Sunday, February 17, 2013

Musings

It really is so strange that I do not make this connection more often, but my Pinterest page is a good source of things about which to write. 

One thing that continually perplexes me are the pinners who post things about workouts and healthy lifestyle and then go and pin a recipe for deep-fried candy bars.  It really begs the question of how many Pinterest pins are truly representative of one's life goals? 

Personally, I tend more towards the clothing and humorous when and if I do pin.  Yes, I have been known to pin food and recipes, but I can tell you with all certainty that I have yet to make a single item that appears on my "Food Type Such and Such" board.  Not because I don't want to but because I never have taken the trouble to print out and use anything.

Now, I am well aware that there are many people who take and use Pinterest seriously.  My cousin is a perfect case in point.  She was married last fall, and based on my observations of both the event and her Pinterest pins, she gained a lot of actual inspiration from her findings.  From table decorations to picture poses, she really made it work for her.

Other folks, I fear are not as diligent.  If it were even possible for one single person to create all the crafts and make all the food that some people post, I would cut them some slack, but it borders on ridiculous.  And really, who has the time or energy to waste on some of this ridiculousness.  Honestly, how many people have actually gone out and created furniture from old wooden shipping pallets?  Really, you would think everyone's home was full of them based on how many people pin them.

If I had to pick just one type of pin that really sets me off the most, it would be the "inspirational quote" postings.  While I have never been a fan of downright cheesiness in any respect, I get hugely annoyed when I see things that are incorrectly attributed to the wrong person.  But hey, here it is in writing, so it must be true, right?  KNOW YOUR SOURCES, PEOPLE!!!

Pardon me for my Sunday morning rant, but I needed to get that out of my system before I find a show to watch on the computer while I exercise.  And that is for real, you guys.  And I am totally not going to post a pin about it on Pinterest.  I will just stick to the relative anonymity of this blog.  And with that, I will leave.

Friday, February 15, 2013

You know it's official. I have an appointment.

I may have mentioned this before, but it has been a long time since I had a haircut.  Over six months, to be exact.  While in the grand scheme of my life, it may not be the longest wait, in the last decade it very well may be. 

But I have put forth the effort and the wait shall soon be over.  On Thursday next, I have an appointment.  To keep going with all this proactive momentum, please note that I also have a grooming appointment for Lena on the following Saturday.  Come next Sunday, we two ladies shall be all prettied up and ready to take on the world.

Right now, as I write, my entire family is in the city of Madison of the state of Wisconsin.  It is ostensibly to celebrate both the birthdays of my brother and his betrothed, but also the actual betrothal itself as we have seen neither of them since the big news came out.  Sadly, I shall have to wait for my celebration, but I am sure when it happens it will be epic.

My weekend does not promise to be quite as amazing, but I think it will definitely be passable.  Tonight I am chilling with the pup-squad and tomorrow I have lunch plans with a friend.  These plans will bring me back to the area of my former employment, so it should be nostalgic at the very least.

Valentine's Day was, to put it succinctly, the "same as it ever was."  I am not one to really dwell on or become saddened by the fact that I am not in a relationship, so it pretty much passes by with little fanfare for me.  My mother and I went to dinner where I had my first "domestic" beer in a very long time.  I couldn't finish an entire glass.  I was not sure if I should be sad or proud.

This week it has finally started to sink in that I do not own a house any more.  It it a feeling which is long overdue, but sometimes the big things take longer to feel real.  Not that I am now plotting a course to live in Paris or Oslo, but it is nice to know that I could.

You know, I have found myself worried at times that I do not have enough entertaining information to share on this blog and that perhaps that was a bad sign.  But you know what?  I think it is actually the opposite.  Things are actually looking GOOD for me.  My house is sold, my job is going well, my friends all had their babies, I am feeling good physically and I am getting a haircut on Thursday. 

So really, I cannot complain.  Well, I suppose if I went looking for it, I could, but hey, it's Friday night and I have a holiday on Monday.  So it's pretty nice to be me right now.  But stay tuned, I guess.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Snowfall

Shocking news.  It is February in Minnesota and it is snowing.  Wow. 

Maybe you can sense my sarcasm, but if not, I was being facetious in my previous statements.  But if you go on my Facebook feed right now, you should be prepared to see that the majority of my MN located friends are posting information related to the current weather conditions.

To which, I say, "Seriously?"  I mean, how did we survive before we had Facebook to warn everyone about the weather that can clearly be seen through the window and has been in the weather predictions for almost a week?  Yesterday I went out to finally make my Christmas gift related purchase of snowshoes and boots at REI.  It had not yet begun to snow, and I expect that the amount of customers in the store were typical for a Saturday.

After that, I decided to make a stop at the local Trader Joe's to pick up some items I had been thinking about all week but had not had the energy or memory to stop and buy.  Big mistake.  Not only was I dealing with Saturday shoppers, but I suspect I was also working alongside the preppers.  As in the people who were "prepping" for the snow apocalypse that was sure to keep them trapped and housebound for 2-3 weeks.  Right?

