If my last entry left some of you on the edge of your seats wondering if I survived my Monday, worry no more. Here I am. Barely.
OK, that is an exaggeration. I am totally here.
Yesterday I had a bit of a brain explosion due to the fact that I realized that my next two weeks are going to be a bit busier than I had anticipated. With visitors rolling in from out of town to my epic trek up to Fargo for the Hallinglag where I will be hanging out with a bunch of old Norwegians, it is sure to be exciting.
The factor which really complicates everything is school. No, the course work is not overwhelming and I am certain that I will be able to complete it in a satisfactory manner. It's just that having class twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays really messes with my attempts to spend time at both my parents' house and my own place. So maybe Lena complicates things a bit as well, but in a good way.
Grrr. I just spent some time outlining the intricacies of my upcoming schedule before I realized that it was incredibly boring. Instead, I will keep it brief. There are going to be a TON of people passing through my parents' house in the next couple of weeks. From relatives to friends to dogs, it is sure to be a bit chaotic. But fun, always fun.
I think that I may need to utilize this blog space to ask you readers once again to be my Accountabilibuddies. This weekend is looking to be a pretty quiet one for me. The calm before the storm, if you will. I would really like for the weather to be decent. Not just because it is nice to have sunshine and not rain, but because I think it is time to use my new bike. It is sitting in the garage, looking all pretty and awesome, but it really needs to be taken out on a big journey.
No, not across the state or anything. Just maybe up to Lake Harriet. Or Lake Calhoun. I am always a bit torn about it because it means that my dog cannot accompany me. I did find some really funny dog trailer carriers at the bike shop, but I struggle with the purpose of such a device. Essentially it is like one of those kid carrier trailers, but smaller.
While it could be useful for someone traveling with their dog, I cannot see the point of encasing a wildly energetic terrier mix in one for what would surely be a frustrating and frightening ride around the neighborhood. It certainly wouldn't give her any exercise which in turn really doesn't soothe my concern over the fact that a bikeride excludes her participation.
So I guess that the solution is to do both a walk and a ride. Take Lena out for a stroll and then go off on my own to give my bike some exercise. I guess that is a double benefit for me. I just hope my motivation holds, which brings me back to you, dear readers. Now that I have told you my intentions, I have more determination to actually follow through for fear of disappointing you. Right? Right.
Showing posts with label grad school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grad school. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Good news and TMI
Oh, Minnesota, you fickle girl. One day you decide to roast your inhabitants and the next day you stick them back in the fridge. While I hardly know why you seem determined to treat us like leftover pizza, I only ask that your next step is not to give us a quick reheat in the microwave. Thank you.
Good news, people. My brother is coming home for a visit and arrives TODAY! My mother craftily made him a dentist appointment this afternoon so that he would feel motivated to get himself on the road from Madison before mid-afternoon and this means that he will be at the house when Lena and I arrive tonight. He is not coming alone either - Kady the Pooper Dog is coming as well. Sadly, Kady's mama, my brother's lovely ladyfriend Heidi cannot come, but we will miss her. Not just Kady.
More good news: my ant problem seems to be abating. Not only that, but a wee spider seems to have taken advantage of the ant-zone and has set up shop. Normally I might find this disturbing, but as long as it doesn't turn into a wee spider infestation, I'm cool with it.
If you can believe it, I have even more good news. OK, so this is only quasi-good news as there really isn't a reason to celebrate or anything, but still. While casually browsing a nonprofit job board the other day, I happened upon a job posting at a local law library, so I checked it out. As luck would have it, the position is at a level for which I could possibly qualify, AND it just so happens that I know someone who already works there. How is THAT for networking? To think that just recently I had been privately chastising myself for not getting "out there" in the world of professional associations and that the benefit of knowing the right people would forever elude me.
To be fair, I have only just applied for the job. In fact, I probably won't have any kind of response for a good week or so. But I did contact my peep over at the library and she encouraged me to go for it and even volunteered to be one of my references. So even if I don't end up getting the job, at least I am now getting an opportunity to make a pretty good shot at it (and hopefully get through an interview process).
