A scan of the NYT image of Fred Brock (and wife) outside our old house. 

posting just because i liked this quote:
We live in a society and a culture and an economic model that tries to make everything look right. Look at computers. Why are they all putty-colored or off-fucking-white? You make something off-white or beige because you are afraid to use any other color—because you don't want to offend anybody. But by definition, when you make something no one hates, no one loves it. So I am interested in imperfections, quirkiness, insanity, unpredictability. That's what we really pay attention to anyway.

- Tibor Kalman, 1996

10 more things you never knew about erica*
1. I love - LOVE - Broccoli Cheese soup, especially from Panera or Safeway.
2. In fourth grade, I placed third in a community-wide music composition contest. I composed a piano song called "Springtime Frolic." (Frolic? What fourth-grader uses the word "frolic"?)
3. In high school I subscribed to Seventeen because I wanted the horoscopes, a feature not appearing in the Manhattan Mercury.
4. My elementary school music teacher was Mrs. Huffanagel. We called her "Mrs. Half-a-bagel."
5. I am so over Details.
6. I used to be able to do the splits.
7. I've seen Shoji Tabuchi in concert in Branson twice. (Family vacations, people.)
8. I got a B in eighth grade reading. My only B in my secondary education and a grade I still protest to this day.
9. Handwriting fonts turn me off. Slab serifs turn me on.
10. When I started looking at colleges, I thought I wanted to be in sports medicine/therapy. I then found out I'd have to go to school for more than four years.

*A Leaky Cauldron, of Sorts does not guarantee that these will be news to everyone

welcome to arizona, hotbed of identity theft
Someone broke into the company handling my parents' mortgage, taking my parents' file with them. Good-bye, Visa card number and SSN.

...and a bully for ol' manhattan
This just in: Fred Brock was interviewed on Morning Edition as I was driving to work this morning. My mom called me right after the report ended, and we were both sqealing, "He lives in our house!" Could Brock have taken that interview in our former kitchen? Or maybe in the downstairs office? Or maybe his office is my former bedroom, and he took the call from Renee Montagne there. Oooh! I love having him live in our house!

a bully for ol' mizzou
It turns out my doctor attended Mizzou for post-grad work before going on to the Mayo Clinic and then starting her own practice in Scottsdale.

Last night I went to an Alpha Chi alum club event where I met a recent grad from kU's broadcast journalism sequence. I didn't even know that kU had broadcast. I asked her where she was working and she said she couldn't find a job at a station. I forced myself to keep civil and not laugh, thinking to myself, "Of course not, sweetie. You went to kU. If you wanted a job in broadcast, you should have traveled another 2 and a half hours along I-70 to attend Mizzou."

OH MY GOD, IT'S 80 DEGREES
It's January and it's 80 freaking degrees outside. I guess this means I'm going to have to stop putting off getting the air conditioner in my car fixed.

also
I've got an awful crick in my neck.

i've been eagerly awaiting the chance to post this


Jon & Megan *

I held off until Megan gave the cue on her blog, but boy, is it hard to keep good news a secret! Many congratulations to a friend I love and admire, and the same to her fabulous Jonner.

*Can you see me now?

i told you you'd be jealous of my house
Where were you, thorough NYT readers - ahem, Fiscus - a month ago when my house appeared in the Times? My mom just got back from visiting Manhattan and brought with her a copy of the article*† Fred Brock had written about his move from the Big Apple to the Little Apple. There on page 10 of the real estate section are he and his wife standing in my old driveway! Crazy. (Said with the inflection and tone of Ben Fong-Torres as portrayed in Almost Famous.) Too bad the online archives don't include images.

typical east coast attidude
"While the move to Kansas was a financial plus, some of our New York friends seemed to think we were falling into a black hole somewhere west of the Hudson River. Living in a university town, however, has many of the cultural pleasures of the big city without the hassle or expense." - Fred Brock

*Requires registration.
†My house isn't mentioned until the 11th paragraph.

blast from the past
In honor of the release of William Shatner's collaborative CD with Ben Folds (that's one odd CD, folks), we at A Leaky Cauldron, of Sorts reflect on our first Ben concert.


Me, Ben Folds, Pat, Courtney.
(Don't Ben and I make a cute couple?) 

about the first cat i lived with
Cassie has a blog? Read the thoughts of the feline that gave me nightmares.*

*I woke up with a scream one night because I dreamed she was attacking my face. Thank God for Gus-with-thumbs (sweetest cat ever) or I would still distrust cats.

about that "AP style nazi" name
I might mention that my editor (my editor, the one in charge of setting the style for our mag) gave me 20 red pens and a sticky-note pad of AP style entries as my Christmas gift.

the last of the christmas pics
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day

the requisite end-of-year post
Yeah, so it's late. You should know me by now; I'm never on time. Except to work. There I'm the only one on time.

new in 2004
+ Black robes and that funny hat
+ Books on tape/CD
+ Engagements and broken engagements
+ NYC
+ Website creation (and later, demolition)
+ Short hair (I'm trying to grow it out again, but now it just looks like shaggy crap)
+ A grown-up wallet
+ Living with a cat who changed my opinions about cats.
+ OSX
+ PHX
+ No rent when living with the 'rents
+ A "real" job.
+ A 401(k)
+ Being called the "AP Style Nazi"
+ Business cards
+ Driving the mom-mobile green minivan
+ The Format
+ The Postal Service
+ An obsession with David Sedaris
+ Going over my cell phone minutes
+ A contribution to my local NPR station (I'm becoming more and more like my parents...)
+ Paying to work out at a gym (see: reasons why I miss MU)
+ Became rewarded Phoenix Film Festival judge
+ The FGHNGBCBC

some of those photos i promised you
The Brooks Family Christmas opening gifts before leaving for the actual holiday in California
Climbing Indian Rock exploring the natural side of Berkeley with little cousin Logan

More will come when I get around to uploading them.