long johns

as i sort items to bring along with me to the park, i find myself committing strange oddities that some might find peculiar.

yesterday i tried on many pairs of long underwear bottoms, happily prancing around the house in different varieties as i continued along with other tasks. my old roommate would have found this to be normal behavior.... my father seemed slightly perplexed. i discovered quite a few winners, and was able to really determine the usefulness for each pair.

i also found myself running errands one day with a headlamp in my back pocket during broad daylight. for whatever reason, it reminded a friend of her needing to put a belt on. lucky i didn't break it.

after being advised to "break in" my heavy work boots, i decided that it might seem a little weird to do that in public. blinds closed, me and the treadmill have been getting some pretty sweet workouts. i've also discovered a few good sock combinations for those babies.

throw pillows in a black hole

as some may know, i have an affinity for throw pillows. not just because they are a great accent to any décor, they're generally the perfect size and density for sleeping on. and if you're lucky enough to have an extra, they make a great hugger pillow... which for me is absolutely essential in falling asleep. i can't stress that enough.

in lieu of my upcoming living situation, i've decided that throw pillows will be the most practical type of head cushions that a picky sleeper such as myself can have. the issue with throw pillows, of course, occurs when they are never washed. you see, my two most favorite throw pillows are both wonderful suede, which can only be "spot cleaned." this becomes problematic when you're only allowed to shower every other day. actually, it becomes problematic before that, but this really intensifies it's dirtiness. so i've developed a solution to this issue...

homemade pillowcases! upon designing them in my brain, i decided that pillowcases with pockets would be even more appropriate to my minimalist bunkbed lifestyle. needless to say, this crafty nerd was excited. well, five pillowcases and eight pockets later, i'm spent. while the spotted and striped final products are attractive and functional, i'll admit that my knowledge of the sewing machine is frustratingly scant.

with my mother somehow picking up my preference for teaching via "experiental education," i was given only a small amount of instruction and left to self-teach and self-prick my way through the basics. after breaking a two needles and drawing a blood on numerous occasions, i'm now proud of my sewing machine knowledge, albeit still minimal and relatively useless.

now that all's said and done, the pillowcases were still a good idea. i mean, if you're going to teach yourself how to sew, they're an easy starting project. i would recommend holding off on the pockets, however, as they were quite annoying. i'll keep posted on their practicality... i've got high hopes for those babies.

_________________
* amendment to 09/22/08 post: item "e" has been located, so you can stop looking for that one. location: TU ceramics studio. not surprising, since i've been but a ghost there...

Time to Move On.

I was just humming along to perhaps one of my top five favorite songs (which of course change monthly), when I realized that Tom Petty really gets it. No song means more to me right now... so, albeit cliché, I shall post. I tried to pick a section, but could not.

Tom Petty; Time to Move On
Its time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
Its time to move on, it s time to get going

Broken skyline, movin through the airport
Shes an honest defector
Conscientious objector
Now her own protector

Broken skyline, which way to love land
Which way to something better
Which way to forgiveness
Which way do I go

(chorus)

Sometime later, getting the words wrong
Wasting the meaning, and losing the rhyme
Nauseous adrenaline
Like breakin' up a dog fight
Like a deer in the headlights
Frozen in real time
I'm losing my mind

Its time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
Its time to move on, its time to get going

__________
* Amendment to 09/22/08 post: Item "B" has been located, so you can stop looking for that one. Yes, it was in the car.

where have all of my belongings gone?

after originally beginning to pack things up in June, i've noticed a trend. i'm constantly forgetting where i put things, missing them for a few weeks, or losing them forever.

now that i've moved in, we can hope that pretty much everything that i own is either:

1) in my car (really not a pretty sight)
2) in my parent's basement/crawlspace/attic/garage
3) at my old place in Timonium
4) unfortunately lost forever.


so, if anyone has seen the following, please advise me as soon as possible:**
**this list will be amended as i remember which other items are gone :(

