In the final stages
We're almost there. Tomorrow we pick up the truck and start loading. Jay is packing his computer right now, but I'm holding out to the bitter end. The fact that I have an iBook makes it much easier to do, of course. It has very little to do with my Internet addiction, I swear. Yeah.... right.
I've been offline for longer stretches. Nearly six months of no contact at all when I first moved to the Grand Canyon in 1999. But I wasn't quite as invested in the whole thing then. I didn't have my own web site, and the sites I did frequent were just starting off. Hence, less content, and still easy to catch up on even after several months away. Now? Oh, hell, I don't even TRY to keep up.
But email is my chosen medium of communication - I suck at leaving voicemail messages and no one I call ever answers their phone. Mostly for legit reasons, I think, but still.
Now we're trying to mentally shuffle our stuff with the space we'll be moving into... and it's just not working. We might have to ditch some stuff at my parents' place in PA. I don't want to stuff the new place and be tripping over stuff every time we turn around. No thanks.
So I might sneak back here for one last post before we head out. If not, I'll see you in August. (And I've decided to ditch Haloscan... now it's started eating comments that I know had already been read by me. Grrr. Now that Blogger has a commenting system, maybe I'll try it instead. But no changes until after the move.)
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Shoot me
Yes, it's about 5am and I am awake. I've been awake since 4:14 and I just couldn't stand to lay there anymore. My back aches from packing and all my dreams have been about fricking packing!!! Aaaaggghhh!!! I hate packing!!!
Why is it that the more tired I am, the less easily I sleep? Murphy's Law in action...?
Yes, it's about 5am and I am awake. I've been awake since 4:14 and I just couldn't stand to lay there anymore. My back aches from packing and all my dreams have been about fricking packing!!! Aaaaggghhh!!! I hate packing!!!
Why is it that the more tired I am, the less easily I sleep? Murphy's Law in action...?
Sunday, July 17, 2005
AAAHHHHHCHOOOOOOoooooooooo
You would not believe how much dust we are stirring up with the whole packing thing. It's like a sneeze factory. But, we are getting a ton of packing done.
The plan is to be completely packed (except for clothing, toiletries, and the bed) by Friday night, then load the truck on Saturday with help from the grad slaves, stay at a friend's house Saturday, clean on Sunday, stay over again Sunday night, leave early on Monday morning.
Last night we had a party up at our friends house - just appetizers, drinks, and desserts - pretty mellow. Nice to see most of our friends before we take off, and the ones who couldn't make it, we should be able to squeeze in before next week. I just can't believe that we'll be gone in eight days.
You would not believe how much dust we are stirring up with the whole packing thing. It's like a sneeze factory. But, we are getting a ton of packing done.
The plan is to be completely packed (except for clothing, toiletries, and the bed) by Friday night, then load the truck on Saturday with help from the grad slaves, stay at a friend's house Saturday, clean on Sunday, stay over again Sunday night, leave early on Monday morning.
Last night we had a party up at our friends house - just appetizers, drinks, and desserts - pretty mellow. Nice to see most of our friends before we take off, and the ones who couldn't make it, we should be able to squeeze in before next week. I just can't believe that we'll be gone in eight days.
Friday, July 15, 2005
How odd
For some unknown reason, Haloscan is showing "0" comments, even though I have several comments when I click the link... very strange.
Also, to answer the most common question we've heard in the last few days: no, I am not pregnant.
Also, I'm not changing my name because I don't feel like it. And no, I don't think this will be terribly confusing when we have children. But thanks for the concern. (Note: these comments are addressed to people who don't actually read this site, but it's awfully cathartic to bitch it out here.)
For some unknown reason, Haloscan is showing "0" comments, even though I have several comments when I click the link... very strange.
Also, to answer the most common question we've heard in the last few days: no, I am not pregnant.
Also, I'm not changing my name because I don't feel like it. And no, I don't think this will be terribly confusing when we have children. But thanks for the concern. (Note: these comments are addressed to people who don't actually read this site, but it's awfully cathartic to bitch it out here.)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Photo Links
Wedding Pictures Just a sampling from my camera - more to be added when the others send them to us.
