the team
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
mini-post
today was a happy day. after cutting and pasting and covering myself in adhesive and trying to be cute and teachery, i finished my research presentation for my master's. seriously, this type of thing is exactly why i was NOT an elementary ed. major. pretty sure i failed both cutting and glue usage in kindergarten and my skills have improved little since. besides, it's not really my style. in my classroom you'd never find anything "adorable" or "neat." the bulletin boards last year were often littered with clippings from the onion and morbid student illustrations of the works we read. i like it better that way.
but thank the LORD i got to relieve my stress this afternoon by fetching jen from the airport and then driving immediately to magnolia cafe where we literally gorged ourselves. seriously, my stomach is engorged and i'll have to not eat for about 3-4 days to make up for my lack of self control. all the same, it was positively delightful to sit across the table from this amazing woman and listen to her recount her adventures in san fransisco. she and diane were like my surrogate super hip and witty older sisters in college. i cannot wait until they come back on friday and we paint the town red. red i tell you.
tomorrow i drive to college station (yep, that definitely made me vomit just a bit). some of the last steps in attaining my master's. then i'll have 2 degrees and that will officially make me much smarter than many of you. unless i screw things up somehow. i seem to have an uncanny ability to do so. in which case i will simply be a failure. the end.
but thank the LORD i got to relieve my stress this afternoon by fetching jen from the airport and then driving immediately to magnolia cafe where we literally gorged ourselves. seriously, my stomach is engorged and i'll have to not eat for about 3-4 days to make up for my lack of self control. all the same, it was positively delightful to sit across the table from this amazing woman and listen to her recount her adventures in san fransisco. she and diane were like my surrogate super hip and witty older sisters in college. i cannot wait until they come back on friday and we paint the town red. red i tell you.
tomorrow i drive to college station (yep, that definitely made me vomit just a bit). some of the last steps in attaining my master's. then i'll have 2 degrees and that will officially make me much smarter than many of you. unless i screw things up somehow. i seem to have an uncanny ability to do so. in which case i will simply be a failure. the end.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
hotel asha
life in my new home has brought myriad pleasant surprises over the past 2.5 weeks. team "crown royal" (God help us, i did not choose that name) won our most recent soccer game, helping us to escape the label of worst team in the league. you can track our wonderful season here (http://www.austinssc.com/schedule_soccer2006.html) if you would like. as you can see from names like "playgroud bullies" and "penetrators united," this is meant to be a very light-hearted league. however, we did have 2 players ejected from the game last week and the unexperienced people such as myself get yelled at a lot for "using elbows." whatever, i say use em if you got em. silly refs.
i have found a church home that i adore. the parish is very diverse in every way, is extremely giving and has engaging priests. i love it and plan to get involved in outreach programs for young pregnant girls. it's positively lovely to find a church that makes me excited to attend mass each week.
a very kind and entertaining individual (who will remain nameless simply because i have failed to develop a moniker that meets his incredibly high standards, because i mean seriously, who wouldn't want a nickname like special k) has introduced me to activities that were not available in the good ole lbk. we've done things like attended an old hippie potluck dinner/jam session around the corner from my apartment, watch a risque black and white film at the paramount, eat cuban food and prove my outstanding knowledge of the location of austin comedy clubs. it's been truly wonderful to have a local be so willing to help me find my bearings here. plus it's given me someone new to make fun of.
the most recent development in living here is the opening of our hotel business. the first patrons of our generosity and kindness were callie and her adorable daughter kylie. when i left lubbock, kylie was still struggling to create a name for me. apparently two-syllable names containing that tricky "th" sound are a bit of a challenge for 2 year olds. however, i was presently surprised to discover i have now been given a name and that it will be used with great frequency. i spent the week responding to commands like "asha! mon!" and "asha! dance!" and finally, "asha! more ball!" tess used the visit as an opportunity to equip kylie with a new party trick. she can now gaze at you with innocent eyes and exclaim "i'm tiny" as an excuse for all kind of wrong doing. pictured below is our pleasant little trip to the austin zoo. both kylie and tess were mesmerized by the lions and i have video to prove it.
so now the focus of my life is threefold: (1) finding a source of income (2) preparing for the stream of guests who will be staying with us over the next few months (3) finishing my master's classes (graduation in august if all goes as planned)
i have found a church home that i adore. the parish is very diverse in every way, is extremely giving and has engaging priests. i love it and plan to get involved in outreach programs for young pregnant girls. it's positively lovely to find a church that makes me excited to attend mass each week.
