GRINGA EN GUADALAJARA

All aboard!

2010-02-26T10:07:00.000-08:00

I'm interviewing with the state next Wednesday for a bilingual office position. Through an interesting series of events I'm employed but.... not entirely. I'm taking this as a sign from God that it's time to move out. If I keep waiting to feel like I'm capable of handling a change, I'm never going to do anything, and something needs to be done. I haven't told Becky yet, since she's working on Bryan's reception tomorrow, sooooo, um, please don't say anything to her! There seems to be a hefty dose of denial about me leaving, even though I've told her I'm planning on pursuing another job.

I've also been on a crazy cleaning binge, thanks to carpet beetles (!!!!) somehow having found their way to my yarn/knitting. And also thanks to How Clean Is Your House, a wonderful BBC show that inspired me to take a really good look at how I was living, and then clean some of it up. Apparently a small space crammed with lots of stuff plus woolly things/yarn stored out in the open combined with a poorly functioning (read: burning and sparking) vacuum cleaner leads to the appearance of carpet beetles. I've vacuumed all the carpet I can reach, moved furniture, cleaned up boxes, taken a box of sheets to St. Vincent de Paul, culled the books, completely wiped down a bookshelf.... dude, I am on a roll! Which is, of course, going to be sadly interrupted when I head to Sacramento this weekend, which means I will probably be completely out of the mood by the time I get home! But, I am planning on conscripting some friends (and a steam cleaner) at some point in the nearish future and doing some serious spring cleaning/re-arranging. It's just so weird, I almost feel like an adult!

A little excitement

2009-09-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

We had some yesterday in the form of a forest fire that ripped through the area above my house. And I do mean ripped! It was something like 100 degrees with decent winds from the south, so perfect fire conditions. I always thought my parents were the ones in forest fire danger what with being in the middle of the forest and what not, but apparently I was wrong! I did find it kind of funny that the cops told me twice that my street had been evacuated when both times I had just gotten off the phone with my landlord.... who was up at the house. At least I now have a concrete idea of what needs to be grabbed if we have another fire. Something along the lines of: violin, computer, pictures, tax records. And possibly yarn if I have enough time. I would lose all my books though, which would suck. And my spinning wheel.

When I came home tonight I could still see spot fires on the hills and the command center was still set up in the empty parking lot on Lone Pine. And I can still smell the smoke. The burned area actually isn't all that different from the scrub oaks all over the hill. All in all, an interesting experience to have gone through and I'm very thankful that no one was injured and no one lost their home!

Perfect Summer Day

2009-08-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

I wish I had my camera because today is seriously about perfect. It's 81 degrees and sure to get hotter, but for summer, that's not bad at all. The sky is beautifully blue, no forest fire smoke blowing into the valley and there are wisps of cloud hovering over the hills that ring the valley. It's the kind of day where one wants a burger from Jasper's, along with some sweet potato fries, so that was lunch. Although I really wish I could be outside enjoying the weather, even getting to drive in it is absolutely lovely!

Autumn in summer

2009-08-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

I love the strange, unpredictable weather of Southern Oregon. Last week it was blisteringly hot, enough so that pretty much everyone was in a foul mood, and today it was cloudy and rainy, with temperatures reaching for the upper 70s. It was a great day for tea, cucumbers and New Moon during my lunch break and red Thai curry for dinner with a little Buffy and Twilight... and maybe some Ray Kowalski. Yesterday was a day for clips from LotR on YouTube, the last episode of North & South, and Penelope, not to mention a used bookstore in the evening. It's been kind of nice to have two days in a row to myself in the middle of the week. My biggest dilemma this week is between the Sock Summit and the Tioga rendezvous. I can't leave before three on Friday and I have to be home before Sunday morning, so either one is going to be a short visit, but I'm going to do one or the other, and I just can't decide!

Klamath Falls

2009-08-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

I really like Klamath Falls. I went over last night to watch Aunt Leann in the community theater production of "Music Man" and it was so much fun!! The theater was packed and it was so lovely to feel a sense of community and support, rather than whatever it is we have here in Hometown. Aunt Leann played Eulalie and did a fabulous job, as did the rest of the cast and crew (Jeffy).

I spent the night not on the couch, a change from usual, and dreamed of zombies at Campmeeting and then Edward Cullen and LOTR (no, I really have no idea where any of that came from, minus the LOTR), then got up and had breakfast with Katie at a wonderful little place called Nibbley's Cafe (amazing food! Homemade bread! HUGE cinnamon rolls!). After that, we stopped at the mountain man store so I could check out the powder measures, but I think I'm going to keep looking for the one Dad and I think I got for Christmas, since they cost about $15, and then Katie took me on a lovely drive along the base of the foothills. I just love how open and wide the Klamath Valley feels, and even though it's so barren, there are all kinds of trees just lurking in unexpected places.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Aunt Leann, watching Jeff at football practice as the thunderstorm that eventually followed me home began to brew and break. Made for some interesting driving on the way home, not to mention the evening light show!

Klamath Falls just seems like a wonderful escape from the Rogue Valley, so close and yet far enough away that everything is different. Maybe I will move there someday, we'll have to see....

Summer in SoOre

2009-07-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

Summer has long been, if not my least favorite season, then definitely the season that I have the most issues with. For one thing, I am currently trapped in my apartment with the windows closed and the AC on, when it has been my wont for the last month to sleep with the windows open while enjoying the night breezes. Unfortunately, this is a little difficult to do when it's only supposed to get down to 70 degrees tonight. However, as uncomfortable as this might be, it is also the cause of long drives out into the country (not so easy in the winter when some of the roads are quite snowed in) and up to the steeps of Mt. Ashland:
It is also the time of gardens and flowers and evening picnics. And the Fair. Which this year was greatly improved from years past. They actually had a flower competition! And although the tatting guys weren't represented (a great loss, I have to tell you. The gentleman and his son have been doing it for years and have produced some of the most amazing stuff I have seen in any handicraft.), there were actually a couple of rather nice pairs of socks entered. I went with my parents on a Wednesday evening, the lowest forecasted temperature for the rest of the week. We actually went to the pig auction, since my parents' neighbors' kids were showing/selling their pigs this year. My dad knew the Grand Champion's dad, too. The GC sold his pig for $10,200!! That's something like $40 a pound. The pigs that we watched being auctioned were between $3.50 and $7.50.

As we wandered through the stalls I couldn't help but think that we really missed the boat not getting me into 4H. I totally could have married my farmer!! I probably would have had to reconcile myself to a life of country music (gak!), but I might have gotten to have a horse of my very own, which would have made up for it.

Yellow Submarine

2009-06-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

This is the song going through my head right now. It's very awkward because I'm on the phone with tech support for an email problem through our business software and I have the insane urge to start humming "Yellow Submarine." But the the guy I'm on hold with is not at all chatty. Like, minutes are going by without ..... jumping jackrabbits, I've been on the phone with this guy for 22 minutes and we've exchanged maybe 10 sentences!!! I could be watching CSI (again) or actually getting stuff done! Speaking of getting stuff done, I must go get my hair cut, get a pedicure, buy the chiffon wrap and find some underpinnings before Katie's wedding next week. Not to mention her socks. Of which, one is partially done. Whoops! Email problem solved, off to the next issue!

Allergies

2009-05-19T08:42:00.001-07:00

As much as I love this time of the year, with it's glorious flowers and rainstorms and warm-but-not-ridiculously-hot sunshine and perfect shades of green, I'm not a huge fan of the allergies. Mine aren't bad enough to require medication, which is good, but that also means that I don't get medication and instead get to sniffle my way through a couple of weeks before the oak stops blooming. However, I get things like the rhodies blooming in Lithia, so I suppose it works out. This photo is from last year, but I know they're blooming right now, so it seems appropriate!

Pi Day!

2009-03-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot that today, March 14th (3.14), was Pi Day until someone mentioned it on NPR! It seemed quite appropriate to me that I should be drinking from a round-mouthed glass and eating a round-topped muffin at the time. I celebrated Pi Day by really not doing much except going to the library and doing laundry. I also layed around listening to West Coast Live and World Cafe, which I don't often do. The weather today, rather than being the promised rain, was the dull flat gray that drains all motivation and willpower from me, resulting in the muffin purchase. But hey, I finished The Five Red Herrings after a ridiculous amount of time, so I'm thinking I got at least something accomplished. Not to mention reading this month's Real Simple. I'm wondering if the toothpaste trick really will work on my faucets, since they're kinda mineral-marked. If it works, I'll let you know.

Road Trippin'

2009-02-27T09:38:00.000-08:00

I love road trips. I love packing for them, I love the anticipation, I love getting started, I love the zoning (most of the time) and I even love the arriving. Did I mention the gratuitous stops at Starbucks? I have most of the stores between Medford and Sacramento pegged, and I'm getting there with the northern trek as well.

I'm trippin' north this weekend for my cousin Natalie's wedding, which will be fun, and I also get to see my Nan and LaDonna, not to mention various and sundry other family members and friends. It sounds like I might also be getting to go up in two weeks with my parents for the second weekend of special meetings in Portland. I have to say, it's just nice to get out of the Valley and the "norm" of boredom and stress. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Job Security

2009-02-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

I hazn't any right now. It's kind of hard to keep one's chin up when one's employers are talking about negating one's job. Fortunately Becky is fighting tooth and nail for me, but I can't help thinking it's just a matter of time before it all goes bad. Positive thinking, hurrah!! I've been looking for another job, but they're rather scarce on the ground right now, at least in my areas of expertise (sitting around, doing nothing, surfing the net, etc.). But at least I have a job!!!! And I am thankful for it!!

My beautiful cousins!

2009-01-07T09:02:00.001-08:00

My beautiful cousins!
Originally uploaded by geekgirl365

I'm trying out a new aspect of technology, this time my Flickr account + my blog. This is from two Thanksgivings ago, when my family met up at the Running Y Worldmark Resort in Klamath Falls.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a day or two late, but the sentiment should be the same year-round, correct? Moo made it down for Christmas, which was wonderful, since he's moving to Spokane in two weeks, and I'm not sure how long it'll be before I get to see him again. MY Christmas gift came in the form of not getting anything terrifically wrong during the Christmas program, thank the good Lord. I also got the gift of illness, for the first time in three years, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't from God. Dorothy made me lovely little lime-green lace wristlets and I've been wearing them as I sit in front of the computer with my Thera-Flu and knitting, watching Eureka, a very entertaining show that Moo, Inc. is loaning me. Anyway, I hope that everyone else is doing well, and again, I wish you ALL a Merry Christmas!

Thankful

2008-12-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful:

- that I have a job. Even if it drives me nuts, at least I'm employed.

- for the Community Health Center! Maybe getting my hours cut was a blessing in disguise.

- that I can knit. I don't know what I would be doing for Christmas presents this year otherwise! As it is, I'm not sure everything is going to get done in time and I can only stay up so late and still function in the morning!

- for friends and family. In my case, they start to blend a lot!

- that I have a place to live and very warm flannel sheets.

- that I have enough food to eat, and it's food I like. A lot.

- for enough self-control to usually get most of my bills paid before I go crazy with my money. Because when I don't have it, I get into plenty of trouble.

- that I have luxuries in my life like tea, books, expensive yarn and a computer that works.

- that I'm alive and able to walk, see, hear and speak without any help. It seems like a no-brainer until you think of how many people don't have that ability.

I thought perhaps it was time to just remind myself of how good I really do have it!

Medford Mail Tribune..... questionable intelligence

2008-12-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

So, I just heard that our own, beloved Medford Mail Tribune wants to print a list of all of the people in the county who have a concealed carrier's permit. First thought in my head?

"Now there's a good reason to not get my concealed permit and just carry illegally."

I mean, honestly, what on earth are they thinking?? There is no reason at all that a list like that should be made public knowledge in such a blaring way. I'm sure they're going off the whole "public safety" angle based on the high school teacher case, but believe me, the people they need to be worried about carrying concealed aren't going to be on that list. I would go so far as to call this behavior harassment of people who have enough belief in our government and its policies to admit to carrying a handgun.

What are they hoping to accomplish? Do they want to shame (ha!) gun owners into changing their ways? Do they know where they are? This is Southern Oregon, and no amount of froufy vineyards or wonderful arts programs (I love Britt and OSF) is going to change the fact that the Rogue Valley is still populated by loggers, construction workers, hunters, rednecks and their children.

The Medford Mail Tribune, if they continue to pursue this, are stepping waaaaay out of line in their pursuit of "journalism." This isn't journalism; this is persecution.

Fog

2008-12-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

I have ambivalent feelings about fog. It's cold and wet and repressive and very, very depressing sometimes, as those of you who live around here certainly know. But other times it's alive, mysterious and lovely. I especially like it when it's blowing in shreds around the trees or when I'm in the mountains and the fog is sitting in the valleys. This morning, though, I had one of the really good fog moments. I was driving in to work and the fog was burning off in one area and the sunrise was apparently coming over the mountain, because the fog I was driving through was rose-colored. Instead of being cold and oppressive, it was (from the interior of my car) warm and inviting. I think that even if I'd been outside, walking through the pear orchards, it would have seemed warmer. And it was lovely.

I got a new plant!

2008-11-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

This one is special because it's staying with me at work, attempting to bring a breath of life into the windowless box that is my office. We also have an orchid that we have managed to not kill, although its sibling died tragically, and the survivor has yet to bloom again. In happier news, the Christmas cacti are beginning to bloom and a couple of plants got re-planted yesterday. Yay! And yeah, other than my hours at work getting cut, these are some of the more fascinating things going on in my life right now. Well, unless you count Chicago... and the mad rush to get presents made and cards figured out. This year's design is particularly challenging. Not sure what exactly I was thinking, but if I pull it off they're going to be fab! Katie suggested I emboss part of the image, but that would add, like, money and more time to the process, neither of which I currently possess! So, anyone else get a new houseplant lately? (Shout out to my girl, Mandy, for that idea we talked about and I'm attempting.)

Bored

2008-11-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored. I am bored. Work has slowed waaaaaaay down, a sure sign that I need to find a second position, so there isn't all that much for me to do. And I'm feeling antsy and bored anyway, so this is not a good combination. In weatherly news, it is drizzling and foggy.... which would be fabulous, except I'm not at home sitting on my couch wrapped up in a comforter with tea and a novel with music playing in the background. I don't even have windows in my office. So I'm watching Brotherhood 2.0 videos and blogging, with some paperwork thrown in here and there to spice things up. But I'm still bored.

What do you guys do when you get bored at work?

Ha!

2008-11-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

I can't recommend the rest of the strips, but this one is great for the knitters in my audience! Particularly the knitters who also like physics. It's like scarves meet particle physics. And it looks like we haven't been sucked into a black hole yet, either! Also, I think some applause for Mandy is appropriate, as she has decided to attempt the NaBloPoMo 08. I will be looking forward to seeing where her novel takes her!

PS Except, it's not a novel. She's blogging every day for 30 days. And I'm a noodle brain.

I love the Rogue Valley...

2008-10-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

So, we've had the most incredibly beautiful weather here for the last several weeks. Entertainingly enough for me, however, we natives can predict with wicked accuracy when it will be changing. I direct your attention here. Makes me kinda happy that I don't have small children to make all cute and take from door to door. It also make me even happier that I'm not going to dressing up in revealing clothing and dancing around the plaza in Ashland!!

Moments

2008-10-24T15:59:00.001-07:00

I love moments, the good ones at least. But even the bad ones stand out so clearly, so starkly against the everyday. I just had a good one, listening to the Cast On podcast, Episode 67. The podcaster, Brenda Dayne, was doing some work for the Smithsonian (I believe) and had stopped in a Welsh pub, where she met a group of older-than-us-or-our-parents gentlemen who burst into song during the course of the recording.

The main singer had a beautiful baritone voice and the rest of the men joined in, harmonizing, and here I was listening half a world away, sitting in an office stuffing envelopes, but seeing these people in my head breaking into song, for crying out loud, which totally proves that I'm Welsh.

I plan on having several more good moments this weekend, since Elm and I are headed to Ashland so she can buy herself some yarn and we can walk through the park looking at all the lovely trees as they turn.

The incident reminded me of the song "Moments" from Into the Woods:

Oh, if life were made of moments,
Even now and then a bad one-!
But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one.

Yarn Harlot

2008-10-06T15:51:00.001-07:00

I love this lady!

So, you've possibly by now heard the phrase "to kinnear" someone, meaning to surreptitiously snap a photo of them, usually used in reference to celebrities. Well, she's the one who coined the term by attempting a photo of Greg Kinnear (of course!) and getting.... I can't remember, I think she did get part of him other than his leg. Anyway, she has announced a charity drive for Doctors Without Borders (Medisomethings Sans Frontieres, since she's in Toronto, I believe) inspired by the success of a fellow knitter in convincing Mr. Kinnear to let her take a picture of him holding anon-the-needles sock!

