Small Town Survival

Lost of new in the house. We're redoing my room and the moving of stuff and reorganizing and throwing away and donating are keeping me pretty busy. I also have a new computer game which is a complete time suck but I won't get into that because I don't want to admit how much of a geek I am. I'm also trying to get my dog to settle the hell down for five minutes so I can do something besides wonder what he has in his mouth this time. No one should have their hands in a dog's mouth as much as I do. ew.

The other new is the project we're working on in the basement that involves giving me this cute office space complete with a nice big table for my computer as well as a second counter top for extra stuff and working. There are lots of cabinets and storage space and we're redoing the surrounding area to make it look less like it came out of the 70s and make everyone feel more at home. So not only is that work but it's planning and going and cleanup and more.

In the end I should have some photos for you. That is right after I send SBC the photo of the pumpkin I managed to carve while I was on hold and being helped by their customer service. When you see the photo you'll have an idea of how much of my time that took up. Until then, stay busy yourselves and try not to miss me too much. You know I care.

P.S. state of jenn is now updated. And it works thanks to my wonderful friend Shannon who can work wonders.

So I mentioned that we were working on an office space in the basement and there's something about it that I really love. I'm not sure if it's the planning of something great or the actual work. I even enjoyed vacuuming the space. I don't like to vacuum anything at all, but I liked this. First one to tell my mom gets banned from my site. Fair warning.

I like putting stuff away in the new cabinets and I love painting the new desk top. I put on the Chicago soundtrack and started painting away. I was actually disappointed that it didn't take longer although that might be because I didn't get to my favorite song. Or maybe I just wanted to listen to more of the soundtrack. For some reason I didn't take the CD with me into the other room when I was done.

There's still more work to do. The shelves and the desktop need another coat so when I get home from work tonight I imagine I'll be doing that. I also have wallpaper to take down from the walls in my room and some painting in there to do. We're talking about painting the closet doors and the shelf above the closets. I like to play with the lighting it both spaces and I have ideas about what sort of decorations should go into each. I'm antsy for each room to be done so I can start adding those personal touches. I have so many personal touches boxed up that I should probably start a museum. Or my own personal Good Will.

About a year ago I started to think about how I wanted my own place, a place where I could paint and decorate and generally call my own. I know that those feeling started to resurface earlier this year and they've been at the back of my mind since. I think having this new personal space although it ultimately belongs to my parents is exactly what I need. I'll share some of the cabinets and it's not like I'm the only one in the room, but essentially it's for my use. Now if I could only stop playing my computer game long enough to finish it everything would be grand.

As promised, pumpkin photos have arrived. Just in time to scare you silly for Halloween. But before you see them you might like a little back story. It started on Saturday afternoon after I took my basic skills test (pre-testing in order to enter the education program at Eastern). Erika arrived early so we sat around and fended off the dog and talked about how rockin' my math skills were and how it shouldn't been too hard to fail the basic skills test, it is after all basic skills. We're also expecting hate mail from people who disagree and believe it's hard.

Later when Bethany arrived she explained to us that a lot of people fail because of the writing portion and I agreed that that could be possible because I'd proof read a lot of papers of people in college and often found myself surprised at the level of writing. It's bad. I don't know how you get that far without being able to construct a decent paragraph but I've always been happy with words and the way they work. It's a bit of a talent so I can't really knock others for their lack.

The three of us discovered that Shelley wouldn't make it and neither would her friend. Dan was MIA since we thought he was going to stop by but no one knew if he knew where we were or how to get a hold of him. You know you're a good friend when you have the phone numbers of all your friends. Damn. Since Brian wasn't going to arrive until later we decided to head to the pumpkin patch and pick out our victims. I think we spent more time deciding than anything, but picking out the right pumpkin is truly difficult and a very important part of the process.

There were red warty things (they're really called that) and Australian or Austrian blues. Something about long island cheese which we picked up for Brian and renamed it "Brian's special pumpkin" and I think we saw something that was pink and they were trying to pass it off as a pumpkin Pink? No. I'm serious.

After much deliberation, an extra pumpkin for me, a real pumpkin for Brian and a few gourds for Erika we all managed to find what we wanted and get it into the car. Brian was lucky enough to show up just as the burgers were coming off the grill and we lounged around ate and prepared to carve pumpkins. I think if we had known how good the desert was going to be we wouldn't have waited until we were done, or maybe we would have had it first. I'm not sure on that one, but maybe one of the others will weigh in on this.

Cutting began and Brian distracted himself with the game. We ended up with a huge pile of pumpkin guts on the counter and a lot of giggling and inappropriate comments about Brian's special pumpkin. After Erika and I finished with our respective pumpkins we started sorting seeds out of the guts to bake, and yes, mom, you really can eat them. Shell and all.

Brian was slow to finish because he spent a lot of time watching the game and visiting with the dog who kept jumping up to see what he and Bethany were working on. Bethany was slow because her design was labeled challenging. Well, that and because Indie wanted to eat the buttons on her sweater. I'm not sure why but he likes to eat all kinds of things. Brian did his best to distract indie, but that only works for a little while. I think the dog has ADHD. He's challenging. I've seen kids in guided study that behave better than that dog. Ugh.

So we finally finished and had desert, and there's something about banana split cake that is fantastically wonderful. Here's the deal, you take some banana cake mix and mix it up like normal but add chocolate chips (the mini ones work best, otherwise you get a layer of chocolate at the bottom ? not all bad) and bake it. When it's cool, you cut slices and pile banana pieces, walnuts, chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top. Take and leave ingredients as you like. Enjoy. It's really that simple and it's way better than any frosting you'll ever come up with. I promise.

