So You Think You Don't Like Poetry

This week's selection is by Peter Jay Shippy, an Emerson alum who now teaches writing at the college. Yay Emerson!

Unbelieve

I unbelieve I was born and wore
A sailor's suit until I was seven.
There are no pictures of puppies licking
My face or albums of vacation snaps.
Yosemite? Niagara Falls? I unbelieve
There's someone somewhere who likes the same things
I do. Reading the dictionary?
The Buffalo Bills? See? I unbelieve a priest
Would fuck anyone, certainly not me.
The woman who pushes the baby carriage
Up and down the block all day all week
Screaming and singing lullabies is not
Doing so well, I unbelieve, no.
Someone should lift a finger and give her
A helping hand, because charity
I unbelieve, begins in the home.
Who said that? Who said that? I unbelieve if
I can't recall then it must have been me.
A stitch in time saves nine? I shall return?
That's all folks? I have wasted my life?
That was me--the man who is the measure
Of all things. My sister told me about
The birds and the bees and I unbelieved
Every word she said, because she was older
Wiser, stronger, meaner, an early bloomer--
A girl who the world would soon get to know.
I still can't unbelieve that she's dead. I do.
I unbelieve the earth is flat or that man
Walked on the moon or that I came down
From African apes or that Jesus
Walked on water that he turned into wine
Or that life begins when I imagine
Doing it with you. I unbelieve fairies
Live in the television set--really
Think about it? Isn't it just common sense?
The sun was warm? The cherry blossoms
Were in bloom? We paddled a wooden canoe
Down the canal? I thought the port was sweet?
I pretended not to see the worm
In the Cobb salad? The inn had a surprise
Vacancy? I felt dizzy? I awoke
With a sack over my head, tied to the bed
And I was bleeding and I unbelieve
I told the police I couldn't remember, yes
I couldn't be sure of a thing. Bambi?
Jules and Jim? The Sound of Music? Red Desert?
I unbelieve that was the first movie
I ever saw, although really, it was a film.
I unbelieve the President means
Exactly what he says--don't you? The night
My son was born I was driving my truck
Across the U.P. trying to finish
My deliveries and then make the delivery,
If you know what I mean and I was just
Twenty miles out of Sault Ste. Marie
When I saw the most beautiful shooting star
And it was awesome, too, like blue like
Propane gas and scary, too, I pulled
Over to the side of the road and I'm sure
My mouth was a black hole and I wish
I would have thought to take a picture
And I unbelieve that that was my son's soul
Soaring back to heaven, I do, because
That was the very moment he passed.
If you unbelieve me go and check
With the hospital. I want you to.
I unbelieve that sometimes life forces you
To grow up before your time. Who said that?
I unbelieve that Lois Lane didn't know
That Clark was Superman. Think about it?
She just didn't want to spoil the good times.
I unbelieve that most people are fine, yet
I wouldn't open my front door
For just anyone. I pretty much un-
Believe in the war and yet I absolutely
Unbelieve that I am un-American.
Didn't I serve my country? Didn't I die
For you and unbelieve that you'd die, too?
I unbelieve in reincarnation.
I unbelieve that everyone has a twin--
Someone somewhere who looks or acts just like
You and me I mean, we're unique, unless
We're clones. I unbelieve that on the day
That I was born my grandfather cried
And this was a man who never shed a tear.
Even when they took his voice, or so I hear.

Dining room and table to die for

Via Style At Home

I've been thinking about dining tables (yet again).
I love the top image with the different materials used and the varied textures. All to form a very soothing space. I do like the modern take on a wooden table too. Dunno how comfortable those chairs are though!

Via Design and Decor

Isn't this nice too, with the coloured tapered vases in autumnal colours?

Tramps like us

It's pretty unbelievable that I've been writing this blog for nearly a year and a half and not yet posted anything about karaoke. Karaoke is one of my dearest pastimes; I've done it everywhere from Tokyo and New Orleans to the rural town of Sedalia, MO. Trust me, there's no better way to sample local flavor than to watch locals get drunk and sing. Just last night, I got on stage at Kennedy's Lamp Post Lounge in Cape Canaveral, FL:
When I lived in NYC, rarely a weekend went by that didn't include a late night stop at Sing Sing, Planet Rose, or any of the other dozens of places to do karaoke in Manhattan. Fortunately, many of my friends share my passion for belting out power ballads and watching nonsensical Japanese music videos.