She explains it much better here. It's nice to remember that the world is not all darkness and despair, even though it IS an election year.

Continuing with the knitting theme, the weather is here! It is beautiful! And cooling off! But still sunny after our beautiful burst of rain! Tonight is my knitting group at our local Starbucks (because we couldn't find a locally-owned coffee shop that stays open late enough) and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what people are making. I myself have started a new little scarf in a variegated autumn-y alpaca. We'll have to see if it gets finished before winter is totally here!

Autumn is here!

2008-10-01T21:15:00.001-07:00

Yay, w00t and amen!! The last week or so it's been in the 90s around here, although the leaves were starting to fall in places. But today the wind started blowing and when I came home there were drifts of pine needles in the driveway. The weather site says a series of fronts is moving (are moving?) into the area and the clouds are definitely here. I was thinking how much more fun it was before I started paying attention to things like warm and cold fronts and the weather changes were just these strange, inexplicable events that no one could predict! Not that they always can nowadays, but you know what I mean!

Sacramento Special Meetings were this weekend and I went down with eleven other people in the church van. It was definitely interesting! Fortunately the smoke wasn't too horrendous before we hit the valley, so the drive was actually quite lovely. I need to go visit Lassen. Maybe later this month....

I got roped into playing some "fiddle" (quotation marks are to indicate my relative skill at that particular style) and by the end of the day, I didn't think I would be able to lift my arm for the last number! I had a great time, got to see my family and friends, which is always wonderful, and connected with people I haven't gotten to see or know so well in the past. And of course there was food, good food, and plenty of it! Although I had plenty of stress leading up to the trip (my manager and permission slips. Between the two I nearly ground my teeth to powder!) I must say that I'm glad I went. The services were excellent and I must extend a huge THANK YOU to the lovely people who made it all possible!

Happy Autumn Equinox!!

2008-09-22T16:26:00.001-07:00

I have to say, for my part I'm leaning towards blue body paint and bonfire dancing. Okay, knitting and hot chocolate are probably what's going to happen, but a girl can dream, can't she? Anyway, enjoy the day and the evening!

I miss the old Disney

2008-09-17T18:43:00.001-07:00

I just watched High School Musical for the first time and I gotta say, I miss the old Disney. Ya know, the one that wasn't constantly shoving feel good messages at you with every movie. And the cast is so obviously ethnically politically correct that it's annoying. But back to the feel good messages. It just seems like Disney has gotten so saccharine sweet that their movies are nearly intolerable. I mean, Disney has always been about escapism, but their movies and cartoons have gone to the point where I'd rather gag than cheer when the heroes win. HSM itself isn't overly bad, I mean, it is a musical about a high school musical and Zac Efron likes to sing through his nose and the actress who plays Gabriela does that glottal stop thing that irritates me to death, but the tunes are catchy and there are some fun moments. But I've noticed that even if bad things do happen in a Disney flick, like someone dies, now it feels overly contrived, whereas before it seemed like part of the story.

Perhaps this is what happens when I go from watching Buffy (admission: am partially in love with Angel, much to my dismay. Curse you, brooding men!!! Hope to be in love with Spike soon, because he's just so bad.) and Fast and the Furious to kids' movies. ....... Or maybe not. I don't remember the cartoons I grew up with constantly pushing a message at me, albeit usually positive message. I wonder what Walt would say. Especially at the ridiculous number of sequels that keep coming out. Blegh! I think I may need some Pitch Black or 10 Things I Hate About You to cleanse my palate. Except I have to go, cause I'm about to be late for church!

blip

2008-09-10T14:30:00.001-07:00

So before we get to the title, I just called this customer service line for some info I needed for work, and the guyI talked to had this fabulous British accent (not your BBC accent, either) and he called me "my love" twice and it was so charming!! I know I'm supposed to be all offended that he was sexist and everything, but I'm totally not. It may have repaired my day, in fact. Also, I have started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Joss Whedon's version); I'll let you know what I think.

On to the title. Apparently the end of the world has been put off another month or so, since right now the collider is only shooting particles in one direction, but yesterday as I was driving around I was thinking how strange it would be if the scientists did create a black hole (very highly improbable) and the planet (and, therefore, humanity) were sucked into it almost instantaneously.

*blip*

And we would never know. Every one, every thing, just ... a black hole! Just think, all of our wars, all of our pollution, reduced to the very atoms of the weapons and smog that form them. In one way, it is beyond ridiculously depressing, but in another way.... it just kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it? All of our anger, our petty jealousies, hatred, racism, the Internet, things that exist solely because humanity exists, would simply *poof* into non-being. And the elections would be over. Hmmmm......

But for those of you who are wondering has the large hadron collider destroyed the world yet, click on the link, or come to your own conclusions!

Con-nec-ti-vi-ty

2008-09-07T22:06:00.001-07:00

Remember? The old Police song? No? Hmmm, perhaps I have the wrong word. Anyway, just a quick note to let you all share in the joy, now that I have my Internet connection back. Apparently my anti-virus software's firewall was blocking my access to the web and I didn't figure it out until last week. But now I have, which means my music collection may grow a little more substantially than it ought!

Also, if anyone can even find me right now, you need to change any bookmarks or links to gringaenguadalajara.blogspot.com. I tragically have not had my address purchased again for the year, so leaving out the "blogspot" portion of the address leads nowhere. Bry, if you're reading this, drop me a line, baby, we need to talk!

Anyway, hope you all had a lovely weekend. I went to Klamath Falls with my mom and had a wonderful time hanging out and going to the Tulelake County Fair, which is all that a fair should be, instead of the ridiculous monstrosity that some have becomeJacksonCountyFairahem. I also got the dates for this year's Mexican adventure to oh-so-friendly Tijuana with Uncle Jim's church, which I'm totally looking forward to, even if I'm not allowed to use handsaws anymore. But the week stretches before us now, and so I will also hope that you all have a lovely week as we begin to ease into autumn.

Close Call

2008-08-29T09:53:00.001-07:00

Well, so much for my accident-free discount on my car insurance.

As I was turning from Foothill onto my street, this kid came up the hill behind me, going too fast and not paying attention, didn't see me stopped with my turn signal on, and swerved to the left to pass me since there's a concrete bridge abutment to the right. Too bad he passed me just as I was turning.

Actually, the damage to my car is really minimal, just some missing paint and slight body damage on the driver's fender. It could have been so much worse, which I didn't even realize until I was talking to my dad about it. If had started turning just a millisecond sooner, he would have t-boned me and probably killed me. A very sobering thought, since I'm kind of attached to living and life and everything. And a reminder of how much God watches over us. And if I hadn't been turning, it would have been because there would have been a car coming, and he would have hit them head on. So really, I got off easy.

After we did the info exchange and I called in the accident (stupid me, could have avoided the insurance up completely!), the guy went to get in his car.... and found he had locked his keys in the car. And his cell phone. So I gave him a ride to a friend's house. After all, neither of us were dead and it was a beautiful day!

My Ex-Boyfriend's Family

2008-08-19T16:32:00.001-07:00

So, how many of you kinda cringed or something when you read that? Because, hee!!! It is so much fun to fling that phrase around. Seriously, the reactions I get from people are hilarious! When Joel first broke up with me someone asked his parents something about still talking to me and their response was a rather incredulous "HE broke up with her, not us!!" I'm having dinner over at their house tonight with my parents, and rumor has it (I accidentally made Mom tip her hand) that Dad made dessert. And once I get my dictionary (and drop my violin off, which has been in the trunk since Sunday. Doh!), there will be Scrabble. This isn't all to say that there haven't been some awkward moments (specifically those involving the new-now-ex-girlfriend) but since I've been friends with that family for about eight or more years now, it does seem a little like chucking the baby out with the bath water for us to quit speaking to each other.

Ohhhhhh yes, and, a quick reminder: Friends do not let friends clap between the movements of symphonies at a concert. Just so you know. Because at Britt this last weekend.... oh heavens. And I got a drunken, bottle-blonde divorcee ghost-conducting while lying on her back for one concert! Free entertainment! She and her cohort left during intermission (before the best part of the concert, I would like to add), which is probably a good thing, because if she continued to clap between every movement, there could have been violence. A noob is allowed two movements; clapping after the third marks you as an unmitigated boob. And prolonged clapping when everyone else obviously isn't? Inexcusable (for the second post in a row. I rock!). Anyway, I'm taking off, gonna get the Baby out of the trunk and into the house, grab the dictionary and go eat pizza. With my ex-boyfriend's family. Hee!

Signs that you probably aren't going to bond

2008-08-18T16:19:00.001-07:00

At the staffing agency, we often received forwards from friends, family, whatever that were sent on to others in the office. One day we were comparing favorite forwards and I showed my co-workers this, a clip that has always cracked me up to a ridiculous degree:

Really, the Numa Numa Guy has always embodied, for me, that certain quality, that je ne sais quoi, okay, the same thing that makes me dance in the car and makes faces out my windows at night. And that makes me happy.

So, I showed this to my office mates and instead of gales of laughter (please, the eyebrow raise? Ridiculously funny!) I got "some fat guy who was so nerdy he recorded himself dancing using his webcam? Please!"

.........

I should have known sooner, due to the post-luncheon "look at my new shoes!!" discussions and inability to keep necklines within six inches of collarbones, but I do believe it was at this point in our relationship that I really understood that we were never going to click. At all. Ever.

To reduce the Numa Numa Guy to a nerdy fat guy was inexcusable. Honestly, I think the Numa Numa Guy is probably way more interesting than certain of my co-workers. By far. To take what was obviously meant to be fun and jeer was inexcusable. Numa Numa Guy, I think you rock.

PS You know, I'm really not sure where this blog came from..... I was trolling YouTube and for some reason decided to look him up and.... well, I remembered. It's one of those things where the differing points of view can really signal a fundamental difference. Not so much that they didn't like it, but how they criticized it.

The Only Living Boy In New York

2008-08-11T15:29:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I know, I've already posted today.

However....

Post title is also song title of a Simon & Garfunkel song and totally describes how I feel in this office!!!! Seriously, am I the only person capable of answering a phone??? Even while doing something else, which, apparently, no one else can do?!?!?!?!?

I should state very clearly that I do not include Becky in this rant. She is very good about answering phones. This rant comes from an entire week during which I multi-tasked and watched movies off YouTube while doing my work (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so I could avoid listening to the idiotic things my co-workers say (i.e. jokes about pre-choked chicken. So classy. And such lovely lawsuit potential if I were someone else.) while certain people sat around playing solitaire, which is okay since, after all, the office girl is watching movies (while getting her work done), and hey! Why should they have to answer phones while playing solitaire?

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!

*deep breathing exercises*

So, yes, dear readers, is it as I fear? Am I the only living person left in this office? Okay, yes, this is a tad irate and irrational.... and perhaps not entirely true, minus the solitaire part. And the inability of other people to answer phones. But still! Makes me long for the days when my rants were about things like inappropriate behavior in the computer lab.

Lack of Connection

2008-08-11T08:57:00.001-07:00

I have no Internet at home. None. My wireless router connects beautifully, clear signal and....... nothing. Bry came over and spent a couple of hours twiggling toggles and searching through gibberish but the answer seems to be that there is something wrong with the wireless router and it's not getting the Internet to me. My landlords' computer is working fine and I don't want to make them feel like they need to get a new router just for me, especially since I don't have to pay for access, and I don't have the spare change to go buy a new one right now. All this to basically say, I know I haven't posted in a while, partly because the periods of air-gazing required for good posts makes me feel guilty when I do it at work and partly because there hasn't been all that much wildly exciting going on in my life lately.

PCD (Post-Campmeeting Depression)

2008-07-16T12:00:00.001-07:00

Okay, so maybe depression is a little strong, but there is certainly a letdown in coming home and leaving behind friends and family for another year, not to mention having to return to a distinctly different environment. I think I'm having a little trouble adjusting to being alone all the time rather than constantly having people (the men I work with do not count, thank you very much) around. A bunch of us had lunch together on Monday, as people were passing through, and that helped, and there's a BBQ in the works; as much as it is nice to have a moment to breathe, too many moments to breathe can result in excess thinking, which has plagued me most of my life.

Other than that, things are going well, if a little smokey. The fires in Northern California are gently wafting their smoke up this-a-way and it's definitely disconcerting to be able to smell the trees burning! The other night it was kinda cool, I have to admit, to see the orangey moon hanging in a completely starless sky. I've been going straight home and taking naps (not a good sign) and I think I may be making good headway on the road to physical recovery from Camp. I managed to get most of my unpacking done last night, and I may even be able to get in and start getting rid of stuff again. Seriously, the apartment is way too small for all the stuff I think I must have. What really needs emptied is the storage unit, so stuff can go there. Anyway, that's enough for this boring update on my life, so I'll talk to everyone later!

But I want to GO!!!

2008-06-20T23:37:00.001-07:00

*heavy, heavy sigh*

I've been planning for months, months, people, to go to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. It is wonderful, with fabulous people, wonderful products, the best bookstore in the same city and a great drive. I love Black Sheep. Really, so much cool stuff it's not even funny, with a cool city to explore and everything. And I have been planning on going for probably the last six months. Up until about 9pm this evening, as a matter of fact, when my dad and I calculated how much it would cost me to go, not counting fiber purchases.

$60-70.

In gas alone.

Which isn't much until you realize that the next weekend I'm driving to Portland for a week, coming down for three days, and promptly heading back up for the last weekend of my church Campmeeting, during which time I will not be working and not earning money to pay bills. And I only have about $600 to cover the gas for those trips (at least $160), my food costs (heaven only knows), bills for the latter half of the month (around $75 to $150, but did I mention Port Angeles, WA, at the end of July?), not to mention any incidentals (Portland has some sweet yarn stores. And great restaurants. And bakeries. And other stores. Like Powell's.).

So, as much as I desperately want to go, I am going to probably have to face up to the fact that.... I can't afford it. It's my own fault for mismanaging my finances (therapy is expensive! Who knew?!) and indulging my need for easy gratification (and this without growing up with television) and expensive food.

But, as my dad said, think how much more yarn I can buy with that money in Portland.

But there won't be Ravelers in Portland. I mean, not in such concentrated doses. But I can buy more yarn. Stupid oil. Stupid war. Stupid people, for crying out loud. As I have said before, why can't we all just get along???? And yes, I do know the answer to that, it was rhetorical.

Photographic Evidence

2008-06-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

For the skeptics out there, I present:
Me With A Blackpowder Rifle
Me With My Dad (Note wonderfully dorky hat. Perfect sunshade and keeps people from getting in your face.) Me Getting Lectured On How To Not Break A Ramrod (Or Something Like That) (You can see where the targets are in the field immediately in front of the "fort.")
Me Shooting At Things On The Fort Shoot (Or being told where things are. Not quite sure which.)
Tonight I get to go Clean The Rifles. It'll be great, especially if I manage not to set fire to or explode anything.

Gah! I'm leaving for Campmeeting in a week and a half!

2008-06-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

And I'm not even close to being ready!!! And I think I'm going to need to work some serious hours in the next two weeks to pay for everything. And I'm not packed!!!! I don't even have a list!!!!!!!!

Okay, deeeeep breaths, Mindy. Everything is going to be fine. Don't worry about it, packing is really never that bad. Except that this year half of my stuff is in storage. Gah!

No, no, it will be fine. I'm sure that less than two weeks of preparation for the concert won't result in your complete collapse during rehearsal. And the fact that you botched "Rodeo" the first time you played it years ago when you were in top form has no bearing on your ability to play it now, none at all.

Gah! I have to finish washing delicate clothing, unless I plan on doing it at Camp, but when will I have the time????? Black Sheep is this weekend.... AGH!

But do not despair, gentle reader, I am sure it will all come together and, unlike last year, I will not wind up on the brink of an utter meltdown. And really, I'm very lucky, I only have myself to pack for, thank goodness! Can you imagine if I had to pack for a husband and children?? Gah!

Mountain Man Knitting

2008-06-17T15:09:00.001-07:00

World Wide Knit In Public Day was on Saturday an I am here to report my contribution! I went up to the Little Butte Mountain Man Rendezvous in the lovely woods of southern Oregon to hang out with my dad for pre-Father's Day, and of course, I took my knitting along! After all, what quasi-historical re-enactment would be complete with knitting? I'll hopefully get some pictures, but at this point you're going to have to take my word for it.