And now you know the story of once upon a time and special pumpkins and crazy carving. Maybe next time you can join us. Happy Halloween.

Brian shows us his handy work

Bethany starting what will be a very long process.

Erika stops laughing long enough to get started (she actually finished fist!)

I told you Brian was watching the game.

The gathering of pumpkins (that green one is the "special pumpkin").

And when the lights go out the finished products come out.

Before we get started, I wanted to let you know I'm also posting over at scatter joy. Feel free to visit and comment. Now, on with things.

This entry probably won't mean as much to anyone who's never seen the basement of my parent's house, but in the meantime you can marvel at how nice it looks (even if you can't see how much it's changed).

New cabinets for the tv to sit on and a new peice of wall art (the horse! - although I love the beer ads. In a house of people who rarely drink.)

We've moved some furniture around on the other side of the room and tossed some of it out. I have a nice new desktop for my computer to sit on and that red thing is the office chair covered in a blanket. What? I get cold.

A view of the new cabinets we put up and the fall leaves decoration that adds some fun colour to the place. Woo.

Head on, you can see the shelves and the cabinets and some of the stuff I've decided goes in the area. Still a lot of brown in the room but it's a lighter feeling.

Another view of the desk and my stuff. woo. Isn't it all shiny and new looking? Except maybe my speakers, I need new ones.

Even indie loves the new home office. A place for everything from the computer to the coffee maker to the little monster and his fuzzy. Fantastic.

And thankfully not leftovers. Thanksgiving was of course wonderful and yummy all at the same time. We didn't bother with that going around the table talking about what you're thankful for or grateful for or anything more than can you pass the gravy and where's the salt. Everyone helped in the kitchen including yours truly. I think I used to spend my thanksgiving morning a little bored, but helping in the kitchen makes me feel like an adult. Or at least like I have something to do besides wandering around the house wondering when it's going to be time to eat.

My job this year was to make the pie and since I object to pumpkin and I don't think anyone else will die without it we broke tradition and had a yummy chocolate pie with english toffee lining the crust and slashed over the cream on top. When we finished that after about 14 hours someone got into the lemon meringue pie which was equally fantastic. I think I saw some jell-o sometime this past weekend but it wasn't anything to do with me and while it was supposed to be carbonated or sparkly or sparkling or something it wasn't. It was however pretty damn good with cool whip on top.

In other tradition breaking news we had cornbread stuffing and I think we skipped the cranberry out of the can and went with some weird relish that I'm not sure.... well there was too much and my mom was the only one to eat it at all.

Are we still talking about food? I'll just mention the chocolate cake that's heaven on a plate and get out of here before you start worrying about how much you can pack on before the new years resolutions kick in. Happy holidays. Expect to hear from my daily this month as that's my gift to you dear reader. I also promise not to talk about food every time I put my fingers to the keyboard.

PS. I finished writing my novel. Or at least I reached the word count. Editing will commence at some other point in time and I'll be spending my time on you. Smile, it's not that bad, I promise.

This entry brought to you by:

See what other participants have to say!

We're all lucky I'll have photos to show of my half done room. There's a long story involving wallpaper problems that just got worse tonight but it'll have to wait until another day. Instead I'm here to tell you that I'm tired and worn out from not only stripping wallpaper but from hanging it as well. My mom and I concluded that we're pretty sorry workers if it takes the two of us 4 hours or so to hang wall paper on one wall. We even had the help of indie at some point. Then again, maybe that's the problem. He spent a lot of time eating paper that fell from the wall as if we were preparing treats solely for his enjoyment. He's so weird sometimes.
During the wallpaper intermission we managed to watch a few more episodes of Alias - Season Two. I think we spend a lot of time yelling at the TV. It's great fun and I'm totally digging on the show in case you hadn't noticed. AT this point I'm calling Francie the Anti-Francie for lack of something better. I may dig through some Television without Pity recaps for a better name, but I'm trying not to spend too much time online these days. It's not really that I don't have the time so much as I get tired of sitting in this chair day after day. Who knew that I'd be set up with a nice office space and then I'd want nothing more than to get out of it. Then again, with the crazy last days of NaNoWriMo behind me now it's no surprise that I'd want out of this space.
Okay, so before it becomes apparent that I've been exposed to too much wallpaper paste, I'll get to bed and dream of the story I'll tell you tomorrow. Then again if I dream about wallpaper you'll know about the paste before I can even talk about it. Cross your fingers for me.

Brought to you by:

As promised there's a story about the wallpaper. It started out with us deciding that we would pick out a nice cloud pattern but we thought it'd be easier to match the carpet to the wallpaper or the wallpaper to the carpet. I'm honestly not sure at this point but we were at the store in town and we picked out a cute shade of wallpaper. You can see it below:

So we have the paper picked out and the salesman tells us that there's a bit of a delay so instead of the normal week or so it takes about two to three weeks for the paper to arrive. At some point he apparently called us back to tell us that it was backordered. Honestly, I'm not sure where they ordered it from unless it was Siberia where they had penguins hand painting each roll because it took almost a month and a half for us to get the paper.

When the call came that I could pick it up I stopped after work only to find that not only was it late but it was not even blue. In fact, it was a nice ugly shade of red? or pink? I'm not even sure what it was but it looked like someone lost their lunch on some paper and they decided to sell it. Ew. The border was the correct border though if it makes anyone feel better. I'm now wondering if those Siberian penguins are color blind because no one in their right mind would ever think that the border we picked and the I-lost-my-lunch paper would go nicely together. Seriously.

The salesman seemed pretty upset at the penguin's mistake and promise that he would have them fix it ASAP and that we should get the correct paper tomorrow. Uh. Right mister three weeks have now turned into a month and a half. Shut up. I left the store thinking that it was too bad that we weren't going to be able to put the paper up this weekend. Oh, well how long have we already waited.

