Inklings

Blog

  • Packing

    packrat

    This week the faculty of my program have the unenviable task of packing up almost 40 years of history in preparation for our big move in August to a new facility. The challenge is we only have until June 1 to get it done because the space we currently occupy will need to undergo some renovation. I think the time crunch will be a good thing for me personally, as I have a tendency to talk myself into keeping everything that has some sustainable use. Yes, I admit I can be somewhat of a pack rat. The only consolation I have is a lot of stuff will be signed over to other departments on campus or retired to capital surplus property. I’m really doubting that anyone will find use for six carriage slide projectors and a dissolve unit, but if you do you’ll have to be a state employee to score it.

  • Ironing

    If there’s one household chore I despise most, it’s ironing. I am among those that are not blessed with a wrinkle-free wardrobe so I have a tendency to stock-pile my wrinkled items until I have what I believe is enough to justify setting up the board and heating the iron.

    Once you get going it’s not that bad but it requires a degree of skill and finesse that you simply cannot learn without lots of practice. Cotton button-down shirts require water spritzing (or iron steam, if you are so equipped) and a lot of repetitive sweeps. Using the nose end of the board for the collars is still something I struggle with. The worst are those shirts with the stubborn button hems that want to stay wrinkled. There you have to thoroughly soak the area and carefully slalom between the buttons. I should stop trying to be an ironing hero but I just can’t seem to justify the expense of bringing my modest load of laundry in for dry cleaning.

  • Weddings

    wedding

    Weddings are certainly a blessed tradition. It’s a time for families and friends to witness and celebrate the union of two committed individuals. Sometimes the weddings are short. Sometimes they’re long. Some are on Fridays, others Saturday. Some have elaborate receptions, others do not. Among the various wedding traditions, there’s one that seems to be consistent – the clinking of glassware to summon the married couple’s kiss.

    I’ve witnessed attempts over the years to thwart this longstanding tradition. While it seems logical that this ‘clinking’ is not allowed to prevent breaking the water glasses (most likely at the request of the venue’s food service staff) I think it’s more a way to make the summoning a more difficult process so that the bride and groom can actually enjoy their meal. I’ve been to receptions where entire tables would have to stand and sing a song with the word ‘love’ in it before the couple would kiss. Others just replace the glassware with table decorations like bells.

    Just yesterday I attended my cousin’s wedding. They too, tried in vain to avoid this noisy tradition by requesting a dollar be placed on the head table for each kiss. Unfortunately they made only two dollars before giving in to the clinking glassware.

  • Tattoos

    tats

    It would seem that everyone these days has some ‘ink’ on their body. I have nothing against anyone (or anyone’s grandma for that matter) that does but I personally don’t think I could ever commit to it. I simply can’t imagine anything that I would want permanently stamped on my body for the rest of my life. I can barely do a drawing without thinking of ways to improve or change it just minutes after finishing it.

    I think it’s just the nature of artists and designers to always want to perfect their creations and it’s for this reason that I have problems designing tattoos for others. I wonder if those that get them don’t experience this to some degree. Maybe that’s why I’ve been told that once you get a tattoo that it’s addicting and you have to get another. Trust me, if I had tattooed my first personal logo onto my arm twenty years ago, I can guarantee that I’d have the itch to get another – if only to perfect or improve on the terrible one that I would now have.

    Sorry, but I have no desire to spend my twilight years in some retirement home poignantly explaining to fellow residents what each of my tattoos mean. I’ll stick to sharing my art on paper, thank you very much.

  • Graduation

    graduation

    Time again to dust off the old gown and don the mortarboard. Today is the 70th Commencement of Bismarck State College thus marking the end of many students’ college educations and the beginning of their careers. Best wishes and congratulations to all those graduates out there!

  • Black Hole Sun

    sun

    Has anybody seen the sun lately? It’s like he was taken out back and roughed up by a few thick clouds. Hopefully he makes a comeback soon. The month of May is just too cold, dark, wet and rainy without him.

  • Dentist

    dentist

    I don’t know many people that enjoy going to the dentist. I’ve personally been pretty fortunate in my adult life that I don’t have a lot of dental issues. I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but I think I’ve been to the dentist maybe once in the past twenty years. I realize preventive care is the best strategy, but my last visit, after being away for ten years, was nothing short of flattering. They told me that they were shocked to see how well my teeth had been cared for and that they see people every six months that have worse teeth than mine.

    My dental record as a youngster wasn’t quite as stellar. I think I have at least five fillings (including one in a wisdom tooth), but whose counting? Both of our boys recently visited the dentist with good marks and, unlike myself, still are cavity-free. I sure hope they can keep it up. I know flossing is a habit they need to include in their daily regimen, but so far it’s been greeted with grunts and groans. I can’t hardly blame them – it was a habit I didn’t develop until I was in college.

    Those issues seem trivial compared to my poor wife who is needing some major dental surgery in the near future (out of respect to her – and those with sensitive stomachs – I’ll spare you the details). In her defense I will go on record to say that none of her woes are due to neglect. In fact, she inspired a lot of the dental hygiene habits I have now. She brushes faithfully twice a day, doesn’t eat a lot of sweets and flosses daily. Talk about unfair!

  • Take Out

    I wonder if Chinese restaurants were the founders of fast food. If you stop to think about it there are some striking similarities. You order pre-made dishes by number (personally I like the number 82), get it packaged in uniquely-folded, fun-shaped, paperboard pagodas. And with each order you receive an individually wrapped fortune cookie. It’s a formula that is unique to Chinese restaurants – and McDonald’s. In particular, their Happy Meal. Technically, Chinese Take Out is like several adult Happy Meals only it costs more, has more MSG and instead of french fries you get copious amounts of white rice.

  • Imagination

    It’s amazing how imaginative young boys can be. Especially when it comes to weaponry. As parents we’ve tried very hard to limit our boys’ exposure to guns and violence when they were young but they still innately gravitated toward armed conflict. Even if you don’t succumb to the purchase of toy weapons, they will invent their own using just about any ordinary object. I’ve learned this the hard way.

    At any given moment you can find sticks and branches of various lengths around the perimeter of our yard. The first time I noticed this I went around gathering them up assuming they were offerings from the firewood fairy. I learned later as we roasted marshmallows by the fire that I had destroyed my youngest son’s arsenal of guns. Big mistake.

    Fortunately, not all weapons of mass imagination are decoys of nature. A lot of the toys in the toy box work just fine providing they are long and narrow enough. Even my three-year-old nephew has this ability and demonstrates it quite well. Just yesterday he marched around our house blasting away his older cousins with a blue plastic hockey stick. Beyoo! Beyoo!

  • Moms

    Happy Mother’s Day! To all the moms out there who have selflessly and tirelessly baked for, mended, supported, encouraged, disciplined, cooked for, tucked in, clothed, labored for, cleaned, carpooled, managed, financed, diapered, read to, played with, bathed, kissed, sang for, comforted, and loved their children – THANK YOU! You are especially loved this day!