Then I moved to Boston. And lo and behold, whenever I suggested karaoke as an evening activity, I was met with uncomprehending stares. No one knew where to go. No one felt inclined to investigate. Why drink and sing when you can...just drink?

I feel like it's high time I respond to the most common objections raised about karaoke.

1. "I can't sing."
Um, LOTS of people can't sing, including some with record contracts (see Spears, Britney). Singing well is not what karaoke is about. Karaoke is about entertaining yourself and others through the power of pop music. I have seen many "terrible" singers bring down the house.

2. "It's too expensive."
Yes, renting a private room can add up. But lots of places let you sing for free, like the Hong Kong near Faneuil Hall and Sissy K's. And actually, you can MAKE money doing karaoke, as I did the night I won a contest at Sissy K's. Every Thursday night, they give away $100 to not the best singer, but the best performance of the night.

3. "I can sing so why would I sing karaoke?"
Technically, I can sing too, but that doesn't mean I should sing every song I want to. But karaoke allows me to do just that! While I know that Whitney Houston and I have very different ranges and timbres, after a few vodka tonics, I want my "One Moment in Time." For real singers, karaoke isn't about showing off, it's about goofing off and singing completely inappropriate songs.

So there you have it. I'm lucky enough to live within spitting distance of Do Re Mi, which has probably the best song selection I've ever encountered. Worst song selection award goes to Maluken, where I was reduced to singing "The Little Mermaid" for lack of better options.

The title of this post, "Tramps like us," exemplifies another good thing about karaoke -- you get to learn the actual lyrics to songs that you might have been mishearing. I always sort of sing along with "Born to Run," but somehow the "tramps like us" line in the chorus escaped me. Until last night.

However, singing the right words isn't always essential. If you don't believe me, watch the video below. One Korean man's creative rendition of Mariah Carey is another man's comedy goldmine.

Seafood feast!

In lieu of the traditional turkey, my family decided to mix it up this year. We went to Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving and created a seafood-themed meal very different from what the pilgrims probably ate. The menu included:

Lobster tails

Crab stuffing

Corn casserole with mussels

Lemon garlic shrimp with peppers

Green beans (the one classic side we couldn't abandon)

No mashed potatoes! No pecan pie! It was very revolutionary. We also instituted the first ever Vagnino Family Book Exchange. I made out like a bandit with a new collection of Russian poetry and How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely, which looks hilarious.

I'm trying not to think about the terrifying amount of school work I have awaiting me in Boston as the semester winds down. I'm looking at the ocean and making plans to play mini-golf tomorrow. For these few days in the sun, I am thankful.

Mango and white chocolate meringues

Mango delight, recipe found here

As fundraiser, most years our church sells boxes of mangoes at ridiculous prices. This year it was $30 for 30 mangoes... and per mango at the grocer is around $3-5... so it's a darn good deal.

And I've made mango gelati/sorbet... And shared a mango every night with the family...

Only 4 left today!

Two nights ago I thought I'd surprise husband and Hannah with a special mango dessert. I hacked a recipe from Australian Women's Weekly: Fast Desserts. It's going to be a sure winner to more small summer-time gatherings!

Mango and white chocolate meringue creams:
Serves 4

Like my favourite pink frosted dessert dishes?

• 2 medium mangoes chopped coarsely


• 1 cup (280g) thick green-style yoghurt


• 1/2 cup (125ml) thickened cream


• 2 tablespoons caster sugar


• store bought meringue cups or home-made meringue discs

1. Puree one mango and transfer to small bowl. Fold in yoghurt.

2. Beat cream and sugar in small electric mixer until firm peaks form, fold into mango mixture.

3. Break meringue into large chunks.

4. Layer the chopped mangoes, cream and meringue into sweet dessert cups.

Next time I might drizzle melted white chocolate across the dishes...

I'm going to do a mango and sago pudding dessert with two mangoes tomorrow.

Then it will be only 2 left.

Madison Living

Finally got through another book on the "must read" list... Madison Living: beautiful ideas for your home.

