Jamie Patterson's Blog, page 5
February 7, 2012
The Conductor did not Wave his Hands
I'm really enjoying spending time with book clubs and chatting (mostly with women!) about Lost Edens and issues in the book. I'm asked a lot if I'm writing a follow-up and the answer is: sort of. I'm trying to find the right story line.
I took my niece to the Orchestra last week and she did really well for an almost-3-year-old. It was her first visit and it was so great to watch her absolutely freeze when the music started, her eyes wide. A trip to the potty and dancing in the aisle shortly followed but seeing her initial reaction was priceless.
We went to visit my dad at his office after and some of my dad's colleagues were asking Siena questions about what she saw. "Did the conductor wave his hands?" one asked of her. "No," Siena responded, "he waved a stick."
I kind of feel like this about writing another book about my life: I could tell one story where I'm waving my hands and one where I'm waving a stick and it would be a completely different story. I'm as certain of that as Siena was. So what story to tell? What angle? What detail to focus on? I suppose I should stop writing about what I should write about and just write, eh?
I took my niece to the Orchestra last week and she did really well for an almost-3-year-old. It was her first visit and it was so great to watch her absolutely freeze when the music started, her eyes wide. A trip to the potty and dancing in the aisle shortly followed but seeing her initial reaction was priceless.
We went to visit my dad at his office after and some of my dad's colleagues were asking Siena questions about what she saw. "Did the conductor wave his hands?" one asked of her. "No," Siena responded, "he waved a stick."
I kind of feel like this about writing another book about my life: I could tell one story where I'm waving my hands and one where I'm waving a stick and it would be a completely different story. I'm as certain of that as Siena was. So what story to tell? What angle? What detail to focus on? I suppose I should stop writing about what I should write about and just write, eh?
Frozen February
The temps have been in the 40s, so it's actually not that frozen. Enough, though, for a little skating out on Harriet.
February 1, 2012
Daily Shot
I think this is how I'm going to get my daily news, now. I think I can even handle election news if I'm getting it from Ali Wentworth!
January 31, 2012
Take Your Hits and Keep Going
I stumbled across a really fantastic blog that just publishes letters that the editor thinks are deserving of a wider audience. Tonight I read just a few as I tried to avoid reading yet another dissertation on NCLB (if the number of dissertations I read on NCLB are any indication, we'll have that whole issue sorted in no time). There was a really touching letter Iggy Pop wrote to a young girl, an incredible letter you must read to the end a former slave wrote to his former owner, and an unbelievably interesting letter on the meaning of life ("no show, however good, could conceivably be good forever").
Sometimes I think I should have been an art major in my undergrad and figured out how to develop a skill where there was a moderate amount of raw talent (okay, maybe just an inkling of talent). But then I read letters like this (F. Scott Fitzgerald to his editor!) and I believe without question in the power of the written word and just how much I love when the words come together just so (mine or someone else's). I think an English degree was probably the right choice!
Sometimes I think I should have been an art major in my undergrad and figured out how to develop a skill where there was a moderate amount of raw talent (okay, maybe just an inkling of talent). But then I read letters like this (F. Scott Fitzgerald to his editor!) and I believe without question in the power of the written word and just how much I love when the words come together just so (mine or someone else's). I think an English degree was probably the right choice!
January 29, 2012
Annie Banks
In some ways I think our passions are things we have to first observe and then learn. My love of animals and the desire to care for them comes straight from my mother and grandmother. I treat my Major Works of Samuel Johnson like a bible because my graduate school mentor was passionate about Samuel Johnson and taught me to interpret and appreciate the text.
It was Johnson I thought of tonight as I talked to my brothers and sister to let them know our childhood cat, Annie, had died after a dignified struggle with kidney failure. In the quiet after her death my want to say a proper thank you and goodbye was just as strong as my desire to go back 18 years and say hello again.
Sorrow is properly the state of mind in which our desires are fixed upon the past, without looking forward to the future, an incessant wish that something were otherwise than it has been, a tormenting and harassing want of some enjoyment or possession which we have lost, and which no endeavours can possibly regain.
It was Johnson I thought of tonight as I talked to my brothers and sister to let them know our childhood cat, Annie, had died after a dignified struggle with kidney failure. In the quiet after her death my want to say a proper thank you and goodbye was just as strong as my desire to go back 18 years and say hello again.
Sorrow is properly the state of mind in which our desires are fixed upon the past, without looking forward to the future, an incessant wish that something were otherwise than it has been, a tormenting and harassing want of some enjoyment or possession which we have lost, and which no endeavours can possibly regain.
January 26, 2012
January 22, 2012
Momofuku Ando
So it's no secret that I don't know how to cook but I'm working on it. I've gotten pretty great at scrambled eggs and if I don't say so myself I'm kind of awesome at cooking ramen noodles. So words really can't explain how much I love this video, created and posted by the man behind The Ramen Rater blog who celebrated Momofuku Ando Day (the creator of ramen noodles) last week.
Finally, a cooking video I can relate to. Top Ramen Chicken Flavor even happens to be my go-to ramen so you might find this dish on the table at Casa de Jamie and Huey very, very soon (minus all the add-ons I've never heard of before and whatever he sprays into the pan before cracking the eggs).
Finally, a cooking video I can relate to. Top Ramen Chicken Flavor even happens to be my go-to ramen so you might find this dish on the table at Casa de Jamie and Huey very, very soon (minus all the add-ons I've never heard of before and whatever he sprays into the pan before cracking the eggs).
14 Inches Lighter
Nearly a month ago I cut about 14 inches of hair and donated it to The Little Princess Trust in the UK, which is a charity that makes wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment. I initially wanted to donate close to home but everywhere I looked asked donors to donate through Locks for Love, which has been known to sell hair donations (in fairness: their website says they only sell unusable or surplus hair, but still). It's such a personal donation I really wanted to know my hair was actually going to help a kid (somewhere! anywhere!).
Picture here of super short hair (but longer than it was a month ago!) and Siena getting bundled for a walk home. Finally snowed in Minneapolis! It looks like January out there.
Picture here of super short hair (but longer than it was a month ago!) and Siena getting bundled for a walk home. Finally snowed in Minneapolis! It looks like January out there.
January 21, 2012
Flight Path
The first home my family moved to in Minneapolis (I think I was 4? James's first house!) might go on the market soon, so my sister was checking out the latest info. She found this pretty fantastic photo of both the house and a pretty clear flight path to MSP airport.
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The Old Apartment - BareNaked Ladies
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The Old Apartment - BareNaked Ladies
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January 18, 2012
Traveler's Code of Ethics
My brother John is spending his J Term in Ghana, Africa. I just came across the traveler's code of ethics he was given before departure and I thought they were pretty great rules to live by in general, travelers that we all are. Here's an abbreviated version:
Travel in a spirit of humility and with a genuine desire to learn more.Be sensitive to the feeling of other people and their cultures.Cultivate the habit of listening and observing. Avoid the practice of knowing all the answers, ask questions.When you are shopping, remember that the bargain you obtained was only possible because of the low wages paid to the maker.Do not make promises unless you are certain you are able to keep them.Spend time reflecting on your experiences in an attempt to deepen your understanding.
Travel in a spirit of humility and with a genuine desire to learn more.Be sensitive to the feeling of other people and their cultures.Cultivate the habit of listening and observing. Avoid the practice of knowing all the answers, ask questions.When you are shopping, remember that the bargain you obtained was only possible because of the low wages paid to the maker.Do not make promises unless you are certain you are able to keep them.Spend time reflecting on your experiences in an attempt to deepen your understanding.