I joined my dad, uncle and two cousins, older cousin, friend of my uncle, and a friend of my dad for the day and got to shoot a muzzleloader for the first time... and it was so much fun!!! According to the men I work with, my coolness factor has gone up substantially since they found out I can shoot. I sucked severely at the trail shoot (since holding up a muzzleloader is a lot harder than holder up a modern rifle) but redeemed myself on the fort shoot, where I had something to rest the barrel of the rifle on and my hand didn't start shaking after a few seconds. I've always maintained that the ability to shoot is genetic, and events like this usually serve to confirm that, when my family takes awards in every category they enter! I need to get Dad to let me start practicing so I can take the ladies category....

I met a lovely lady up there with a spinning wheel and we had a good long shop talk and she's going to send me a link to a roving merchant... or a merchant who sells roving. Yeah. Anyway, I'm thinking that it might be fun once I'm a little more proficient with the ol' wheel to take it along and get some spinning done. That way, if we ever graduate to primitive camp (no anachronism allowed) I can knit with appropriate yarn!

Group A (not to be confused with Type A)

2008-06-10T16:46:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I came up with a theory years ago to explain why there are some people we absolutely can never understand, like the preppies in school. People who had no problem saying or doing whatever they felt was necessary to fit in, whether or not that person was their friend or that they were saying truly awful things. Okay, there's a LOT more to it than that, and much less negative in some ways, but that description introduces/explains (partially) the following anecdote:

So, our insurance rep came in with his assistant one day; we'll call her Rachel. Rachel looked really familiar and we discovered that we had been in one of our college Spanish classes together. There was much bonding over the insanity of the professor and in the course of the conversation, Rachel gave me her email address and said that I should email her and we could get together/reminisce/whatever. I admit that just as she was walking out I asked if she was a knitter because she really looked like someone I see on Ravelry a lot, but other than that, I was fairly normal.

A couple of weeks went by and I finally got around to emailing her only to hear.... nothing. At all. Not even a "hey." After a week or so, I had to call her about something completely unrelated and when I mentioned that I hadn't meant to be so long emailing her, blah blah, she acted completely cold. I mean, like I had somehow committed some social faux pas the size of a building. And when she emailed the info I needed to me? Not one word about the previous email and her message was incredibly stilted.

For several days I was actually a little upset about the whole thing, trying to figure out what I'd said or done wrong (see bit about knitting. Some people get freaked out. By the way, June 14th is World Wide Knit In Public Day.) until Nan-chan laid it out for me: some people are socially superficial and in a social situation will pretend to be all manner of friendly but when you try to follow the natural progression of social interactions, will drop you like toast on fire. Now, I've heard rumors about this kind of behavior, but apparently I hadn't really noticed when it happened before. And for crying out loud, I didn't ask for her email address, she had offered it to me!! Group A? Paging Group A?

The reason this is being brought up now is that Rachel came in to the office again today, "just stopping by to see how things are going," and she was perfectly nice and made sure she said "hello" and "goodbye" to me. Seriously, hel-lo? "Didn't mean to cut you dead like that when I emailed you, you're just a freak, but hey! Let's all be buddies and nicey-nice and oh! Is that a new hair cut? You look darling!"

PS This isn't a plea for reassurance that I'm not a freak. But I am wondering, have you guys had stuff like that happen??

For Heidi

2008-06-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Behold your castle, milady! I know I promised I'd have these up before now. I'm a dork. And it's really late for me to be doing this, but I just got home from visiting my friend Karen. No singing tonight, since my allergies have me sounding like a smoker, but we had a lot of fun with fiddle music. For once I accompanied her on the piano instead of vice versa!! Anyway, not that you care about that. So, yes, grass, apparently perfect for picnicking, has been placed outside your cabin door. As you can see in the second photo, there appears to be a basketball hoop in place as well. The downside I suspect is going to be keeping the rowdy youngsters from "playing" at all hours of the night. But that's what guards are for, right? And I am so planning on being a guard this year!! The grass (or rather, planned grass) stretches all along where the back fence used to be, in front of where the RVs are now. Okay, I must get to bad, bed, whatever. Campmeeting ahoy!!

Controlled Burning

2008-05-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

......

Mmm.

Mmmmhmmmmrph.

Eh heh heh. Heh.

Hee hee.

Tee HEE hee!

Ah ha ha HA HA HA!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!! EH HA HA HA HA!!!!!! EH CACKLE CACKLE HAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH HA HA!!!

Ah HA HA!

HA ha ha ha... hee heh hee.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh......

*wipes eyes*

Oh. Oh dear. That's the best one I've heard in aaaages.

Not that I don't think it's a better idea than letting the sylvan detritus build up and then torch in massive firestorms. But really. Controlled burning?? When I can watch the same burn zone go up two days out of five with the same sort of smoke that I see in the summer with forest fires?

Eh heh heh heh!!!

Picture Time!

2008-05-04T00:02:00.001-07:00

Yay for pictures!!! I figured that my lack of pictures lately should be rectified by a sudden blast of pictures. Don't worry, I do have others, including one with me in the Harry Potter-esque glasses I wore up until I got my sexy librarian glasses. Why did no one tell me how dorky I looked??

Behold the amaryllis. My college graduation present from my grandma, which didn't bloom last year, but this year put on a beautiful, albeit brief display:

And the mighty sundew, catcher of small gnats and fascinating science:

A new haircut and the realization that I have my father's eyebrows and chin, as does my brother, my maternal grandmother's mouth and I'm not quite sure where the nose and eyes came from:
And now, a lovely purple bloom from Ashland. I believe this is called a tulip tree and if I ever grow up I want to have one in my yard:They have similar trees in front of the old library and I always loved them. I wish I had pictures of the cherry (?) trees that are blooming right now. They look like they have puffballs dripping off the branches.

Paradise

2008-04-30T13:19:00.001-07:00

... is Southern Oregon in the springtime. Not warm, balmy, tropical paradise, but beautiful light, windswept clouds and lush, opening green paradise. I wish I had some good pictures to share with you, but I never manage to really capture the light correctly, and with the way it's been slipping through the snow/rain clouds (no, that isn't a typo) and hitting the Table Rocks it would be a crime to get a bad picture of it.

We have an addition to the Tower household! Last weekend was the Master Gardener's Fair and in lieu of outside plants (more news on that later), I purchased a small cactus and a succulent, which I may have to name, The Succubus. I mean, Ophelia, succubus.... now I just need a pet bat. Anyway, so, the landowners gussied up the landscaping this weekend as well and it looks really (really, really) nice, and the landlord told me that he is going to build a little planter-type thingy under the shade tree on the way to my abode, and that I get to plant things there! I'm thinking some impatiens, maybe some lobelia or hostas.... I will get to re-explore the world of shade plants.

Speaking of additions, Florin and Jill have welcomed their daughter, Olivia Rose, into the world! She was born Thursday the 24th and was 14" long, 8lb 1oz. Congratulations, Flo and Jill!!

Testing. Testing. One, two, three.

2008-04-28T11:14:00.001-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I present.... RSS feeds! I'm testing out the Windows Live Writer feature (which so far I totally dig) and in order for me to be able to post remotely I needed to change the format so I had the RSS feeds. So now, if anyone wants to remotely monitor my posting, you may. *gracious hand-wave*

Oh, I have re-registered to vote! Somehow my registration got all messed up when I registered to vote abroad during the last presidential election and I never, um, got around to fixing it. Yes, I am a bad citizen, but at least I'm registered now.

Anyway, I need to get back to work, but I just wanted to update you guys really quick about the state of The Blog.

Blood! Fire! Narcotics! Rubber Chicken Violence!

2008-04-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it was quite the exciting trip to Mexico for our intrepid heroine! Our first day there I cut my finger with a handsaw, ending a three year safety record and potentially getting a new scar (yay!). That evening, on their way to pick up the last two members of our group from the San Diego airport, two of our peeps had to wait for 25 minutes at the border without moving.... resulting in a vehicle fire that reduced our vehicle number to five. Oh yeah, they got stuck for 25 minutes because of a drug bust at the border, which the narcotics officer who was our leader totally got to scope out. We had a bit of rubber chicken violence involving... well, really incited by a rubber chicken. I had an absolutely wonderful time, it was a great group of people and I am sooo ready to go again! The family we built for had about nine people in it, including children. We built a four room, stucco-walled building, concrete slab for the floor. It was actually in a (by Mexico-border standards) decent neighborhood. I have to admit that I was a little concerned about this trip, since I'd been hearing quite a bit about drug-related violence in Tijuana (haven't heard that much about it since... love American "news services") but we were fine. Oh, the umbrella group we went under was Amor Ministries, so you can check them out if you like. Maybe next year.... who wants to come with me?!?! Coming home to 23 degree temperatures is a bit jarring after upper-70s, but I promise you'll acclimate!

Note: Sorry this is so late in comparison to my return. I've been burning with all sorts of other posts and having this one hanging over my head.... well, y'all know how it goes!!

Road Trip!

2008-03-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

I am going to Mexico.... again!! This time I'm headed down to the Tijuana area for several days with Dad, Uncle Jim, cousin Katie and boyfriend, and about 35 other people to build a house for a pastor-in-training. I'm thoroughly prepared, having purchased yarn for a new project and lined up several novels as well as plotting how to get movies onto my Zune. It looks like the weather is going to be perfect while we're down there, and I'm really looking forward to it! I'm also looking forward to getting ideas for organizing a mission trip with my church, if at possible, since I think our young people could use a nice shot of reality! Praying people feel free to pray. It's a long trip, drug violence is rampant down there, and this is a great opportunity to touch lives.

In other news, I drove up to Seattle last weekend for Simon and Katrina's wedding, which was lovely, and I hope the very best for them, even though they did blow out their unity candle!!! Juan Carlos of previous Guadalajara post fame got married last weekend, too. Any more and I'm going to begin to suspect something in the air.... or something.

Speaking of something in the air, it's springtime!! Today is the official first day of spring, but it's been creeping up for the last couple of weeks: a bloom here, a leaf bud there, weird weather. I love this time of year! I'm a little bummed that I have to miss a week of spring here, but it means that I get to drive through California during the springtime, which is actually very nice! I got to do it a couple of years ago and everything is beautiful and green. Since this time I won't be on the verge of death thanks to mono, I think I'll be better equipped to enjoy the view. Makes for a nice change from the dry, parched, brown, smoggy California I get to see when I visit the rest of the year. So, behave while I'm gone and enjoy the weather and the vernal equinox!

Obsession, let me go

2008-03-12T21:53:00.001-07:00

Confession is good for the soul, so I have a confession to make. It's been eating at me, tearing away at me, costing me sleep. I am addicted. I can't free myself from the fiery claws of addiction that eat away at me. I love CSI. I adore CSI. I am such a dork! I'm in love with Warrick and Nick and Greg (such a cutie!) and even Archie the A/V dude. Such a dork. I particularly like watching the "victims" breathing on the coroner's table or at the crime scene, or when their eyelids twitch or heartbeat is visible on their chest.

See, this is why I don't have a television. Can you imagine how much time I would waste if there were commercials involved?? It doesn't bear contemplation. *giggles* I would almost feel guilty about this, but I know that LaDonna has been blogging about American Idol. Guess it's my wild escapism at work! I mean, these are guys who use their brains. And the women are strong characters who also use their brains. Love me some CSI. Love me some Firefly, too, but Schuyler hasn't gotten around to returning mine yet. Oh, and need to finish loving me some Due South. Seriously, how on earth do people survive having television??

Body Count

2008-03-09T22:53:00.000-07:00

Three moles.

Two birds.

One garter snake.

I tell ya, I'm going to get fat on meals like this. Unless of course I stay up until all hours watching CSI. My brother loves me and has lent me seasons 2 through 5 or 6. There's nothing quite like sitting up and watching murders being solved with a warm kitty sitting on my foot.... also making it impossible for me to shift and thereby causing my legs to fall asleep. Today was a beautiful day, all sunny and warm, and I slept about two and a half hours of it away. So now, I'm having trouble getting to sleep. A lovely excuse!

Note: Upon closer inspection during my lunch break today, I believe the count is actually two moles, one mouse, two birds and one garter snake.

Note 3/12: Three birds. Apparently she didn't feel that leftover pizza was enough for lunch.

Excuse # 14 For Why I Can't Sleep Before Midnight

2008-02-23T23:46:00.000-08:00

Ophelia snores.

And she does it while sleeping on my bed, sometimes even up by my head.

Alright, so it's more of a whistle and it's really cute, but still, can't I use that as a valid excuse for why I cannot manage to get to bed before midnight?

No? Yeah, I didn't figure anyone would go for it. I'm hoping that Ophelia is behaving herself outside right now and that perhaps the weather (I can hear the rain over my stereo) will drive her in before 6am tomorrow. By behaving I mean I hope I don't get another gift of mouse, snake or bird on the stairs in the morning.

Oh, so, completely unrelated but completely disconcerting: I went to a YSSO concert with my friend this evening (ahhhh, memories!!! I miss Youth Symphony so much! My conductor hasn't changed a bit, which was lovely.) and the conductor dedicated Les Preludes by Liszt to a former YSSO violist who had just passed away from cancer, and the girl (woman) who died was someone I had gone to high school with and played in orchestra with for years!!! I had no idea that she was even back in the valley, much less that she had died. And she was 26 or something. I don't want to really wax rhapsodic about it and the frailty of life, etc., because I never seem to manage to convey the wonder of life and how fleeting it really is and how often we take it for granted. *pause* I don't remember life being this ironic when I was a little girl.

Opera and the common man

2008-02-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

I was listening to podcasts today at work, my new absolute favorite way to keep up with the world and ignore the world at the same time, when I clicked into an "At Your Leisure" from late November. The gentleman was interviewing a man named Paul Potts, from Britain, who had won their equivalent of "American Idol".... singing opera. They chatted for a while and I found myself becoming more and more intrigued with this story. Mr. Potts was a cell phone salesman from Cardiff, Wales, who had finally decided to audition for the show by flipping a coin. I knew that the wonder that is YouTube was bound to have something like this, and so I searched. This is what I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

I nearly cried at work. This ordinary, common man stood in front of an audience and judges that were ready to chuck him (see the look on Simon's face at the beginning?) and he wound up winning. Against all the Cari Underwoods, the Chad Whatsises, and pop star wanna-bes, he won. It reminded me so much of the concert at Campmeeting when Daniela and Buck stood up to sing and everyone knew that she had the voice, but we were just expecting another nice but nothing out of the ordinary duet, when this miracle happened and the most incredible, beautiful voice appeared when Buck began to sing. Melodie and Joel were sitting on either side of me and we all collectively sat up and then slumped back in shock and awe, I think. The triumph of this plain, common man singing opera just made my day.

It also reminded me of something that has always gotten under my skin. People go on and on and on about how boring classical music is and how it has no soul, but I have to say that classical music is the only music that has ever made me cry just with the pure emotion it carries. Now, don't get me wrong, some classical music is dead dull and I adore most other kinds of music (with a few notable exceptions) but there is something about live classical music that cuts past the drudgery of everyday life and reaches into my soul. I've had bluegrass and rock musicians tell me that classical music just doesn't make them feel anything, that it's really just dead white man's music. They have obviously never listened to Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, or Respighi's "Pines of Rome," or almost anything by Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff. And as for singing French Romantic songs..... well, let's just say I have to do so sparingly, because I've never found another kind of music that could lay me bare to the world while I sang. I love my hymns, and I love solid worship songs, and there are spirituals that make me feel like I'm about to fly through the roof but there's just something about opera. That's it, I'm going to go sing Barber's "Sure on This Shining Night." Pleasant dreams, everyone!

PS Listening to Pavarotti reminds me so much of listening to Sam Jensen, which I promise isn't as heretical as it sounds, but Sam's high notes in his heyday were truly incredible. I've heard recordings.

Snow Day!

2008-01-28T22:32:00.001-08:00

As suspected, that balmy 51 degree evening was but a prelude to snow and ice. Not that I'm complaining mind you, just… noting. Never trust spring weather on winter nights!! Ellie and I left the church around 12:45 and it was starting to snow/rain, and I figured we would have plenty of time to go Ashland for some groceries real quick. By the time we reached Ashland, the snow was sticking. By the time we got out of the store, there was a substantial accumulation. By the time we got home, we couldn't even make it up the hill, make less the driveway. So, we got to hike through the snow in our church clothes, hauling groceries and water! Fortunately, there were warm pajamas and fuzzy socks when we reached the house, along with tomato soup with lots of cheese and bread. Rob came and got us several hours later and we went to the youth center to hang out, but first we went on a tour to see what had fallen where. Here's a picture of the church:

Rob and Co. dropped me off at the bottom of my hill around 9:30 and I got to trek through 4-5" of freezing and frozen snow. It was absolutely gorgeous. The city lights were reflecting off the clouds and the snow and there was none of the noise from the freeway that you can usually hear all the time. In fact, it was so quiet that when a plane took off later in the evening I nearly jumped out of my skin! This morning I didn't go in to work until 11. Here's what it looked like in the daylight:

That's down the driveway. Here are a couple other shots. Note the LOTS AND LOTS of snow on the SUV:

On my way home from Peter and Marie's house tonight, I could see the beginnings of the ice forming where the snow has melted across the road. It was kinda cool but a little scary to feel my car start to drift a little to the right without my permission. According to the National Weather Service, we're supposed to be getting another day or so of snow and then the rest of the week is going to be snow and rain. Can I get a "woot woot?" I'm really enjoying the change in my attitude towards driving in this nastiness (which is the worst in recent memory) from sweaty, shaking terror to slightly keyed up calm. Strangely enough, the snow and slush sliding doesn't bother me nearly as much as the ice. Maybe it's because my brain translates the snow to a potential barrier to keep me from just sliding off the road or down the hill.