Surgery Pictures A few old ones in this file, but the glory of my nose surgery recovery is documented here... though the green bruises look more yellow than green. Alas.
Wedding Pictures Just a sampling from my camera - more to be added when the others send them to us.
Surgery Pictures A few old ones in this file, but the glory of my nose surgery recovery is documented here... though the green bruises look more yellow than green. Alas.
Surprise!
Jay and I just returned from the Salt Lake County Clerk's office where we eloped at 3pm this afternoon. In an odd coincidence, both witnesses who signed the certificate were Canadian, and all our witnesses were over-educated science geeks. All in all it was quite nice.
I didn't burst into uncontrollable laughter, and I only rolled my eyes once when I had to say "wife".
Pictures to be posted tonight.
!!!
(We are still intending to do a ceremony and party next October to include the many people we were unable to have there today.)
Jay and I just returned from the Salt Lake County Clerk's office where we eloped at 3pm this afternoon. In an odd coincidence, both witnesses who signed the certificate were Canadian, and all our witnesses were over-educated science geeks. All in all it was quite nice.
I didn't burst into uncontrollable laughter, and I only rolled my eyes once when I had to say "wife".
Pictures to be posted tonight.
!!!
(We are still intending to do a ceremony and party next October to include the many people we were unable to have there today.)
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
At least it was quick
First rejection received today on my first ever submission. A rather positive refusal, actually, including the words: "It was the quality of writing that kept me reading to the end, despite the slow beginning."
So. Yeah, I'm not good with beginnings. And really, the beginning was more for the short story challenge that inspired me to write it in the first place. Perhaps I will edit and try again elsewhere.
Or perhaps I should inquire as to whether they would be interested in seeing it with the suggested changes? I'm not sure.
First rejection received today on my first ever submission. A rather positive refusal, actually, including the words: "It was the quality of writing that kept me reading to the end, despite the slow beginning."
So. Yeah, I'm not good with beginnings. And really, the beginning was more for the short story challenge that inspired me to write it in the first place. Perhaps I will edit and try again elsewhere.
Or perhaps I should inquire as to whether they would be interested in seeing it with the suggested changes? I'm not sure.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Just Because
I saw this on both Sheila's and Holly's blogs and couldn't resist. Funny little quiz - and surprisingly short.
I saw this on both Sheila's and Holly's blogs and couldn't resist. Funny little quiz - and surprisingly short.
You're Siddhartha!
by Hermann Hesse
You simply don't know what to believe, but you're willing to try anything once. Western values, Eastern values, hedonism and minimalism, you've spent some time in every camp. But you still don't have any idea what camp you belong in. This makes you an individualist of the highest order, but also really lonely. It's time to chill out under a tree. And realize that at least you believe in ferries.
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Friday, July 08, 2005
Belatedly
So. I wrote the note below before I left on our VT trip so I would remember to write about this. And then, of course, I forgot. Until now! Ah, the excitement.
From the time I was 3 until I was 14 and a half (back when the "and a half" mattered so much), I was a gymnast. During those years, if I had to think of words that defined me and would allow anyone to pick me out of the crowd of my peers (those bastards), the four to do it would have been: smart, blond, shy, gymnast. So, clearly, a large part of my identity at the time - and the most significant identifier I've lost in the intervening 15 years.
One of my earliest clear memories - other than ones that involve headers from the top of sliding boards - is of the day in the gym when I learned to say "no". Oh, yes.
When I was three years old, I started going to Gymkhana, a relatively new gymnastics club started by three friends: Alison, Ed, and Elliot. Alison has since moved out of state, Elliot has shifted from coach to business manager, but as far as I know, Ed still coaches team. When I started, they all coached all levels, including we midget beginners. I was a fairly timid child and Ed scared the living daylights out of me. Imagine a six foot tall, lanky guy with crazy curly red-brown hair and beard, and a big nose.
