weather weirdness

Confidential to my Laramie stalkers: you already know most of this story.

Okay, earthquakes are no fun, and I've only had to live through a couple of them, but at least you don't wait around for them. Living in Laramie continues to delight. Today, I walked out the front doors of the library on my way home for some late lunch. I stopped on the porch because it was pouring rain and the sky was dark and angry. Just as I was hesitating about walking the block and a half to my car (wearing flip-flops and a lightweight top), the tornado sirens began. As I headed back inside, everybody was being directed to the basement because of the tornado warning.

Crazy. I was luckier than most, because I had my office right there, but still unhappy because all I had on hand to eat was a granola bar and some candy. At least we never lost power. Rick's class was just about to start in the library classroom when the alarms went off, and he held class gathered around one of the study tables downstairs. Seems like most people down there were watching the weather cams and looking for updates. I tried to concentrate and get some work done, but it was hard. After a couple hours and some damage in town, the warning was lifted and the library closed. We took off downtown in search of food, but even the places with power were closed or closing. So Rick was nice and let me eat cold cereal at his house, which was out of power like most of town.

So, five of my colleagues and I were planning to leave for Denver this afternoon for CALC tomorrow. We tried to leave town at 6:oo, thinking the weather would be better, but me being late back to campus and a big hold-up at Burger King (one of the only places in town to get food) delayed us even more. I-80 was really slick with leftover hail, and filled with craziness. Then, near the summit, it was snowing and a thunder and lightning storm at the same time. So we turned back. I'm glad, because even before that, I was freaked. The power's still out at all my friends' places, but for once my inconvenient home in W. Laramie is a plus because I have power and, therefore, internet.

Oh, but it gets better. As I approached my house, I called a colleague who had gone down to Denver earlier. She said the skies there were grey, but the weather was okay. She had to drive through a mess to get there, though. I was still talking to her as I stepped out of my garage onto the walkway. Yeah, in flip-flops onto wet snow. I fell ass-over-tea-kettle and dislocated my shoulder. Because I'm a genius who talks on the phone while carrying a suitcase and looking for my keys. I was able to rotate my arm back into the socket, and it's just sore now. I'm still really cold from laying in a snow/rain puddle while I fixed my arm. Obviously, I can type, so I'll live.

We're planning to leave early tomorrow to get to CALC in time for my first presentation. Yeah, I have two. One of my two co-presenters for the morning panel is ill, so I really don't want to leave the other in a lurch if I can't make it. The afternoon panel is the six of us from my department, so if we can't make it, there will just be one fewer choice that hour. I hope it doesn't come to that, though.

Cass just called and reported that another tornado hit Cheyenne, so it's good we didn't drive right into that cf. As we were turning back to town, I called Rick on his way to Casper to see how he was doing. He said it was just raining, then he lost reception. I think he'll be fine, but it's still scary to have somebody out there on the road tonight. I know my parents (mostly Mom) were freaked out about me all day. It's hard for them to be so far away and watch the news without thinking the worst will happen. Mom thinks I'm going to get stranded and die out on some abandoned highway every time I travel. Or else I'll be eaten by a wild animal, die of hypothermia in the snow, or get nabbed by a random psycho killer-rapist. Now we can add getting sucked away by a tornado to the list of things likely to kill me in Wyoming. Sigh.

Where's my spring, dammit?

home again

Vacation on the coast was wonderful. We haven't taken a family vacation for a few years, so it was our first with my nephew. It was also the first trip in a long time where I felt truly relaxed. It was fun seeing West and how he's grown and changed since Christmas. At 15 months, he now walks and talks a little. My dad is his favorite person, and it's cool to see my dad in that role. His dad, my grandpa was my best friend when I was little, too.

Contemplating touching a hermit crab

Spending time on the water was exactly what I've been needing. One night we had a beach fire, and the mist from the ocean spray made my hair get even curlier. I forgot how huge my hair used to be when I lived in the humidity. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and tried to keep the sand out of our food.


Enjoying first s'more at the beach

The sunsets were lovely, and one evening we sat on the promenade and watched. I took too many photos, but it was cool.


Beautiful sky

vacation

rollin' along

Some of us went roller skating again last night. I think I've found my skating partners for the summer and beyond, which is pretty awesome. While I'm definitely rusty, I'm really having fun at the rink and am improving every time I go. Last night, I made my first attempt at skating backward, which I never even used to do as a kid. My crossover turns are still pretty awkward, partly because of the terrible floor condition and having to dodge children who aren't watching where they're going, but mostly because I just need more practice.

I'm considering using some of the stimulus package to buy a pair of skates. It would be nice to have some that really fit, and I wouldn't have to pay the extra couple of bucks to rent each time. But last night my rental skates were a little cooler than usual. Check out the Pac-man laces!



What I really should have been doing last night is finishing laundry and packing for vacation and/or working on my results and discussion sections of my paper. I'm flying back to the PNW for a vacation on the Oregon coast! Things I'm looking forward to: family, being at sea level, eating lots of seafood, walking on the beach, humidity, and not worrying about work (much) for a while week!

Cinco de Mayo

Tonight after class, Rick and I tried unsuccessfully to get some people together for drinks. Instead, the two of us had some dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. Cinco de Mayo is a weird holiday. Seems like most Americans think of it either as Mexican Independence (it's not) or an excuse to drink lots of cerveza and/or tequila (I guess it is). Today, all I could tell Rick is that I knew it was the anniversary of Mexico defeating the French in a battle sometime in the 17th century. So much for my education in world history, right?

I ate too much food and drank half a margarita. So, the evening was kind of tame, but okay. It was pretty nice to be home early, especially after a jam-packed weekend of shopping, barbequing, roller derby, too much driving, homework, and the Sunday evening movie (Persepolis). All of it was fun/good, but I'm tired.

stormy night

I just got home, after staying out way too late for a school night. I'm tired, but it's so windy that my whole house is shaking and the wind is whistling and rumbling so loudly I wonder if I'll be able to sleep. Garbage cans are banging around and something big just flew down the street. Storms are cool, but this one is kind of scary.

rollin' rollin' rollin'

It's been a pretty great weekend. On Friday, Rick organized some roller skating. Wendy and Tawnya came, too, and we rocked Skyline Skate with our 30somthing powers of awesome. This time, I was almost able to do the crossover on the corners. I also got to practice my agility as I avoided running over tiny children just learning to skate, as well as some pre-teen girls who inexplicably sat down in a circle right in the middle of the floor. Man, I miss the Skate Inn and its army of whistle-bearing floor patrollers. They really kept things organized. Skyline is kind of a CF, with no adherence to skate etiquette at all.

Then on Saturday, skate-or-die weekend continued with a visit from the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls, who came to Laramie for an exhibition bout, the Contenders v. the Others. It was a little disappointing that so few people came out, but it was really fun. We screamed as loud as we could for our chosen team, the Others (in black). I hadn't ever seen the RMRGs before, but quickly picked out some gals to root for.



Of course I could not resist getting my picture taken with a favorite rollergirl, Annia LateHer, after the match was over.



I'm planning to go to next week's bout in Denver, too. Laramie people, are you ready to caravan down?

Vic is in the house!

My birthday came and went and it was fun. I've been a terrible blogger lately and might or might not get back to those stories.

But the big news is that my pal Vic is in Laramie! I've known Vic since middle school, but I think we really became friends in 9th or 10th grade math class. Also, he made me laugh every day in College Prep English. It's been way too long since we lived in the same state and about a year since we've been able to hang out. He's on a western supertrip; Missoula to Seattle to Denver to Laramie. I'm glad he worked me into the big adventure. We have some fun stuff planned for the next coupe of days before he heads back to Montana.

I love it when people come to visit me in Laramie! It's not exactly in the neighborhood of anything else, so it can take some convincing. I need to figure out some fun stuff to do while Vic's here, but I'm not too worried. He has a lot of interests, so he's pretty easy to entertain.