Much to my surprise and as you can probably tell because I have photos the paper did actually come in the next day. It was even the correct paper. Fantastic. So we're hanging the paper Saturday night and there are some jokes about how my mom can't use the razor and how I haven't had enough to drink to do things like this, but it's going along. We don't really think we have enough paper because of the pattern repeat and I'm learning way more than I ever thought there was to learn about wallpaper when we open the second roll and see the symbol of doom.

Okay, so not doom unless you're the Siberian penguins or the salesman. See, some clever crackpot wrote on the edge of the paper when it was rolled up and it managed to leak onto the paper. In permanent marker so now the nice blue paper has some not so nice brown/black marks along the seam. Great. Damn. I'm annoyed and complaining and talking about the drinking again and how someone ought to lay into that salesman and how my mom should do it because I'll just cry. I then give in and decide we should proceed and still give the guy hell for all the problems we've had. Mom's trying to convince me that you can't really notice it and I refrain from pointing out that it's simply because my eyesight is better and I so can see it. Damn.

So we finish up and agree to give the guy hell. Today we hung the border and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to put my room into some semblance of order. Some of the photos will mean more when you realize that I spent the last 23 years of my life with circus wall paper. That is all. Enjoy the photos.

It's a little confusing from the first photo, but in this one you can see that it's blue and white paper, not blue and.. warm peach. The border has purple, silver and green as well as blue in it.

I still love my little animals so they're above the TV keeping an eye on everyone. Also? My shelves are clean and organized.

On the other side of the door, another set of clean and organized shelves.

I used a sheet that matches the bed skirt to cover the table because it also matches the wallpaper and it was better than the previous yellow covering (with the new room and all). I tried to keep most of the normal stuff off the bedside table, but we'll see how long that lasts.

There's a shelf above the closet, I minimized the number of things on it and reserved some space for my new, growing my little pony collection. I'm still not over the fact that my mom got rid of all my original once. Shut up. No one even asked me if I still wanted them. Boo. So here I start again.

And here's the bed and the desk and the mirror that has a nice border of glow in the dark stars. I have those on the ceiling as well. Overall I love the new look of the room and will be really happy when I can ditch the orange carpet and get something that actually matches put in.

Brought to you by:

Is it Monday already? It must be. I slept until 8 this morning which means I didn't get that AM call to sub. I always have mixed feelings when I wake up after that magical time. On one side I really like sleeping in and on the other I really like making money and feeling like there's more to my day than playing with the dog and watching the commentary on the Alias DVD. Okay, that part isn't so bad but I can only spend so much time at the computer and in front of the TV.

Since I spent the day with him, I might as well give you the indie update. The last few days he's spent a lot of time outside with my mom. It seems to benefit us since it means that he spends the rest of the day sleeping and we can go about our lives without him trying to be in our laps or on our heads or whatever new form of closeness he's chosen at the moment. Yesterday he spent some time with Cody, the neighbor's German Shepard. Since Cody's a bit bigger indie tends to get quite the beating when they rough house and they spend a lot more of the time running around. Indie seemed a little sore this morning and hardly made it to the bed.

Mostly indie's gotten a lot bigger, is still really needy and likes to cuddle in the morning. Actually he's about 2 feet away from me at the bottom of the bed right now and I'm surprised that he's settled down considering earlier. He was in my lap every three seconds trying to get me to throw his little yellow football. I would and of course since it's fetch, he brings it back and we do it all over again. He's so cute and lovey when he's sleeping. Woo. Sadly for him he still doesn't get to spend the night in the house. I'd rather know where he is and while he's been good the two nights he's been in the house I don't really like it when he licks my face in the middle of the night. Speaking of sleeping, I think that's where I should be.

Brought to you by:

I have a theory about why I don't really like weddings. It goes something like this: I haven't been to more than three or four that actually involve people I really care about. Not to say that I don't care about the other people, but I haven't been very close to them. As an example, I spelled the name of a bride wrong on the card. I'm such an idiot. Anyway, I'm sure they're fun and nice and special, but it's hard to enjoy them fully when you're not emotionally invested in the couple. At least for me. I'm going with this theory because I know there are people that enjoy weddings, and I've been to a few that were quite nice.

Anyway, at the most recently wedding reception I ran into some old friends and as it turns out one of them had previously been married and is not separated (I'm not sure if there's a divorce in there as well or not) and the other was a little, secretly sad about not being married with kids or not having any prospects or whatever.

At this point I could get on my soapbox about how I don't judge the worth of my character based on my relationships and that it's okay with me about not being married and I'm in no hurry and blah blah wedding cakes but I won't. I have a few friends who are in their mid to late twenties and really feel like they should be in a more long term or serious relationship. I can't knock them for wanting those things. It's nice to know there's someone there who cares about you and who you can share special things with.

I'm also not in a positing where a lot of my friends are either getting married, are married or have kids. I think that excuses me from feeling left out of that particular ritual. Instead a lot of people around me are getting jobs and I feel like maybe that's what I should be doing. So, yeah, point. It's hard not to want what everyone around you is getting.

For me it seems that I read a lot of journals/weblogs of people who are older and have jobs and two incomes and houses and really neat gadgets. So, I can't help it if I want a new computer and a TiVo and a new car and and and. Maybe what should be on my list for Christmas is a group of webloggers/journalers(ists?) who are in the same place in their lives that I am in mine.

Dear Santa,
If you could please read this entry and figure out what it is exactly that I want. I'm sure you know better than I do at this point.

