frail gestures

You Are 60% Weird

You're so weird, you think you're *totally* normal. Right? But you wig out even the biggest of circus freaks!

Here's a little quiz Y tagged me for:

2 moments in your life you'd like to erase:
1. When I was mugged in D.C.
2. I was really mean to a boy in my class when I was in seventh grade. I'm sure he's forgotten, but I still feel bad.

4 moments you'd like to relive:
1. Holding Mariah in the hospital a few days after she was born. I sat in my mom's lap and Mariah was in mine. I was nearly four.
2. A first kiss while waiting for the Batman ride at Six Flags in 1999.
3. Feeding my grandfather ("Pop") when he was in the Alzheimer's unit soon before he died.
4. Sitting in a chair in the House chamber.

2 places you wouldn't go to/go to again:
1. A certain crappy motel near the Jersey shore.
2. In any theater where "Gladiator" is showing.

4 places you can't wait to visit/visit again:
1. Montana. Beautiful.
2. Paris. It's cliche, but I want to go.
3. Belize. Such a mix of cultures and languages, I'm fascinated by it.
4. The house I grew up in.

2 foods you can't stand:
1. Olives
2. Veal (Blame Ms. Wagner)

4 foods you love:
1. Edamame
2. Oranges
3. Any kind of ice cream that involves chocolate
4. Coffee

2 songs that make you change the station:
1. "God Bless The USA" ("Where at least I know I'm free" -- what kind of line is that?!)
2. "Macarena" or equivalent dance craze.

4 songs you play over and over:
1. "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon.
2. "Walk Unafraid" by R.E.M.
3. "Good-Bye My Lover" by James Blunt (It's not a theme -- I promise.)
4. "Reservations" by Wilco.

2 books you'd never finish/read again:
1. Jon Stewart's "Naked Pictures of Famous People" -- I'm with Y on that one.
2. The Stand. I started this four years ago and have never finished it.

4 books you have read more than once, and/or will read again:
1. A Wrinkle in Time.
2. Little Women.
3. Pride and Prejudice.
4. Gone With the Wind.

I'm supposed to tag someone: Jennifer is next ...

The entire premise of this long-neglected blog has changed. Were I the melodramatic sort (moi?!), I would tell you I'm unemployed. But that would be misleading. Really, I'm doing the unthinkable. Actually, two unthinkables. First, I'm taking a month off. Second, I'M GOING TO LAW SCHOOL. What's really weird about the latter is that I'm leaving journalism. That I'm on my way to being an attorney seems -- and is -- far off. But leaving journalism? It's a lifestyle, a way of being, a way of thinking. I called a former co-worker while I was at the airport the other day to make sure they had somebody following the corruption cases I was watching. And, oh, I miss that! I had read in the Times that morning that Bob Ney won't run for re-election and Republicans can't replace Tom DeLay on the ballot. Soon after, Lieberman lost the Democratic nomination -- and where am I? Michigan, but more on that later.

Transitions are funny things, especially when they're bridges between one good thing and (hopefully) another. I was ready to leave DC. I'll miss my friends, my job (largely) and the political process. I can't believe I won't be there for election day. But I also can't wait for that next step, for the intellectual challenge and novelty. For a different city, and an apartment that's more my own, for time in the library and in coffee shops pouring over thick books.

Also, I'm working on an article that is very different from the terse, straight-forward reporting I'm used to. It's a magazine profile of a man from my hometown whose grandfather was an important historical figure in the town. Pretty psyched about that -- and more on it later.

So, I'm in Michigan visiting Y&A -- then back to Boston for a couple of days. To Jersey for 10 (Anybody want to hang out in NYC?) and back up north for ... SCHOOL!

Here's to getting this thing going again, eh?