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.