In confusion and thanks,
Jenn

Brought to you by:

Tonight I was out at a dinner with a friend to catch up and hang out. It was nice to get out of the house and have a reason to dress up. Or dress down as the case may be. I decided to find something a little less school-teacher-ish after my day of subbing. Anyway, the point was that I was looking around the dinner and noticed few tables of girls that seemed like they did this sort of thing regularly. It could be that the holidays are here and they're catching up after a year of not seeing each other, but they seemed a lot more familiar than that.

It reminded me of the Tuesday Night Club and I wondered if that's the way we look to outsiders (minus the fact that we have guys in our group) and if we'd ever be together again quite as regularly as we were before. These days we're all scattered around; one in Africa, one in Alabama, some still in East Lansing. I miss getting together, I miss socializing.

I wonder if we'll stick it out and hope we will. I think about how friends tend to come and go in my life and wonder if it says something about me or my efforts. It's true, I'm not very good with email, even though I'd like to think I am. Often stuff sits in my inbox for a week, and by the time I get around to replying it can be as long as a month.

I think about the time someone I hadn't seen in five years saw me at a gathering and told me to keep in touch. We exchanged emails and I wonder if I'll ever hear from that person again. Why can't we leave it at "It was nice to see you again." And go on with our lives. I think it's worse to say "Let's keep in touch" when it isn't really meant. Or is it meant and we just get busy.

The holidays always get me thinking about people I haven't seen in years or months or days or hours. Maybe they'd like to keep in touch too, but they get as busy as I am. Maybe they aren't that good with email either. Maybe they read this webpage and are too busy to leave a comment or think they're keeping up with me when really it's so one sided. Ariel at Electrolicious said that while you might feel like you're keeping up by reading the website, you're really not because while you know what I'm up to I have no idea you're there unless you let me know. And like her, this is really directed at people that don't keep weblogs, journals or post on message boards with me. Just a thought. Happy Holidays.

Brought to you by:

To the Reader:

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I started with proof reading a group project which took three out of six of us a collective 9 hours to proof and correct. Rewrite and write again, proof, pray and finally turn in. Also, I would like to point out that I was nice and drunk when I showed up to turn in the project. I adore my friends who get me wasted between classes and then invite me over for the weekend to continue any and all drinking. Fun.

I've also been reading the new weblog that Andreas has started. There’s also a wide variety of other websites that have been keeping me entertained.

When I’m not online I’ve been reading more books than anyone should every check out from the library and thank goodness that I’ve managed to get them back on time or the late fees would put me in debt. In no particular order they are: How to Meet Cute Boys, Charlie Wilson’s War, Inside the CIA, Alias Declassified, somesuch by Dr Phil, A Big Life in Advertising, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, and a variety of books that have slipped my mind.

Not reading, but not writing includes working on the revamp of All Things Girl with the other lovely editors and coming up with ideas for the next journal entry, finishing a piece of fiction I’ve been dreaming up for the last two weeks, talking on AIM and sketching out the new ending for the screenplay I started a few years back.

I’ve also been neglecting my email, my website, my lint collection and my phone. If you miss me or need to get ahold of me for any reason try prayer, God probably has a better percentage for answering people than I do these days. I might be kidding. Instead, send me the first two seasons of Alias on DVD and you’ll be guarenteed never to hear from me again.

Best wishes and I’m almost out of library books,
Jenn

The semester is coming to a close. I have one exam left, next Tuesday. It feels good to complete everything. After that I have about a week and a half off before I start spring classes. I think taking everything into account this first semester at Eastern has gone pretty well. I’m still getting used to the things that they do different. Spring semester at MSU is called Winter at EMU and instead of having two summer sessions EMU has spring and summer. We sign up for classes in the Winter semester for Spring, Summer and Fall and then in the Fall semester for Winter. I guess it works out for people who might come in mid year like me, you know that you’re signing up along with everyone else so you don’t get left out of classes. At MSU you sign up in the Spring semester for Summer (both sessions) and then both Fall and Winter. It’s nice that you don’t have to fuss about the when and where of the rest of your year. Is anyone else as confused by this as I am? Welcome to Eastern.

I have a lot of classes left to take. Well 15 at least. I could take 5 and have a second BA, but that doesn’t get me a job, so I guess I’ll take the long road.

In other new and exciting news we’re getting a deck at our house and as an excuse to use my camera I’m going to document the whole thing. Woo. I hope you’re excited as I am. If not, you can pretend for my sake. If you do, I might invite you to the deck party I’ll be having in 2006 when it’s finished (since I have no idea how long this will take – think of it as an opportunity to be pleasantly surprised).

The last week has been pretty busy for me. I've been subbing almost every day and when I'm not subbing or after I'm done subbing I start my day at the driving range. No complaints about any of this for sure, but I wasn't completely ready for the onset of a busy schedule.

Luckily school is done as of Tuesday. As in this past Tuesday, that is. I think I did pretty well on both my exams, but it’ll be awhile before I find out.

Oh, and yes, for those of you wondering I did have a birthday last summer and am now the lovely age of 24. It seems so old and so young at the same time. I don’t have a lot of feelings about this birthday. I’m disappointed that more of my friends couldn’t make it but I’m pleased with the people who did show up to eat tacos and cake and celebrate in a nice laid back, casual way.

Classes start again in a week, although I’m wondering if I can get out of one of them. Do I really need to take a course on how to write about literature? I’ve had so much writing that you’d think I was beyond that at this point. Or maybe you read my website and secretly think I need to take more writing classes. You could be right.

In the end I’m just looking forward for the arrival of the nice weather. It was a record breaking 86 degrees on my birthday so I must have done something to deserve that but now we’re back in the mid 50s and low 60s. Summer, whenever you’re ready, I’m here waiting.

