money money money

"Why are you working so hard, and at so many jobs?" he asked.

She thought for a minute, then replied, "Because my dreams are expensive."

half-smile

He breathed a small sigh of relief when the experiment was over, and smiled, a humble little half one. In his head, it was clear, the project had succeeded. What's interesting, is the audience knew it had failed. They had seen the collapse with their eyes, heard the disaster with their ears. But not to him. To the scientist, his controlled environment was a huge accomplishment.

Personally, I do not know if the thing failed or not. The clearest memory I have of the evening is the half-smile. Success is obviously relative.

cliche

The cliché, "kids can be cruel," makes little sense to me. Aren't adults prone to spouts of meanness? And just as often, if not more? Yet, I've yet to hear after I've regaled a friend with a tale of how someone was unjust, "Whaddya gonna do? Adults can be cruel sometimes."

lesson

Received an email today that was so curt and so full of assumption that my heart did that physical sinking thing it does when we are expecting one communication and recipients of another. Good reminder to self: be gentle and not-so-quick to assume. And go have a drink.

a little glimpse into a conversation between two 5,000 miles apart

"Happy Birthday, love. Are you going to do anything to celebrate?"

"I bought a new calling card and am calling you, Shannon."

"A conversation with me is your birthday present to yourself?"

"Why not?" he replies.

The long-distance relationship

"But how can you stand it--the sadness of being separated all the time?" the girl asked her friend.

"It's true, the goodbyes are terribly hard and make for my least favorite days. But the hellos ... ahhh ... the hellos ... nothing to describe them. The best flavor of ice cream, the warmest blanket, they are."

Venetian palazzo on lollipops

I wondered on the commute to work this morning if Architects, and those in the building-creation business, keep notebooks. You know, journals, binders, blank pages filled with random thoughts, inappropriate drawings, quotes from those who inspire.

Then I read this article.

“The new museum resembles a die-cut Venetian palazzo on lollipops,” Huxtable wrote at one juncture. Somehow, this silly yet articulate description answers my question.