I love some of the homes featured here, mostly homes in Australia.

Here are three of my favourite images:

Can you imagine going to a bed & breakfast looking like this, rather than the places we normally see and have to endure here... nice and clean enough, but oh-so-dated! This is mainly for my mother in law as inspiration for her own bedroom makeover.



I love the shock of pink amongst the thick of green everywhere else. Nothing else to mar the effect of the pink.



And this! How I'd love to have this in my courtyard. This is a definite entry into my dream-house plans!

Scanned from Madison Living: beautiful ideas for your home

Proud Mary, Collingwood

Andrew, Hannah and I had a great day, just the three of us just this Saturday past. We talked about our plans, we shared fears, we exchanged hugs. We drove over 100kms though and arrived home exhausted!

The Coffin, from the side, with custom wooden group handles

Proud Mary, Collingwood for brunch:

Love the mix of natural materials in this place. The right mix of styles for this sleek interior... warm brick, the red tempered by the grey-black of the polished cement floor, the custom made counter and tables, the none-too-rustic decor...

Click for larger

And of course, the machinery here is impressive... a clover™, a AUD$40k Synesso Hydra, syphons, 6 large Mazzer coffee grinders, exclusive Inker cups in a knockout blue, brilliant touch of the orange retro giant lamp and a Giesen roaster (of course!)...

Proud Mary logo, strangely disco-lit, with Hannah standing guard

This is what I WANT TO DO myself ages ago if we had a cafe! Herbs grown in little planters on each table.

Andrew's meal... chorizo sausages were delish! And Andrew loved the scrambled eggs, done properly.

My meal, balsamic mushrooms on toast.

Hannah chowing down on eggs on toast.

Superlong Synesso coffee machine, nicknamed the Coffin... because it's super long. Large coffee machines are three group... this one's SIX group! Plus super exclusive coffee cups, by Inker

Highly spec-ed out coffee group handles as door handles

Proud Mary
172 Oxford Street (off Smith Street)
Collingwood Vic 3066
Mon – Fri: 7.00am – 4.00pm
Sat/Sun: 8.00am – 4.00pm

Go again this weekend, husband? Maybe this time I'll actually get to have the roast duck salad!

Napkins = my nemesis

The hardest part of a new restaurant job for me is not learning table numbers or the names of the kitchen staff. I have a great short-term memory and can recite daily specials till I'm blue in the face. No, the thing I absolutely dread every time I get hired by a restaurant is.....

napkin folding.

Every restaurant has their own way of doing it. And it always takes me much longer than it should to master it. It's like there's a gap in my brain -- things start misfiring and I just can't make the napkin look the way it's supposed to. I'm earning a master's degree and yet the simple task of folding a napkin becomes Herculean when under the watchful eye of whatever server is training me. It doesn't matter how deftly I can refill butter ramekins or polish water glasses. She will lose all respect for me as soon as she sees me try to fold napkins.

As far as I can tell. the skill involved with napkin folding has something to do with spatial reasoning, which I apparently was born without. Spatial reasoning is "the ability to visualize spatial patterns and mentally manipulate them" and is pretty essential for engineers and architects. The Wikipedia entry also states that it is "important for generating and conceptualizing solutions for multi-step problems that arise in everyday life." Great.

This has all been on my mind lately because I finally got hired by a legitimate, well-run, upscale restaurant: Lineage. I'm incredibly happy now that "Dos" didn't hire me. I've done two training shifts at Lineage and no one seems to have noticed my napkin-folding disability yet....but it's only a matter of time. I can only hope that by the time they catch wise, I will have won them over with my charm. The napkins at Lineage appear to be rather simply folded -- if I had shown up for training and seen something like this--

-- I probably would have turned in my bistro apron then and there. Just looking at that picture stresses me out.

Curious about your own spatial reasoning aptitude? Take this free online test to find out your spatial ID.

Dessert tonight

Mango cream, mangoes and meringue trifle :)

In one of my favourite pink frosted depression dessert bowls. Was divine!

TGIF!

It's been a mighty long week. Hannah and I have been stuck at home in this 36˚c (96˚F) heat for 3-4 days now. Our car is at the mechanics...

