Free Day #2

Today my accomplishments included dressing cute to go grocery shopping, making homemade granola, starting plant cuttings of eight plants, oiling and polishing my sword, and finishing my first SCA garb skirt. I highly doubt that this exact to-do list has ever been assembled before. I also did normal things like sweeping, vacuuming, and laundry, and later I'll do normal things like exercise and watch a movie. But I'll be doing as much of that as possible in my SCA garb of a full skirt, makeshift chemise, and borrowed bodice. That's unusual.

Update: it is now later, and I have made a normal dinner, cleaned up like a tidy girl, and sat down with a bag of popcorn and the newer version of the movie of "Pride and Prejudice" to wait for Josh to get home and skype. All in all a good day.

As you may have noticed (I'm not sure who "you" even is at this point, if they exist), I changed my blog background again. I'm rather fond of this whole new realm of font options. I'm just waiting for the day when uploading your own background actually works. But that doesn't matter much if I can't salvage my thousands of pictures that I lost when I destroyed my hard-drive not too long ago. This theme is a summery one, because it's becoming summery outside. Yes, it's going to be less than 50 Fahrenheit when I go to work in the morning, but it will be 90 on Sunday. But I digress and ramble. Hopefully within the next few weeks I'll have interesting things to say about my first real SCA event, my brother's graduation, and work, along with posting some of the many reviews I've started. Who knows? I may even finally get around to taking good pictures of my summer apartment and posting them.

Current view of blog for future reference:

Why do I like storms?

I'm currently sitting in the stairwell of my apartment building looking up granola recipes and waiting for our fourth or fifth tornado warning of the day to pass. And with the way things have been going since 9:00, as soon as 11:00 (the current end time for the warning) approaches the warning will be renewed. It certainly is fierce out there.

Today I got to thinking about why I like storms. I think it's similar to why I like heights and various other things. I've become convinced that I like storms because I'm secretly afraid of them. Just afraid enough to get my adrenaline pumping, but not afraid enough to have me cowering in a corner. I'm an adrenaline junkie when it comes to physical danger. There is something in me that craves the twinge of fear and hungers after the thrill of pushing it aside because the exhilaration brings a certain joy and simply because I can.

But it's not just the smidgen of fear that makes storms so great; their terrible power adds a whole new level of beauty. Heights are fear-inducing because you might fall, but it's not as if the height is trying to hurl you against the earth (usually). A storm, however is not just a passive possibility. It is very much alive and very much angry. Such as display of power, with breath-taking rush of wind, heart-stopping crash of thunder, eye-dazzling bursts of lightning, and ear-filling frenzy of rain, inspires a captivating awe. I just can't turn away. And so I sit and watch and listen in exhilaration until I fall asleep or am called by responsibility or - if I'm lucky - the storm runs its course. Because I'm just enough nervous to be all the more excited and happily overwhelmed.

P.S.: Observe also that I have once again changed my background.

I bet Mr. Dodson is secretly a linguist.

We all know well the words of the poet Dodson:*

He's climbin' in yo window.
He's snatchin' yo people up.
He's tryin' to rape 'em
So y'all need to hide yo kids, hide yo wife
Hide yo kids, hide yo wife
Hide yo kids, hide to wife
And hide yo husband, too
Cuz he's rapin' errybody our here.

I was thinking about this song the other day when I noticed something intriguing about Mr. Dodson's choice of words in the phrase "snatchin' yo people up." You see, the word "rape" comes from a Latin word meaning "to catch up or carry off." As you can see, the lyrics to the song demonstrate a clear understanding of the etymology of the word "rape", thereby suggesting that Antoine Dodson is secretly a linguist.

*If, perchance, you don't know about Mr. Antoine Dodson, I refer you to these two videos. First: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNhaLUT520  Second: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw.

Moving Day

I meant to type and post this on Thursday, but I had more cleaning and whatnot to do than expected, and yesterday was an early day at work. Thursday I moved into my apartment for the summer. For the first time (and perhaps the last time) I'll be living on my own. I'm excited and nervous. Excited because it's something completely new, and nervous because it's something completely new. I'm confident that I'm capable of cleaning and cooking and shopping and whatnot, but there's still some apprehension.

First I unpacked. That actually only took like two hours, even though I did a lot of dilly-dallying. I discovered a few things: I left my shoe sorter at home, there is barely any bathroom storage space, and the kitchen cabinets are made for tall people. I also discovered that getting all set up and sorted out was sort of fun. I got to decorate some, too, although it's sort of silly decorating. All I have to work with is what was in my dorm room, so nothing is to be taken seriously. I've got Yoda and the creepery up in my room and the armadillos and the whattery up in the living room. I think I'll take some pictures and post them later.

Shopping was the hardest part of the day. First I had to find the grocery store. In the process of heading to one about fifteen minutes away from home, I found one two minutes away. I felt completely overwhelmed at first even though I've been grocery shopping dozens of times. Maybe starting with meat and produce was a bad idea. Too many choices. I made it through alright, but it took a while. At the end I signed up for a Payless Plus Shopper card (which also works at Kroger stores) and felt all official and whatnot.

Then I had to find the best route to Target. I picked the shortest based on my navigational knowledge, but that turned out to be rather out of the way. I gave up and pulled out my GPS to get back to my apartment, and it turns there was a much, much easier way than what I took. Oh well.

When I made dinner, it turned out well, but I made about twice as much as I needed (...and then ate it all anyway). I did the same last night, so I guess I get something better than a sandwich when I'm rushing out the door to head to Cincinnati today.

In honor of my moving in experience, I've temporarily given my blog a grocery background. Look for something a bit more orthodox soon.

Current blog appearance for future reference:

In Which I Discuss My First Real Job

It turns out I am hire-able after all! At least by a hardware store desperate for people who can tell a petunia from a geranium and work in the garden center. This summer I'll be working full time in the Ace Hardware garden center up here near school. No, it's not exactly a glamorous internship, but it is a full-time job. Furthermore, it fulfills the work hours in my field required to graduate, it gives me lots of people experience, teaches me to balance people needs and plant needs, teaches me about plants, provides me with a part-time job in the fall (and presumably a job after I graduate while I'm waiting for Josh to finish), and a great resume builder.

Five days a week, I stand outside for eight hours a day and take care of plants, people, and the store. For the plants, I water, deadhead, and keep an eye out for pests and other problems. For the people, I act friendly and welcoming, answer questions, and help them find and carry plants and other garden materials. For the store, I do all of the above plus running the cash register and keeping everything organized and in working order. I have a very multi-faceted job.

It's not a career, but I enjoy it as a relatively short-term option. I also like the people I work with. The guy I interviewed with told me they were all "cold", but I have yet to see any evidence of that. Sure, they're sturdy hardware store employees, but I like everyone without effort. Then again I tend to like just about everyone without effort. The only downsides I can see are that my feet are not yet used to standing for forty hours a week (my new shoe insoles should help) and that the sunnier it gets, the busier we are. That means that the more I need sunscreen, the less time I have to apply it. This poses a serious problem for a ginger. I'll just have to get 50 SPF or something and put it on in the slight ebbs in customer flow.