If there is one thing that I can say for certain after nearly 33 years living in this part of the world, it is that heavy snowfall has never kept me indoors for more than 48 hours.  We in MN certainly have the infrastructure that allows for not-too-long delays in road clearing.  We own shovels, snow-blowers and have plows on our pickup trucks.  I own several pairs of snow resistant boots, have numerous winter coats, hats, mittens and scarves. 

Heck, I even have snowshoes now. 

There is NO WAY I am going to starve to death in this weather.  In fact, I may go so far as to say that I will very likely be going to work in the morning.

Now, I realize that not everyone has the luxury of living in the city within a few miles of their office.  My father, for instance, faces a daily commute of over an hour in either direction.  But he has made allowances for this in that he brought home his access equipment and is fully prepared to stay home tomorrow if the conditions forbid it. 

I should probably end this entry soon.  I suspect that my father will require my assistance to start clearing out the driveway and sidewalk before the accumulation reaches the six inch mark.  Because, you know, this isn't our first blizzard and likely will not be our last.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Dream weaver

I don't know if anyone else can relate, but when it comes to recurring dreams, I have quite a repertoire.  As a child, the predominant theme was some sort of green witch head that lived in the holes of guitars.  And Hello Kitty markers.  Any thoughts?

As I grew in age and experiences, new issues came to light.  In addition to the wholly awful "math" dreams in which I cannot stop my poor brain from processing mathematical "equations," I acquired the "band sequence" and the "absentee storyline."

In the band vision, I arrive in the instrument locker area of my high school with a sense of impending doom.  Not only do I suddenly realize that I cannot remember how to play the clarinet, but I also cannot recall the combination to my padlock to retrieve it.  Oh, and guess what?  Apparently I have been skipping choir rehearsal all year as well and am probably failing it. 

I do have theories into this dream, but I will leave those out at this time.

The next dream takes place on my college campus towards the end of a semester.  It happens at the point at which I realize that there is one class on my schedule that I have simply neglected to attend ALL SEMESTER.  As I never officially dropped the course, I am likely failing and can kiss the Dean's List goodbye.

Such traumatic experiences, right?

Well, as of last night I think I can add a new one to the list.

In this reverie, I find myself up in my townhouse with my father and my brothers.  It is morning and we are all waking up to discover that the place is a MESS.  Seriously.  My baby brother has painted all over the walls in my bedroom in some hideous pattern and there is junk everywhere.  In the closets, cupboards, on the floor.  You name it. 

All of a sudden, the horrifying truth dawns upon me:  I have sold this house.  Fear takes over as I realize that the new owners can arrive at any moment, and my stuff is still all over the place and the walls are trashed.  This is not the condition it was in for their final walk-through, and I am convinced that the whole deal will now fall through.  (Never mind that it is technically already sold.)

When I awoke, I had to tell myself several times before I stepped out of bed that it wasn't real.  I sold my house and every room was empty.  I double checked the closets twice.  There was absolutely no paint on the walls.

Even though I recovered this morning, I have a strong sense that this dream will visit again someday as it carries the same sense of fear, anxiety and panic that the others of this type have exhibited.  Perhaps someone trained in the science of dream interpretation could tell me what these scenarios say about me and my personality issues.  If you are such a person, please, before offering your two cents, stop and consider whether or not what you have to say will make the dreams stop or if they will just confirm that I am secretly an extremely neurotic person.

Tonight I am hoping for something a little lighter.  Maybe some nice, handsome man with an Australian accent.  Maybe with ice cream.  And a puppy. 

Friday, February 1, 2013

Cold enough for ya?

After a week that has been, quite frankly, somewhat surreal, I am excited to have a weekend to lay low and not move furniture.  The fact that I am not a property owner any longer has not completely sunk into my brain yet.  At least I don't believe it has.  It will probably not be fully realized until a full month has passed where I do not have to pay any of the associated bills.  Then I will party.

Today in Minnesota, it was pretty cold.  People might argue with me on that, but I didn't have to spend much time in it, thank goodness.  In a fit of boredom today, I hopped on to the website for the local newspaper.  Aside from my extreme annoyance at their amount of unnecessary pop-up ads, I find it to be a useful source of news/distractions.  Today, they had a reader poll asking whether people preferred weather such as we are experiencing right now or the 100 degree high humidity days of summer. 

It must have been a big day for idiots on the website, because the second choice was slightly ahead.  To be fair, asking such a pointed question in the midst of a cold snap probably creates some bias.  I would suspect that if asked the same question during the latter weather, the results would have been different.

Truly, I find complaints about cold in Minnesota winter to be a bit ridiculous.  This is how it is in this part of the country.  This isn't Florida.  It isn't Guatemala.  And it isn't Antarctica either.  In total, how many days out of the year must we endure extreme cold?  Probably less than 10.  Now think back to last summer.  How many of those miserable, sticky, hard-to-breathe days did we have?  Well more than 10 I would say.  So if you can't take the cold, get out of the tundra.  *Yes, I know this isn't the tundra, technically speaking.  Just go with it.