Take care, all, and I hope your weeks are going well, strange weather and all (I've heard rumors about nastiness in CA as well)!

Pfffft!!

2008-01-26T23:12:00.000-08:00

It is 51 degrees outside right now.

It is 11:13.

P.M.

That means "at night."

And it's 51 degrees. That is warmer than it has been almost all week. And the high tomorrow is supposed to be 39.

I love where I live!!!

Introducing Ophelia

2008-01-23T20:23:00.001-08:00

I have entered the world of pet ownership by rescuing my brother's ex-girlfriend's cat from my parents' house and Spawn, who had taken to hunting down the intruder every time she was allowed back into the house. Her name is now Ophelia, although it was Spooky when I got her and apparently Veronica before that. However, I do not think that "Spooky" is an appropriate name for a pure black cat. We think she was abused before she went to the shelter, because she doesn't like to be picked up and she's very jumpy, but she loves to be petted. She's turning into quite the bug hunter and so far we've only had minor problems with jumping up where she shouldn't…. but I begin to fear for the Angel Wing fibrous begonia. Ah well, such is the nature of pets. For now she's living solely in the house, but I think it might be a good thing for her to get some outside exercise. I'm afraid my little apartment is rather small for an energetic young cat and my stuff. And there's the fact that her rather long and curving claws could use a little wearing down, rather more than the scratching post can provide. Anyway, here's a picture for you to savor, well, at least for the cat lovers to savor:

Merry Christmas!

2008-01-08T21:42:00.001-08:00

Yes, yes, I know, it is well past Christmas, and indeed New Year's for that matter, but hey, it was a busy week….ish or two. But anyway, Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope the holidays went smoothly for everyone and that you (we) managed to get past the crass commercialism that has consumed Christmas to the comfort. I had a great Christmas and the Watchnight service at church was hysterical. One of the reasons that this is not a more timely post is that for the week of Christmas, I had no Internet connection (!!!!!!!), a situation which was thankfully remedied once my neighbors/landlords returned home and... did… something. My next Event was waking up one morning without heat, New Year's Eve actually, but it all turned out okay since the heat got fixed and I spent the day sitting and reading, sucking down an entire Dorothy Sayers novel. This seems to be a theme in this new year – sitting around and reading – and a habit that I somehow fell out of over the last ten years or so. Well, Nan-chan and I did have several episodes last year (James Herriott, Terry Pratchett, Agatha Christie, Mary Stewart) but apparently I just forgot about all of them.

So, my most-used new toy has been my new 30GB Zune (Microsoft's version of the iPod) that my darling brother and parents got for me. I have to say, this technology stuff rocks!! I can totally see myself getting all gadgeted up. One of my favorite things about having my Zune is that I can subscribe to a variety of podcasts and then listen to them at work (score!!). It's especially enjoyable to start catching up on the Hispanic/Latin American issues that I've been missing in the last several years… minus immigration, which I really hate hearing about anymore, no matter which side people are on. Anyway, Moo came down for Christmas and we all spent the day sitting around watching Firefly (I love love love love love my family!!) and eating. On Christmas Eve, Dad and I did a little baking and took some cookies and stuff to some friends and it was an absolutely gorgeous night, clear and frosty and cold!!!

I should admit that another reason I have been virtually cyber-absent (get it? Virtually cyber-absent? Ha! I kill me.) is that the weather has been fabulously stormy in such a way as to inspire one to not turn on one's computer for days and instead sit on the couch looking out the window or reading several books while drinking warm beverages. And hoping it snows enough that one can't go to work, which did happen yesterday… for at least an hour or so. It's been great, the passes have been periodically closing, the hills are covered in snow, and there's really nothing quite like having the wind whip the snow against the windows in sudden gusts. At least my apartment didn't get blown sideways during that one windstorm! Okay, I seem to have lost my internet connection again, so I'm going to go figure out what's wrong so you can read this. Nice to see you all again!

Christmas, Peanuts & someone else’s Snow Day

2007-12-18T23:00:00.001-08:00

I'm having fun this Christmas season, as compared to some years past where I could really care less. I have paper snowflakes in my windows, along with lights, and cards on almost every conceivable surface not covered in plant life or books. In a fit of YAY!, last night I went and bought the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas from Starbucks. And I am thrilled. It's lovely, simple Christmas music and will go nicely with the Bing Crosby CD I ordered from Amazon to replace the one that was destroyed in the gutter truck years ago. Anyway, in the cover appears the following quote:

"Charlie Brown wasn't a happy kid at Christmas 1965. The holidays were supposed to be a time of optimism, of receiving gifts and sending greeting cards. Of choosing and decorating lush, green trees, of spending time with friends and family and of stretching a holiday event into a while month of activity. Growing older, Charlie Brown began to notice the over commercialization of Christmas… 'I think there must be something wrong with me,' he said to his friend Linus."

As I sat here listening to the cool jazz that everyone associates with Charlie Brown and thinking about this, it was brought home even deeper than normal how badly all of the basic ideas of Christmas have deteriorated in the face of commercialism and apathy. Yes, apathy. Although we rush around, desperately trying to find a gift for everyone we think thinks they deserve one from us, trying to fit in concerts and parties and soirees and card writing, I think that a lot of people sink into a well of since-I-bought-them-a-present/went-to-their-party/wrote-them-a-Christmas-card, I don't need to worry about actually talking to them or, heaven forbid, letting them know at some other time in the year that I care about them. Not that I'm guiltless here. I mean, I use Christmas cards to maintain an often tenuous contact with friends that I should by all rights call. But there then, I also use them to try and establish contact with family members that have slowly drifted out of my life. But that's beside the point. The point is that around the holidays we can get apathetic about letting loved ones know that they are truly loved and aren't just a name on a card list, and that we love them all year round.

I guess what I'm saying is that this year I'm more upset than ever about what Christmas is becoming. Not what it has become, not yet, because many people still celebrate the real reason we have Christmas – the birth of the Christ and what that meant to mankind – and many people still experience Christmas as a wonderful time for family and friends. However, you only have to open the newspaper the day after Thanksgiving to see what They (the amorphous They it would be too difficult to define) want us to see as Christmas: a chance to buy the love of our children/parents/friends/spouses and assuage our guilt for past wrongs, the best time of the year to out-do the Joneses, a time to pick through the best sales of the year for the receiver and of course yourself. Christmas is about family and friends, about giving gifts not because we feel obligated to or we want to create a sense of obligation on the part of the receiver but because we want to see that person's smile when they see something we thought long and hard about and finally bought because we honestly thought they would like it. I'm having a great time shopping for my parents this year. I'm totally looking forward to Christmas morning when they open their presents. And it's not because I feel obligated to repay the years of gifts they've gotten me or because I want to one-up my brother (okay, not much); it's because I tell my parents that I love them every year and this is like the icing on the cake, the ……. we're getting Dad and the ……… we're getting Mom.

I think my favorite example this year of what Christmas should really mean in a secular context comes from the Yarn Harlot, who got snowed in a couple days ago, in the middle of a massive knitfest to attempt the finishing of an unbelievable number of projects and last minute shopping. At first she freaked out, but then they invited their neighbors over for cookie-decorating and friendship (you can read about it here. Look for the Snow Day entry). That is Christmas. Frantic last minute shopping, not Christmas, no matter what the "comedies" would like us to think. Christmas is a time for gathering together and being thankful for everyone we have and for everything we have been given. I am now stepping off my soap box for the evening.

Note: So many aspects of the over-commercialization of Christmas drive me crazy that I had to leave several of them out, or this post would have been HUGE and I know Zach never reads my long blogs. I'm having fun with Christmas but every time I hear about "the new big thing" I just want to swear off Christmas presents for the next few years.

Psychic

2007-12-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

Contrary to the opinion held by many, including (until today) myself, I. Am Psychic. Yes, I, Mindy the Magnificent, am able to read peoples' minds. You question me, citing my apparent difficulty with being sympathetic, much less empathetic or telepathic?? Behold, The Proof:

A contractor called and asked if we carry rebar. I told him that yes, we do. After getting his name, I told him that I could predict what he was going to order. His order would be, in point of fact, rebar. I was correct, of course. Then he decided to get tricky and asked me what exactly he was planning on ordering. After a few milliseconds searching the ether for the answer, I stumbled upon his brainwaves and told him "25 pieces of number 3 rebar." He started laughing and said, no really, this is what he honestly said, "you're right!" I laughed, too, and was all, "you're just trying to make me feel good about being completely wrong," but apparently I really was right!!!! *laugh* It was so funny!! We both had a good laugh about it, punctuated by me saying "no, seriously, is that really what you want?" Ahem, I mean, yes, I, Mindy the Mellifluous, have triumphed against the skepticism of ... people... um.... like me. It almost totally made up for some of the stupid things I had done earlier in the day, like get out of bed. I think I may have to post a picture of my bed, because it may be the world's most snuggly, comfortable, dangerously warm bed. But I did get out, and I did have my incredible psychic moment *snickers* and now I get to go back to bed. Whoo hoo for bedtime!

PS Happy birthday my darling Nicio!! Again I am the worst cousin/ex-roomie! But someday I will remember!!
PPS It is so stinking cold right now. And no snow of course. But it is pulling up the fog, so my castle is once again shrouded in mysterious mist. Unfortunately, I got home too late to really enjoy it by reading old mystery novels or Two Towers. Or finish writing more Christmas cards.
PPPS I have decided that as much as I like the Phantom of the Opera movie, as far as soundtracks go I definitely prefer the original cast recording, even though I think I would probably be cast as the prima donna.
PPPPS G'night, all!

NPR

2007-12-04T22:37:00.001-08:00

This wasn't going to be my next topic. I have actually been meaning to blog about how incredibly thankful I am for my life and friends and family, but instead, I am about to reveal the depths of my utter dorkiness: I love NPR. Specifically, I love the shows that you can listen to on NPR that you don't find anywhere else. I've been listening to "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" while attempting Christmas cards and I've had to stop because I'm laughing so hard that I'm about to seriously color outside the lines. Since my wonderful Uncle Jimmy bequeathed me a pair of computer speakers I have been able to listen to podcasts of various different programs, in addition to my music (finally!). I like the news shows (as much as I can), especially since they cover topics that I would never hear about otherwise. I can listen to Latino USA and keep somewhat keeped…. I can't believe I just wrote that. I can listen to Latino USA and keep somewhat up to date (there we go) on things happening in the other half of America. If I tune in at the right time to the LCC station from Eugene I can listen to all sorts of Latino music announced in Spanish. I can learn about art, science, music, history, current events, and just about anything else. Perhaps the best part is that I have an alternative to listening to the same 100 songs over and over and over again. Or those ridiculously moronic morning shows. Am I the only one who thinks that most of those shows are STUPID?

I have the sneaking suspicion that this intense love for NPR comes from my family listening to Prairie Home Companion and Unshackled, not to mention other shows, when I was a little girl. I can distinctly remember when we lived in the bottom story of my grandparents' house, tuning into the AM station for Unshackled, or while we were on our way to church in Grants Pass on Sundays. When I was in my teens, I would carefully hunt for the one station that would play the old radio shows at 10 pm on Thursdays, carefully placing my radio to pick up whatever faint signal I could get. The radio makes me feel safe and comfortable in a way that television never can. Okay, as long as you don't mention the time we were camping out at the logging site with Grandpa and listened to the one with the church bell and the monster that still gives me nightmares. *shivers* Ohhh, it was creepy! I wonder if I could find it again…

Now, I know some of you are out there rolling your eyes about what a supreme geek I am and how glad you are that you have more of a life than to sit around listening to radio shows, for crying out loud, on the computer. All I have to say is, this is what I enjoy! Unlike watching television, listening to the radio allows me to multi-task. TV invades my brain through any available USB port and makes it rather difficult to do much else. Oops, I'm degenerating into my anti-TV rant, which is a topic for a later blog! So, yes, dorky it may be, but at least I have something to listen to at night now! I do admit that I've been catching up on my old movies as well, courtesy of the library. Does anyone else suddenly get the sense that I'm starting to ramble?

A Perfect Day

2007-11-18T22:56:00.001-08:00

Today may very well have been, for me, a perfect day. I had a Great Harvest marionberry scone for breakfast with some ginger peach tea in my new Haviland teacup (see picture to the left) and read a little bit before showering and heading off to church. It was a good service and I sat next to my favorite blonde 11-year old. After church I went and practiced for the mixed quartet this evening and then left the church building to discover that it was warm and blustery and unbelievably beautiful. I had a list of things I planned to get done today, but the absolute perfectness of everything, from the weather to the day to how I was feeling (content and happy), sidetracked me and I wound up reading for an hour or so before going for a tramp. I had noticed that there was a goodly breeze shaping up from the way it was squealing around the corners and shaking my eyrie, so I opened my windows before leaving and was promptly overwhelmed by a rush of warm, fresh air, so I opened all the windows and upon opening the door created the most marvelous cross-breeze that actually cleared some of the dead air from the top of my stairwell. Not that you care, but it gets stuffy up there and… well, there's really nothing quite as invigorating as a screaming wind! I left the windows open and headed for the open fields. I live on one of the low ridges that come down from Roxy Ann and although there are several other houses around me and the eyesore that is upper East Medford steadily encroaches (urban sprawl, anyone?), there is still a lot of uninhabited land, especially since the land parcels that are developed tend to be rather small. So I rambled. This is what it looked like:

This is also why I haven't left my valley. Believe me, I have very seriously considered moving away, but there's something immensely comforting about living in the same place all your life. I feel sorry for people who have never been able to really get roots the way I have. My family has lived here for four generations and minus Campmeeting and Guadalajara, I have been here all of my life. I know the rhythms, the history, what it was before the developers got their hands on it, where the mountains are and what's behind them. I definitely know the weather patterns. (By the way, for all you locals, don't forget that we'll be having a storm Thanksgiving weekend, give or take.) Oh yeah, and it's gorgeous here. Anyway, so, yes, I re-connected with my beautiful valley. The wind was divine, the clouds were wonderful, the sun was warm, and there was enough distance between houses that no one noticed me. I discovered that the low buzzing I keep thinking is an airplane is actually the sub-station, but I also discovered that the wind sounds different when it blows through different types of grass, which I had never thought about before. And I found that to the south there are lots of meadows and open spaces, compared to the scrub oaks and brush to the north. I tramped back to the house and ate soup and bread (at about 3. I just wasn't really hungry before.), propped open the door so the playful zephyr could knock some more things off the shelves, read some more, and headed back to church for practice and service. And then after church I got to come home and drink Mexican hot chocolate and read some more! The sermon this morning was about thankfulness and today was one of those days when it seems like everything is just a reminder of how much I have to be thankful for, including all of you guys!! The entire day was like one long sip of the perfect tea after a good bite of the world's most delicious shortbread, and now I get to top it all off by crawling into a deliciously warm bed. I cannot think of a single thing that would have made it better. Marvelous in a different way, yes, but better, no.

