'known to carry big things, if you know what i mean'

i've got preemptive cabin fever from peering out my window analyzing the probability that the sleet coming down will trap me at home tonight. i want to go out and play and am pouting somewhat.

my beautiful niece is still nameless. i have no idea why tanja and jon are still dicking around with a name and honestly am annoyed at their nonseriousness about giving her a proper moniker. i really don't think it can be good for a little baby to be nameless, though my sister claims it's no big deal. they are apparently waiting for some kind of epiphany in which the right name will strike them. if i make it out there for president's day weekend, i have threatened to do the naming myself. paris warnick, anyone?

i'm trying to do some research to prep for my interview thursday with the NYC school reps. whereas virginia has point-by-point SOLs by grade level in each subject, new york has four general learning standards. NY kids do not take the SOL test, but the regent exams. in general, the regents seem a lot less crappy than the SOLs, and i really dig the focus on students using oral and written language "for effective social communication with a wide variety of people." the feel of that educational standard is so much more liberal than the standards i am used to. it implies so much more.

when i think of really moving to NY, despite my nerves i feel like i have swished an 8-ball around and it's saying 'all signs point to yes'. my new york friends have been especially supportive, and gabriel even mentioned that his lease is up in august and that i should consider that when i start looking for a place. i hadn't realized how much i am valuing that kind of support until i felt a little weight lift as i read his words. it still seems like nothing more than a daydream to imagine myself living there, even as i take the steps to get closer to what i have always wanted.

every year in the weeks between the golden globes and the oscars, i get really antsy about seeing as many oscar-nominated movies as i can. i just like having a clue when i watch the academy awards, i guess. on demand is my new(ish) addiction, and tonight i ordered maria full of grace. my verdict is that it is overall a fine film, but i am surprised that cataline sandino moreno has been nominated for best actress. she was great, but not phenomenal. but who am i to know.

next up on my must-see list is the aviator, which i admit i wouldn't have as much interest in if it hadn't snagged 11 nominations. i have mixed emotions about mr. dicaprio, who doesn't seem really to age at all, save a strange widening of his body that isn't fatness. hm. i did have a great dream about him the other night though. mmm.

i never did make it out tonight; the nasty sleet and weather advisories made me too nervous. ho-hum.