a hand on him because
i.would.have.come.unglued.

good-bye national spotlight.
wasn't really worth it.

-nicole