P.S. I am attempting to figure out how to get the posts to have a little more horizontal space. I know it has something to do with the HTML but I haven't quite nailed it down yet. Probably because I was a HUMANITIES MAJOR and never bothered to learn COMPUTER LANGUAGES. *mutter mutter hiss*

Los Angeles

2007-11-16T22:29:00.001-08:00

Ha HA, foolish mortals!! I am lurking in my fog-shrouded tower…. Well, it was fog-shrouded a while ago, but the clouds seem to have lifted. It was a little eerie, especially since I was reading The Moor, by Laurie King, which is wonderfully spooky – which is why I was reading it. Anyway, since I can tell how touched and thrilled you've all been with my last few posts I thought I would sling another out into the void that is cyberspace (Beautiful! I inserted more whine into that one sentence than I think I've allowed myself in this whole blog!). Our subject today refers to the most amazing piece of news I have gotten in at least a month. I was chatting on Messenger with one of the teachers I got to know in Guadalajara (GDL) who moved to New Zealand shortly after I left and who I have never seen on Messenger previously. While we were talking, my brother (okay, okay, HOST-brother) Fernando came on for the first time, too! In the course of our conversation, he informed me that he is living in Los Angeles and is planning on being there until he graduates from college (he's in the eighth grade)! So, not only is he over half the distance closer to me, he's in the US and I can call him without racking up massive fees! So, anyone reading this from LA ("ha, ha," she said in a whiney way. What is my problem tonight?! Seriously, I'm not actually feeling whiney, whiny, no red lines so I can't tell which is right, at all.), you may be getting a visit from me in the not so distant future. I really want to bring him up here for a visit as well. I guess Juan Carlos is still working for them but is down in GDL with el señor, but who knows, maybe I can get him to come to the States for a visit. This is one of the few reasons I can think of for me to go to Los Angeles. I have decided opinions about that city, that's for sure.

And now, to continue the picture saga, I give you the houseplants. I've decided to do this in installments so that no one's brain falls out from over-stimulation, so these first two are chronologically the first two I received.

This first one is an amaryllis my grandma gave me when I graduated from college. It was blooming then, big, blood-red flowers, and Flo managed to knock one of them off before I even got the thing home. But I've forgiven him for it, so all is well. It didn't bloom this last year and I need to go do some research and figure out why. For all that it didn't flower, it certainly added a touch of arachnatude to the house and I think it looks very cool on top of my bookshelf.

This second picture is of the amazing Angel Wing Fibrous Begonia, my Christmas present from same grandma. It was actually not that impressive when I first got it, although it did have cute little pink blossoms, but once I fertilized it…. Well, you can see what happened. What you can't see is that when it opens up new leaves they seriously look like mutant egg pods. The white sheen on the leaves is because they have a satiny texture in the first months after they open, and they have silver dots on them until they get old enough to fall off. Zach, I know you're bored to tears, but bear with me here, this is the end of tonight's botany lesson!

One year and two days

2007-11-14T21:30:00.001-08:00

I wasn't really planning on posting about this. I was going to let the day pass, unrecognized and unheralded, but something about the sunset, which was the most incandescent shade of pink and sulked around the hills, and later the newish moon floating mistily out my window made me want to mention it. That and the tea and shortbread; one man's tea is another woman's drug. One year and two days ago, about this time of evening, in fact, Joel told me that he was breaking up with me and sent me crashing headlong into what was definitely the worst year of my life. I could never have imagined the pain and, let's face it, betrayal that I would feel, nor the absolute agony of everyday living for months. This past weekend had some very odd moments when I would suddenly realize things like "one year ago today, I had no clue what was about to happen to me" and "we would have been having our last conversation as a couple right now." I wasn't bowled over by torrents of tears, but I had some temporal displacement moments (see below post about Super Metroid. The parallels in life are … odd.) when I almost couldn't believe the whole last year had actually happened. It seemed impossible that something that awful could ever really be (and yes I do know that there are worse things in the world, trust me).

However, and it's a big 'however,' while this last year sucked in ways I never, ever, ever care to repeat, it had some amazingly excellent moments, too. This post isn't a plea for pity or a whinefest (especially not pity. Now I understand how heroines always feel when they are being pitied. I believe "aaeeYAAAGGGHHaaaagAaAAGH" about sums it up.). This post is about the fact that I am alive, and not just alive, but doing okay. I'm sure I learned plenty of harsh lessons about life and people and fairytales, but I also got some spectacular memories from living with Nan and Moo and from the friends and family who have remained constant in my life, even when I couldn't have been at all pleasant to be around (quote SOB I miss him so much WEEP Oh Joel, how could you WAIL I can't survive this end quote). This summer was incredible: chasing thunderstorms, picnicking on Mt. Ashland, sitting on the front patio of our house listening to the trees and smelling the jasmine, walking around the school field while the dusk gathered. I don't know if it was necessarily sweeter because of the winter that preceded it, but I know that in the springtime, when I first started to feel anything like myself again, every moment of happiness was precious because I had gone months without them. *laughs* If you had talked to me one year ago I would have told you that I was sure I'd be okay eventually, but I didn't really believe it. Now, one year and two days later, damaged but no longer bleeding (that's how you get scars, which are, as everyone knows, way cool), I can say that God has brought me through and the worst is past and my future is ahead.

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Super Metroid

2007-11-13T19:56:00.001-08:00

I had a fabulous time this weekend! I made a nice, leisurely stroll up the I-5 corridor, with plenty of stops to make not-necessarily-vital purchases that still fall into the whoo-hoo-I'm-thrilled-with-this category, including a little coffee table from Ikea. Mmmmmm, Ikea….. Tricia and Justin's wedding was beautiful, with great music, lovely decorating, and a great reception. And the ceremony itself was just lovely. Unfortunately, this wedding served to illuminate a troubling fact: at the rate I'm going, by the time I actually get around to getting' hitched, all of the unique and original ideas I have fermenting in my mind will have been used! The unfairness of it all! I had a good time hanging out with Melodie and LaDonna and Breanne and everyone else, including the elusive Melina (only a small dig, I promise. And I haven't had a chance to check the RSS feed yet.)!

One of the stops I made, I actually made twice. Nicio put me up for two nights, coming and going, complete with ACK!! One of the leaves just fell off my fibrous begonia!!!!! Sorry, that wasn't actually part of my visit, but it just happened and I hope this doesn't mean my plant is ailing! I'm already about to lose one of the peace lilies. Anyway, back to the story. The second night I was there, Nicio and I succumbed to the siren's song of Samus Aran and she plugged in her Super Nintendo. Talk about momentary temporal displacement! It was so awesome but so strange at the same time. I've had a lingering love affair with the Metroid games ever since Uncle Jim gave us the original Metroid sans any gamebook or explanation of the game at all. We spent hours delving into the secrets of Zebes and discovering the hidden paths leading to that nexus of evil, Mother Brain. Of course, when Super Metroid came out in the twilight years of my high school life, I was again transfixed by the game. Sheer gaming genius combined with a killer soundtrack that to this day has the ability to make me turn on all the lights at night…. *sigh* So, we sat on the couch in the dark, Nicio playing and me watching, just the way it was when I was younger and Moo would play while I watched. I kept expecting Dad to make suggestions or comment on a trick we'd missed behind me, and I kept feeling the layers of my life compressing in a way they don't often do. Honestly, Mom could have walked out of the kitchen and I wouldn't have been surprised.

Since I know that some of you are interested in other things besides video games and weddings, I hereby post some of my fall pictures. Behold the lower pond in Lithia Park! You can see the trees reflected in the water, of which I am particularly proud. The caught reflection, not the water, which is demonstrably green, dirty and disgusting, thanks to the ducks.

This second picture is one of the trees along the road in the park and is an example of one of my favorite kinds of autumn-ness. I love it when leaves turn all different colors at the same time on one tree, but in blocks so you look through a later of red to yellow behind, and then green at the back. Happy Autumn, everyone!

Guadalajara

2007-11-06T20:45:00.000-08:00

I had a dream not that long ago that I went back to Guadalajara. Actually, it has happened more than once. Sometimes they are good dreams when I'm seeing all of my friends and they're all happy to see me and other times Antonia is berating me for not staying in contact.

The other day while I was perusing Bebo (not stalking, Nicio. Honestly.) I ran across my pictures of Guadalajara. Not too difficult to do since they're on my own page, but I haven't looked at then in well over a year. In a flash I was there again, driving through the streets with Juan Carlos, sorting the books in the school's library, hugging my kids.

Sometimes when I'm sitting at work I get these weird flashes of places in Guadalajara. Or I'll remember eating fish tacos on the street corner with thirty other people under one of the biggest trees I've seen that wasn't a redwood. When I was in La Reyna Bakery the other day buying pastries, I remembered walking a mile or whatever it was to get empanadas and chocolate milk.

So is it coincidence that as I happened to be trolling Alaska Air's specials, I came across a special from Los Angeles to Guadalajara that would cost me about $350 round trip? And that there is a special from San Francisco to Los Angeles to GDL that would probably cost me about $100 more?

*pause*

Anyone thinking what I am thinking?

Tragically for me, I've spent most of my recent mad money on getting into my apartment and getting the old computer hooked up. AlthoughI do have a small amount of mad money coming in.... Ack! NO!! I really want to go, but I think that now is not necessarily the best time. I haven't been in touch with anyone for a while.... except for Omar, who told me today while we were chatting for the first time in, again, over a year, he told me that I'll always have a place there. You've never seen any of these people, have you?

Behold Juan Carlos and my youngest brother Emanuel.

I'm sorry I haven't had these up before, but when I first started, Blogger wasn't so newbie-friendly. Now that it is, perhaps I'll give you a better idea about the five months of my life that happened outside of American soil! But yeah, for now.... well, I'll just let the plotting begin. After all, what's holding me here?

And so we ran

2007-10-28T00:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the Harvest Party at church. We had darts, ring toss, cupcake decorating, pillow case races, and yours truly on the mummy wrap as well as plenty of other activities. And food, we can't forget the food. Becky went out and bought me a box of cheap toilet paper from the dollar store and everyone had a great time. Of course, we didn't wind up using all of the toilet paper, and I had bought some extra stuff so I didn't need it. I offered it to Bry, but he didn't really need it either as he had just purchased 24 rolls himself, and it can take even two bachelors a while to get through that much. I was thinking about just donating it to the church, but nobody seemed really taken with the idea, seeing as it wasn't the nicest stuff available (read: it tore easily and we would probably go through a roll a service per stall).

And then Bryan had The Idea.

For those of you who don't know, we recently got a new pastor who happened to grow up in Central Point. We usually hassle our new pastors somehow, but Bro. Bill is family. So New Pastor + Overabundance of Toilet Paper = Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight. There were six of us all told, Bryan, myself, Zach, Mandy, Mark and Troy. We drove over and began our work, which I must say was rather artistic. We avoided the vehicles because we figured that anyone who just moved up from Richmond, California, would have an alarm. We were right. I spelled out a very nice WELCOME on the lawn, we garnished all of the bushes, we have pictures, we were putting on the final touches and.... well, stories begin to vary at this point. Mark heard a click that wasn't made by us and started booking, Zach stood staring at the door as it opened until a voice said "there's a 64 pound...." and felt the need to move along. I just saw people moving quickly away from the house.

And so we ran.

We were very impressive, making it to the cars and up the street in excellent time. As I whipped past the other car I looked in the back window and saw four silhouettes. Four. I called Bryan and my phone immediately died, thanks to three solid years of abuse. Fortunately, he stopped at the end of the street and I pulled up alongside him.

"Do you have Troy?"

*quick head count* "I guess not!"

Yes, loyal readers, our numbers were short by one. And so we were now obligated to return to the scene of our crime to retrieve our fallen comrade. After all, we could leave no man behind, even if it were in the middle of a nice neighborhood in a relatively smallish town. I mean, it's cold this time of year and he would have had to walk a ways to get home. Even then, we probably could have gotten away with it, except for one simple fact. As the rest of us ran for the cars, Troy ran in the opposite direction and the pastor's wife saw him. The pastor found him pressed up against the side of the building, probably wondering how he was going to break it to Uncle Terry that he was being removed from the choir. Fortunately for him, the 64 pound dog that had moved Zach along was actually quite friendly. We had thought that since there's some commuting going on that it wouldn't be here on weekends, but apparently we were wrong and her growling had awakened Bro. Bill's daughter. And Troy, instead of running to the cars, had run the other way. *gurgle of laughter* I love my cousin Troy.

By the way, it is 1:20 a.m. Do you know where the other five are?

choirs of angels singing

2007-10-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

The library has re-opened!!! Hallelujah!! I will get something done while sitting around in my happy, peaceful solitude, rather than go stark, raving mad! For those of you who didn't know, Jackson and Josephine Counties both shut down their libraries in what I have seen noted as the largest closure of its kind in the history of the nation. Lovely, eh? This explains the slow, quiet growth of my personal library. There are various reasons for the closures and I don't wish to go into them right now, but suffice it to say that money was at the bottom of it all. Be that as it may, at 12:30 today, a half hour after the doors opened, I was there, along with quite a few other people. As one of the librarians commented, several of us looked as though we were stocking up in case it closed again. One of the greatest things was that all of the books were on the shelf, meaning that I could take accurate stock of what my library actually has! *happy dance in my chair* I'm so excited!! And I can listen to different music again.... *moment of giddy silence* Oh, I can't tell you what this means to me. *happy sigh*

This re-opening combined with absolutely gorgeous weather is making this quite a magnificent autumn, despite the occasional twinge of melancholy. It's been in the low 70s here for the last couple days and the trees are magnificent. I get to drive through one of the orchards on my way to work and the leaves are all changing at different times, with one block bright red right now and another still green while yet another is starting to yellow. My houseplants are flourishing-ish, although the tree-like plant needs another dish soap bath to rid it of aphids and the sweet woodruff isn't taking to indoor life as well as I had hoped and I'm not sure why. But otherwise we are all thriving, and I have discovered that I am the proud owner of an Angel Wing Fibrous Begonia.

I yearn, I pine...

2007-10-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

....for my USB cable that goes to my camera. My darling Nicio has (we hope) discovered it among the trappings of her end of the move, and I eagerly await its arrival here. I have some great pics of Lithia to post (possibly to Bebo) and I'm thinking that I would like to share some pictures of my NINE (9) houseplants. We had a new addition on Saturday with a very pretty little diefenbacchia (completely not spelled right) and so at lunch on Sunday, while the other people were sharing stories about their dogs savaging their plants, I shared my difficulties with the various petty jealousies and rivalries that spring up between my flamboyant varieties of foliage. No one believed me that the the Thompson's Flowering Maple had attacked the Peace Lily; I was quite hurt.

Hummus is pureed garbanzo beans with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and whatever else, for those who have asked. Unfortunately, my hummus still isn't done, as I nearly burned out my blender trying to get the stupid stuff to because a smooth dip to complement any pita bread I might have made. Bry's mom has said I can use her food processor, but I have to get to her house with the garbanzo gook to begin with! Some day, my fine legumey friend, we shall meet again, and this time I will be the master.

Garbanzo Beans

2007-10-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

I feel you should all know, one cup of garbanzo beans is more than enough for a batch of hummus. Two cups - more than more than enough. In my never ending quest to have food in the house (I miss my Nan!!!) I am endeavoring to get something made that I can get together quickly. I have discovered a new breakfast gruel (it's very nice, really, and I'm quite pleased) and I'm hoping to get a decent batch of pita bread and hummus made for lunches and stuff. In that vein, I soaked some beans in preparation of cooking and hummusing, tragically overlooking the fact that all of my pan lids are in the storage shed. Hello, brain? Anyone there? So, yes, I'm trying to figure out if I can circumnavigate this obstacle somehow or if I should just bite the bullet and go to the storage unit. I think I will circumnavigate. It is the American way. By the way, the weather was perfect today and yesterday. *happy sigh* I love the autumn.

I love new computer programs sometimes

2007-10-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that I am learning all about the near-complete integration of parts that is taking place in the computer world. For example, using my accounting software, I can download all of my financial info from my bank accounts and then turn around and pay nearly all of my bills. While I'm doing that, I may be struck by an idea that I want to explore a little more fully later on, so I pull up a Microsoft OneNote Sidenote and type it out real quick, and then go back to that thought when I'm done with the financial stuff. If I register my blog within my OneNote, I can decide to blog on that topic and have my Word program automatically sign me in to post!!! And then, if I've registered my Live Messenger id with Office/XP/iTunes, I can navigate a variety of different sites with my Microsoft Passport clearing my way!! Soon I won't even need to leave the house!!!! So, yeah, what started this was a quick tour through OneNote. I would just like to say that this should have been invented EIGHT YEARS AGO while I was STILL IN COLLEGE. Along with all these lovely student deals on laptops that I'm just now hearing about. I can only imagine how much more organized I could have been. As it was, I actually did some of the stuff in OneNote on my own, like, keeping a file open so I could jot down ideas quickly that came to mind while I was in the middle of a paragraph.

Okay, enough geeking out for now. I'll leave Quicken and iTunes for next time or something. I would now like to say that I love autumn. It is really the most fabulous season until winter, maybe even spring. It gets all moody around here, punctuated with days of brilliant sun and biting cold. The trees are just fabulous. We have the ones who kind of sneak from dark green into this incredibly deep purple, and at first you can't even tell if they're actually changing or if it's perhaps just a trick of shadow and light. And then there are the trees that look like someone poured gasoline down one side and lit them on fire, and the other side is still green while the one is crimson and gold. *sighs* And I get to wear my scarves and gloves, and have tea and start Fellowship of the Ring. What more could a girl want?