Expect pictures!

more firsts

I was just saying that I've done a lot of things for the first time lately. Friday it was going to Saratoga to the hot springs. Rick and I went over after work, and it was a nice way to end the week. We ran into some friends of his while we were soaking (boiling) in the pool, which was a pleasant surprise. The water was hotter than I expected, but it didn't make me as tired as I thought it would. As a bonus, long car trips are fun, especially with a friend. I like the time and space to just talk about what's going on, both in our lives and in our heads.

Another first for me this weekend was snowshoeing. I don't do a lot of outdoorsy stuff because I don't know what I'm doing and I don't have the right clothes or any gear. But Melissa convinced me to give it a shot this afternoon, and I'm glad I did. She and the others were skiing while I was on snowshoes and it worked out nicely. I always underestimate myself, thinking I'll never be able to keep up or that I'll suck at that kind of thing. It felt great to be outside in the snow for a couple of hours, working hard enough that I was pretty hot and sweaty. I'm pleasantly sore in a couple of places now and wondering if I'll manage to get out and try it all again soon. I hope so.

"it's complicated"

That's one of the Facebook relationship statuses available. The other day, I decided that maybe it really isn't that complicated, so I changed my status, forgetting that profile changes get published in the news feed. Friends have contacted me, wondering what's up. The answer is: nothing new. I'm just trying to describe things as they are, rather than how I'd been confusing them.

Life in general is busy and uncertain right now. I've been wanting to move closer to work for a while, and thought I had a plan and a roommate in place a few days ago. After some thought, and more honest assessment of the realities, that's not going to work out. It's cool. I'll stay put for a little longer and keep looking for a new place on my own. I felt a considerable amount of relief once we reached the decision not to move.

All sorts of plans I had are falling through, which is frustrating and disappointing, but I'll manage. I have to reassess what's important to me and go from there. I've been thinking a lot about my life here in this town that I'm starting to get to know. It's weird and isolated, and I sometimes want nothing more than to just go back to the coast, where it's safe and known and filled with friends and family. But sometimes it feels like home here, one I've actually made for myself. It's not perfect, but I'm trying.

armchair critic

I watch a lot more movies than I used to, thanks in part to the film series in town, but also because I upped my Netflix account to keep me stocked with something at nearly all times. This has led to me finally getting around to some of the critical favorites from the past couple of years. My reactions have been mixed, to say the least. Last night, I watched Junebug. I thought it was supposed to be funny, and it's only 106 minutes long, so that was a selling point. Holy cats! That was probably the longest 106 minutes I've ever endured.

I didn't hate Junebug, but I didn't like it, either. Amy Adams was charming, and I understand why she got attention from this movie, but she was really the only thing enjoyable for me. All of the acting was great, actually. It's just that the characters got no development and there was no discernible story there. The George character was a total cipher, though the actor did a good job with what he had. A film can be plot-driven, or it can be character-driven, but it should be one or the other, in my opinion. This one was neither. Bah.

good times

I went to Casper today for a work thing, which meant that I sat alone in the car for around six hours today. The university car I was issued had a tape deck instead of a CD player, so I spent my entire commute listening to public radio. I used to flip back and forth between KUOW and KEXP during my long commutes back in WA, but it only takes me ten minutes each way now. So it was kind of a nice change of pace to hear entire programs again. Also, I feel like I learned something about the sub-prime mortgage crisis and hedge funds this afternoon.

The drive back to Laramie was really pretty, but very windy. All that sitting made me restless, so it was nice to walk downtown, even though it was pretty dang cold and windy on the trip down. Rick and I checked out the new Thai place, which we've been waiting for for months. So has the rest of Laramie, judging from the crowd. The food was good and it felt really good to have Thai as an option again. Except for the summer roll appetizer, we ordered dishes neither of us had tried before, which was fun. We had the masaman shrimp with avocado and cashews and the chicken pad woon sen. Both were excellent, but I'm definitely having the masaman curry again. No photos this time, because I was too wrapped up in eating to remember.

Then, we went ice skating! Remember how I didn't fall down at all when I went roller skating a few weeks back? Well, tonight was a completely different story. It was my first time ever ice skating, and I was terrible. It was nice, though. Rick managed to stay on his feet the whole time, even when I crashed into him. I kind of hugged the wall for a while, and then got a little braver. I started to feel like I was getting it, but after I fell down a handful of times, I got too stiff to really do more. I lasted about 40 minutes, minus a few minutes here and there when I took a breather. The end result is two bruised knees, a pretty banged-up right hip and thigh, a sore bottom, and a slightly worse-for-wear right hand, wrist, and elbow. But it's cool. I'd definitely go again--after all, my technique can only improve, right?

photoblogging Friday

As Rick reported, Friday was a heck of a lot better than Thursday. We decided to go ahead and go see Obama. The milder weather and larger venue made me hopeful that it would be a more pleasant time in line, and I was correct. When we got there, the line was longer than the previous day, but it was really moving. The crowd seemed more cheerful, too. Cass sort of summarized the whole thing, but if you know anything about me, you know I have to have my own say.

Here's my team on Friday:

He likes to make that face.
There were lots of people in the Arena Auditorium. After living here a while, it's kind of exciting to see that many people all in one place. Of course, if I went to sporting events, this wouldn't be so unusual.

Obama worked the stage. He did a nice job, but I was disappointed he didn't tailor his message to Wyoming. All my friends have already hear me gripe about this.

After the big Obama show, we met up with a few other people and had some beers and snacks before the Ok Go show. It was pretty decent. They had some cool videos playing in the background, too.

Then I was very tired and went to bed in preparation for caucusing on Saturday morning. Watch me get all political!

Photoblogging Clinton

You might have heard that the race for the Democratic nomination is pretty tight. You also might have heard that both candidates are actually visiting blood-red Wyoming, in the desperate hope that our 18 delegates will make a difference. If course, this is all very last-minute, so when I heard yesterday about Bill Clinton visiting Laramie today (Hillary will be in Cheyenne tomorrow) and Barack Obama coming Friday, I decided to try to make it work, even though it meant double-booking myself with a play and a concert on the respective nights.

It all started out great. My plan was unstoppable. Doors were to open for Clinton at 4:00pm, an hour before the show. I was a little concerned about trying to do two events back-to-back, but it seemed okay because the gym and the theatre are so close together. I parked my car over there at lunch and made the walk back over around 3:30. By 3:45, I was in line, and it looked like only a couple hundred people were in front of me. Cass and Rick joined me not too long afterward.

Look how excited we are! You can't tell from the pictures, but it was crazy cold and windy outside. It's so freaking sunny in Wyoming. I'm incognito in my ski hat. People who know me will realize this is an unusual look for Kaijsa.

Yay! Doors are opening any minute! Actually, not really. We stood outside until after 5:00, freezing our asses (and faces) off while the line inched forward very slowly. Then, miraculously, the line really started moving and we made our way into the building.

See these faces? These are the faces of people who waited for over an hour in the cold, only to have the doors shut on them when they were only 20 people back from the front of the line. The gym is supposed to hold 1200 people, and it's hard to believe that many were in front of us.

We were directed into the field house, where it was alleged that an overflow area with a "data feed" was set up. Does this look set up to you? The data feed was really just audio over the PA.

None of us were impressed, so we bailed. Rick and I went to Fat Burrito for dinner before the play, and subsequently wasted another hour waiting around for the tickets to go on sale before learning there were no actual tickets and no real organization (the theme for the evening). So we ran out and grabbed a quick hot beverage before the show, which turned out to be the highlight of the evening. The beverage, I mean, not the show. The show was uneven, but mercifully short. So there's that.