Well, I also had 1 friend in my class, a girl named Chelsea Dice. I don't know how I remember her name, because it's probably been 26 years since we set eyes on each other, but there you go. One day, Chelsea did not show up for class. I didn't know anyone else who was there that day. So, with 3 year old logic, I decided that there was no way that I was going to get out there on the floor mat with everyone else. Not without a friend to protect me.
My mom was unimpressed. Probably because getting me to the gym required a bus trip with myself and Bubby Rubby... and I can only imagine how fun that must have been. (My mother's bus-riding stories can make me laugh until I cry.) She would not let me leave. Ed didn't think I should leave either. I tried to explain that I couldn't stay because Chelsea wasn't there. But Ed told me that I could, I was just choosing not to. And if I chose not to, then I had to sit with him during warm ups and all the way through the rest of the lesson, too. Horrors!
But I did sit with him. I remember sitting in his lap on his scratchy hairy legs and watching the other kids warm up and being so determined not to cry, even though I was soooooo angry. And I sat out through balance beam, and bars, and even trampoline (my favorite!). And then, I must have gotten tired of just sitting there, because I decided to participate on the floor rotation even though I liked floor the least.
Why is this memory so clear? Perhaps because it was the first time an adult has talked to me seriously about the differences between "can't" and "won't" (never say can't!). But more, I think, has to do with the fact that my mom was so annoyed with me that she grounded me from having ice cream for three days. And three days is a long long time when you are only three years old.
So basically, when peer pressure rolled into my life, I was pretty well immune. I mean, if I'm not going to cave to the horrors of having to sit on a scary man's lap and losing my ice cream privileges, WHAT really could change my mind?
So. I wrote the note below before I left on our VT trip so I would remember to write about this. And then, of course, I forgot. Until now! Ah, the excitement.
From the time I was 3 until I was 14 and a half (back when the "and a half" mattered so much), I was a gymnast. During those years, if I had to think of words that defined me and would allow anyone to pick me out of the crowd of my peers (those bastards), the four to do it would have been: smart, blond, shy, gymnast. So, clearly, a large part of my identity at the time - and the most significant identifier I've lost in the intervening 15 years.
One of my earliest clear memories - other than ones that involve headers from the top of sliding boards - is of the day in the gym when I learned to say "no". Oh, yes.
When I was three years old, I started going to Gymkhana, a relatively new gymnastics club started by three friends: Alison, Ed, and Elliot. Alison has since moved out of state, Elliot has shifted from coach to business manager, but as far as I know, Ed still coaches team. When I started, they all coached all levels, including we midget beginners. I was a fairly timid child and Ed scared the living daylights out of me. Imagine a six foot tall, lanky guy with crazy curly red-brown hair and beard, and a big nose.
Well, I also had 1 friend in my class, a girl named Chelsea Dice. I don't know how I remember her name, because it's probably been 26 years since we set eyes on each other, but there you go. One day, Chelsea did not show up for class. I didn't know anyone else who was there that day. So, with 3 year old logic, I decided that there was no way that I was going to get out there on the floor mat with everyone else. Not without a friend to protect me.
My mom was unimpressed. Probably because getting me to the gym required a bus trip with myself and Bubby Rubby... and I can only imagine how fun that must have been. (My mother's bus-riding stories can make me laugh until I cry.) She would not let me leave. Ed didn't think I should leave either. I tried to explain that I couldn't stay because Chelsea wasn't there. But Ed told me that I could, I was just choosing not to. And if I chose not to, then I had to sit with him during warm ups and all the way through the rest of the lesson, too. Horrors!
But I did sit with him. I remember sitting in his lap on his scratchy hairy legs and watching the other kids warm up and being so determined not to cry, even though I was soooooo angry. And I sat out through balance beam, and bars, and even trampoline (my favorite!). And then, I must have gotten tired of just sitting there, because I decided to participate on the floor rotation even though I liked floor the least.
Why is this memory so clear? Perhaps because it was the first time an adult has talked to me seriously about the differences between "can't" and "won't" (never say can't!). But more, I think, has to do with the fact that my mom was so annoyed with me that she grounded me from having ice cream for three days. And three days is a long long time when you are only three years old.