On My Own

2007-10-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, to my first post from my new apartment and also (perhaps most excitingly) from my new computer!!!! Yes, I finally have my very own computer, loyal readers. But first, an update, since you haven't heard from me since July... unless you went out to coffee with me yesterday or something. Anyway, the amazing Brinicio and I have vacated our wonderful house as of September 31st and she has returned to the Valley of the Willamette while I have transferred not all of my belongings into a beautiful little studio apartment above some friends' garage which sits on a hill overlooking the Valley of the Rogue. Among the items that actually made it here rather than being consigned to a storage unit (another first for me, personal storage unit renting), are three almost completely full bookshelves, six plants, and a new fuzzy, purple baby plant from the home of Troy and Bryan, may they not kill one another for another day. This is my first time completely On My Own, and while I still haven't adjusted completely (I'm still waking up in the middle of the night for no good reason), I am on the second floor and there's only one door, so my paranoid imaginings of people coming through the window are now easily pushed aside.

On to the computer. As some of you may or may not know, when I left the employ of the The Crazed Screaming Boss, she refused to take back the computer she had "gifted" me with. When I later learned that she was informing people that she had bought me off with it, you can imagine that I reacted negatively ("She WHAT?!!!? I will never use that computer!!!!"). That reaction lasted a little over a year, until Bri moved out, taking my last connection with the outside world with her. I spoke with my wonderful, brilliant, generous and kind cousin Bryan, who wound up tricking out my cyber-ride, and I now have a pretty lean, mean surfing machine with two (two) hard drives, a wireless modem, a CD-Rom drive and a DVD drive, both of which are CD-RWs, and various other little things. A huge round of applause and thanks to Bry for enduring allergy attacks to clean out the accumulated ick (apparently no one had ever thought to clean this unit) figuring out all the glitches, putting in all the new bits and who knows what else!!

Final big change: I'm back at the lumber yard. Business is slowing down everywhere and I knew there was no way my previous employer could keep me going at 40 hours a week much longer, and there was no way they would be able to give me a pay raise to compensate at all. Add to this the email incident with my boss (I never did tell her that I was this close to walking out) and the nightmare that was the County Fair last year, and I decided that Becky's offer of a $2 pay increase and Campmeeting was probably worth the obnoxious men. Although the hours are probably going to drop this winter at the lumber yard as well, at least I know that my managers will be much more willing to work on a flexible schedule with me if I decide to pick up part-time seasonal work elsewhere (Bear Creek). So, yeah, while there are some things I miss about the old office (some of the co-workers, the lack of cursing, getting to dress up a little), I think I've made the right decision. Anyway, I just wanted to catch everyone up on what's going on, and hopefully my next post will be shorter. And it will definitely involve the weather. Just a warning.

What housework?

2007-07-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

I should so be cleaning my room, or sorting through boxes and getting rid of junk, or writing in my journal, or knitting on one of several projects right now, rather than goofing off on the internet. I'm not bored, really, just full of pizza (cousin luv, cousin luv, but not in any icky kind of way, you weirdos) and afraid to disturb the radioactive dust that covers my belongings. You know, someday I really need to figure out how to read and knit at the same time, because there are some books I just can't audio-style, Lord of the Rings being one of them. I know I'm starting a hair early in the season, but somehow it just seems appropriate. *stretches and sighs* I love being a dork!!

I'm really falling more in love with my house the more I live in it. I've even become accustomed to the yellow (cream, whatever) walls. With Moo gone we can open the blinds on his sliding door, and the view is all nice and dappled and green and really lights everything up. The ants have been getting in through the windowsill over the sink and there's this little pile of crumbs behind one of the plants, evidence of Things Too Large To Get Through The Hole. I sat and watched them try to get a strip of Asiago cheese in there for about fifteen minutes one time. They must have done, because I never saw it on the counter. Don't get me wrong, I have also sweetly set out some Terro in the hope that they will all die and their little ant bodies with rot under the house rather than come and eat my food, but they can definitely be entertaining as well.

I think I'll have chili tonight

2007-07-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

With cheese and crushed up Fritos. It's easy, it has protein, and it's not a cheese or tuna sandwich, what more could I ask in the way of diversity?! Actually, Brinicio bought the makings for some fabulous pitas, and we've kind of been living on those for a while. First, however, I'll probably need to go put away all the dishes I just washed. We have a bit of an ant problem here in my lovely house-that-I-really-don't-want-to-leave and I'm trying to nip it by actually keeping food out of reach. Imagine!

So, I have come to the conclusion that the whiny, petulant, "but Uncle Owen!" Luke Skywalker, while obnoxious, is in some ways infinitely better than sanctimonious, "more Forceful than thou" Luke Skywalker. Just so you know. The former doesn't go off on these wild flights of "I will not fight you, Father" and martyred hand-folding like the latter indulges in, especially in the books after the original trilogy. I still love Luke, don't get me wrong, but I don't think I could ever marry him. Imagine the angst! "Will I grow up to be my father? Will the Dark Side carry me away?" Which, if I've heard correctly, it does in at least one novel. Hmm, I just realized that the last paragraph has smacked of bitterness, but it really is directed towards Luke. I've been listening to books on tape that my brother's friend David lent me, bless him, and some things are just more and more apparent with every book Luke appears in.

You will all be thrilled to know that most of my plants are surviving. The pansies have taken the heat very badly and I don't know if they will resurface next year (sadly, since I had very pretty pansies this year). My jasmine is taking over its corner of the patio and the butterfly bush is going to be as tall as me, soon, rather like certain young ladies who.... great sunshine in the morning, Ellie is eleven and I missed it!!! I am such a bad auntie!!!!!! But I'm sure she's been having too much fun at CA Youth Camp to really worry about it that much.

Life has been interesting in the last month. Moo just moved out, up to the big city, leaving Brinicio and I alone and big-screen-TV-less, which has increased our reading to rather astounding levels. During the two weeks of Campmeeting (weekends are awful), I managed to do most of the hiring for the Jackson County Fair and I'm not bald. It's a miracle from heaven. I think I lost some more weight, though, which is becoming distinctly ridiculous. Whatever happened to stress-eating, huh?!? Ah well, speaking of food, I'm feeling a bit peckish, and that chili is calling to me, although I probably will regret it later.

Cousin love

2007-06-04T20:04:00.001-07:00

My cousins are the greatest, just so everyone knows. I don't know where I would be without them, honestly. I have a great many wonderful friends that support me and such, but my cousins are just the cat's meow. I mean, come on, Bry just cooked me dinner and is letting me use his computer while watching his TV, and Troy just cleaned up. *sighs* I love most of my family, I really do. (How's that for open, huh?)

Pride & Prejudice is a fabulous book/movie, by the way. I'm finishing up Persuasion at home right now, although I have to take it in small chunks.

You'll all be thrilled to know that I have have had a long conversation with that person who has previously consumed my thoughts and emotional upheavals, and things are looking up, in a my-heart-will-not-rip-open-my.-chest-anymore sort of way. In fact, I think I can go so far as to say that we are friends. Please forgive me for not going into dramatic detail, but... well, I'm still kind of processing everything myself.

Anyway, the weather has fortunately taken a turn for the cooler today, thank heavens, as it has been a consistently icky 90 degrees around here for quite a few hours too long. Oooh, Dame Judi Dench sneers so perfectly. I can only wish that the weather would not revert to the sweat-inducing state in which it has existed for the last bit, but I'm afraid that I'm just going to have to..... do...... something. Like start using the air conditioning, if I'm not lucky.

I know I have been particularly bad about blogging in the last two months, and I apologize yet again. Things were starting to look a little again grim and dark, and when that happens I tend to shut down a little bit. Have I mentioned that I adore the scene with Mr. Darcy in the trench coat, no matter how anachronistic it may be? Jane Austen is so desperately romantic, except in Mansfield Park, which I don't think I'll ever be able to read again. And the weather is perfect for watching this movie. Oh, I give up, there is no hope for it, I just can't kill my inner romantic, no matter how I've tried.

So, Melina, am I allowed back on your list? Or do I need to post more than once in a two month period? *winks* Ah well, bad to your lives, dear friends, I'm going to go finish watching this movie. *sighs* And Donald Sutherland really does a great job as Mr. Bennett.

Panic!! Panic!!! Oh wait..... (caution, long blog)

2007-04-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

Man, I have a lot of things to blog about, but I always forget when I sit down to write them. Except this one, of course. As you may have gathered from my previous post, I have been getting a little squirrelly about my job and the responsibilities and all that fun stuff, like the fact that you can't count on people to do what they tell you they're going to do. Well, over the weekend I decided I was going to start seeking other employment, and that I would let my boss know sometime this week, but I wasn't sure when. Yesterday she came into my office to drop off a candle she'd gotten me while she was on vacation (no, this wasn't favoritism, she brought something back for all of us) and asked how things were going. So I decided to tell her. Now, don't worry guys, I didn't do anything stupid, I just calmly let her know that I didn't feel that I was right for the position and that I didn't want to continue potentially costing the company money, and that I would like to start looking for another position. She said that was fine, she understood and actually asked if there were any of the positions we currently have that I would be interested in applying for (I can generate revenue in other ways, too). We agreed that we would start looking for my replacement and that I would start looking for another position.

And then I went home for lunch.

My internal monologue went something like this: "Wow, that went really well! I'm glad she didn't get upset or anything. Hmm, I wonder where I'll start lookingWHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!?! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?!?!" Yeah, the prospect of looking for a new job, while exciting in theory, isn't actually something I enjoy viewing. The job market here in the ol' Valley inn't so hot right now, and my skills are, well, not mind-blowing, although I do have that shiny BA. So, I wavered between "glad it went well" and "ACK!!" and went back to work. About thirty minutes after I got back, my boss came in again. She was interviewing my replacement in about an hour and wanted to talk to me about some things, things like, would I like to, instead of having to find another position somewhere and lose my health insurance, perhaps just switch into the accounting department? Now here, my dear friends, is an example of God working in mysterious ways. I will spell them out for you.

1. I got this job in September, two months before Joel broke up with me, sending my already out of control mood swings into orbit (not his fault, since I think almost any kind of stress would have done it).
2. As of January 1st, I got health insurance, which allowed me to go to the doctor and find out that I have a hormonal imbalance (have I mentioned this yet? It's genetic. I'm thrilled. Well, actually, I kinda am, because it means I'm not just crazy.) and start getting treatment (oh I'll have to post a picture some day. I use a topical cream on the inside of my arm for about a week and it's in a syringe, so I look like I'm shooting up!). This is the first time in, oh, ten years that I've had the kind of medical coverage I would need to diagnose and treat this problem.
3. About a week ago, our accountant announced that he was hoping to retire and we started looking for his replacement.
4. Yesterday, the guy who has been doing payroll announced that he would like to take over the accountant's position, leaving the payroll position open, which is the one I was offered.
5. It wasn't until the last several weeks that I've been feeling really unhappy with being a staffing coordinator, which is good, because if I would have decided this sooner, I would have given notice and been out of there before the accountant could retire, opening up the position I'm going to start training for!!!!

I mean, isn't that just amazing???? And I know this is all prayer. I've been asking people to pray about this for a while now, and the way things just fell into place was, in a word, providential! So, I get to stay with a company I like, keep my health insurance, and start working in an area that has interested me for a while, and when I get good enough, I'll get to start learning the rest of the bookkeeping. Anyway, so, yeah, I realize it's a ridiculously long blog, but I just had to share. Yet another example of God watching out for me when I'm not looking!

PS to self: About those other blog topics...... think Vietnam, " ", and the library.

Drama, drama, drama

2007-03-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, Fish, I've interviewed two of your ex-co-workers in the last two weeks! One of them was named Katheryn and was the center director.... and I'm afraid I've forgotten the other lady's name. Katheryn says hello. As for me moving to Portland.... well.... we'll have to see what happens, but as you know, it's not in my immediate plans. Even for you, my handsome, dashing, and debonair dear friend!! All those people!!! Ack! Oh, and please accept my public apology for not calling you back when you were in town. My only feeble excuse is that I had houseguests and forgot until Sunday night. Forgive me?

Moo has given me a slight reprieve ("They said it wouldn't be for a while..." Can I get a date, please??) and our household is still intact. Well, Moo is in Visalia (oh yeah, the PIQ actually isn't in PA, but I trust my brother to remember what good friends they used to be) and we have the addition of Chels (Nan's sister) and we had Melodie all week and are about to get Jake and Laura for a night.... but otherwise the household is the same as always!! We now have three, no, four, houseplants. I bought a lovely outside salad mix, but apparently someone else thinks it's tasty, too, and tossed a few leaves around on the patio. Mum says it's probably cats. I say Matt needed a midnight snack.

Lest we think that my life has calmed down since the last major incident, I bring you news of yet another potential change. I may be looking for a new job soon. I have come to the realization that I am not particularly brilliant at my job, and while in other positions this may not be a huge problem, in this one, I can do great things like lose accounts. Now, what this means is, I feel horrifically guilty about the fact that I'm not producing the results that my company needs, and I'm sure my company isn't too thrilled about it either. I also really dislike the fact that I don't feel competent at what I'm doing. It's not like I can study more and get better at this... well, in a way, I guess I can, but I can't change the essential fact that I don't have the drive they really need. I also don't feel like taking on the weight of the responsibilities I would have come the summer. Like being on call 24/6. I would also like to be able to plan things like vacations during the summer; even taking a half-day isn't really feasible in the position I'm currently in. Does this mean I'm lazy? It does, doesn't it...... great, now I'm going to go feel bad about myself... at least until Jake and Laura call and I go get pizza for dinner. So, yeah, I realize this is rambling and incoherent, but ARGH!!! I don't want this to turn into another whinefest and woe is I! Me. I never did figure out which was right. Anyway, I will cease and desist before this becomes even more ridiculous. Good night all, and may you all have a glorious weekend!!

As the world turns....

2007-03-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, the many changes of life. The weather here has been just great, with days of warm sunshine punctuated with gloriously glowering rain. Brinicio and I went to the Grange Co-op and bought some plants; she bought chives, cilantro and mint, and I got a salad mix and some pansies. My boss went and bought a hothouse last week, so I'm thinking I might go get me some of them there seeds and sneak some starts of something in.... not that I really have anywhere to plant them. I have to admit that I'm planning my future house-that-I-own and mostly the trees and plants around it. There's a book called Tasha Tudor's Garden that absolutely captivates me specifically because of the gardens that surround the house.

So, the first line of my post refers to the fact that my brother, dear sweet Moo, has been promoted to manager-in-training with Winco! Kudos to Moo!! Unfortunately, this means that my darling co-lease-signing brother is moving to Portland about five months before our leases actually run out. I think he gets to call our landlord on this one. I have no idea who on earth we're going to get to move in with us, but I know we're going to have to find someone fairly soon!! This does, however, leave the master bedroom open. *strokes chin hairs*

It also refers to the fact that we've hired a new recruiting manager at my office. He's 24, tall, blond, and a salesman. "Whoo hoo, Mindy!" you may be thinking, but there is a caveat. I seem to have a bit of a gift for parts of my job. One aspect is that I can sense salesmen. How, you may wonder? They annoy me, I tell you. And I was told to specifically look for a saleman kind of attitude for this position. *sighs* I'm hoping that it'll all be okay, and I'm sure it will be, but it's just kind of funny that my "gift" has the potential for such internal ookiness. Don't get me wrong, I have some friends who are salesmen, but when I'm in a business situation with one, well, they can't help it, the poor dears, they ooooooze that let-me-help-you-ma'am-I'm-sure-we-can-make-a-deal grease. Hmmm, I hope no one from work ever figures out who this is.....

Oh, and in the "Great Ironies of Life" category, Moo, in keeping with his status as Excellent Winco Employee, is being sent to help open one of the newest stores next weekend. All travel and lodging expenses paid for eight days. Sounds all legit and everything, right? No irony anywhere, right? Just the reward of the hardworking and well-deserving, right? He's going to Visalia, California, zip code 93291, the place where yours truly was attempting to move exactly a year ago. Ohhhhhhh, the irony of it all!!!!!!! *laughs* Matt has been throwing around threats ever since he found out he was going, but it looks like The Person In Question will be in Pennsylvania, so Moo will have to content himself with breathing angry murmurings under his breath.

Lessee, I think that's all my fun, fascinating, and entertaining news for the day. Who knows, if you're all reaaaaally lucky, maybe someday I'll start blogging about the stuff that happens at work. *rolls eyes* Or not. I wouldn't want to make you too cynical about humanity.