Turns out that Ok Go requested a later start time tomorrow night because of the Obama rally, so who knows how the evening will turn out. All I know is that I'm not going to stand outside in the cold again when I could be inside getting some actual work done in my office. I'm still planning to caucus on Saturday morning, but I'm a little burned on the campaign rallies.

Check out Rick's version of the evening here.

the moviegoer

I went to a film on campus tonight. I can't remember the title and I'm too lazy to look it up right now, but it was a Bollywood film from 2001. I was expecting it to be pretty long, because the flyer said 7-10pm, but we didn't get out of there until a few minutes before 11pm. Even with an intermission and a couple of pauses to fix the subtitles, that's about three big production numbers too long. It was good, though. I really did get caught up in the family drama and at least twice, I got a tiny bit misty.

What I really should have done tonight is gather and organize my stuff for the swap tomorrow evening and finish my handout for classes tomorrow morning. I guess I'm getting up really early to make sure I have enough time to fill my gas tank (the light came on during my drive home), get coffee, finish and proof the handout before printing it, and arrange the tables in the classroom. Oh, and maybe eat breakfast. If only I could get in the breakfast habit, I think my quality of life would improve by 50%.

So tired.

Roller Skate Skinny

Empty rink

I went roller skating tonight, for the first time in probably twenty years. Wow, twenty years ago was 1988 and I was 14 then. I am old. It was weird at first and I thought I might not be able to do it, but I managed to figure it out and not fall down. The newfangled skates are weird, though. They were like hockey skates or something and were hard to maneuver. Next time I think I'll ask for the old-fashioned kind, which I saw they also had.

There were only about ten kids at the rink when the three of us got there a little more than an hour before closing. The gal checking us in only charged us $3 because it was so late. It was weird to go roller skating and have it not be at the Marysville Skate Inn, where I spent so many Friday nights when I was in middle school. This place was a lot smaller, with a concrete floor instead of wood, and it didn't have as many tables or as fancy a snack bar and games area. I remember buying red ropes and drinking Green River while checking out boys and gossiping with friends. I used to be pretty good at skating and could go backward and do a couple of little tricks. This time, I couldn't even do that crossover thing that makes it easy to go around the corners really fast.

Skating used muscles I must be neglecting, because I'm a little sore. My thighs and knees are sore and so are my feet (I now have a blister on one instep). That's to be expected, but what surprised me was how much core strength it takes to balance and move forward at the same time. So, yet more motivation for getting stronger. My unlimited Netflix account is allowing me to stream as many movies as I want, and the other day I realized how many workout videos are available. So that's my new plan, to add in some strengthening exercise to augment the walking, which I've slacked off on during the cold. Maybe I'll go skating again, too.

speed demon

A colleague and I went down to Denver on Friday for a roundtable discussion with some academic librarians from other schools in the region. I drove us in a university car and we left insanely early in the morning. Right before we got to Cheyenne, I got pulled over. The trooper gave me a fun ticket in the amount of $180. Nice. He claims I was going 94 in a 75, but I'm skeptical. I was definitely going 85, but I never hit 90. What can you do, though? So, I guess I'm spending my clothing budget on a speeding ticket. I'll have to wear too-big pants for a while longer.

sleep deficit

What do you do when you can't sleep? I suffer from insomnia, which gets worse with stress or upheaval. To combat this, I've tried to follow the advice of The Experts, who say it's best to keep television and other activities out of the bedroom. Since I quit using my laptop, reading, or working in bed, I have seen an improvement in my ability to fall asleep at night. But following the rules forces me to get out of bed when sleep won't come or is interrupted by anxiety dreams. This was the case this morning around 5am, which isn't early to be up for some people, but when you fall asleep at 1am, it's pretty crummy.

To pass the time, I often catch up on music blogs. Bonus for you, because I can pass on all the good stuff I find.

• Lamestain has a post on Hammerbox, an old PNW favorite that was gone before its time. I can't tell you how many times I listened to "When 3 is 2" from their first record and danced around my bedroom like a lunatic, back when I was in high school.
  
• The Music Slut posted about a band called Boulevard that sounds right up my ally, describing their sound as "a wet dream involving Depeche Mode, Fischerspooner, T. Rex, ABBA, Junior Boys & The Rapture." OMG. The linked track, "Disco Lite," is pretty good. I'll have to hear more.
• KEXP is torturing me with news about festivals I can't afford to attend. It doesn't happen often, but I sometimes do kick myself for not selling out to the man. Leonard Cohen is playing Glastonbury. Huh. SXSW has every Next Big Thing slated to play, of course.
  

That's it. It's now time to get ready for work and I'm finally feeling sleepy. Unfair.

quirk

Even though I don't have cable, I can catch enough television online to be pretty aware of what's going on. Lately I've noticed that television has become quirkier. I'm not anti-quirk, by any means. I loved Twin Peaks back in the day, and really liked some short-lived shows like Wonderfalls and Joan of Arcadia, which each had a supernatural quirk. While I liked them, mainstream audiences thought they were too weird and they were canceled.

I'm not sure what changed, but now this stuff is all the rage. These days, it seems like half the programs on television are mining this trope. Pushing Daisies has a guy who can bring back the dead with one touch, and kill them forever with a second. Chuck has a guy who downloaded a supercomputer into his brain (remember Jake 2.0 and his nanites?). Reaper is about a kid whose parents sold his soul to the devil. Don't forget Heroes, which is populated with all manner of folks with special powers. And now Eli Stone has a lawyer who sees visions that lead him to help his clients, perhaps thanks to a brain aneurysm (is that what was wrong with Ally McBeal, too?).

What's going on here? And why can't I enjoy this new crop of quirky entertainment? It only seems to work for me when it fits into sci-fi/fantasy or spy genres. So yes, I like Chuck. Heroes was good at first, though it's become ponderous lately. But the rest of it gets on my nerves. I'm not talking about dramas like Medium, where the supernatural element is played straight. Too bad Journeyman was so boring, because that could have been kind of cool. What bothers me is the wink-wink quirkiness that seems designed to show how cool and clever the writers are. It's a tone issue, I think, and it makes me crazy. I can hardly stand Ugly Betty for this reason.

So I've been watching trashy soaps instead, like Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle because they have new episodes and to fill the void left by Dirty Sexy Money. And that's also unsatisfying, in a different way. If there's a point all this, I can't remember it.

quotation

"Even more, I had never meant to love him. One thing I truly knew - knew it in the pit of my stomach, in the center of my bones, knew it from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, knew it deep in my empty chest - was how love gave someone the power to break you.
I'd been broken beyond repair."
— Stephenie Meyer (New Moon)

Found on Goodreads.

leap year!

Hey, did you know it's leap year? Woot! Whatever will I do with my one extra day? It's hard to believe we're already into February, and this short month will probably fly by before I know it.

I had a really good weekend. Friday, I went to the art museum reception, which I try to hit every time. This time was special because it was the student juried exhibit, and I'm all about that. After, some friends and I went for a quick drink and then out for sushi dinner bonanza. Seriously, Cass and I commented a few times that it was like a taste of home (the 206). We ordered crazy amounts of food, and the chef also sent over an amazing sashimi platter. We of course got a bunch of rolls, and one of our party commented that we certainly had a theme going when he noticed we had, among other rolls, Boy Friend, Rainbow, and Crunchy Sexy. We also had 911, which nearly made me die when I shoved a piece in my mouth, hot sauce-side-first. It was a really fun night.

Then on Saturday, it was Thai dinner night with a fun group of people. We cooked up fun stuff and ate and had good conversation for a couple of hours. Everything was so, so good. And now I crave more Thai iced coffee, which I made for the first time after loving it for years. We definitely need to do it again.

After all that, Sunday was a more low-key affair. I stayed in pajamas until after noon, when I was shamed into dressing and going to the library to work on lit review stuff for the class Rick and I are taking this semester. It's nice to be taking it with a friend, because I stay on task better that way. The other people in the class are nice, too. I think it's good for my brain to take a class outside my discipline background but within my professional interests. And it can't hurt that it will help me do a better job with research.

