All night in my sleep I thought it was raining, but when I awoke the noise was made only by the wind in the leaves.

This morning the lake is green; the clouds in the east are the darker blue.

Winter is coming, slowly.

Why do I have so many Rosaries?!

I feel so dominican.

Dan's Song

Hey, I was challenged!

To the tune of "Holding out for a Hero," which can be found on the Shrek 2 Soundtrack.

Where have all my linens gone
And where are all the sheets?
Here's a smart-ass Catholic
To fight with rising odds.
Isn't there a white bag under a cotton sheath?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need.

(Chorus)
I need a pillow.
I'm holding out for a pillow 'til the end of the night.
I’ve gotta be strong.
And I’ve gotta be fast.
And I’ve gotta be fresh for the fight.
I need a pillow.
I'm holding out for a pillow 'til the morning light.
I’ve gotta be sure.
And it's gotta be soon.
And it's gotta be larger than life.

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's a pillow coming back at me.
Racing on the thunder and rising with new speed.
It's gonna take a mattress to sweep me off my feet.

(Chorus)

Up where the fabric meets the ceiling above
Out where the sugar cuts cuts the tea
I would swear that there's someone somewhere
Teasing me.

Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel her jibes
Like fire in my blood.

I'm not entirely happy with it: the rhyme scheme isn't perfect, and the meter is off in one or two places, but would you have thought of scanning "pillow" with "hero"?

I think that the places where the original text is intact are especially funny.

In-Jokes and The Fifth Amendment

So, I'm back from New York, tired but happy. I had a lovely time.

Dan, at the Museum of Natural History: I always wanted to be a duck-billed platypus.

We verified that they do, in fact, still sell Dan's favorite food group: dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets (grrrr!). Saw Collateral, which I recommend for having an interesting take on the three-act play structure in which screenplays are written (for a perfect example, see Spider-man 2). It was also just fun.

I went to the Cardinal's Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was very formal and elegant, except for the poor mike's unnerving quality of making the Archbishop sound like Kermit the Frog. The illusion was not helped by the fact that we're in ordinary time.

I saw Katie, which involved too much Aramark too soon, but I liked her friends and I am very proud that we both got out of the shopping trip without buying any shoes. I did buy her an ice cream, but it met a sad end in the warm evening. Her dorm room is small, but comfortable, and I got to appreciate a photograph of Patrick posing with a kung-fu hamster toy. Explanations will be demanded. On the rest of the visit, I am sworn to secrecy. Ha ha ha. Suffice to say, she is quite happy.

Dan and I also had dinner with Miss Pretz, who is just glowing (she's always glowing, really) with excitement over her new job at ABT. Now we all just need to pray that she a) gets health insurance, and b) finds an apartment.

We also watched the pilot of LAX, and the only good part was the dog. It really bothered me that the drunken Serbian pilots spoke only English.

We never did make the macaroni and cheese, though.

Oh, and I got roses yesterday. The occasion? He lost. Ha, ha! Counting? Not me.

Wireless Blogging!

Dad set up a wireless station in the basement last night, so now, six years after he first bought it for himself, I finally have DSL. What this really means is that my cool purple room phone may actually see some use, now that the cord for the laptop won't be permanently installed in the phone jack. So I'm celebrating by typing up all the random bits that have surfaced this week- but I'm still sitting at my desk, which doesn't make much sense.

While going through the results of the typical narcissistic self-googling, (I wanted to see if whatcloset.org still came up- turns out it no longer exists,) I discovered two semi-interesting things. A) Maureen has linked to my blog (hi, Maureen), B) This person, who I don't know but who attends Calvert House, quoted my broomball article in its entirety (check her archives from February), which I guess means that even people I don't know found it amusing.

I spent my Labor Day doing some back-to-Chicago shopping, and then went to the opening for Our Work Life, a mural created by a couple of artist friends (husband & wife) that will be on Samtrans commuter buses (where advertisements usually are, at the top of the interior wall). It's cool- check it out. Oscar, the husband, drives a Samtrans bus as his day job, and now he gets to drive a bus with his murals on it.

I promised the following link to Fr. Keyes. I still think it's funny. Liturgy for Ignoramuses.

I have had the following little rhyme stuck in my head for the past few days:

"I love you, Mother," said little John;
Then forgetting his work, his cap went on.
And he was off to the garden swing,
And she had the wood and the water to bring.

"I love you, Mother," said rosy Nell;
"I love you more than tongue can tell."
Then she teased and pouted half the day,
Till her mother was glad when she went to play.

"I love you, Mother," said little Nan;
"Today I'll help you all I can;
My doll and playthings I know will keep!"
Then she rocked the baby fast asleep.

Stepping softly, she brought the broom,
And swept the floor and tidied the room.
Busy and happy all day was she,
Helpful and good as a child could be.

"I love you, Mother," again they said,
Three little children going to bed.
How do you think the mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best?

It was used as a devotional writing in my childhood Bible, for the Song of Solomon.

Just when I thought I was over my addiction to The Knot, I remembered that they have a home decorating section. They have advice on everything! Check it out.

Early tomorrow morning I leave for New York, where I will check on Katie and torment Dan. Do try to have fun without me.