Olive Garden Soup

2007-02-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

It's just so yummy! It's become a new tradition on Sunday evenings for us olderyoung singles to go get a $4.75 bowl of soup and eat breadsticks, and I have to say, it's a lot of fun. Tonight I really needed the support (Jim and Flora, I sorry!!!! I really did mean to come home and do my laundry!!!!! But I'll be coming over tomorrow, I promise.) and the great Brinicio came with us and it was a lot of fun. The Zuppa Toscana is just that perfect blend of spicy and pseudo-healthy.

As some of you will have maybe noticed, I've changed some of my previous entries. I was informed that pasting my emotions all over the front of my online persona was probably a bad idea. And I agree. So, the particular subject which was addressed in the changed entries isn't going to be using up my blog space anymore except in passing. Life is too short for me to let anything like that rule me. So, Pheath, Fish, CrazyLady, everyone else, if you really want to know what's up with that, drop me a line. Pheath, we need to get together and catch up as it is. I've totally lost contact with almost everyone and I feel terrible about it.

Okay, so, what is up with this weather?? The snow on the valley floor? Brinicio says that the snow one day followed by sun, then sleet, then rain, then sun again... well, basically, she just can't handle it. I must say, I am a little peeved since this weather never happened when I was still in school, or even living at my parents' house, and able to have a snow day!!! All the beautiful little bulbs are beginning to poke out their little heads those. Except for here, at our house, where we never got around to planting any. We have grass. Barren grass. Dying grass actually, although I'm not sure why. Well, maybe it's drowning, which would make sense. Brin says it was distinctly soggy when she stepped on the lawn the other day. I have great plans for summer plantings, however. Please, stay tuned to this site for further fascinating updates!

Repeat after me...

2007-02-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Hey gang! It's finally raining here again, thank the clouds above. Don't get me wrong, the sunny days were gorgeous, but it gets cold when it's clear at night. And there's nothing to compare with brooding in a chair in front of a window that looks out onto, well, okay, onto a fence, but it has sky above that and the skeletal limbs of several trees, their nakedness reminding me of the scarred, barren land that is my heart. *giggles* Yeah, I thought that was pretty melodramatic myself. But really, a semi-comfy chair, Jane Eyre/Jane Austen/Lord of the Rings, and tea.... what more can I ask? Except Firefly on a large-screen TV, which I now have!

There used to be something else here. Again, I'm hoping the wrong people/person didn't read it before it was changed today, 2/25.

Bed? Why would I be in bed?

2007-02-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

So, I was kinda just cruising through my old blog entries (this really is just as much for me as for other people) and I went back to a year ago.
...
.....
.......
Just wow. Okay, okay, I know, I know, I waxed nostalgic earlier this year already, but really, come on now. I hadn't even gone through *shudders* mono, yet. I still don't feel like an adult. I mean, we were discussing the rules for the new church youth center and how there needed to be adult supervision and, you guessed it, I am considered adult supervision. Me. *would sit down heavily but is already seated* I certainly don't feel like an adult. I can tell I'm not quite a kid because I want to throttle teenagers with an alarming frequency, but I don't feel ... I don't know, adult-like, like I'm grownup enough to be responsible for things. Ya know what I mean, Vern? Stars and stripes forever, all this emotional trauma has turned me into a brooding, introspective, maudlin sentimentalist. On to greater things.

I got a new bed! The ex-boss had given me a daybed, but it doesn't fit in my decidedly-smaller-than-my-room-in-the-apartment room, and so I've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor. It was kind of funny, someone came over one day and got the tour and they were like "why do you all sleep on the floor?" We had never thought about it, but we all sleep (or slept, hehe heh) on the floor. But, Joel's little sister (who lives up here now) just got a new bed and so I inherited her old one. Thick mattress. With boxsprings. And a hollywood frame. And suddenly my room is actually a bedroom. *sighs* I can even store things under it. Speaking of, I need to get up in time to pick up said younger sister for Sunday School tomorrow and I'd like to get a real breakfast (the donut episode last week was a definite learning experience), so I'll release you all from the grip of my inane babbling.

A Quote From Gwendolen

2007-02-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
~Herm Albright

Thank you guys so much for being my friends. (Cheese!!! Ack Ack!!!!!! Too much cheese!!) But really, I mean it. Fish, Pheath, wow guys, who would have thought that over ten years later we'd still be hear and you guys would still be listening to my growing pains. And everyone else who reads and talks to me later or even just prays for me, I appreciate you all so very, very much.

I'm shifting through my angry stage, remembering all the really good times Joel and I had together, trying not to depress his little sister who probably still harbors dreams of us getting back together. It's been a process. *breaks into cheesy song* "The long and winding road" *bum bumk* "something, sooomething....." Okay, that's it, I'm leaving now before things get entirely out of hand. Beware the potstickers and razzleberry pie, beware!!! *sighs* And the worst part is that while you guys might think, "wow, her moods are doing really weird things," after a moment you'll smile and say "nahhh, that's just Mindy!"

Our next stage of grief...

2007-01-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

2/25: Yeah, meant to get this changed sooner. Hopefully the wrong people didn't already read it! Anyway, to summarize, this post used to be angry. It's not anymore. I saved the original to Brinicio's computer though. *laughs* We've decided I need to start posting funny things again. Maybe I'll go read a gardening catalogue...

Jasmine

2007-01-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

It has been so stinking cold here that I have brought my tender, green jasmine plant indoors. So far the greenery has not succumbed to winter's biting chill, but I ain't taking no chances with this little cold snap. Brianna, Ellie and I went walking in Lithia Park on Saturday, thinking a little exercise might warm us up. And I'm sure it would have, too, if we had been wearing snow pants and ski parkas. We wound up with numb thighs instead. We did get to go and have tea and scones afterward, which made up for everything.

Speaking of, Ellie (Joel's little sister, for those of you who don't know the family) spent Friday night and Saturday with us. I had gone through Moo's somewhat questionable movie collection and pulled out some of the good stuff (Ice Age, The Incredibles, Howl's Moving Castle) for us to watch, but as soon as she walked in, Ellie saw the extended Fellowship of the Ring and away we went. I had forgotten how much I totally love those movies!!! I don't know what it is, but they remind me of better things and hope for the future rather than staring into tomorrow like the barrel of a gun. Does anyone else feel like that? Like every day is a step in a minefield? I don't know, maybe it's just that I used to cling to the hope that the good really would win in this world, but every time I happen to see the news or read a newspaper (which, I admit, I avoid as much as possible) I feel helpless. Anyway, whatever the reason, we wound up watching Two Towers the next day and we're planning on Return of the King as soon as we all can get together again!

Okay, I have to get some of this off my chest, but I don't want to burden you all, so: Qué está pensando mi ex-novio?!? O es que no está pensando, está usando solamente sus sentidos y sentimientos? Me dijo que no iba a andar con otra mujer para un tiempo extendido y aquí anda, pensando en, claro, una rubia alta y activa. Le di mi corazón y entiendo que no fue su intención de romperlo, pero después de romperlo, él no tiene los guts para llamarme y decir que, sí, ya es terminado y tiene interés en otra lado. Wow, my Spanish is getting appallingly bad. Anyway, that's not even all I want to say, but I don't want to bore you and Moo is watching Batman Begins, so have a good night, everyone!!

Wonders!

2007-01-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Matthew's room!! It's.... it's.... clean!! And I don't mean there's a path from the door to more than one location, either. Our internet was down yesterday and he got bored and cleaned the whole thing. His clothes are even folded and in the closet. I guess he was telling the truth when he said he was a slob by choice. So I am now in possession of some new storage drawers - excellent news until one realizes that I have to decide a) what to put in them and b) where to put them. Life is so unbearably complicated!!

In other news, I finally got to use the Noritake Roseville china tea/luncheon set that Melodie/Dorothy gave me over a year ago. I invited my mom and aunt and Flora (of last November/December fame) over and we had tea and played Scrabble. But wait!! I haven't yet spoken of the amazing Scrabble board!! My mommy who loves me bought me The Onyx Version (note capitals) from Barnes and Noble. It's wood and is in black and silver, very posh, so I've been getting in quite a bit of playing time.

Finally, congratulations to Nathan and Brenda, who are engaged!! It is exactly as Melodie and I predicted, first Florin, then Andrew, and now Nathan. Ah, young love!! *manages to sit still for a moment and then grinds teeth* Seriously though, I am thrilled for them and I wish them the very, very best.

...So where is my figgy pudding?

2006-12-31T19:23:00.000-08:00

I just re-read my last post. I meant college and not high school, in case you all didn't guess. My brain hasn't been working for several years now. Anyway, I'm just getting ready to take off and go to the Watchnight service at church and thought I would say Happy New Year!!!! to all and sundry. This last year has been much more eventful than I ever would have wanted to anticipated and in directions I never dreamed. I mean, first there was the mono, then the bookkeeping job, the apartment with Moo, the bucket garden (oh hey!! I just got my first seed catalog of the year!!)... the list goes on and on. And I know there have been plenty of things going on in your lives as well, but so far we have survived. Hugs to all and hopefully I'll see everyone at some point in 2007! (*swallows loudly* I cannot believe it's already 2007. I mean, I was supposed to be queen of the Universe by now... or at least have traveled a few more places... Ack! I will not get all pessimistic!!) Good night, guys! Take care and have fun!!

It's clear in the mountains...

2006-12-19T19:54:00.000-08:00

...but down here in the valley, it didn't get above freezing today and the fog froze and pretended to be snow. Dad said it was gorgeous and clear up at the old homestead today. I do have to admit, the fogsnow was pretty. Thank you, Ms. Poppins, for the understanding. *laughs* I'm going to not whine this post, which is why I just deleted a sentence.

Christmas just snuck up on me out of nowhere this year and I barely got my Christmas cards out in anything resembling a timely manner. *looks ashamed* I'm afraid that I'm also doing some last-minute, not-quite-thoughtless shopping, but now I'm remembering all these other people I should be buying for. *rolls eyes* Can any of the adults out there tell me how you do it?? I can't even imagine trying to do this and have kids at the same time... which is probably why every time I even contemplate the possibility of children I see myself as a content housewife. *pauses* Okay, mostly content with a dash of insane.

Anyway, since I will not see the majority of you all,Merry Christmas!!!! Thank you for sticking with me, even though I haven't been around as much as I was in high school. I'll try to become entertaining and sarcastic again in the near future, so you won't get too bored. *grins* God bless all of you if I don't post again before New Year's!!!

No, I'm not a ghost

2006-12-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sure some of you will be thrilled to discover that, yes, I'm still alive. I didn't want to bore you guys with the highs and (more often) lows of my post-Joel life and be one of those blogs of misery and woe. I will definitely never underestimate how much a person may be hurting ever again, that's for sure. None of you warned me this was going to hurt so bad!! *flings hands into the air* Oh well, I'm kidding, I hope you all know. Thank you for the love and prayers. I'm doing okay, although I'm certainly not over him by any stretch of the imagination. *sighs* At least I've lost a few pounds through this whole thing. *grins* It's really ironic, the women in my family have always eaten their way through trouble and worry, and here I am with my broken heart, unable to eat chocolate.... It's so unfair!!! Otherwise, life has been busy. I'm still working for the temp agency (did I blog about that?? I'll have to check.) and things are going well. I'm so busy that I feel like I don't have time for anything else except church. I'm hoping to start playing music with my friend Karen here soon, since I'm sadly out of practice and need something to do besides sleep. Ah well, I'm sure you're not all that interested in my life. Oh, oh, oh!!! The weather is clear and frigid. Just thought you would want to know. And we got the deposit back on the apartment.

Quick note...

2006-11-13T17:33:00.000-08:00

I just want to let you guys know that Joel and I are no longer together. We're still friends and I don't hate him (I don't want anyone else to hate him either), we're just not together. At this point, I'm not looking for anyone to "take his place," "fill the gap in my life," or be my "other fish in the sea," so please don't try to set me up with anyone. I also don't really want to talk about the reasons at this point (sorry, guys!), it was just.... something that happened I guess, albeit very unexpectedly. Anyway, we would both appreciate your prayers during what is obviously a very difficult time. Thanks for you love and support, and I'll try to make my next post more cheerful.

It's orange! It's yellow!!

2006-10-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

It's not a forest fire!! Well, I mean, there is one out there somewhere, but I am referring to the trees. Yes, gentle readers, fall is here and that means I am beginning to enjoy the weather again. The clouds are moving in and Joel reports rain in the Central Valley area, so I won't be surprised to see it here as well soon. Some of the trees are starting to turn gorgeous shades of red and yellow, especially in this mobile home park down the highway from my old place. They have these amazing trees that all turn fiery at the exact same time and it's really spectacular.

I have the day off today and have been running errands and hauling some stuff to the new house. One of my errands was to turn in my practice room key at the university and get back my $10 deposit, but it seems some malodorous, moronic miscreant decided to abscond with the deposity money last year, leaving the department unable to give me back my deposit. People like that tick me off, by the way. Ripping off your fellow students just to... buy booze? pay rent (right)? impress somebody?

Oh, hey, opinion check. Does getting the master bedroom, complete with attached bathroom, mean that you should have to shoulder some additional responsibilities, like more rent?

Winds of Change

2006-09-27T19:34:00.001-07:00

Things are just crazy around here, let me tell you. I got a phone call last week inviting me to interview for a Human Services position with the State in Ashland and spent all weekend freaking out about whether I should stay in my current job, which I really enjoy, even when it's insanely busy. I spoke to my boss about possibly going to the interview (yes, I thought it was better to be honest, thank you) and wound up talking for two hours about not just the jobs, but my negative self-image and all sorts of fun stuff. So, I've decided to stay with my current job, as I think I'm not very likely to find abother work environment quite as nice (we have good people and no internal politics that I've noticed... possibly because everyone is too busy *grin*)and because I think having the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of HR with be good for me.

ALSO, we are moving. Over the weekend we found a three bedroom, two bathroom HOUSE with sewer, water, and garbage PAID for $925, and we jumped on it. I'm reflecting on this with especial sweetness right now because my neighbors have their music so loud that I can hear the words and feel the wall shaking. Anyway, the only complication is that we can't get out of the 30-day-notice clause at the apartment and the new landlord needs us to move in by October 1st, which means we're going to be paying rent on both places, plus all the move-in fees on the other place. Things are going to be tight. But this is life, I guess. Alright, I'm going to leave you guys alone and go draft my 30-day notice letter. Tomorrow I get to call and ask that they pro-rate our rent and save us maybe $60... that would be nice...

Back to you, Stan!

2006-09-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I am back to having a job now! I went in to my temp agencies last week to reactivate my account and on Wednesday I got a call from one of them asking me to come in for an interview for an internal position, and that afternoon, I was employed!! I'm the new staffing coordinator, which means I have to start dressing like a professional, makeup, suits (when I can't avoid it), and all. It's really scary because I've never been in anything like this before, having always been the office girl, but there is literally never any down time minus my lunch hour and breaks, so I don't get bored and into mischief. I'm making $5 an hour less, but I'm getting training and experience that is going to make me much more employable in the future... if I want to be. I think what I really need to do is go and make a small fortune and be independently wealthy. What do you guys think? At least I'm working with an office-full of people this time and I don't have to worry as much about what happened before. Anyway, I hope you guys are all doing well and enjoying the advent of autumn, one of my favorite times of year. Break out the scarves and hats!!

PS Melina, I tried to post to your blog, but I couldn't for some reason. I'm sorry!! I'll see if I can't figure it out.

Garden

2006-09-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I never told you guys about my backyard and the Lost Paradise thing! Wow, where has my brain been?! So, I went to dig up the beautiful soil of my little backyard so I could add enriching compost and gently plant my various seedlings and watch them grow to full, glorious adulthood. Behold, I raiséd my shovel, thonkéd it into the living soil and hittethed a rock. But, behold, I despairéd not, movéd rock and thonkéd mine shovel againeth into the groundeth. Only to discover that in the building of my apartment complex they (THEY!! such a beautifully undescriptive word) had laid down a layer of rock and then hidden it under a five-inch layer of dirt that was tantalizingly deep enough to grow grass and weeds, but not anything resembling a garden. However, I prevailed and spent money and now have a container garden made up of fiber pots and sawn-off five gallon buckets. Contents thereof: one eggplant, one zucchini, one crookneck squash, one summer squash, four pepper plants, one lemon cucmber (was four but Campmeeting happened), one pumpkin (which is currently waging war on the air conditioning unit. I don't have the heart to cut it back.), two sickly tomatoes (another one died. I'm not quite sure why I'm growing them since I don't like tomatoes very much.), and a bunch of flowers and stuff.