Note to self: order The English Patient from Prospector and find my copy of Running in the Family and re-read it.

new snow

A light snow fell during the evening tonight. It was different than the snow that came down last night and on and off all day. Tonight, it looked like the city was covered in glitter. I was driving home just before midnight and I wished so much I could capture how beautiful it was.

mmmm...pizza

So after class tonight, I gave in to an offer of pizza. I haven't been eating it much at all for several months and must have forgotten that the last time we got some, I suffered. And so I suffer again. It's just an upset stomach (which could be partially blamed on the bourbon and vanilla coke, I guess), but I hesitate to lay down in bed for fear of the almighty acid reflux monster.

We also watched Army of Darkness, which has been on my list for a while and sadly did not live up to expectations. I wouldn't say I'm a huge Bruce Campbell fan or anything, but I have seen one of the Evil Dead movies and enjoyed Bubba Ho-Tep quite a bit. I actually went to that with Pete and one of his friends during library school, when I didn't know him all that well and before he became my favorite partner-in-crime's companion. Anyway, my point is that we watched the end of the State of the Union address afterwards, and that was funnier than the movie.

Finally, after a long conversation about research and publishing, etc., I came home to find my first Early Reviewer book in the mailbox, so I'll need to read that and post a review soon. Between that, everything I have checked out from the library; the stacks of unread books in my house; the fifteen or so new books I picked up at Midwinter; the books publishers have started mailing to me for no apparent reason other than maybe they know I'm a librarian (although they come to my house and my librarian stuff comes to work); all the essays and chapters I'm looking at for the composition reader; and the book I just got for a discussion group next month, I think I'm set for reading materials for a while. Also, I have a healthy supply of journal articles stacked up in my office. But hey, I posted on the book blog for the first time this year, although I know I read something else and just can't remember what now. Maybe something on a plane? Hmm.

phone home

It's amazing how important a phone call can be. Talking to a good friend can, if not make the hard stuff go away, at least put it into perspective a little. It's easy to go too long between conversations, to neglect that connection. I need to be better about that.

music for the masses

So, I'm totally a music freak. This is no secret. What I'm not is any sort of scene-y hipster, who keeps up with the latest, most edgy stuff. I don't understand Animal Collective. Even more accessible stuff is sometimes beyond me. For years and years I almost, but didn't quite embrace Modest Mouse. I have no patience for most prog-rock and anything remotely jam-bandy makes me crazy. So I know what I like, and I like pop music. Like, a lot.

LCD Soundsystem made my best-of list and I consider them extremely listenable. So I was amused by this post, defending Sound of Silver from its inclusion on a list of "10 Unlistenable Albums Lying Hipsters Put on Year-End Lists to Appear Cool." These lists are always interesting to me because I usually like one or two of the bands included (see also: Grizzly Bear, The Knife). Whatever. It's funny. And what do I know? After all, I'm currently listening to Sir Mix-a-lot's "My Posse's on Broadway." My last.fm profile is so weird.

What I really need right now is something new to listen to. The new Interpol is in my library requests, so there's that.

cartoon logic

I'm watching Ratatouille, which resulted in the following conversation.

Kaijsa: So, he's an American rat living in Paris?
Rick: No, he just doesn't have a strong accent
Kaijsa: Okay

Sometimes I over think these things.

2008, isn't it great?

I can't believe the new year is already here. It took longer than expected, but I arrived in Laramie yesterday sometime after noon. I got to Denver on Sunday morning, and Rick picked me up at the airport. It was a gorgeous day. We drove up to Fort Collins, with the intention of grabbing lunch, doing a tiny bit of shopping, and getting back on the road. A storm came through and closed the highways, which changed our plans somewhat. After killing time by going to a movie (National Treasure 2, which was "eh"), the road reports were still all bad news and we had to stay the night. It was fun, in a snow-day kind of way. I like hotels.

So we rolled into town almost a day later than planned and it was suddenly New Year's Eve. I didn't have any grand plans and ended up tagging along with Rick to a party where I only knew the hostess. All her guests were nice and we had fun playing games until the big countdown. This is my first New Year in Laramie, so I'm missing the fun party I usually go to on New Year's Day. It feels kind of weird, but I felt like I needed to get back here and have a little time before going back to work.

Now that the holidays are over--well, almost over, since there's a birthday today--I'm hit with the reality of all I need to do. Time is seeming to go by so quickly lately and stuff is piling up, both literally and figuratively. I guess I need a plan. Spring semester should be busy, but less so than fall, which was kind of crazy. I'm trying to take a research methods class, but I didn't really get my act together until right before my vacation, so I'm really hoping the class isn't already full.

I'm thinking that it would be good for me to take a class again and try to be disciplined about keeping up. Also, descriptive research methods could come in pretty handy for assessment projects at work. If I can't get into the class, I'm going to be annoyed, because I will have wasted my $50 registration fee, but I guess I could take something else or wait until next semester.

There are a million other things on my plate right now. Midwinter is coming up amazingly soon. I've never been to Philadelphia, but I don't know if I'll have time to see anything in that short amount of time. We're getting there on Friday and leaving Monday, and my schedule is already too booked. As long as I get to my three committee meetings, I guess the rest is extra. Librarians, let me know if you'll be there, because I'm really hoping I can catch up with my long-distance friends. Internet friends, this means you, too.

Happy New Year!

Bests of 2007

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I did this. It feels weird to be making appointments for 2008 already, but the year is almost over. My list of categories changed a little from last time. Enjoy!

Best Albums
This list looks similar to last year, as Arcade Fire and Band of Horses made both lists. Because they RULE. There was massive amounts of good stuff out this year, but these were on repeat at Rancho Kaijsa.

Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
Band of Horses, Cease to Begin
Feist, The Reminder
LCD Soundsystem, The Sound of Silver

Best Live Shows
A shorter list than last year, but that's probably because I only hit one day at Bumbershoot and kept missing out on fun shows in Denver because of weather, bad timing, or sheer laziness on my part. Why didn't I go to Monolith again?

Arcade Fire with LCD Soundsystem @ Red Rocks (September 17)
Silversun Pickups with Sea Wolf @ Ogden Theater (July 30)

Best Films
Between the film series, upping the netflix, and actually going to see a few new releases, I watched a bunch of movies this year. Very uncharacteristic, but more fun. These aren't necessesarily the best movies of the year, but rather those that came out in 07 that I most enjoyed.

Once
Knocked Up and its little brother, Superbad
My Best Friend
The Namesake

Best Television
Yeah, I'm going there.

30 Rock (technically came out in 2006, but so worth mentioning)
Gossip Girl (glossy teen soap perfection!)

Best Books
After I couldn't name any noteworthy books from 2006, I started a reading blog. Keeping track of this kind of thing is good for me, I find. This year I read a lot of good stuff, much of it new. I'm only listing books that came out in 2007.

Sherman Alexie, Flight
Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Jonathan Franzen, The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History
E. Lockhart, Dramarama
Cathleen Schine, The New Yorkers
Aoibheann Sweeney, Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking
Tia Williams, The It Chicks

There were lots of other "bests" this year, too complicated to mention. It was my first full year in my new state. I visited Seattle six times in 2007, but this was also the year I really came to think of Laramie as my home. And for the first time, I'll be there to ring in the new year. I don't know what new things 2008 will bring, so I'm going into it feeling hopeful. Happy New Year!

snuggly

I don't usually like flannel sheets, but my parents' house is heated entirely by two gas stoves and the bedroom I'm in is the farthest away. So, yay, flannel sheets! I miss my down duvet, though.

Getting here took a little longer than it should have, but the folks at Alaska know how to deal with delays and keep passengers from getting the crazy. Our plane was around 90 minutes late to arrive, but being given hot coffee and cookies immediately upon boarding was a nice distraction.