This is also funny because I had just been thinking to myself that unless some really good postings came up there was a strong chance that I would not fulfill my goal of finding a new job by the end of summer. Again, I'm not going to get ahead of myself to the point of getting all nostalgic about my tenure at my current company. True, there have been good times. In fact, there have been AWESOME times at this place. My reasons for leaving are not that this has been a bad place to spend the last decade; I am ready for a new challenge. It is a process that started when I made the decision to go to grad school two years ago. It is just a little hard to imagine that my decision is really going to affect my life in such a profound way.
Enough of that sentimental rambling crap. Does anyone have any fun plans for the summer? Seriously, although my summer is somewhat busy, it is thus far completely without lake access. I believe I have whined about this in previous entries, but this is because my usual cabin funtime outlet is either being cancelled (at worst) or delayed (at best) due to the impending birth of my friend's first child. There have been hints that we could perhaps attempt a late summer/early fall voyage, but the end of July is really the best lake time. We certainly could hang out and relax at the cabin any time, but naked swim day may be off the agenda. That's right, you heard me and that's ALL I'm going to say about it.
Nice, right? Well, if you know me in person, you probably already know about the tradition. As much as I would like to say that what happens in Ely stays in Ely, the four of us have told far too many outsiders to be modest about it any more. I will only say that the details cannot be divulged in writing. It's that sacred.
So then. Well. I hope you all have a lovely day!
Good news, people. My brother is coming home for a visit and arrives TODAY! My mother craftily made him a dentist appointment this afternoon so that he would feel motivated to get himself on the road from Madison before mid-afternoon and this means that he will be at the house when Lena and I arrive tonight. He is not coming alone either - Kady the Pooper Dog is coming as well. Sadly, Kady's mama, my brother's lovely ladyfriend Heidi cannot come, but we will miss her. Not just Kady.
More good news: my ant problem seems to be abating. Not only that, but a wee spider seems to have taken advantage of the ant-zone and has set up shop. Normally I might find this disturbing, but as long as it doesn't turn into a wee spider infestation, I'm cool with it.
If you can believe it, I have even more good news. OK, so this is only quasi-good news as there really isn't a reason to celebrate or anything, but still. While casually browsing a nonprofit job board the other day, I happened upon a job posting at a local law library, so I checked it out. As luck would have it, the position is at a level for which I could possibly qualify, AND it just so happens that I know someone who already works there. How is THAT for networking? To think that just recently I had been privately chastising myself for not getting "out there" in the world of professional associations and that the benefit of knowing the right people would forever elude me.
To be fair, I have only just applied for the job. In fact, I probably won't have any kind of response for a good week or so. But I did contact my peep over at the library and she encouraged me to go for it and even volunteered to be one of my references. So even if I don't end up getting the job, at least I am now getting an opportunity to make a pretty good shot at it (and hopefully get through an interview process).
This is also funny because I had just been thinking to myself that unless some really good postings came up there was a strong chance that I would not fulfill my goal of finding a new job by the end of summer. Again, I'm not going to get ahead of myself to the point of getting all nostalgic about my tenure at my current company. True, there have been good times. In fact, there have been AWESOME times at this place. My reasons for leaving are not that this has been a bad place to spend the last decade; I am ready for a new challenge. It is a process that started when I made the decision to go to grad school two years ago. It is just a little hard to imagine that my decision is really going to affect my life in such a profound way.
Enough of that sentimental rambling crap. Does anyone have any fun plans for the summer? Seriously, although my summer is somewhat busy, it is thus far completely without lake access. I believe I have whined about this in previous entries, but this is because my usual cabin funtime outlet is either being cancelled (at worst) or delayed (at best) due to the impending birth of my friend's first child. There have been hints that we could perhaps attempt a late summer/early fall voyage, but the end of July is really the best lake time. We certainly could hang out and relax at the cabin any time, but naked swim day may be off the agenda. That's right, you heard me and that's ALL I'm going to say about it.
Nice, right? Well, if you know me in person, you probably already know about the tradition. As much as I would like to say that what happens in Ely stays in Ely, the four of us have told far too many outsiders to be modest about it any more. I will only say that the details cannot be divulged in writing. It's that sacred.
