Sunday, October 27, 2019
Roman Holiday
We had a great trip to Rome. Overwhelming, really. So much art, so much pasta, so many unpleasant bodily odors, so many lines. I can't even really pick one top highlight from the trip, it was all so fascinating, but the Sistine Chapel was definitely up there. Even if we were crammed in there with about 7000 people trying to take secret photographs and a man with a microphone urging "silencio" over and over again. It's one of those human accomplishments that is almost impossible to fathom, like La Sagrada Familia or Vanderpump Rules. Plus the cafeteria pizza at the Vatican cafeteria is really top notch.
One lesser known artistic experience that was also quite solid was Rome's museum of modern art. They had some very high quality works by people like Klimt, De Chirico, and Calder, but without the swarms of people complaining about the heat and looking for someplace to sit. They organized the work thematically, too, which was pretty compelling. I had never thought about the way Rodin complements Klimt, for instance, but it was striking. Also they had these contemporary sculptures that kind of looked like ghosts that my nephew took an immediate Instagram liking to.
Of course we also did the Colosseum and Roman forum, which was fascinating despite the eighty degree heat and roving packs of entrepreneurs trying to sell Michelangelo-themed aprons and such. But the best experience with ruins had to be our side trip to Pompeii, where we actually roved the ancient streets, trying to avoid being caught scowling in the background of Japanese tourists' selfies. I'm not completely sold on the concept of tragedy as tourism yet, but this was very moving.
Also? They have a wonderful TV networks called TOP Crime that plays old chestnuts like Bones and Rizzoli & Isles around the clock. And thus I may have to move there. Sorry, mom.
We had a great trip to Rome. Overwhelming, really. So much art, so much pasta, so many unpleasant bodily odors, so many lines. I can't even really pick one top highlight from the trip, it was all so fascinating, but the Sistine Chapel was definitely up there. Even if we were crammed in there with about 7000 people trying to take secret photographs and a man with a microphone urging "silencio" over and over again. It's one of those human accomplishments that is almost impossible to fathom, like La Sagrada Familia or Vanderpump Rules. Plus the cafeteria pizza at the Vatican cafeteria is really top notch.
One lesser known artistic experience that was also quite solid was Rome's museum of modern art. They had some very high quality works by people like Klimt, De Chirico, and Calder, but without the swarms of people complaining about the heat and looking for someplace to sit. They organized the work thematically, too, which was pretty compelling. I had never thought about the way Rodin complements Klimt, for instance, but it was striking. Also they had these contemporary sculptures that kind of looked like ghosts that my nephew took an immediate Instagram liking to.
Of course we also did the Colosseum and Roman forum, which was fascinating despite the eighty degree heat and roving packs of entrepreneurs trying to sell Michelangelo-themed aprons and such. But the best experience with ruins had to be our side trip to Pompeii, where we actually roved the ancient streets, trying to avoid being caught scowling in the background of Japanese tourists' selfies. I'm not completely sold on the concept of tragedy as tourism yet, but this was very moving.
Also? They have a wonderful TV networks called TOP Crime that plays old chestnuts like Bones and Rizzoli & Isles around the clock. And thus I may have to move there. Sorry, mom.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Family Ties
My mother has been in town for the first time in a few months, so we've been having a lot of family time the past few days. It's strange how, even though I'm forty-one, I can still find myself falling back into the old family dynamics when we're all together. I feel weird eating in front of my mother, as though she's counting my calories from a distance, or find myself relitigating old arguments with my sister about the time I made her walk part of the way home from the Y or the time she hit me in the face with a golf club. I could really be 13 again, except with better skin and clothes my mother didn't pick out for me.
We do generally have a nice time together, though. We took my niece and nephew down to my office in Willis Tower so they could marvel at things like desk chairs and glass doors while utterly ignoring the panoramic views. I taught my nephew to play Wii, by which I mean I helped him create a Mii that he insisted should look absolutely nothing like him and then played games with his hand under mine on the controller so he would feel like he was doing something. He definitely declared victory after each game, so I must have been doing something right. And I took my mom to the Art Institute, where we saw Impressionist pastels, Mexican Modernism, and tourist randomly blocking traffic to take selfies with the Seurats.
As they say, family is complicated. But what is life without a few complications?
My mother has been in town for the first time in a few months, so we've been having a lot of family time the past few days. It's strange how, even though I'm forty-one, I can still find myself falling back into the old family dynamics when we're all together. I feel weird eating in front of my mother, as though she's counting my calories from a distance, or find myself relitigating old arguments with my sister about the time I made her walk part of the way home from the Y or the time she hit me in the face with a golf club. I could really be 13 again, except with better skin and clothes my mother didn't pick out for me.
We do generally have a nice time together, though. We took my niece and nephew down to my office in Willis Tower so they could marvel at things like desk chairs and glass doors while utterly ignoring the panoramic views. I taught my nephew to play Wii, by which I mean I helped him create a Mii that he insisted should look absolutely nothing like him and then played games with his hand under mine on the controller so he would feel like he was doing something. He definitely declared victory after each game, so I must have been doing something right. And I took my mom to the Art Institute, where we saw Impressionist pastels, Mexican Modernism, and tourist randomly blocking traffic to take selfies with the Seurats.
As they say, family is complicated. But what is life without a few complications?
Saturday, October 05, 2019
News & Views
It's been a busy time! I gave notice at my job, so there's that. I'm sad to be leaving but I am following my boss to another firm. Given that I have more than once mistakenly used my husband's name when referring to my boss, it is obviously a significant relationship.
There's a lot to do getting ready for a job change. For one thing, I am discovering that my file maintenance was less than ideal. Not that having six different drafts of the same brief won't be useful to future biographers, but it's a lot to send to storage.
We also have a goodbye party to plan. I've requested a children's choir and the release of doves, but we shall see. I'd settle for a six pack of Zima.
We're also going on vacation in Italy this month, so get ready to see posts about that endlessly. I'm excited to finally see so many of the paintings and sculptures my art history teacher used to tell us about in between Vietnam flashbacks. Also to eat pasta, as clearly I am way too slender.
And I've started working with my law students again. Will this year's group find me as deeply weird and offputting as last year's seemed to? Who can tell. I can guarantee they will show up late to almost everything and make up weird excuses for not doing their work, however. This is America, after all.
It's also the time of year for my amateur theatrical. No casting news yet, but I would bet there will be wigs involved. Also, puns. They say that laughter is the best medicine, but I am still going to have to go with penicillin.
It's been a busy time! I gave notice at my job, so there's that. I'm sad to be leaving but I am following my boss to another firm. Given that I have more than once mistakenly used my husband's name when referring to my boss, it is obviously a significant relationship.
There's a lot to do getting ready for a job change. For one thing, I am discovering that my file maintenance was less than ideal. Not that having six different drafts of the same brief won't be useful to future biographers, but it's a lot to send to storage.
We also have a goodbye party to plan. I've requested a children's choir and the release of doves, but we shall see. I'd settle for a six pack of Zima.
We're also going on vacation in Italy this month, so get ready to see posts about that endlessly. I'm excited to finally see so many of the paintings and sculptures my art history teacher used to tell us about in between Vietnam flashbacks. Also to eat pasta, as clearly I am way too slender.
And I've started working with my law students again. Will this year's group find me as deeply weird and offputting as last year's seemed to? Who can tell. I can guarantee they will show up late to almost everything and make up weird excuses for not doing their work, however. This is America, after all.
It's also the time of year for my amateur theatrical. No casting news yet, but I would bet there will be wigs involved. Also, puns. They say that laughter is the best medicine, but I am still going to have to go with penicillin.