I read an entire J.A. Jance mystery (I didn't even know she had a new series) while waiting to board and for the first hour of the flight, but slept the remaining two hours. It's weird how I never used to sleep on planes and now I have a hard time staying awake on them. Well, I guess I have a hard time staying awake whenever I'm sitting still, unless I have somebody with me. Forget watching DVDs at home alone. Instant snoozing.

As soon as I got off the plane in Seattle, I felt like I was in a sauna. The lovely humidity made it seem really warm. But that same humidity made me really cold when I got outside. It's like coming out of the shower and standing around all damp. Brr.

I'm super tired and have to get up kind of early to drop off Mom to babysit the nephew. This will give me her car all day. Then I meet up with Mel at U Village and we head down to a friend's place for dinner with girlfriends. The holiday revelry has begun!

Holiday houseguest

Today I heard from Melanie that Ed arrived in Jackson Hole last night. He's on his big, cross-country expedition. I told her to let him know he could stay over with me if he decided to take I-80 to Nebraska and points beyond, and he did! He called when he hit Rawlins and arrived in Laramie at around 9:30 tonight.

We didn't have a lot of time, but I did take him to the Buckhorn Bar--he asked for the "most Laramie" bar--and drove around the campus a little bit. Of course, it's Monday night and it's after finals, so the place was pretty dead, but it was a nice time. It's fun to see the reaction my Seattle friends have when they get charged $3 for a pint of microbrew. They're expecting it to be $7.

It's a rare evening when I'm home, and it's even rarer for me to have company over here. So it's extra fun when I have an actual houseguest. I love that I've now had four Seattle friends come visit me in Wyoming. I love seeing them and catching up, but it's also nice to share the town with them. I think It helps them understand why it's becoming, if not home-home, a home of my own making. There's something to be said for coming to a new place alone and starting a whole new life. Not that it's been easy, but I've really become attached to the people here and the place itself. My mom was shocked over Thanksgiving when I said I was glad to be going home, meaning Laramie. I think it hit her that I'm not just staying here; I really do live here.

So anyway, Ed's taking off early in the morning. I need to actually get my lazy self up so I can make some coffee and breakfast to send him off well, then finish packing for my journey west. It's hard to believe I'll be in Seattle by 9pm PST tomorrow!

thanksgiving part 2

No more family members got sick, though my throat is starting to get sore. I'm trying to believe it's just from lots of talking and I'm taking airborne now and before my flight in the morning in the hopes that it's not snake oil and will prevent a full-blown cold. Dad was still under the weather today, so Mom and I went to my brother's place for belated Thanksgiving. I had lots of time to hold my nephew and be amused by his antics. That child is pretty fun--very happy and social.



I tried to send this photo in a text to Rick, but he said he got a "can't download" message. Oh, well. I get to share it with all of y'all. It looks like I'm holding a two year old, right? He's ten months old. Check out those hands! He'll be just like his dad, who could palm family sized cans of Campbell's soup at one year and ended up growing up to be 6'7".

Earlier in the day, Mom and I went to the mall and did a little shopping. I got a couple of things, but didn't really get too excited about much. Aren't malls weird? They sap my energy like nothing else. We didn't even make it off the ground floor of Nordstrom, so I wasn't tempted by overpriced outfits. Yesterday's brief outing to the Rack yielded half-priced Smartwool socks, which was pretty fabulous. I didn't do Christmas shopping, but did get some ideas and finalized most of my to-do list. All told, I think we spent about three hours shopping during this visit, including stops for groceries. Not bad, if you know anything about me.

Right now I'm plundering my parents' CD collection. They've been reproducing their vinyl collection with CDs for a while now, but there are still a lot of albums to go. I'm taking Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, Jim Croce, Boston, the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas, and Simon and Garfunkel. More if I can stay awake long enough. I need to be at the airport around 5:30 in the morning, so I better get to bed soonish.

thanksgiving

My visit home to Seattle hasn't been what I expected. My mom called me before my flight early Thursday morning and let me know my dad took my brother to the emergency room the night before. Turns out he has pneumonia and was really sick, so he and my sister-in-law couldn't host Thanksgiving dinner. My mom and I ended up cooking the whole shebang over here for my parents, my grandma, and me. Then Dad and I took some food over to my brother's house and I got to see my nephew for a few minutes.

I got to meet up with SJ and her family, including Companion's father, for breakfast this morning. That was fun, though the server's stress level made me kind of stressed out, too. Then mom and I went out shopping at just a couple of places and didn't have any trouble parking even though this is crazy shopping day from hell. But we had to cut the fun short to take Dad to see the doctor, because he got really sick today. The doctor sent us straight to the ER because of Dad's high fever, so that makes two family members at the hospital in 48 hours. Not an awesome record. I came home to feed the dogs and wait for Mom to call and let me know when to pick them up again.

There's one day left of my vacation, and I really hope it gets better from here on out.

for future reference

Rethinking reference is nothing new, and I'm unlikely to come up with any startling revelations. All I know is that I'm doing more and more instruction every term and it's my first priority. Balancing my time between direct service (reference and instruction) and my other duties is hard, and naturally I'm trying to figure out where best to expend my time and effort. My whole department, like just about every reference department at academic libraries, is trying to figure out what to do about this.

I work the late reference shift on Wednesday (attention stalkers!), and every week as I sit here answering mostly directional or factual questions, I think we might as well hire students to staff the desk at night and on weekends. But at least once every shift I end up with something more advanced, like teaching somebody how to use the ERIC thesaurus, finding the American Antiquities style guide online, or helping a student come up with alternative keywords for better searches in communications databases. I wonder what impact removing professional librarians from the desk would have on our patrons. I don't know our collection nearly as well as I'd like, but I can walk students right to specialized sources, and I don't think we could expect student workers to learn that level of complexity.

I don't have any answers, and I'm not raising any new questions. We keep adding services, and at some point, we're going to have to let some go. Some subject librarians are doing on-site reference in their departments and others do tons of consultations from faculty referrals. We've added IM reference, and it's being used a little. I'm trying to figure out how to integrate text messaging into this service, but that's just one item on a huge list of plans/ideas. I'm doing some consultations and a lot of instruction that's leading to students dropping by my office for help. I never thought I'd want to give up parts of my job, but if I could spend less time on reference, it might help with balance.

Just thinking out loud here.

I'm in a food mood

crunchy sexy roll

There's a new sushi place in Laramie, and I finally checked it out today at lunch. The lack of sushi in town has been a fairly significant issue for me, so I'm really rooting for this place to last. I ordered four pieces of ebi and a "crunchy sexy roll," all of which was good. The description sounded like the amazing "country rolls" I had at Sushi Afloat several years back, which I've never seen duplicated. It wasn't the same, but it was good. This awesomely named roll has tempura shrimp and crab inside and is topped with spicy sauce and two colors of roe. Fancy and tasty, though I wasn't expecting eight pieces and only made it through five. I also got four pieces of ebi, a longtime favorite nigiri option. The shrimp was sweet and tender, but I would have preferred more wasabi between the shrimp and rice. The presentation was very nice, too. I'm a sucker for that stuff.

another book meme

I ganked this from Doppelganger, as usual. 50 Books is my go-to book/reading blog, after all.

Total number of books I own
Too many. Actually, I have no idea. I've cataloged 353 on LibraryThing, but that's not close to accurate. Some of those are library books I've blogged about, so I don't actually own them. On the other hand, I haven't even gotten to all my bookcases at home, and I seem to keep accumulating books at work because of various discussion groups.

Last book I read
I fell off the book blogging bus when I read a dozen or so M.C. Beaton mysteries in a recent binge. I can't remember which one I read last, but I think it might have been Death of a Celebrity. I'm fixing to start The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie and I need to finish Discussion as a Way of Teaching for two different discussion groups on campus.