PS I'm really updating over at coffee and chocolate. Honest. I'm going to keep doing it too.

As I've mentioned, we built a deck. Here are the first photos of it, before we really got started. It gives you something to compare as we go along. So here it is, a view of the back patio, missing the step, but otherwise as it was.

On to part 2.

More deck photos. Diging holes and outlining.

Indie checks out a big hole.

And you can see how big it actually is.

Indie likes to be involved so he's helping Gordon stake things out.

Or maybe he just likes to run around and play.

On to part 3.

Lumber in the yard.

Actual progress on what I keep calling a deck.

Indie continues to help.

Another view.

One more look.

On to part 4.

It's starting to look like an actual deck. No, really.

Here you can see at the end that we're done with the base and on to adding top boards. Fun, huh.

That's the sound of everything falling into place.

Andreas arrives on Wednesday. There's a bit of a gathering on Saturday.

I have everything about ready, or at least I'm pretending. And in the meantime I had a dream this morning that I was showing off my Pretty Pony collection.

So weird.

Earlier this year, a bunch of us camped out in my side yard and it looked a lot like this. While I can't say that sleeping on the ground is the best idea I've ever had I can say that spending an evening roasting marshmallows and talking about crazy rituals is a fantastic way to spend time. The rituals? Well apparently in some places of the world there are those that carry around supposed body parts of saints and stuff for people to see and worship.

As for me? I'd rather eat smores and laugh away the night with friends.

Sunday morning, after breakfast, we passed a field full of buzzards. Normally, you might see one to three of them hanging around the road, waiting for passing cars so they can pounce on the latest road kill. This time, however, they were on almost every fence post around the entire field and, upon a closer look, there were nearly a dozen of them hanging around one spot in the field. My guess is a deer didn’t make it across the road unharmed, but managed to get itself to the field. Overall, I’d guess there were 30 or so birds. While it was somewhat neat to see that many all around the field one word can sum it up: Gross. I hope that your after-Sunday-breakfast experience was better than mine.

I'd like to take this space to reannounce a project that has been reborn. Andreas has joined me over at scatter joy where we're both posting photos.

The new issue, Falling, is up over at All Things Girl You should find something that will inspire you of you take some time to look through the different sections. There's a lot of great work in this issue. Also, don't forget to check out the submission page if you want a peek at future themes or want to submit something. The only rule is that you have to be a girl.

As for me, I've been fighting headaches for most of the weekend, but seem to be doing better today. I can't update weekly because whenever I try to put a time limit on myself it serves no other purpose than to keep me from writing. I will attempt however.

The driving range is closing in less than two weeks. Wow.

I still really like coffee and it's a good thing because it's the only thing that keeps me going some days. Other days it's simply the momentum. Busy. Also, if you have a birthday this week, Happy Birthday. I'm thinking of you and this isn't where the fun stops.

And lastly, a quote: "What looks like crazy on an ordinairy day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight."

I'm still working a lot. If you haven't talked to me in the last week I owe you an email or you owe me a phone calls. I'll let you figure that one out.

Yesterday was more beautiful than fall should be. In all honesty I felt like I could walk forever taking in the leaves, the blue sky, soaking up the sun. Anything to try to fill the tank before winter comes in grey and blustery. I wish I had my camera and 4 hours, companionship and a leash for the dog. That might have perfected my Sunday. Instead I went to work and handed out movies to the great people of this small, small town.

While it wasn't overly busy, it was decent and I kept wondering who watches movies on a beautiful fall day. I know the weather has been nice since the start of September, but you realize it's not going to last, right? Because it's not. Eventually it's going to snow, and it will be windy, and frozen. And grey. Take it in now, I beg of you. If for no other reason than you know I've spent the last two months inside working. Do it for me.

Next week? I'll get out with the camera and find something wonderful and beautiful to share and to hold onto until spring comes again. I'll do it for you.

I know I left you in the dark last week but I was recovering from the death of a family friend. He was probably the coolest old guy I know and a fantastic person all around at that. I debated writing about it, but decided not to in the end.

In the meantime, and moving on. The DVD store where I work went up for sale and sold this past week. I'll be able to keep my job there because I'm the weekend girl and who wants to run a store 7 days a week. Especially when you have another job and kids. Exactly, so I'll stay on and the switch doesn't actually take place until the 1st of next year. I've met the owner and she's really cool. I'll be sorry to see my current boss move on, but I can work with this and well, like I said the new owners are cool. That's probably as much as you'll hear about it from me in a public space. I love my job, and I like where I work, what more is there? Okay, you might hear some stories about people at some point, but don't count that as a promise.

I learned to knit last tuesday from a book. While I'm still figuring out some other bits about it, I'm also doing really well. I'm working on a scarf and am just short of half done. It looks really cool and when done I'll post photos. If you think it's awesome too and want a version of your own and are rich feel free to ask me to knit you something. :o)

School is school is school and there are midterms this week and some last week and all kinds of fun stuff. I was reminded in class today (a general reminder, not specifically for me) that if you're going to miss the equivalent of two weeks class you should drop the course. Which is funny since in the class where I got the reminder I've already missed that much (give or take a day or two) and it's likely I have one of the highest grades in the class. Still think I should drop it? Yeah, me either. Luckily she doesn't take attendance in that class, she just wanted to remind us. I wonder if the english department can enforce their policy...

I have the feeling I'm leaving some things out. but I'll have to get back to you later on those bits.. it's time for class and if I'm lucky I can fit some knitting in before it starts. Shut up. Shut up. It's very relaxing and a cool way to get cool things that you like for mostly free. That made no sense. Still, Shut up.

Oh, and check it out and do your part.