So basically, when peer pressure rolled into my life, I was pretty well immune. I mean, if I'm not going to cave to the horrors of having to sit on a scary man's lap and losing my ice cream privileges, WHAT really could change my mind?
Monday, July 04, 2005
home again, home again?
At least where home is for another 3 weeks. I started packing today... and already have made a few random finds - either "what the heck is this?" or "so that's where that went". My stack of clothes that will not be making the trip with us is getting much larger as well.
We found a place to live - yay! It's not ideal, but it's certainly good enough. It's a one bedroom apartment over a garage - no neighbors under or over us - with the bedroom in what would otherwise be the attic. Hopefully the sloping ceiling won't make us too crazy. Might be better if it weren't painted dark red... but hey, I'm not really complaining.
We also have a full-sized refrigerator, a gas stove, a wood stove in the living room, and since the place usually comes fully furnished we also get a big TV with DVD player. So my little 13 incher can go into storage for the time being. The clincher for this place, though, was the deck and big back yard with the path leading to the ultimate frisbee field and the trail system complete with swimming hole. Jay will be able to bike to school when the weather is good, though he might not want to when the weather is very warm. Stickiness - ick.
The lady we're renting from lives in the house up front. She teaches math at one of the private high schools and also at the college. And oddly enough, happens to sideline as a wedding planner. One stop shopping, so to speak. She lives with a big lab mix (part bear, maybe - BIG dog) named Max and he's part of the reason that we got the place. Evidently, the other couple who had looked at the apartment had two smaller dogs, and Max didn't much care for them. So perhaps it's just as well that we decided to hold off on the dog issue.
We also took precedence over two women who were wanting to rent the place because, as Doreen put it, it's really meant for one person or a couple. Just gets ugly with two guys or two girls... well, unless they're a couple, of course.
I think that was when Jay and I realized that we were no longer in Utah.
Like Utah, everyone was extremely polite and friendly. Very helpful and welcoming. However, instead of being the result of Church influence, it's because you can't afford to be rude in a town that small. It'll be an adjustment, but not as difficult a one as some people seem to think. Of course, I still don't think I'd want to spend the rest of my life there. But a handful of years might be fun.
At least where home is for another 3 weeks. I started packing today... and already have made a few random finds - either "what the heck is this?" or "so that's where that went". My stack of clothes that will not be making the trip with us is getting much larger as well.
We found a place to live - yay! It's not ideal, but it's certainly good enough. It's a one bedroom apartment over a garage - no neighbors under or over us - with the bedroom in what would otherwise be the attic. Hopefully the sloping ceiling won't make us too crazy. Might be better if it weren't painted dark red... but hey, I'm not really complaining.
We also have a full-sized refrigerator, a gas stove, a wood stove in the living room, and since the place usually comes fully furnished we also get a big TV with DVD player. So my little 13 incher can go into storage for the time being. The clincher for this place, though, was the deck and big back yard with the path leading to the ultimate frisbee field and the trail system complete with swimming hole. Jay will be able to bike to school when the weather is good, though he might not want to when the weather is very warm. Stickiness - ick.
The lady we're renting from lives in the house up front. She teaches math at one of the private high schools and also at the college. And oddly enough, happens to sideline as a wedding planner. One stop shopping, so to speak. She lives with a big lab mix (part bear, maybe - BIG dog) named Max and he's part of the reason that we got the place. Evidently, the other couple who had looked at the apartment had two smaller dogs, and Max didn't much care for them. So perhaps it's just as well that we decided to hold off on the dog issue.
We also took precedence over two women who were wanting to rent the place because, as Doreen put it, it's really meant for one person or a couple. Just gets ugly with two guys or two girls... well, unless they're a couple, of course.
I think that was when Jay and I realized that we were no longer in Utah.
Like Utah, everyone was extremely polite and friendly. Very helpful and welcoming. However, instead of being the result of Church influence, it's because you can't afford to be rude in a town that small. It'll be an adjustment, but not as difficult a one as some people seem to think. Of course, I still don't think I'd want to spend the rest of my life there. But a handful of years might be fun.
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