Last book I bought
I'm a heavy library user and have kind of stopped buying books. I think the last one I actually purchased was Flight, also by Sherman Alexie, back in the spring. (I've since forced it on several friends, who agree it's awesome.)

Five meaningful books
I guess I can choose to define meaningful any way I wish, but this is still hard. I'm going to go with books that are personally meaningful to me. This kind of feeling is really hard to describe, so I won't try to justify my choices, unless my readers comment and demand it (as if).

1. Garden of Eden, by Earnest Hemingway
2. Hard Love, by Ellen Wittlinger
3. Polyverse, by Lee Ann Brown
4. Despite Everything: A Cometbus Omnibus, by Aaron Cometbus
5. Desolation Angels, by Jack Kerouac
   

Wow, I even surprised myself a little there.

Great Pumpkin, it's Halloween

jack 'o lantern handiwork

The fall is slipping away so quickly I can hardly keep track of the days, let alone document them. The weather has been amazing, especially compared to last year. We've had snow twice this month, but it hasn't lasted and most days have been warm and mild. This has helped keep me walking, which seems to have improved my mood. Cold weather makes me kind of blue.

On Friday, Rick and I carved pumpkins, which I think turned out well. Mine's an alien ghost--witness the coolness. We also roasted the pumpkin seeds. Rick spiced them with cumin, cinnamon, and ginger, which was interesting (in a good way). I think I ate too many of them, though, because I had a stomach ache later that night. But it was worth it for a fun, mellow evening.

In other holiday-related news, it turns out I'm going back home for Thanksgiving. I stayed in Laramie last year because it seemed like a lot of hassle for a short trip, plus I go home for a couple of weeks over Christmas anyway. But Mom asked me to come and we found a pretty cheap ticket, so I'm going. My sister-in-law and brother are having T-Day dinner at their place, which should be fun. Have I told y'all what an awesome cook my s-i-l is? Truth. A couple of years ago, she made me a birthday dinner that rocked my socks. It was a pork loin with a blackberry reduction, a potato gratin with gruyere, and hericot verts. So you can imagine I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with. Also, it will be nice to see family and hold the nephew. Speaking of, nephew had his 9 month checkup and he's a whopping 25.5 lbs and 31.5" tall. I wonder if he'll be taller than his dad, who's 6'7".

Anyway, holiday plans are coming together, I guess. It's weird to be here, a day away from November, when it seems like I was in the middle of summer a couple of weeks ago. I kind of miss summer.

how Kaijsa keeps busy

I've been scarce around these parts, despite my best intentions. What have I been up to? Well, lots of stuff, most of which would bore you to bits. My friend Miriam and I have been trying to take walks as close to daily as possible, which has been nice and seems to be improving my energy and general attitude toward life. I think we need to ramp it up a little because it's getting too easy, although I bailed early yesterday because my ankle's been bugging me (too much wearing of the high heels at work). Another good side effect is that most of my pants are too big. Unfortunately, my wardrobe is full of things I truly love and don't want to have to spend the money to replace. You take the bad with the good, I guess.

There have been other activities lately. I continue to go to the Sunday film series in town, and a couple of weeks ago saw Once, which I loved. I got the soundtrack from the library and it's wonderful. Some Frames albums are in my request queue. This past week, I saw La Vie En Rose, which was also good, although Edith Piaf's music isn't as much my thing as Glen Hansard's.
There were also various homecoming activities going on. I didn't attend much, but did catch the sing, which I didn't know about until this year even though it's been going on for 72 years. My favorite act had to be the LDS student group doing "Thriller," complete with some of the choreography from the video. The big event for me, though, was the homecoming parade on Saturday. The university libraries float won the grand prize, which is pretty cool. I can't take any credit for this, as I was a non-participant.

So, that's been happening.

Meme time

I've been really bad about posting for the past while. There's been stuff I've wanted to say, but either I didn't feel like saying it, I got too busy to say anything, or I just was feeling crummy. How about a meme to get me back into posting?

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why?
Paperback. Specifically trade paperback because they usually have nice quality paper and are a good size. Also, paperbacks don't weigh down my giant bag too much and there's no dust jacket to mess up or lose.

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it…
I'm terrible at naming things. I'll never own a bookstore, but I guess I could name it bokhandel, which is bookstore in Swedish. I'm so boring.

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is…
I don't have any awesome quotes at hand, and I'm honestly a little too lazy to start rummaging around to find them. I have read some pretty insanely quotable books lately, the latest of which was Which Brings Me to You. I also love the following quote from Why Moms are Weird, by Pamela Ribon. I already quoted it on the book blog, but it bears repeating.

I've been romanced, dumped, caressed, fondled, and destroyed in the confines of my car. It's the shell that protects me when the rest of the world can seem so infinite. When everything in love becomes too chaotic, I can take a man to the smallest place that can contain us, force him to look at me and tell me the truth.

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be…
I don't like meeting famous people in general, and authors would be a particularly strange bunch. There's really nothing I can think of to say to them, and I suspect I'd have little fun with some of my all-time favorite authors. Like, would Hemingway get drunk and ignore me while hitting on the waitress? And would Emily Dickinson make me eat in the next room? I know some authors who are pretty rad people and fun to have meals with, but if I had to pick somebody I don't know I'd go contemporary and choose Steve Almond. He seems like a cool guy and would have lots of interesting stuff to talk about.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be…
This scenario sounds so terrible I can't even contemplate it. Denial is encoded into my DNA. After the presentation portion of my interview for my current position, I was asked to name my favorite novel of all time. I gave a five minute answer about why I can't choose, named my favorite genres, and talked about my commitment to reading all the Pulitzer winners for fiction. The other library folk in the room seemed to understand and enjoy that answer. Nerds find their own, I guess. Similarly, I'm finding it impossible to answer this question. How about the compact OED (with magnifying glass)? That would take some time to finish.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that… Magically makes all my books fit into one box that I can lift so I don't have to hire people to ship 30+ boxes next time I move.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of…
Used bookstores. I'm not very imaginative, I guess. Also, that smell doesn't get me excited.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be…
So, I suck at this meme. I also tend to like books with really fucked-up characters, and I wouldn't really want to be any of them. I think Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables series was pretty kick-ass, but I don't know if I'd want to live in olden times. I'll go with that answer, though.

9. The most overestimated book of all times is…
Oh, who knows? I haven't read a lot of the canon because of my weird and awesome undergraduate education, so a lot of the biggies are off my radar. In the past decade I've been underwhelmed by critical and popular favorites like A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (insufferable).

10. I hate it when a book… Is really awesome and I fall madly in love with it only for it to either fall apart in the end (Middlesex) or be the only thing the author ever writes that's any good (Como Agua Para Chocolate).

I found this book meme at 50 Books. Doppelganger and I have similar meme tagging policies. If you want to do this, consider yourself tagged.

Arcade Fire

We got there early!

On Monday, I went to Red Rocks with ten other music lovers for the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem concert. I almost couldn't believe I was actually going because I bought the tickets so long ago. The show was really great and despite a storm warning, the weather was perfect. Seriously, it was one of the best live shows I've seen in a long time. Both bands sounded great, but my heart belongs to the Arcade Fire. They were so fun! I can't believe I've never seen them live before.

Actually, what I can't believe is how long it took me to become a fan. Way back when Funeral was new in late 2004, so many people recommended it to me and said it was something I'd love. I think I bought it on one of my CD buying binges at Sonic Boom because it was on sale. It sat unopened and unloved for a few months before I tried it out. It's hard to believe now, but when I finally put it on, I didn't think it was anything special and would only occasionally put it on as background music. What was I thinking?