Happy Halloween! for those who celebrate. Also, I hope by now you've managed to set your clocks back. If not you've been very early everywhere you go and you're probably wondering why people are so rude that they can be an hour late. I know your time is worth more than that.

In other news, I've been dealing with migranes all weekend and working the rest of the time. I did get more knitting done, but I'm keeping the talk of that to a minimum around here.

There's a quiz in my English Ren. class about some poetry we're supposed to read. I'm not sure how much I care about that although the poetry isn't that bad. Sorta. I'm also researching Thomas Hobbes for a presentation this week so if you have any information about him lying around feel free to pass it along. Mostly I'm kidding. While some of his life is fascinating the rest of it makes me sleepy. I wouldn't ask you to do that to yourself.

Erika should be here this week, so that's exciting. Stay tuned for updates on all the fun we'll have. And if you ever want to talk about literature over coffee I might just take you up on that offer. Otherwise the weather and gossip are perfectly acceptable topics.

So the semester is over and the fun can begin. I thought I'd start a list of things to do.

1. Drink.
2. Socialize.
3. Watch lots of TV.
4. Go to the Movies.
5. Drink.
6. Knitt.
7. Rent Movies.
8. Burn old papers.
9. Drink.
10. Makeout.

In reality, none of these things will be happening and I will be spending my days with middle schoolers. I'm not sure what's worse.. undergrads or middle schoolers. Okay. I'm kidding, after a day with the middle schoolers I can safely say that undergrads are worse. Hee. Again. Kidding.

Ask me friday. I might at least be drinking.

This week my mom and I decided to clean out the downstairs fireplace and replace the ashes with candles. The mantle is simple and pretty, the candles are all in thier place. We light them each night and they give off the warm glow of a fire burning happily away in the fire place. The only problem is that every time I see that flicker I think it's a real fire. A nice warm fire. Well, it might look nice, but it isn't warm and I'm still freezing...

The town paper is next door to the DVD store where I work. A few months ago one of the employees came over and asked if I wanted to be in the paper. I just had to answer a question, get my picture taken and there I would be in print. I didn't really want to do it, but I guess it never hurts and the question was "What's your favorite Holiday movie?" I of course couldn't think of one off the top of my head but finally came up with the Grinch and Rudolf, you know, the classics. Anyway, the week went on and sometime the next week a bunch of the kids at school were saying "I saw you in the paper, Ms. M." How weird. I of course did not see myself in the paper.

Looks like I'll have my chance next week since the employee was back this week to ask "What's the worst thing about Michigan winters?" The answer of course, "There are so many answers!" So if I remember, I'll be in the paper on Thursday. Again. It's like being famous in a small town.

brought you all the previous entries! A list of fantastical things you can find on my desk!

- a pile of papers to file away, mostly credit card bills (that have been paid, thank you)
- some spare change.. maybe $2 worth and some dollars.
- a cd case with photos from the farm; I'm supposed to update the website.
- a bracelelt
- some number of bobby pins and two hair ties.
- in the round knitting markers
- my watch
- a credit card
- two regular sized post it pads, two quarter normal sized ones
- a pen
- a die
- two bottles of nail polish
- my cell phone
- a glass of water
- left over wine glass (shh, don't tell)
- the monitor, a few cables and the thingie that communicates with the cordless mouse
- the mouse, mousepad and keyboard
- some sort of decorative plate.. it's purple
- a blue glass candle holder on the plate.. which has a lighter in it, not a candle.
- a cube of paper
- extra camera batter
- a third pen
- a printout of my FETE class instruction
- four movies I'm supposed to check out
- an empty cd case
- a photo taken from the top of St. Paul's in London (by yours truly)
- some lotion that smells funky
- another bottle of lotion (seems so weird, but they're both small)
- a jar with pens, pencils, scissors and sharpies in it
- computer speakers
- a tiny blue armadillo
- tiny pink ostrich (it could be a emu, but not a flamingo..)

I think that about covers it. Good thing I have a really large desk. Probably also a good thing that no one else has to use my desk.

So, as far as stating the obvious goes: Being sick sucks. A lot.

I could sorta feel it coming on yesterday when I was achey all day and tired. Oh, and the part where I thought I was losing my voice. I think those were all signs.

And today? Well, when I woke up I could hardly speak. MY throat felt like it was on fire and I spent a lot of time feeling too hot or too cold. I spent the morning, afternoon and early evening in bed. Trying to sleep it off. I'm drugged up and tired and a little out of it.

By now, 9 pm, or so I'm starting to feel a little better, but I'm not sure if those are the drugs speaking or if this is some quick lived little adventure in the land of germs.

I didn't have to go to work today but I also won't get paid for hours I don't work. I've watched a few movies, dreamt about basketball (it was on the tv where I was sleeping), tried to eat a few times and also tried to explain to the dog that I'm not really in a position to play tug.

So if the news is right and the flu season really is peaking then this better be all I see of it. Otherwise I'm going to be annoyed. Feel free to send get well cards and chocolate. Not that I can eat chocolate right now, but sometime soon I will be able to. Really.

I'm on my way to being healthy. I blame the orange juice. I mean, wait. I thank the orange juice, the wishes of good health, the good vibes, the bad tv, and the tissue (and not that anti-viral kleenex either). Oh, and the humidifier.

I honestly woke up several times last night and thought, "I'm cured!" Then I woke up this morning and tried to talk and realized I'm still not in control of my voice. Those of you who have heard it please believe me when I say that I'm a lot better than I sound.

In fact, I'm so much better that I will be attempting school tomorrow. I'm not contagious and I'm not one of those people who insist on going to school in order to get everyone else sick. I'm fine. And those of you who are those people. KNOCK IT OFF! YOU are the REASON that I'M SICK. PLEASE for the love of all that is healthy, STAY HOME when you are sick.