New paragraph to spare your eyes. My yard is also home to a voracious population of snails and in earlier summer suffered an invasion of earwigs. We survived and now I have fresh vegetables constantly waiting to be eaten. Anyway, I'm hungry and it's that time of day in which one should have tea, so I'm off.

PS I see that my non-posting time seems to have cost me some readers. Sorry guys!!

Why do people live in the Central Valley?

2006-09-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know the answer, really. In the spring it's absolutely beautiful here, the mountains, when you can see them, are amazing, and the soil is fabulous for agriculture... unless it's been over-fertilized resulting in salinization or had the top soil raked off to make way for suburban sprawl. However, fresh oranges and warm winters are nice. Unfortunately, the summer heat is a little difficult to take at times. I'm sitting in College of the Sequoias computer lab goofing off until Joel gets out of class and then he's taking me to the airport. In the meantime, I have some minutes to kill and thought I'd update stuff.

I'm alive and doing much better than I was four days ago. It's amazing what getting away from my problems can do...okay, I didn't get away from them, but I haven't had to think about them, and the J***** household is a very nice place to just hang out and relax. I still haven't found another job and we're still house-hunting, but I did buy Mom's car, so I don't have to worry about that for another month and if worse comes to worse, I can always work fast food, right? Wrong, yeah, I know, I wouldn't be pulling in enough money to cover my bills, but you get the idea. Oh yeah, anecdote time, the other morning I heard the sprinklers go on and thought I would go check the spray pattern so I could move any plants that needed more or less agua. I pulled aside the shades and beheld a 15-foot geyser erupting from the ground. Seems a little piece had come loose and wasn't breaking up the water stream into spray. I was a little perturbed as I don't exactly want my apartment manager nosing around and finding out that Bri is still in the house, but it was a pretty geyser and it watered fairly well when the breeze was in the right direction. Anyway, after the water shut off I went and checked it out, found the little piece and all was well. Wow, what a boring post. Oh well, at least you know I'm alive, right?!

Partial retraction

2006-08-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have been chastised by Joel for lambasting my boss and I feel he is at least partly right, if not entirely, blast it. My boss can be a very nice lady and is very generous when she likes you. That being said, losing her trust is like buying a one way ticket out of Cushyville, which I inadvertently did. I AM going to miss my job and my boss, but not the stress. I'm sure my boss felt she had perfectly legitimate reasons for her behavior, as did I, so I can't sit and fling stones... unfortunately. Hey, has anyone seen my Joeliddy Cricket recently?

Unemployment

2006-08-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

...is a many-splendoured thing!! Last Saturday, I thought the worst thing in my life was that I had put Joel on the Greyhound back to Visalia after two month's worth of visiting. Tuesday afternoon, I discovered just how wrong I was. Apparently, my boss, for whom I have been working six months, randomly informed me (over the phone)that I was not quite meeting her needs in terms of support, not surprising considering she'd never really explained what those needs were. She went on to express that she understood that I missed Joel (!!!!! What kind of an employee does THAT make me if I moon around so much about missing him, which I wasn't doing?! I was no worse than any other time I haven't gotten enough sleep, am stressed out by my boss, and feeling cranky!!) and thought that perhaps I ought to take the rest of the day off to evaluate my priorities. Um, hello? Two days of grouchy productivity suddenly signal that my priorities are... what, out of line? To whom? Unfortunately, this was not the end of the lecture and I got to hear all about my failures, even after I had asked not to discuss it just then, as I was preparing to explode all over the office and dismember, well, not the dogs-I like the dogs-but perhaps a filing cabinet. I managed to hold my tongue... at least until she'd hung up and I'd called Mom. Then, the dogs left the office in a bit of a hurry when I began screaming. Loudly. Luckily for me, my mother understands and didn't take it personally.
New paragraph. I called several people, most of whom encouraged me to vamoose. I thought I could stick it out, until Thursday, when her behavior more than clearly communicated her loss of trust in me (for what, the money I hadn't stolen? Perhaps the books I'd been balancing with little or no training from her? Or maybe because... because... oh, for crying out loud, I don't know, it just made me stinking mad). I'm not going to work for someone who doesn't trust me, and so yesterday, I gave notice. I cannot tell you how unbelievably relieved I feel. I'm more relaxed than I've been for six months. A good sign? I believe so. Did I mention that my car blew up on Wednesday? And that apparently my apartment complex won't let my cousin, who is already living here, well, live here? And believe me, Wednesday and Thursday were not good days. At all. Not even a litte. Ask Joel. But Friday and today (my birthday, by the way), ah, words cannot express. Melodie made me crumpets for breakfast and between her, me, and Bri, we consumed nearly a dozen. My mom is getting a new car and selling me her old one... which means I need a new job. Soon.
In closing, I'm really, really, really sorry that nothing else has been posted in so long. Don't worry, my garden is doing well, excessively well in the case of the pumpkin. Oh wait, you guys haven't heard... ahhhh, well, that's another post. I leave you with this chorus (courtesy of Mel... a friend):
Unemployed, how I love to proclaim it
Unemployed as effective Friday
Unemployed I am free now from *boss's name*
I can dance and fling flowers all day!
Unemployed
Unemployed
No more screaming boss to ignore
Unemplooooooo-ooooooyed
Unemploooooooooooooooooooooo-oooooooooooooooyed
And yes it's effective Friday!!!!!

P.S. Is this long enough to prove I'm not dead?
*crackle crackle BOOOOOOM*

furtive glance

2006-04-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

...and so I can't understand why everyone keeps saying it's been so long since I last posted when anyone can see that it's been in the last six months! Sorry guys, I've been moving into an apartment with my brother and getting adjusted to the job and, well, I just haven't had fast enough net access to be honest and I hate waiting for things to load. Don't worry, RatIck (oh, I think I like that one), I've bought some of my plants and now I'm just waiting to get moved in so I can concentrate on the little backyard that will soon be my Garden of Eden. I've decided that I'm going to have a vegetable garden so I can experiment with things like heirloom plants and different planting styles, and I'll just fling flowers around to brighten things up. Okay, I'm really soory, I have plenty of things to blog about, but I have to get back to work. Bye!

Just waiting on that diploma...

2006-03-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

...which, apparently, I didn't need to get a good job. My current job was garnered from my secretary skills rather than my college education. A bit of angst before the news: I don't want to be a bookkeeper for the rest of my life... I don't think... I want to use my Spanish and Latin American Studies background and do good and travel and help people and travel and see things!!! Am I going to have a comfortable, mediocre life? Are my professors right and I should go to grad school? Argh!!! Where is my direction?!?!?! (How was that for negative and depressing...)

So, my professor emailed me and I got an A- in that Econ class, by the grace of God. This means I am happy, but will still not graduate with honors because I am .01 points away from a 3.79. .01 points!!!!!! And it's my own fault, too. Should have just taken out loans to begin with and I would have been done before now with a 3.9. Wow, I'm really feeling whiny today or something.

Some of you may have picked up on the vibe that I was/am thinking about moving to California. Well, when I got back last week my boss informed me that she intends to raise my pay to $15 an hour and when we get four more clients, she's going to give me medical insurance. Odds of my finding a job in CA that offers me anything remotely close? HA! So for now it looks like I'll be moving in with my brother and we'll just see how things develop. I wonder if the State Department's Latin American Division needs a secretary or a bookkeeper...

And finally, I have seed catalogs. Yes, you all know what this means. Soon, when I know where I'm going to live and all that, you will be receiving updates on the weather (by the way, it's been freezing cold and snowy here) and the state of my garden. The thrills never stop, I tell you what...

Diseased

2006-03-01T14:36:00.000-08:00

For those of you (Mandy!!!!) who have noticed my lack of posting, I have but one word: mononucleosis. That's right, after managing to avoid that dreaded disease in high school when I was supposed to get it, I came down with it two days before that Aforementioned Day and didn't really move that much over the next week and a half... minus the road trip to Visalia that my parents hijacked (thank heavens!!) and which I spent vilely ill. Since the incubation period is 4-6 weeks, it looks like I contracted this lovely little number during my holiday visit in V., and in fact, Joel is supposed to find out today whether or not he has it, since he started having weird symptoms about the same time. *heavy, heavy sigh* Isn't my life supposed to be coming together right now, rather than falling apart?? On the plus side, I started a new job as a bookkeeper's assistant the Tuesday after I got sick, but my boss is being really cool about my hours being short for a bit as I try to avoid a relapse. This is harder than it sounds since I don't feel nearly as sick as I did, and I don't realize I've overdone it until it's too late. Ah well, such is life, I suppose, although I really hope that none of you EVER get this. *sighs again* Good life and good health to you all!

` nhbgmjyutnfryujhmn

2006-02-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

The above is the noise my face makes as it hits the keyboard. I have been unbelievably ill for the last three days, with fever, swollen gland, stuffy nose, periods of utter and complete exhaustion, accelerated heart rate, the works. I had a recital for a friend yesterday and started sweating so badly that I thought I might drop my violin, but things turned out well and her mother even commented that on stage I didn't even look sick. Mum always did say I should have been an actress. So, CrazyLady, I'm afraid this is my cheesy apology for not emailing you sooner. I was going to do it this weekend but lacked the energy necessary to press that many keys.

I realize that some of you probably thought that this year I wasn't going to do a Valentine's Day tirade because my heart had been tenderly wounded by gentle Love's arrow, to which I reply "HA!" Valentine's Day still stinks and Joel and I have mutually decided not to celebrate it more than his calling me to sing his song "Valentine's Day is a Drag." Oh, I have a card for him and everything, but he's not going to get it until he's not expecting it. Once again, I would rather have my significant other SURPRISE me someday when I'm not expecting it rather than simply because he has to. V-Day should be about showing love to everyone, and not in some commercially-exploited manner either. Oh hey!! Why don't we declare Valentine's Day an official "Go Volunteer" Day?! I'm not hearing a very enthusiastic response out there... Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back to bashing the day itself, and conveniently enough, someone else has done that for me here: http://msn.match.com/msn/article.aspx?articleid=5861&TrackingID=516311&BannerID=544657&menuid=6?GT1=7778
I totally concur with these points, minus the one about dating around. So there, Hallmark!! Have at thee, oh exploiter of singletons' feelings of loneliness and couples' indoctrination that romance must be scripted on a certain day!! Anyway, I have several other things to rave about and hopefully I won't keep you waiting too long.

PS Can anyone explain how to embed the hyperlink within the text? I tried and failed.

I'm DONE (the second middle)

2006-02-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

And yesterday I turned in the final report for my Mexico internship, so, as fas as I know, I am done with my paperwork, minus my exit counseling for my loans. *sighs* And isn't it great having THOSE hanging over my head... Anyway, I think I'll go get myself some lunch. Hope you all have a good weekend!

I'm DONE (the middle)

2006-02-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

Just so you all know, the econ stuff is all in. Now I just have to wait and see how awfully I performed on the tests, which does concern me quite a bit. Right now I'm finishing up the last of my final internship report which I'm turning in tomorrow. I'm also looking for work, either here or (fine, I'll admit it in public) in California. Life is just so stinking complicated once you have to start growing up!! I have to pack up all my stuff and I already have a garbage can full to get rid of, not to mention a bag plus of clothes to donate to Goodwill. And I'm barely even started yet. *sighs and covers eyes* You've all survived this, right? Right?!? Okay, enough whining, I need to get going, but thank you all for your support and I tell you that someday I will become interesting again.

Tolu, I PROMISE I will email you and I'm SO sorry I haven't yet. Please, please forgive me!!!

snuffle

2006-01-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

Ugh. Mornings. I probably wouldn't have made it out of my bed at a semi-reasonable hour today except Joel called and inspired me. So, yeah, today I was supposed to go to work. I got up at 7, made oatmeal for Moo and I (he's baby-sitting me while my parents are off gallivanting away my inheritance), and then took him home before *RING* "This is Karen, just calling to remind you that we have rehearsal at 11 with Galina." AAAAAGGH!!! Why, yes, I had forgotten. I'm playing a violin duet with Karen at her Junior Recital in February and we NEED to rehearse with the pianist. *heavy sigh* So I called Becky, who very sweetly informed me that it was fine, I could go to Ashland for the practice, and, while I was at it, why didn't I GET MY BUTT HOME AND FINISH MY ECON HOMEWORK!!!!! And so I sit in the computer lab, updating my blog, waiting for 11, because of course I didn't bring my books with me. Oh yes, just got a note from my prof and I got an A- on the paper, and she'll probably be grading the test in the next week. So far, so good. I use the word 'so' a lot, don't I?

Weather: It's foggy here in Ashland, which means it's stinking cold. Anyone else ever noticed the peculiar ability of fog to hold in cold? But, it's going to be beautiful out at my house. *happy sigh*

I know, I know...

2006-01-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

I left you all hanging for who knows how long. Well, I'm just going to post a little update as my parking time is going to run out soon. The paper is done and got mailed to my prof the 23rd. However, the rest of it isn't done yet (I blame other people) and I haven't heard back from said prof and so I begin to worry that the paper never made it to her, but I'm afraid to get ahold of her without more stuff to turn in.

I haven't been posting because I spent two and a half weeks down in California visiting Joel and then about a week up in Washington with Melodie. It rained in both locations and I had a lot of fun, but now it's back to the grindstone, this time with the added push to find a job and get all my school paperwork done and out of the way. Funny how things just kinda spring up at you that they don't really tell you about. I think they should have to make a checklist of things so we don't feel so lost.

Anyway, I hope everyone had wonderful holidays and I'll try to be better about posting and letting you all know I'm alive!!

Curse you, Electromagnetic Field!!!!

2005-12-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Mum and I have been having a rousing go-around about the stupid International Economics paper, right? So, I have about four paragraphs of free-write done and saved, I'm on a roll, I'm gonna get this done by Christmas. I saved it to a disk last night and went to open it on my cousin's computer (home is sounding a little hostile right now) and *plink* "This disk is not formatted." Seems that the four seconds my cell phone spent on top of my disks yesterday was just enough to erase it, with all of my papers for the last year, including my Capstone, which was the only one entirely saved in another place. *raging and gnashing (or is it knashing?) of teeth* Of course, all you ex-students and current students know what that means: ALL of the wind has been taken out of my sails. I CANNOT write about Venezuela now, CANNOT. Even though I know Marie would counsel me to just get all of the stuff out of my head and into the document, I keep thinking of the two brilliant opening sentences I had already crafted and which I'm not willing to spend a ton of money I DON'T HAVE (right now, maybe when I'm rich and retired) to try and maybe possibly not-sure retrieve. *heavy, heavy sigh and the sound of a candy wrapper crinkling* On the plus side, it didn't manage to erase my Mexico journal entries that are on the disk underneath and that also need to be turned in soon. Sooo, yes, Merry Christmas to all!!! Drive safely, traveling mercies, and may all your disks retain their information.

GRINGA EN GUADALAJARA

All aboard!

A little excitement

Perfect Summer Day

Autumn in summer

Klamath Falls

Summer in SoOre

Yellow Submarine

Allergies

Pi Day!

Road Trippin'

Job Security

My beautiful cousins!

Merry Christmas!

Thankful

Medford Mail Tribune..... questionable intelligence

Fog

I got a new plant!

Bored

Ha!

I love the Rogue Valley...

Moments

Yarn Harlot

Autumn is here!

Happy Autumn Equinox!!

I miss the old Disney

*blip*

Con-nec-ti-vi-ty

Close Call

My Ex-Boyfriend's Family

Signs that you probably aren't going to bond

The Only Living Boy In New York

Lack of Connection

PCD (Post-Campmeeting Depression)

But I want to GO!!!

Photographic Evidence

Gah! I'm leaving for Campmeeting in a week and a half!

Mountain Man Knitting

Group A (not to be confused with Type A)

For Heidi

Controlled Burning

Picture Time!

Paradise

Testing. Testing. One, two, three.

Blood! Fire! Narcotics! Rubber Chicken Violence!

Road Trip!

Obsession, let me go

Body Count

Excuse # 14 For Why I Can't Sleep Before Midnight

Opera and the common man

Snow Day!

Pfffft!!

Introducing Ophelia

Merry Christmas!

Christmas, Peanuts & someone else’s Snow Day

Psychic

NPR

A Perfect Day

Los Angeles

One year and two days

Super Metroid

Guadalajara

And so we ran

*choirs of angels singing*

I yearn, I pine...

Garbanzo Beans

I love new computer programs sometimes

On My Own

What housework?

I think I'll have chili tonight

Cousin love

Panic!! Panic!!! Oh wait..... (caution, long blog)

Drama, drama, drama

As the world turns....

Olive Garden Soup

Repeat after me...

Bed? Why would I be in bed?

A Quote From Gwendolen

Our next stage of grief...

Jasmine

blip

choirs of angels singing

furtive glance

snuffle