A) gray eddie bauer capri pants
B) bank of america debit card (somewhere in my car, probably?)
C) fuzzy old green zip sweater with the big neck
D) trusty book of "easy" crosswords
E) light green *BPA free* nalgene

ladies and gentlemen, probably mostly ladies, this has been occurring for the past few months, and it's just started to look up recently. had you known me during my tendency toward obsessive-compulsivity with item placement and arrangement (circa 2004-2007), you might be surprised to learn that i've been incredibly comfortable with the whole mess. in fact, i'm actually flabbergasted to realize that i thrive in such disorganization. and while this may seem like an exaggeration (perhaps only a bit), you really should have seen the disarray that was my car last month.

tootles, and don't forget to let me know if you find anything suspicious.

oregonians are nice

SO, i returned yesterday from the much-anticipated trip to Portland. It was great. Hali's flight was delayed coming from Houston, so I spent a bit of time there on my own, which is always a good time.

While spending a lot of time walking the green streets, I noticed a few things:

1) East coasters such have a tendency to be very rushed, horribly eco-unfriendly, and slightly artificial.

2) The Portland homeless are very, very friendly. They give you tips, don't smell like booze, and seem to be genuinely trying to have a good life. Sometimes they have dogs, and the dogs are pretty cool.

3) Portland is in love with Barack Obama.

4) The public transit system of Portland is amazing. I wish more city planners would visit Portland!


Hali and I had a great time eating thai food and going for a nice bike ride in Washington Park. We also got a little lost, but that's pretty normal for me.

We got in yesterday morning after taking the Thursday night redeye flight. I slept for a few minutes on the floor of the airport, but kept getting annoyed by the loud announcements about leaving bags unattended. After fruitlessly trying to nap all day yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet and just work through it. Had a great time last night at a new bar in Baltimore where a friend of mine works, and for the first time I can remember, I fell asleep on the couch in the same outfit I wore out. I woke up at 7 with a splitting headache, and after taking excederin and falling asleep sitting up, I miraculously woke up at 12:30 pm feeling refreshed and surprisingly not hungover.

Tonight I'm driving up the scenic NJ Turnpike, where I will reunite with Skippy and enjoy a few relaxing weeks in the Double B. It will be so very enjoyable to spend some time with the family, not to mention to have my own bed again.

Yay!

electioneering

Things going well.

Today I gave my notice at work-- my last official day at the PPM will be September 11th, a Thursday. I guess it's about four weeks, including my vacation to the cottage in 10ish days. The whole idea of a paid vacation is still new to me, so I'm happy to be paid spending time with the twins in Pennsylvania.

Went for a run today with Cait-- probably my career record of a whopping 2 miles. Feels healthy!

Visiting Portland, Oregon in about four weeks; I'll be there traveling with a friend from school, Hali, for five days. Things are going to be happening quickly pretty soon. As of late, happy to be spending time with good friends.

:)

broadway avenue

Just catching up a moment before bed. Things are going well here. I'm all moved out of my apartment in Timonium (with the exception of a few plants, my bike, and some pots). I'm all set with Ann here in Owings Mills-- very nice family, nice house, and nice deer on my way to and fro.

Been doing a bit of that whole "flying by the seat of my pants" thing lately-- I guess you could say that it's finally catching up with me. You see, a few weeks ago I told myself that I'd spend as much time as possible with friends here before moving on to new places. Well, for the past two weeks my schedule has been jam-packed with events such as tennis dates, concerts, parties, dinner plans, and even a pretty snazzy New Jersey wedding. Sleep has been difficult to come by, and I've even decided to start regulating my coffee intake for my stomach's sake. It's been a very fun time, although I feel as though it might be time to catch my breath before somersaulting into a fit of exhaustion.

People have started to ask me if I'm nervous and/or excited about moving to Massachusetts. I can't wait. I'm not nervous yet; knowing me, I'll probably get nervous for about 10 minutes a few days before, then get over it. I spoke with a friend about the program that I'll be joining-- he met my supervisors and chef-- and I quote "the program seems pretty legit." With him being a pretty good judge of character, I'm even more ready for hilly and chilly New England autumn.