So then. Well. I hope you all have a lovely day!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Spicy Summer School Time!
OMG, you guys. I wrote 20 blog entries last month! Who would have guessed that I would be so prolific in the month where I had to finish two major papers and presentations, got a new car and bike, watched the dogs, hunted coyotes and went bowling? Not that I'm bragging because I realize that quality is generally better than quantity and I am not sure I can attest to the meaningfulness of my recent musings.
To state the obvious, it is June. Well, I hope it is obvious. I suppose if you are one of those people who never looks at a calendar, does not own a watch and sits home all day watching talk shows, you may not note the passing of time.
For me it is impossible not to notice that a new month has arrived. There is the fact that I work in an environment that is time and date important, meaning that I have constant reminders all around me to make sure I do not forget the time, date or planet in which I reside.
The other big ticket item on the agenda for today is that tonight is my first night of summer school. From now until July 20 I will have class on Mondays and Wednesdays in the glorious and adrenaline-filled field of government documents. I am only partially kidding when I call it glorious. This is due to the fact that I acknowledge that talking and learning about the millions of documents produced by the government and various agencies can seem overwhelming and perhaps a trifle dry.
Perhaps it is my Political Science minor coming back into play, but I really like learning about government functions. Where some people are completely turned off by bureaucracy, I find it fascinating. This is the real and legitimate documentation of what really happens in the governing of our country, and I have always been a fan of seeking out the real source as opposed to taking the word of the news media which always tends to sensationalize.
I will now step off of my soapbox and apologize for going off on my little patriotic nerd tangent.
You cannot see it, but I just deleted several paragraphs worth of my explaining the boring details of how my plans to spend at least a few weekends at my house this summer are being actively derailed. At first I thought it might be entertaining or even a tiny bit interesting, but after reading it again I realized that it was not. As you all know I am nothing if not cognizant of your entertainment needs, so I trust that you will appreciate my omission.
In closing, I give you a little fun fact. If you are looking for a way to jazz up your boring microwaved personal-size low calorie pizza, sriracha sauce is an excellent resource. In fact, sriracha has many more uses than just pizza. Like macaroni and cheese. Or popcorn. Just be careful not to let your love for this condiment drive you to think that you are a spicy food ninja master and purchase a jar of Mrs. Renfro's Habanero Salsa. Oh, I finished it off (eventually), but I paid dearly for it. Stick with what works. Know your limits. That is all.
To state the obvious, it is June. Well, I hope it is obvious. I suppose if you are one of those people who never looks at a calendar, does not own a watch and sits home all day watching talk shows, you may not note the passing of time.
For me it is impossible not to notice that a new month has arrived. There is the fact that I work in an environment that is time and date important, meaning that I have constant reminders all around me to make sure I do not forget the time, date or planet in which I reside.
The other big ticket item on the agenda for today is that tonight is my first night of summer school. From now until July 20 I will have class on Mondays and Wednesdays in the glorious and adrenaline-filled field of government documents. I am only partially kidding when I call it glorious. This is due to the fact that I acknowledge that talking and learning about the millions of documents produced by the government and various agencies can seem overwhelming and perhaps a trifle dry.
Perhaps it is my Political Science minor coming back into play, but I really like learning about government functions. Where some people are completely turned off by bureaucracy, I find it fascinating. This is the real and legitimate documentation of what really happens in the governing of our country, and I have always been a fan of seeking out the real source as opposed to taking the word of the news media which always tends to sensationalize.
I will now step off of my soapbox and apologize for going off on my little patriotic nerd tangent.
You cannot see it, but I just deleted several paragraphs worth of my explaining the boring details of how my plans to spend at least a few weekends at my house this summer are being actively derailed. At first I thought it might be entertaining or even a tiny bit interesting, but after reading it again I realized that it was not. As you all know I am nothing if not cognizant of your entertainment needs, so I trust that you will appreciate my omission.
