Nice manners, babe!

In honor of National Poetry Month, I offer up a haiku. I'm also including two photos, so essentially 2,000 more words, to illustrate the situation I encountered when I had to leave work mid-morning a few weeks ago to give a presentation downtown.

No way I could fit

Even if I was skinny

Thanks a lot, douchebag

And yet, when I drove a Jetta, I got a warning on my car threatening my parking privileges because I parked in a regular non-compact space. Seriously?

Post Op Day 24 Haiku

Still in doggy jail
That's why I have a sad face
Hope to get out soon

*Little Guy continues to recover well from his surgery. He's very bored though and pretty grumpy to be confined with strict limits set on his activity. He goes back to see the doctor on Friday for a 1-month follow-up. And then it will be only 2 to 6 weeks more of dog rest.

For Mompé: A Photo And Haiku Memorial

Mompé, Golden Retriever

04/28/98-12/27/06

Golden girl Mompé

Such a sweet and loving dog

So glad I knew her

Mompé liked to clown

Thinking she was a lap dog

In spite of her size

A life way too short

Her furry face will be missed

She brought so much joy

Mompé was my sister-in-law's dog. She lives in the Northeast and I was lucky to stay with her a few years ago while attending a conference. Mompers and I really bonded during that time. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to spend more time with her. She really was a sweetheart.

One Deep Breath: Share The Story

I took a break from my Monday "concert memory" post last week. I'm going to go for two birds with this one and also use it as my entry for this week's one deep breath haiku challenge. The prompt is "share the story" and we are encouraged to tell a tale in the form of haibun, which is poetic prose interspersed with haiku. Excuse my prose for not being so "poetic."

The time had arrived. I was set to see my first "real" Barenaked Ladies show. The others before were great, but not full concerts. Butterflies danced excitedly in my stomach that spring of 1996. I planned what to wear and learned all the songs. I knew it would be special.

We located a great spot to stand. Good view of the stage. I impatiently listened to the opening band. Come on already! The lights dimmed and the fans screamed. I danced and I sang. Listening to the music, watching the antics, I did not notice the drunk guy get onto the stage.

Caught up in the fun

I did not see him diving

Then flat on my back

He dove off of the stage and landed right on me. Knocked the wind out of me. Scared me a bit too. With help, I managed to get to my feet. The show went on. I was shaken, but will never forget Ed, on guitar, mouthing to me, "Are you okay?" I was and I wasn't.

My night had become more memorable than planned. For the last part of the show, I was a bit distracted. Noticed in the paper that they were playing a venue further south the next day. I thought it would be nice to truly enjoy an entire concert from start to finish.

Decided last minute

To go to San Diego

For another show

The best part of course

Was meeting the band after

Just down to earth guys

Me and Ed Robertson, Tower Records, 1996

I've seen Barenaked Ladies perform live several times since. They always put on a great show, but there is something about that one at the American Legion Hall in Hollywood that I will always remember. It was back when fans still threw "Kraft Dinner" during "If I Had A Million Dollars" and I remember having macaroni imprints on my legs and back. It was during that song that the guy dove on top of me. I was distracted by Steve Page who was dancing around with an umbrella on stage. A couple of friends were further back in the theater and said they saw the crowd near the stage part as the guy jumped, but it took me by complete surprise. I got to laugh with the band about the next night, which was great fun.

Hopefully nothing of that variety will happen at the on November 29th!

Friday Night Haiku

Friday night sci-fi
Battlestar Galactica
Rocks my frackin' world

Delicious Autumn

Anyone who knows me knows that I love living in Los Angeles. Having resided in several different places, it is my favorite and the home I've had for the longest time, twelve years in a couple of weeks. I'd have to say that the one thing I do miss the most, especially about the Northeast, is autumn. The prompt for this week's haiku challenge got me thinking about this. Here's what I posted on my photoblog yesterday:

'Delicious Autumn' for one deep breath

A few years ago
October trip to Boston
Such autumn delight

I miss the autumns
Of my past in the Northeast
Cool, crisp, colorful

Santa Ana winds
Hot and dry fire starters
Blow in Southwest Fall

Trip to Faulkner Farm
To pick out the best pumpkin
Took a hay ride too

The tree in my front yard usually does turn red and gold before the leaves drop, but it just isn't the same. Maybe I need to take a drive north this year.

Another Hamster Post (With Haiku!)

'Solitude' for one deep breath.

Syrian hamsters
Prefer to live all alone
No need for roommates

My fluffy hamster
A solitary rodent
Broccoli for one

Lazy Monday Cross-Post

I'm tired so I'm cross-posting-once again-from my other blog.

Faces of Humanity

for

one deep breath.

Conventional 5-7-5 haiku:

The eyes of a child
Full of innocent wonder
For too short a time

My attempt at a "free form" haiku:

My friends' daughter
So beautiful and well-behaved
I wonder who she'll be

The Hills Are Alive

Originally posted on my photoblog.

This weeks prompt from the one deep breath haiku challenge is the sound of music. Music is definitely important to me, so I thought this would be a piece of cake. It's actually been a bit difficult as my mind has flown in a million directions. I have several haiku that I wrote, or started to write, but decided to just go with one that captures the essence of an aspect of music that I love.

Light go down, crowd roars
A magical night ensues
Music is best live

I love, love, love live music. When I can afford it, I go to a lot of shows. A few of my favorite concert photos follow below.

