What The Day Will Bring, Part Two

When I arrived at work this afternoon, what should be waiting for me in the office but a package! Getting surprises at work always brightens one's day.

Back in the day when I was teaching at Kent State University, I had the honor of having a tremendous student in my second class - well, she was actually the first student I spoke to on my first day in my first class, until she realized that she was in my second class, and was therefore two hours early and excused herself. This, of course, made a lasting impression on me. Turns out she was a magnificent, engaged student of apparent brillance, schedule reading skills notwithstanding.

Following the class, we became great friends and have remained so for several years now. For my 40th birthday, she concocted a wonderful treasure chest of gifts: a book of portraits, a biography of Georgia O'Keeffe, a wonderful Japanese scroll, a few dragon totems (I was born in the year of the dragon) and most importantly, she, being a fine glass artist, made me a stained glass kaleidoscope, one of my most treasured possessions.

This package was equally amazing, wonderful and impressive. For starters, she and her fiancee (more on that later) traveled to my hallowed adopted hometown stomping grounds of Seattle and Portland, Oregon recently. We are secretly planning to all relocate there and start an elite intellectual and artisitic enclave. Anyway, she sent back the best souvenir of all: two boxes of Snoqualmie Falls Lodge Pancake Mix - the best in the world. And my love of the product has nothing to do with my love of Twin Peaks. Really.

Oh, but wait, it keeps getting better...

I am now the proud owner of an Oscar Wilde action figure! The manufacturers list his weapon of choice as: WIT. Take that, G.I. Joe.

And while I am not too sure if I want to witness all of Oscar's actions, the package comes with a wonderful quote,

"To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance."

and one of my all-time favorites, which really does sum up my view of things:

"The world is stage, but the play is badly cast."

If only it was a pull-string doll, and Oscar would spew out random nuggets and glorious insults...ah well.

{ P.S. - It seems Oscar is "not suitable for children under 36 months. No kidding.}

Next, I have a strange bag of pastel-colored (kaleidoscopic if you will) Japanese hard candy - no doubt because Ms. Sara is a rabid anime fan.

Finally, from the Corning Museum of Glass, a magnificent Latticino marble by Jody Fine, which will fit into the aforementioned kaleidoscope quite nicely. It says on the literature that Jody Fine is known as "Captain Marble," so Captain Saint Lucifer is even more impressed.

Treasures all. Absolutely wonderful. And I am grinning while I compose this and Oscar runs rampant on the desk...

However, I have been horribly remiss in not writing a congratulatory post for the upcoming nuptials of Ms. Sara and her Bradley. Not only am I very happy for the two of them, I foresee a trip to the hitherto unknown Buffalo, New York in my future. And then, the exodus to the Great Pacific Northwest will begin!