It wasn't until I was driving my new car from Seattle to Laramie in August 2006 that I finally really listened to the album. As you might know, radio between Eastern Washington and Southeastern Wyoming is pretty scarce, so I relied on the few CDs I'd grabbed at the last minute to get me through two days of driving alone through the west. This is how I burned out on Death Cab's Plans album. Anyway, as I was driving east out of Spokane and the sun was setting, I can remember turning up the volume on the car stereo and really listening to Funeral for the first time and being absolutely blown away. I've been in love with the Arcade Fire ever since and can't believe I wasted two years I could have been listening to them. Neon Bible is amazing, of course, but Funeral is my first love and you don't get over that.

It's hard to describe a concert. I took lots of pictures, but not many turned out well. I have a really hard time holding still enough when not using the flash, so lots of them came out blurry. The best of them are on my flickr. Cass's turned out a lot better, and she put some good ones up on Wyoming Beat.

I only recorded one clip, but it's from one of my favorite songs:

Uber Cool Nerd

Only 9% awkward!

Link via Robot & Vine.

Sort of homesick, sort of not

Tonight I will be missing the Dinosaur Jr./Band of Horses show at Neumos. I'm mostly happy to be back to my regular life, but I read the Seattle papers online and listen to KEXP, which continues to make me wistful and a bit sad to be missing fall in the northwest. The PNW spring means gray whales and the fall means grey, drizzly days that are cool but not cold, perfect for holing up with a coffee and a book. It's the opposite of here, with a long, mild fall and a short winter. The past two chilly mornings have been reminding me that I get to look forward to a short fall and long, drawn-out winter. In preparation, I busted out my cold-weather clothes this weekend and took stock. I'm going to have to start wearing socks here pretty soon, and that makes me sad.

The most boring post ever. You've been warned.

I'm in the coffee shop that won't let me access the Googles, but I cleverly fixed that problem by remote desktopping into my work computer so I can use their non-blocking network. Weird network issues aside, this place has a much nicer atmosphere than the other coffee shop. Kaijsa FTW! It was nice to triumph after a day of technology besting me. My DSL went out again at home because the phone company turned off the wrong account. Hmfh. Mysteriously, my phone still works, so I don't know if I buy that explanation. Also, the local Direct TV subcontractor postponed my install indefinitely at the last minute because of some alleged new regulation in this state that's limiting their ability to hook up more people. I'm betting it's because they suck. So I'm going with Dish Network. Maybe this time I won't take half a day off for no good reason.

Anyway, I'm back home and at work after my non-restful vacation. It was hard to sleep while I was there because it was so warm and muggy. I grew up in the PNW and like some moisture in the air, but it was ridiculous this past week. My hair was so curly that it tangled like mad and all the little short pieces near my face were always rumpled up and making me look bed-headed. Between the humidity and the excesses of time I spent in the car, I was tired out. I left my parent's place way too early yesterday morning to fly out at 6:00am. I got to Denver around 10:00 (because of the time change) and drove into Laramie just before 1:00pm. That gave me just enough time to drag my stuff into the house, shower and change, and get to the reference desk by 2:00. By the time I got off the late desk shift at 10:00, I was exhausted but so wound up I couldn't sleep. I ended up watching three episodes of Big Love. I was up for about 22 hours straight and still didn't sleep well. I get this way sometimes.

My insomnia is nothing new, but traveling makes it worse. When I get to this level of sleep deprivation, it screws with my appetite, too. I forget to eat, which probably adds to my fatigue, but I just don't feel hungry. As soon as I get a good solid chunk of sleep in I'll probably want a pizza or something terrible for me. I'm not drinking anything with caffeine in it after noon, but need my coffee in the mornings.

In other news, I only looked at my work email a couple of times while I was gone and it exploded. That's one of the reasons I'm here and online. I can power through emails in the evenings and sometimes that's easier than trying to catch up at work.

Ugh, they're closing. I told you this would be boring.

End of vacation

I spent Sunday and Monday mostly just hanging out with family. On Sunday, Dad and I visited Grandma and then went to see Pirates 3 at the Crest, the second-run theater in our old neighborhood. I don't always get to spend time alone with Dad, so that was nice. My mom and I did a little shopping, but I was pretty good and didn't go crazy this time. Today, SJ and I had breakfast in my hometown and hit the outlets on the reservation. I didn't buy anything, but spent time fondling lots of purses and fancy cookware. Then Mom and I ran a few errands and returned half of the stuff I bought yesterday (buyer's remorse). I'm only coming home with four tops and some shoes. Last time I was here, I had to borrow a suitcase from my parents to get everything home with me

So nothing major happened in the latter part of vacation. Dad and I rode bicycles around the neighborhood on Sunday, and I played with the dogs. Although we ate out several times, I didn't manage to have Indian, Vietnamese, sushi, or Dick's. I did have that Thai at the Seattle Center, but it hardly counts. I also had zero lattes while I was here, which is extra unusual. I complain all the time about not having a coffee shop I like in Laramie, then I get to Seattle and only drink diner coffee a couple of times. Never thankful for what I have.

I kind of feel like I didn't make the most of this trip in more important ways, too. I didn't make a lot of plans before coming to town because my family always thinks I spend too much time with friends and too little with them, but if I'd lined things up I might have been able to see more people. I didn't even call two of my close childhood friends because I knew I wouldn't have time for a visit. I always feel like a jerk when people find out I've been in town and didn't call them, but there's no way I can visit everybody in a week and still spend time with the family. Now that my parents live in a more suburban area, I pretty much have to borrow a car to get around because the buses take so long and stop running pretty early in the evening. I'd hoped to see my grandma one more time, but kind of ran out of energy and time today.

What a complainer! As I told a friend a while ago, it's actually a good problem to have. I shouldn't complain that I have lots of people in my life who care about me and want to spend time with me. It just feels crappy to disappoint them.

I'm leaving for the airport in just under four hours, so I might need to get a little sleep. I'm crossing my fingers to bump again because I'd really like to nap in a more comfy chair on the way home. I have get to be on the reference desk at 2:00pm and for the late evening shift.

Bumbershoot

The happy Bumbershooters

With some regret, I decided to go to Bumbershoot for just one day this year. I chose Saturday because the lineup looked most appealing to me, but there are a few things I'm sad I'm missing today and Monday. And like most years, the schedulers created really annoying conflicts for me, so I missed Carrie Akre, The Cops, The Lashes, and Menomena. I didn't even try to see any of the comedy after watching people stand in line all day last year.

I started off the day at the mainstage at Memorial Stadium for back-to-back Crowded House and Shins action. I met up with Melanie and Shannon in the stands and we sat back to enjoy the show. Crowded House sounded wonderful and almost everything they played was a hit. Stupid VH1 called them one-hit-wonders in one of those lame specials a couple of years ago, which still makes me go ballistic. They were hit machines! Anyway, it was a lovely show. Three Imaginary Girls reports that Eddie Vedder joined them for "Something So Strong," but I completely missed that. It was hard to understand the stage patter, and I was a ways from the stage, but it's funny that I was oblivious to the guest star. I did make a little video.

Don't Dream It's Over

Shannon took off for the comedy stages and Mel and I joined her friend Erin on the other side of the stadium for The Shins. We'd seen them once before, also at Bumbershoot and before they were big, and they were really great. They played the Key and were talking about how it was the biggest venue they'd been in and asked the crowd to to the wave. We did. This year's show was good, but I kind of think their music got lost a little outdoors. It's all certainly pretty, but they're not that interesting to watch and I kind of spaced out while listening.

The Shins

After that, we wandered into the Center House to say hello to Michael, who was working an arts and crafts booth for Art With Heart, an organization with which he volunteers. After catching up and crafting our wish hearts, we grabbed mediocre Thai food and found our friends Elizabeth and Jasper, who I hadn't seen in too long. The four of us went out to Mural Amp and caught the last half of the The Avett Brothers, a quirky bluegrass/country/rock band. They were very good, and I'm interested in hearing more from them. Evidently, I'm the last to hear about them because the biggest crowd I can remember at that stage was there.