Ben Folds at the El Rey Theatre, October 2004


U2 at the Staples Center, November 2005


Great Big Sea at the El Rey Theatre, February 2006


Tim Armstrong of Rancid and John Doe performing acoustically at the Steve Allen Theatre, January 2006

Haiku Cross-Post

For the one deep breath theme "Scenic Route,"
originally posted on my photoblog.



Scenic route to work
Move along the meadow path
Working class donkey

Yosemite has
Tuolumne Meadows and
Gorgeous vistas too

A walk after lunch
Along the meadow pathway
Donkey encounter!

Comic-Con Haiku

A typical scene at Comic-Con is artists sketching. And sketching some more. Some attendees request drawings, but I noticed a lot of people just fill the time sitting at their table with making more pretty pictures. Alas, I could not join in such activity while sitting at the Tired Girl table, so I decided to write some haiku instead. (Surprise!) Here's a sampling of some that aren't too mean.

Dorks, geeks, nerds, and freaks

Come to Comic-Con each year

Some wear a costume

Sweaty, stinky geeks

Scary furries in costume

Pushing through the crowd

Please make me a sketch

Can you give me stuff for free?

It's all about swag

The black Green Lantern

The Jack in the Box Jedi

Yearly characters

I *heart* Jason Ho

He likes to draw cool robots

They all look like him

A huge sock monkey

Sideshow Collectibles booth

View from our table

Hairy Chewbacca

A legion of Stormtroopers

Anime chicks too

Ren, Sherri, and me

Rockin' the girliest booth

Selling out at Con

Urban Haiku

Life moves pretty fast
In the City of Angels
Love my urban home

Another Cross Post

In lieu of not feeling up to writing something original, I'm going to do another cross post from my photo blog of this week's haiku for the one deep breath weekly challenge. The theme for this week was Ritual. Well, Ceremony and Ritual, but I just chose to go with the 'ritual' part.

Disney Thanksgiving
Families are far away
Friends fill in nicely

My image and haiku relate to a ritual my husband and I have participated in many times for the past 10 years or so. We live thousands of miles from our families and do not generally travel for Thanksgiving. So, we have a ritual of spending the day at Disneyland with several other "orphans." Sometimes there are as few as four of us, but we've had groups up to twelve. We had to make a trip to the East Coast last year and I really missed our tradition of getting in touch with our inner children for a day.

Cross Post

I normally don't post things on this blog that I post on my other one. That site is primarily for the daily photo challenges I participate in. Recently, I started participating in a weekly haiku challenge as well. Since I post my poems with complimentary photos, I delegated them to the other blog.

This week's assignment taught me about a form of haiku I didn't know, called the Fib, which is essentially a 20-syllable haiku done in lines of 1/1/2/3/5/8. It was fun to try and I'm pleased with my first attempt, so I decided to post it here as well.

Falls
Spray
Water
Taughannock
Close to Ithaca
Become frozen in the winter

Now We're Cooking With Gas

Burn sweet bunnies, burn

Pink sugar melting in fire
As I roast my Peeps.

Yep, More Poetry

A couple of haiku:

Let us celebrate

National poetry month

April is the time.

Five syllables first

And then a line of seven
And then five again.

Cupcake Haiku

Ever have one of those days where you really want to update your blog, but you've got nothing? That's me today. It has been a while since I posted any haiku. Ren clued me in to a request for haiku, in celebration of April being National Poetry Month, put out by the All Cupcakes, All The Time blog. So, I cranked a few out. I get on a roll with writing haiku and no, they don't all come out good, but I just keep going for awhile. I sent all of them in and one got published on the site!

I will confess that I'm not that into cupcakes, in spite of their trendiness. Don't get me wrong, they can be yummy, but I don't go out of my way to have or make them. I've never even been to one of those cupcake-only bakeries. Anyway, here's what I churned out in a brief span of time:

cupcake, sweet cupcake
I took a bite out of you
icing on my nose

velvet chocolate
in a tiny, little cake
oh how I love you

my buddy Karen
bakes some really good cupcakes
so very yummy

not just for parties
cupcakes are a trendy treat
just enough sweetness

soft, fluffy cupcake
incredibly sweet icing
dessert perfection

more than a cookie
much less than a piece of cake
tastier than pie

chocolate cupcake
with peanut butter icing
what could be better?

cupcake for breakfast
more cupcakes for lunch at noon
now my stomach hurts

homemade is the best
when you are talking cupcakes
no store bought for me

Yeah, I'm a dork.

Hamster Haiku

Rolling in your ball

Your cute, fluffy butt wiggles
Run Ami-ham, run

Valentine's Day Haiku

Flowers and candy

Do not prove love, Valentine

But they do not hurt

If Dogs Could Haiku

cone is not funny

why are you laughing at me?
you will get no sleep

That's my 13 year-old American Eskimo dog, Cosette. She had some benign growths removed from her snout, chin, and head on Monday and will be wearing this fashionable e-collar, aka cone, for 7-10 days. The first day was alright as she was still a bit drowsy. However, now she is feisty and being a real pain.

Last night was awful. Cosette was so restless and I barely got any sleep. One thing you must understand about Cosette is that she is very intelligent. I think she kept me up on purpose. Since I laugh at her wearing the cone.

I'm a bad dog-mom.