in the third person

i think it strange when people speak of themselves in the third person. it was strange when bob dole did it. strange too when jade did it on antm.

i prefer first person singular.

on the singular tip, i recently purchased a lovely little article of tschotchke at a local design store where i like to go and visit nice, well proportioned objects. it was a small wire birds' nest. next to the nests, they offered small opaque bluish eggs. i bought one egg and one basket. in the past week plus, sarah received some high-end mail order catalogue that featured the aforementioned nest...with two flipping small opaque bluish eggs in it. did i make a mistake? or is it a metaphor?

always the careful reader and faithful correspondent, bunderbate noted my plea for company here. i am just typing to allmyall east coast people, i just bought a return ticket between detroit and bwi for $150. (for a weekend in june when i am coming east for a conference in bmore.) i would happily host pals here. jasmine and i await. i have acquired many fine suburban implements: an outdoor fire bowl, an overhead projector, a garage door opener...come witness it all.

here's how the summer is shaping up:

• i am mostly here until 06.20 or so with one weekend near the birthday of bird in bmore and then d.c. for a conference and friend and family face time
  
• in d.c. between 06.20 and 06.28 with maybe some beach time shortly thereafter?
  
• back to ann arbor for july with hopes of spending time in chicago in the orbit of karen + twig, helping mary feather her nest. (i think one egg for now?)
• then to d.c. to my "writer's retreat" in georgetown 07.30 for four weeks or so.
• (there is some talk about a trip to london with my mom. and my goddaughter a-lex-a. we shall see about this.)
• i also had some fantasies about going to a seminar in youngstown ohio on teaching "class" and also going to upstate new york to learn how to make large bisese sized puppets and, with luck, see the scott-childresses, but these two points remain a bit unclear.
  

i spent a good deal of time wednesday trying to tick things off my own "to do" lists (academic and professional) and introducing students to the wonders of a research library at a major, rich institution. i love it to witness awe dawn on their faces as we navigate the stacks and open -- gasp -- books + bound periodicals! with color pictures! with text! with ideas! and i so love it to get them into the resources in our media union. it is thrilling to put them in the driver seat---behind the wheel of a large automobile...what's that a line from?---shelley surely knows because she and i shared a total "we-so-click" moment over talking heads lyrics once while perspiring and dining with our pal, al fresca, on some asian delicacies in manhattan one summer many happy years ago. at any rate, i digress, i meant...behind the wheel of a scanner to make and manipulate their own images. and then i show them the sound booths, editing stations, and recording studios and explain this is why i am always going on about what a rich institution you attend. [ joan, you would be so proud of me because i now help people scan and burn their own cds.]

okay, i realize that i just entered a mess more of things that my mother won't understand. she wants me to post to my "imaginary friends": she doesn't understand 95% of what i type and she witnessed 1/2 of it.

finally, i spoke with miss bird today -- but we couldn't make all the usual bawdy talk because she was sitting in her aeron chair at the d.c government waiting to be foia'd. but here's some of her current thinking on britney's latest problems with baby and mini:

• the baby was surely at risk because he had no sun protection on.
  
• you know it's bad when janice dickinson is questioning your parenting skills.
• she had curlers! in! "her" hair!

i so long for the nights of relaxing on the hers and hers couches with lady bird.