there's more to life than this

I have returned. On my journey, actually, prior to beginning my journey, I started thinking about my relationship to language. It is perhaps because I abandoned my English major in my second year in college that I am prone to making up words, adding suffixes here and prefixes there and adopting Seussian adjectives, rather than using the language "properly". Or maybe it was the peer pressure in elementary and middle school, the endless ribbing of those who would use words of more than two syllables in a sentence. More likely it is the amount to which I have not been reading, or have been McReading since the completion of college. The achievement of my degree was long ago. In dog years and in the eyes of a youthful marketing culture I am old.

So, on my journey up the mountain I did an unusual thing. I bought a portable dictionary. I am often caught with self-doubt about the usage of words I have some sort of feeling or intuition I know to be right, but then resort to the use of catbus-speak not unlike the Sniglets of yore. The act of purchasing a portable word closet was not done with the intent to stop the use of catbusian, but to enhance my overall vocabulary with words that actually exist (at least exist in the minds of Webster).

And, although my intent was to listen to recently purchased music on the way to the staff retreat, I actually ended up listening to two discs that were handed off to me for review for the station right before I left. I smiled in and out as I was surrounded by the sounds of Busratch, a Japanese experimental turntablist outfit. I think I mentioned before that when I carpooled with colleagues to a training workshop I was subjected to the sounds of the toppest of the Top 40 -- yet another reason for striking out on my own this year. I know that it was environmentally selfish for me to not carpool, but I couldn't think of anyone else in my division that would even begin to consider to tolerate the beautiful noise panning thru my speakers. Come to find out later that one of the newbies in the dept. is also fond of things experimental, noisy, industrial even. Yes, yes, I forgot my Bad News Bear training about what happens when you ASSUME anything...

Lastly, (cue Entertainment Tonight birthday music here), it is Soofee's birthday today. Happy Birthday, fluff muffin! To make sure that the Boops doesn't smack you around too much out of jealousy you will both be snarfing on tuna delights.

Boy howdy is it hot.