Packed Mural Amphitheatre for Avett Brothers

After a quick spin through Flatstock and a free sample of pumpkin Frappacinos, we went back to the Mural Amphitheatre for the Gourds. As expected, they were super fun. Mel and I agreed that we 2/3 love them and that certain people we know would love them for exactly the 1/3 reason we don't (jam-bandyness). The crowd was definitely lacking in hipsters, which is kind of refreshing. Maybe I've been in Wyoming too long, because I kept wanting to move the emo bangs out of the kids' eyes all day. Or maybe I'm just getting old. Anyway, the Gourds were entertaining for sure. I wish my video of "Gin and Juice" had turned out better, cuz I'd link it. Instead, I'll tell you that in the picture below they're singing about fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and titties. As you do.

The Gourds

After the Gourds, Mel and I hoofed it up Mercer to where I'd left my car. I had wanted to see Devotchka, but I was both tired and satisfied and it was kind of nice to get out of there before dark. I had a good, if too-brief Bumbershoot experience this year. We totally went the non-indie rock route this year, so it's no wonder I never ran into King Jumpsuit. If only I'd gone to see Menomena! Next time...

Two and three

I kind of slacked off on picture taking yesterday and today. It got kind of grey and sprinkly today, so I wasn't outside looking around as much. But on with my boring saga.

I slept in a little on Thursday, which felt nice, then lazed in bed reading for a while. I'm reading JPod and loving it, but I only get to read little bits at a time because of vacation busyness. Mom and I went to the salon for pedicures and brow arches. This time my manicurist (who's also a reflexologist and gives awesome massages) put a heated pillow under my neck, which was just fabulous. Between that and the lavendar eye pillow, I pretty much dozed during the whole treatment. I picked a great color, too.

Afterward, we went to lunch and did a little shopping. I tried on approximately 73 tops at Nordstrom, most of which were on sale. I ended up buying two that were not on sale. Hmph. I did manage to resist the scads of cute dresses on amazing half-off sale and will likely regret this. Most of them were sundresses or sleeveless, but it's not like I wouldn't wear them again next year. But we'd been at the mall for over an hour and that's about the point where I always start getting a headache and the extreme urge to run away. I think it might be a combination of the fluorescent lights and the lack of air in there. My mall allergy also saved me from caving in and getting the most awesome clutch in the world. I can't get it out of my mind, seriously.

After lunch, we swung by Grandma's and visited with her and her caregiver. For those of you not in the know, after Grandpa died, Grandma built a new house next to the original house and my parents bought the family home and lived there for several years. Almost two years ago, they sold it and moved to a smaller place. The new owners tore down the garage and shortplatted the lot again (it was originally a triple) and are building a GIANT house next to the old one. It looks ridiculous. North City is full of little post-war two and three bedroom homes built by working class families. The new construction just sticks out like a sore thumb. I guess that's what happens when Seattle Magazine proclaims a once-modest neighborhood "hot." It's gross.

It was nice to see Grandma and Barb, but Mom and I had to run back down to Northgate to meet my brother and his family and Dad for dinner. There's been a lot of running around and eating in restaurants already.

Friday (today) was fun. I started my day by going out to breakfast. SJ and her kids picked me up and took me to the Pancake Haus in Edmonds. I had Swedish pancakes, bacon, and awesome company. I can't believe how much the girls have grown up, especially Franny. She wasn't even two when SJ and I met and now she's a second-grader with wicked style and the ability to make great conversation. Of course SJ and I can't get together without shopping for something completely ridiculous, so we hit Fred and between the two of us, bought gold sandals, plastic jewelry, and socks with skulls on them. I always have fun with her.

Immediately after I got home, Mom and I left for West Seattle. Courtney had invited us over for lunch. Yes, it does seem like all I'm doing is eating, but with the time it takes to get from the suburbs to the city and all over the place, my meals really are spaced out okay. Traffic was the pits on the way home, but I actually find it comforting to see so many people in one place.

I ended my day by getting together with four of my girlfriends for dinner and chat over at on of their places. We ordered a goat cheese and sundried tomato pizza and drank limoncello, followed by lavender ice cream. So girly and awesome. I've been ordered to move back here. Believe me, it's tempting sometimes. We also vowed to resurrect the beauty blog and start a group movie blog. That group of women always comes up with the best book and film recommendations and it was fun to throw out suggestions to one another. It's also really cool that they always arrange for all of us to get together when I come to town, and all of them are busy, busy people. My friends are so smart and awesome and fun.

Tomorrow is Bumbershoot time!

Day zero-point-five

I'm not sure "what I'm doing on my vacation" is very exciting to anybody but me, but I'm reporting it nevertheless.

So, I flew to Seattle yesterday. My drive down to Denver was uneventful and I made pretty good time. It only took 20 minutes from the time I parked to my arrival at my gate in C concourse. So I had a lot of time to sit around and notice how everybody in that airport was wearing the same three shades of brown and blue. So boring. But hey, the flight was oversold and I got to bump to first class. So I spent the flight eating hot nuts and drinking coffee from a real mug in a seat that my ass didn't even completely fill. Win.

The day was really pretty, as I previously mentioned, so I took several photos out the window of the plane. It was exciting to see this as we descended.

Water!

The first thing I saw when I got to Sea-Tac was that even though roughly half the people there were wearing black, the other half were dressed in much brighter, prettier colors than the people in Denver. The first thing I smelled was coffee. Yum. Also, everybody walks and talks noticeably faster here. Mom met me at baggage claim and I ended up spending $3 for water because I was so thirsty. I took over the driving to give her a break and also because I don't mind the traffic. Because I was behind the wheel, I made her take lots of pictures as we approached downtown. I-5 had just reopened, but I took my favorite route, 509/99, so I could come through downtown on the (condemned and falling down) viaduct.

Lovely

It was lunch time, so we headed to Fishermen's Terminal so we could eat at Chinook's. I needed to taste the sea, so I ate a huge pile of crab. Then I took pictures of the boats. It was a gorgeous day and I'm finding that 80F here is a much sweatier affair than in Laramie, what with all the humidity. It's kind of off-setting the breathing benefits of being at sea level.

Dungeoness crab caesar salad

Boats at Fishermen's Terminal

When we got home, I totally crashed. A couple of hours later, I was jolted awake by my phone going off (text message) in my pocket. It was good timing, because dinner was ready and my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were driving up. We had a nice family dinner and I did lots of baby holding. Then I crashed again.

I'm here

Mt. Rainier

I've been in the Seattle Metro for twelve hours and already have posted 40 or so pictures. The mountain was out today, so I got some pretty good shots from the plane. I've been up since just after 4am Mountain Time and am utterly shattered, but will post more detail tomorrow.

Idiot box

Regular readers (hee!) may remember the much crying and gnashing of teeth resulting from my ill-fated dalliance with local cable company (no link love). Anyway, for the past six months I've been convincing myself that I don't need television and that in fact, my life is much better without it. This was surely true during my travel-busy spring and over summer, when there are many things to do and opportunities for socializing. Maybe it's because I've been talking about cable and maybe it's because fall is coming, but I'm starting to realize that several cold months are ahead of me and I already squirm between shipments from Netflix.

So last night I took the plunge and ordered me up some Direct TV. It will be installed the morning after I come back from vacation, giving me two weeks or so before the big fall television premiers. Unfortunately--or maybe fortunately--lots of the shows I used to watch are off the air and what remains are one million CSIs and Law & Orders. That's okay, for I shall soon be reunited with a few gems. I am looking forward to my old friends The Office, 30 Rock, and Friday Night Lights (Tim Riggins!) and sickly excited for Gossip Girl. Don't judge me. I require one trashy option each season. At least.

Also, I can tell myself I will take advantage of the 185 channels and find a good workout show or two. The DVR should be good for that.