a very kind and entertaining individual (who will remain nameless simply because i have failed to develop a moniker that meets his incredibly high standards, because i mean seriously, who wouldn't want a nickname like special k) has introduced me to activities that were not available in the good ole lbk. we've done things like attended an old hippie potluck dinner/jam session around the corner from my apartment, watch a risque black and white film at the paramount, eat cuban food and prove my outstanding knowledge of the location of austin comedy clubs. it's been truly wonderful to have a local be so willing to help me find my bearings here. plus it's given me someone new to make fun of.
the most recent development in living here is the opening of our hotel business. the first patrons of our generosity and kindness were callie and her adorable daughter kylie. when i left lubbock, kylie was still struggling to create a name for me. apparently two-syllable names containing that tricky "th" sound are a bit of a challenge for 2 year olds. however, i was presently surprised to discover i have now been given a name and that it will be used with great frequency. i spent the week responding to commands like "asha! mon!" and "asha! dance!" and finally, "asha! more ball!" tess used the visit as an opportunity to equip kylie with a new party trick. she can now gaze at you with innocent eyes and exclaim "i'm tiny" as an excuse for all kind of wrong doing. pictured below is our pleasant little trip to the austin zoo. both kylie and tess were mesmerized by the lions and i have video to prove it.
so now the focus of my life is threefold: (1) finding a source of income (2) preparing for the stream of guests who will be staying with us over the next few months (3) finishing my master's classes (graduation in august if all goes as planned)
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
we're involved
post-game
Originally uploaded by marmahan.
so we joined a soccer league although we know nothing about the game other than what we've observed during the world cup. the first game was tonight and it was quite interesting. all of our teammates met each other about 5 minutes before the game and the vast majority of us have never played soccer before. needless to say, we lost the game. but i was proud of our initial efforts and was happy that i didn't screw up too badly. however i did semi-head butt a chick at the beginning of the game while going for a header, so that was awesome.
so my conclusion for the evening: i like soccer, yes i do. and i think i'd like to continue playing in the fall. hooray for new things and new friends.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
austin-ite/-ian/-ese, whichever you prefer
sunrise leaving lubbock
Originally uploaded by marmahan.
i'm in austin now and it makes me grin like crazy. already i've been to whole foods, a kick ass mexican food place on the east side, homeslice and alamo draft house. i realize those all have to do with eating, so to balance that this morning i'm going to zilker to figure out exactly how this game called soccer works (hopefully i'll be successful since we have a game on tuesday) and then i have a whole day filled with fun ahead of me. come visit! we can frolick and cause mischief together.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
big baby
believe it or not, i used to be the sensitive kid when i was little. every time my parents turned around, i was bawling my eyes out over something. some kid would make a small comment and the waterworks would kick in like never before. i would have to guess that a lot of it came from being the baby for the first 8.5 years of my life. you inherently get a lot of attention as the youngest. everyone is always so concerned about you and what on earth is making this sweet angel upset. well that and i was a freakin adorable little kid (see profile picture).
and then, the little brother was born. my mom tells me that when i found out she was pregnant i actually asked her why i wasn't good enough...and so began the middle child syndrome. after james was born, nobody seemed to care as much if i was crying and suddenly it became "whining" (whatever that means). my older sister was tough with a go-get-em attitude and practically never partook in my childish antics. so, as time went on i became less and less sensitive. actually, that really isn't true; deep down i think i probably am the same person. i just started to express it outwardly less.
so now as an adult, i just have this really healthy build up of frustration every few months. recently with the moving and finishing my master's and not having a job, there's already been this nice base level of emotion, but lately a lot of the people i love most have done relatively small things that hurt me and tonight i exploded. tears flowed publicly like they haven't in quite a while and i was instantly returned to my childhood, wishing i was the baby so people found my emotion more appropriate.
but now, i can look forward to the move tomorrow (at 5 am by the way) and know that things WILL be better when i get to austin. i can already feel it.
and then, the little brother was born. my mom tells me that when i found out she was pregnant i actually asked her why i wasn't good enough...and so began the middle child syndrome. after james was born, nobody seemed to care as much if i was crying and suddenly it became "whining" (whatever that means). my older sister was tough with a go-get-em attitude and practically never partook in my childish antics. so, as time went on i became less and less sensitive. actually, that really isn't true; deep down i think i probably am the same person. i just started to express it outwardly less.
so now as an adult, i just have this really healthy build up of frustration every few months. recently with the moving and finishing my master's and not having a job, there's already been this nice base level of emotion, but lately a lot of the people i love most have done relatively small things that hurt me and tonight i exploded. tears flowed publicly like they haven't in quite a while and i was instantly returned to my childhood, wishing i was the baby so people found my emotion more appropriate.
but now, i can look forward to the move tomorrow (at 5 am by the way) and know that things WILL be better when i get to austin. i can already feel it.