Me? a little tired of being in the house.. yeah. Tomorrow should fix that. Wish me luck.

First of all. Kay Jewelers, SHUT UP. Christmas and Valentine's day are the two times during the year where the air waves are flooded with diamond ads. I'm tired of it. I don't want one and no one I know does either. SHUT UP. Plus, I know how the advertisers are all about promoting diamonds and that's the only reason they're a big deal as it is. It's no one's tradition but the advertisers. So stop listening. And yeah, every kiss begins with K. It's a letter of the alphabet. Now stuff it.

Moving right along... title is from a They Might Be Giants song and if you can tell me which one I'll stop bitching about advertising (it's my trained field after all).

Now that the sentimental part is covered, on to the hair. Oh, and I'm here tonight because Alias is CREEPING ME OUT. Anyway, I got my hair cut today. Twice... the first time. Ugh. I will never go to that place again. She just trimmed a little off the bottom and then sorta.. played with it for awhile. Razored some off for a .. textured look (I couldn't see it) and then put in two million tons of product. Gross.

So she finished and I left and went straight to the next salon and got an appointment to get it fixed. So much for growing it out, but it's a lot better now. It's cute and fun. Or at least that's what you should tell me when you see it. So from now on I'm done worrying about my hair. Only bad things can come from it.

And I haven't talked to a handful of you for what seems like a long time. You, my friends, rock. Happy Valentine's Day. Just so you know, I'm thinking of you.

Middle School kids are still not my friend. I discovered that it's the constant asking to go to the bathroom and wanting to get a drink. Grow up and sit down and do your work and stop trying to find reasons to leave the room. These kids had a snow/ice day yesterday and their break is friday.. I want a three day week, but instead I get to go to school to learn and then I get to deal with their constant annoying requests. You just got back from your break, what were you doing that you didn't have time to do the essential stuff. Next time, this is so not happening.

I'm sure part of the problem was the headache I could feel sneaking up on me. By lunch it was gaining control and I started to feel sick to my stomach. Never a plus when you know you're going to have a rowdy afternoon class. I did my best to make it through, but I'm pretty sure I failed and the headache won. A lot. By the time I was driving home my eyes were watering and all I really wanted was the most powerful pills in the world. Sadly, I didn't have any of those, but I managed to find some Excedrine. It worked, I managed to take the headache down without too much trouble. Although it did reappear late last night. I honestly can win the war, just each little battle.

And last, but not least, I love Scrubs. It cracks me up. It made the whole hard day worth it. And of course caused me to procrastinate my homework. Furthered by another half hour where I watched Committed. Is that the girl that used to be on Crossing Jordan? I think it is, but I never remember to look it up. Maybe I'll do that today after class.

In the end, points distributed as above. I might give the kids an extra point because one of them brought in chocolate covered strawberries for the class (for Valentine's Day) and even though I didn't have any, that was a really sweet gesture (no pun.. well maybe sorta). So, happy Day, people!

I read somewhere that you're not really supposed to share your crazy dreams with anyone but your best friend. Other people might pretend they're interested, but apparently they aren't. I'm not really concerned about it at this point. The other night I had this crazy dream.

I was interviewing for a writing position with a magazine or newspaper. The guy who was asking me questions didn't seem convinced that I was qualified for the position. It seemed to require some sort of music experience or radio or something.

"I've worked for the radio station for 4 years," I tell him. "I even hosted the local music show!" I can't get him to understand that I know music. Especially local music."

"Yeah, but when was that show?" He's not convinced.

"It was on once a week, but I had another spot. 4-7 actually, prime drive time. And! The Top 5 at 5."

"I don't think you've dealt with a lot of callers. I'm not sure you can handle this." What writing for a magazine has to do with answering phones I'll never know.

At this point I'm so frustrated that I tell him I'm leaving and I can do better on my own. Another girl that works in the office decides she's going to leave too. Before I know it other people are walking out. I'm at this huge gathering for people who are interested in working for the magazine I'm starting. I'm collecting their contact information and learning about who they are and what sort of positions they want to hold. They're handing me sheets of paper with random info on them and leaving. I'm standing in this room wondering what I got myself into.

I refuse a job for a guy who thinks I'm not qualified. Decide to start my own offbeat magazine and end up in a meeting of at least 30 people. I've never even run a magazine. What can I possibly know and how did I become the leader?

When I woke up that morning I asked myself if I was really in charge. That was just a dream, wasn't it? There aren't 30+ people somewhere waiting for me to step up and get this things started, are there?

- have a rootbeer float for breakfast.
- annoy people by sending a lot of email.
- chat online about other people.
- chase the dog around the house.
- answer emails.
- do homework (ha! yeah right)
- watch movies.
- dream about moving to a new location.
- listen to music that's a little too loud.
- browse around at the cost of apartments in different cities. (ann arbor, chicago, santa fe, etc.)
- doodle on post-its and call it art.
- spent at least 15 minutes in the sun every 2 hours.
- write lists of things to do on my day off.
- obsessivly check message boards. (three of them)
- read old journal entries.
- crack myself up.
- wonder why the hell itunes is playing christmas songs.
- talk about boys.
- redesign website.
- pretend to do more homework.
- take a walk
- talk about things you're going to do.
- talk about things you have no intentions of doing.
- ask for suggestions.

Or maybe I would settle for DSL. Have I mentioned that Dial Up SUCKS. I mean, normally I'm cool with it, but it's been a crappy internet night for me as far as... well people calling and leaving messages and then not trying the proper mobile phones. What is the point of having a mobile phone if people won't call it? And you don't answer it? And you leave it in the other room?