I don't respond well to heat. At all.

We're preparing for an interstate move... to live in a house not ours, to uproot... again...

It's been a long week.

But I do thank God, it's now Friday.

And NOW I get to enjoy a quiet pot of caramel rooibos tea.

Yes, Hannah also insisted on having her own little tea-time. So I opened my precious Ikea mini teaset for her

I hope you have a great weekend and week ahead.

Outdoor showers

Via Martha Stewart

I left ran away from Malaysia for a few reasons but one of the top reason was the humidity and heat. Now, settled in Australia, my favourite season is early spring and late autumn... Summer, I dislike. Summer I get to enjoy cool showers (much to the amazement of fellow-Australians who still have hot showers in summer for some odd reason.)...

And one day, I will (listening, husband?) have my own outdoor shower.

So far, this is my favourite:



You can save the water for watering the garden later!! Brilliant idea.

Here are some others:

Via Cottage Living, absolutely beautiful things

Via Cottage Living, absolutely beautiful things

Via Cottage Living, absolutely beautiful things

Via Garden Fresh Living, bumble bee blog

Via MARIE'S MARCHÉ

Via MARIE'S MARCHÉ

Via MARIE'S MARCHÉ

Via kaleidoscope

Via kaleidoscope

Via kaleidoscope

Via kaleidoscope

Via Casa de Campo

Via Coastal Living, you've got to see this

Via Coastal Living, you've got to see this

David Lebovitz

You have to visit his site. You have to. Laugh and savour the recipes.

From David's site.

I'm so going to make David Lebovitz's Chocolate Macaroons.

Disconnected!

It was bound to happen eventually: I lost my cell phone. Well, actually I know where it is, but I can't get to it. I left it at a friend's apartment Saturday night and while said friend was supposed to leave it with his doorman, he forgot. And sadly, my phone went back with him on a bus today to New York.

Fortunately, I kept my old, outdated phone from the last time I upgraded and Verizon was able to restore service to it. But I was sans phone for almost 48 hours and friends, it was tough. I use my phone as an alarm clock and thus had to download some weird alarm clock application and install it in order to make it to work on time. Which I didn't, because the alarm app didn't work for some reason. I also got semi-stood up for a coffee date with a friend because I didn't receive her text message cancellation.

But those were the biggest catastrophes. And now I'm somewhat restored to the world of communicative technology. However, since I got my new phone before moving to Boston, the old phone I'm using temporarily (until my real phone is Fedexed back to me) has no numbers of new friends. It's like I've been blasted back to before I moved here....looking through the contact list is a walk down memory lane. I can't call anyone in Boston, but I can call my favorite Thai take-out place in Brooklyn.

So if you are a friend made in the last year or so, I won't recognize the number if you call. Feel free to prank me!

Lovely Blog Award

Wow, I'm floored... thank you Emma of Little Miss Emma for honouring me with the Lovely Blog Award! Considering not many readers comment or say hi here, I was so surprised to be considered!




Thank you Miss Emma :) (even though this thanks is more than a month late!)

Sense of Style: Colour

I finally borrowed Shannon Fricke's Sense of Style: Colour, 2006 from the library and enjoyed flipping through the pages over my chai tea Saturday evening.

I must say this is a great book, chock full of gorgeous eye candy and some very helpful guides about using colour; we all know how emotive colour is!

There was one particular shot that kinda inspired me to almost immediately up from the seat at 1am and get to work:

Image from Shannon Fricke's Sense of Style: Colour

Finally, an answer one of my "Hmm, what to do? Not quite right" conundrums in my study/home office area:



Yes, I'd intended to paper over the mirrored back and paint the unit white, but we're moving in a few months. But I do love the new look. I finally know what to do with my collected yellow and green jugs and ceramics!

Shannon Fricke also has a blog! You must skip over to have a look at before and after shots of her farmhouse "reno". I really like reading about renovation from the viewpoint of "real" budgets... so this was very inspiring.

Image from Shannon Fricke blog

Oooh! I have just realised (whilst looking at Amazon: Shannon Fricke) that I do have the latest copy of Shannon's book! My husband gave it to me for Christmas last year and it's sitting in the "I absolutely have to get to these books" pile! Soon, promise!