Open windows

Posted: February 27, 2008 | Author: Mika | Filed under: All's Well That Ends Well | Leave a comment

In the past week I’ve had three or four completely unexpected but absolutely fantastic surprises. One, of course, was getting a new rat (NO, I have not named him yet…patience, Iago). The next was torrential rains on Sunday, which may not sound fantastic but actually is. And here’s why: (1) it was not snow; (2) torrential rains remind me of Home. I never really thought Fairfield was a cool place, and maybe it’s not so much, but I still think of it as Home. Besides…the weather is pretty hard to argue with. Sure, it gets hot in the summers, but if you had a swimming pool — or better yet, a friend with a swimming pool — you’d be alright. Anyway. I just liked having to leap over huge puddles in every driveway on Sunday (I went Visiting Teaching).

The third surprise is one that you need to understand Utah to really get. Yesterday and today have been gorgeous weather. I mean it. I went outside in a t-shirt and sandals. The sun is shining (but the ice is slippery…no, wait, the snow has melted), there are birds chirping, and except for the putrid color of the dead grass everywhere, it might almost be getting to be spring. I think part of the reason it’s so enjoyable is because I know in a day or two we’ll be back to blizzards and torrential rains. (You’ve lived here too, right? Then you know exactly what I mean!)

So today, I am basking in the relative warmth by having the curtains up and the windows open. Sometimes nice things just happen. I’m glad I have a rat to share them with.

(And I know, I know, I need to name the rat. But I just can’t find the right name. There are a lot of cute names, but none that I want to call him. Right now he is sitting on my shoulder and every once in a while he leans over to lick my neck. Um. Thanks?)

My life as a monolith

Posted: February 25, 2008 | Author: Mika | Filed under: Of Mice and Men | 1 Comment

I don’t write anymore. It used to be one of my favorite things to do, but I seem to have lost whatever touch I had, as well as much interest in writing. Since most of my dear readers have probably not been reading my blog long enough to have seen this before, here is a piece I wrote in March 2005. After the break, some updates.

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I hate having you impose limitations on me. I want to decide how I’m defined; let me learn what my limits are. We allow children to have aspirations that may seem ridiculous, yet I am told there are some things I cannot ever dream of becoming. The fact is, though you say I’m just a young woman, I am other things as well. fascinating things you never imagined for me. Let me share with you just one aspect of what I am. Let me tell you about my life as a monolith.

From Merriam-Webster Online:
mono·lith, n. [mä-n&l-“ith]
1 : a single great stone often in the form of an obelisk or column
2 : a massive structure
3 : an organized whole that acts as a single unified powerful or influential force
[etymology: French monolithe, from monolithe consisting of a single stone, from Latin monolithus, from Greek monolithos, from mon– + lithos stone]

To this I add my own definition, based primarily on my knowledge of Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock. This magnificent monolith is, obviously, quite ancient. Anyone who has seen pictures can attest to the brilliant changes in the color of the rock depending on the time of day, weather, etc. And anyone who has visited Uluru knows there is something about it — nothing you could put in a dictionary, or even into words — that speaks.

Well, how does that apply to me? It’s simple. Though there is something about me constant, ancient, unchanging — you could call it my soul — I will always be slightly different from day to day, moment to moment. Never the exact same color twice. But to really experience those colors takes time. It would be impossible for you to understand me by superficial, detached conversations, no matter how much you appreciated or admired me. Once we’ve deepened, though, you’ll see those things you never imagined for me, and there won’t be words. You’ll see past my outside to how vast and massive my soul is, the imposing monolith. Maybe then you’ll start to recognize similar traits in yourself, traits we all have in common.

Then you can tell me about your life as a monolith.

—-

I know what you’ve all been waiting for is the name I picked for the new rat. First, let me just briefly list the suggested names (many thanks to all of you!):

Milo
Saddleshoe
Twinkle
Crispix
Palomino
Nemo
Monkey
Jasper
Reepicheep
Valentino
Tickles
Skunk
Frances
Cricket
P2 (what we have been calling him until we get a name, for Puppy #2)

Well, since this is going to be my pet, I’m narrowing the list down. Please vote for your favorite of these three: Monkey, Cricket/Crispix (similar enough to me), Jasper.