Apparently (this is my new overused word) a toilet was left running all weekend in someone's apartment in the building my mom manages. So, it overflowed.. or leaked or something and flooded three or four other places that were vacated for the weekend. And this problem of the flooding was not discovered until today. Which? The Damage must suck. A lot.

So, one of the tenants for one of the flooded places called tonight. But I was online. So no one knew he called. And he says he's going to try the mobile phone, but doesn't. Since the phone doesn't say there's a missed call or a message. Bu the guy is obviously really, REALLY mad. And can you blame him? I mean, who wants to come home to their nice FLOODED apartment. No thanks.

So... between that and some geeky computer game I'm totally considering DSL more seriously. And if I tell you I love you will you pay for it? Please?

I'm swamped with school and busy geeking out. Plus I have to do my taxes. I feel like I have a few stories, so I might be randomly here some of the time. Mostly I won't be here regularly until mid-April or so. That's my goal at least. And if I'm lucky the trip to DC will actually happen and I'll be back with stories and pictures. My camera misses me, I miss you. We'll get through this.

So now that all my major projects and papers have been turned in I'm thinking I'll be back on a regular basis, at least until spring starts. To give you an idea of how busy I've been.. well, let's just say that I still have a winter layout and the fact that finals are coming up seems like a nice break from all the other work I've been doing for my classes. That's right, I said finals are a break. Wow.

In other news, the creative juices are starting to bubble and we'll see what comes out of it. There are a few things I'd like to try making, but I'm not sure I really understand the concept, but what the heck.. that's what experimentation is for. So, I'll keep you posted on those things as well.

As for school, if everything goes well *knock on wood* I should be done in a year. A lot better than the two I was originally looking at. Also a little scary because I have to take an incredible number of credit hours between now and student teaching to make sure everything gets done the way it should. If I thought I was busy before.. I'm sure that this time will redefine the word busy in my world.

Subbing is still good, indie is still crazy and yours truly is kinda close to getting another year older. Cake and ice cream at my house Wednesday. We'll be on the deck being silly.

Apparently I'm a whole year older today than I was yesterday. I'm not sure how that works, but it's true. And it's not really true. I'm a whole year older than I was a year ago. Anyway. Birthdays. Like Humpty dumpty says.. unbirthdays are glorious because there are more of them. But Alice likes birthdays best and so do I.

Mine included class all day and an exam but it also included wishes from friends, cards and cake. The real deal is Wednesday with cake and ice cream but if you can't make it that's okay. Instead maybe you could take five minutes out of your day to relax and have a drink, or do something nice for someone, or spend time with someone you care about. I'm not picky.

If I learned anything over the last year it' that nothing really stays the same. You can grow with it or away from it but you're going to have to deal with it.

I'm also planning on organizing a little better and obviously someone knew this was my plan because the last few days before my birthday were the most chaotic and unorganized days I can remember. Maybe I had to get it all out of my system if I was going to be organized. Maybe it's a sign of things to come. Either way, I'm game.

Enough about me now, go out and enjoy the spring weather. I know that's what I'll be doing.

I'm currently teaching Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Sometimes I think it's more fun for me than the kids, but they seem to be getting into it. We're using the SparkNotes version of the text which has the original text side by side with more modern text. They read both and are at least giving it a good effort. We've also looked at clips of Shakespeare in Love and the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet.

As for me, it means that I get to watch both movies on my own. Shakespeare in Love is such a fun movie. I really enjoy the hints of Twelfth Night that are intermingled throughout as well as the inspiration of Romeo and Juliet. If you haven't seen either, I recommend both. Absolutely.

On other fronts, this week has been wonderful. Thank you all for your well wishes. Birthday week still survives and I think today will be another day of fun and relaxation. It's also marking the end of the school year. Or rather it marks the fact that we can see the end of the school year in the not so distant future.

Last night's graduation was officially my last duty before I can start my summer vacation. Today is officially the first day that I didn't have to be somewhere or don't have anything to do.

Even though it's half past seven and I've been up for a half hour I consider that sleeping in. Of course, I was also up quite late last night because I had the chance to go out with some people from work for a drink after graduation. I work with some of the neatest, coolest people and I had a blast last night.

Unofficially I'm not really done because I signed up for summer work. I'll be doing some curriculum and assessment work for the district with some of my department people and then we'll be doing some work within our own high school. That stuff starts on Monday, but I will still get to sleep in, so I won't complain.

As for today, I think I will relax, watch some movies, read a book, or just do a little more nothing.

It was hot and humid when I arrived, even at 11 pm at night. The next day the cooler weather moved in and we've been hanging around in the mid 70s during the day, perhaps creeping up to 80 degrees. The humidity, dare I say it, has been generally nonexistent and I have seen the first overcast skies in months. It's also been sunny for the most part and quite lovely.

I have some how managed to fit in the (FAMOUS) Chicken Broil and the (Ann Arbor) Art Fair into my stay. I will likely skip the former and attend the latter. Free look at art is better than paying for chicken I can generally cook at home. Although I still believe I am the only one in town who does not have the "secret" coleslaw recipe. I did learn in the paper that the chickens come from Georgia and are prepared and shipped the night before the broil so they are completely fresh and never frozen. They send quite a few as well (12k?).

I will also be touching base with some friends, so dinner and coffee is somewhere in the plans, a trip to Mackinac Island, and a wedding will all be part of my life for the next few weeks. Oh, and a lovely BBQ. Well, that one might not be pretty, but with lots of food and beer it will at least be fun!

That's the update as of today, although I am also secretly keeping a secret (not so secretly) that I may be telling you about soonish.