In closing, I give you a little fun fact. If you are looking for a way to jazz up your boring microwaved personal-size low calorie pizza, sriracha sauce is an excellent resource. In fact, sriracha has many more uses than just pizza. Like macaroni and cheese. Or popcorn. Just be careful not to let your love for this condiment drive you to think that you are a spicy food ninja master and purchase a jar of Mrs. Renfro's Habanero Salsa. Oh, I finished it off (eventually), but I paid dearly for it. Stick with what works. Know your limits. That is all.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Vehicular Ennui
Here is a harsh truth (for me): this is my last week of break before school is IN for summer. I am attempting to enjoy as much of it as I can for I have seen the syllabus and it is FULL of assignments. Boo-urns. I don't know what made me expect that this instructor would be like my last summer professor and "go easy" on us because it is, after all, summer.
On the positive side, there WILL be field trips. Four, to be exact. I am super stoked to visit the MN Legislative Library. Don't judge - it is way cooler than anything YOU will see this summer. Am I right?
Last night I went to drop off the title to my "old" car at the dealership and to pick up my certificate for my new BIKE. I think that I shall make my mother take me over to get it this weekend. Don't be mad, I'm not trying to be mean, it's just that my mother's car is the only one big enough to handle a bike inside. That is, until my father trades in his sedan for the same car as mine.
That's right, you heard me. My family is not known for accepting a wide variety of cars. Case in point: at one time we had three Camry's (of varying years) in our household. I kid you not.
So now you're thinking, "WOW! Megan's family sure is a wild and crazy bunch!"
Perhaps it is the fact that I am on break mindset, but I have started to experience a bit of wanderlust. Technically, it has been over a year since my last major vacation (to Italy) and I have no plans to take another major trip in the near future. Heck, I won't even be going up to Ely with the girls this year due to the impending arrival of young baby "Brickette."
This means that my major vacation will mainly consist of the Hallinglag in Fargo and Bonanza Valley Days in Brooten. I will certainly have my fill of old people mingling to last me for a while.
Shoot. I just realized that I have been "working" on this entry for three days. That is probably not something I should admit to given the length and quality of the entry, but I guess I will let you be the judge.
On the positive side, there WILL be field trips. Four, to be exact. I am super stoked to visit the MN Legislative Library. Don't judge - it is way cooler than anything YOU will see this summer. Am I right?
Last night I went to drop off the title to my "old" car at the dealership and to pick up my certificate for my new BIKE. I think that I shall make my mother take me over to get it this weekend. Don't be mad, I'm not trying to be mean, it's just that my mother's car is the only one big enough to handle a bike inside. That is, until my father trades in his sedan for the same car as mine.
That's right, you heard me. My family is not known for accepting a wide variety of cars. Case in point: at one time we had three Camry's (of varying years) in our household. I kid you not.
So now you're thinking, "WOW! Megan's family sure is a wild and crazy bunch!"
Perhaps it is the fact that I am on break mindset, but I have started to experience a bit of wanderlust. Technically, it has been over a year since my last major vacation (to Italy) and I have no plans to take another major trip in the near future. Heck, I won't even be going up to Ely with the girls this year due to the impending arrival of young baby "Brickette."
This means that my major vacation will mainly consist of the Hallinglag in Fargo and Bonanza Valley Days in Brooten. I will certainly have my fill of old people mingling to last me for a while.
Shoot. I just realized that I have been "working" on this entry for three days. That is probably not something I should admit to given the length and quality of the entry, but I guess I will let you be the judge.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Honey Badgers and Water Chestnuts
You may have noticed that I have updated a little bit more on my blog layout. This is due to the fact that by my mathematical calculations, I am 75% done with my graduate program. This means that after this summer's class and the two I have in the fall semester, I am graduating. Scary, right?
Also, due to the fact that everyone I work with has decided to inform me of their planned vacation time off all at once, I was forced to examine my calendar for the upcoming months and discovered that I too have some excitement forthcoming.
First of all, I am now on "break." It is a short one, to be sure, as my summer class starts on June 1. I am going to utilize this opportunity to branch out in some areas. I will have more to say on this later, I'm sure.
Second, this is a summer of weddings for me. I have the first on in June and a couple more in August. All for fun and awesome people. Should be fun!
Third, I have the Hallinglag. Oh yes, and then two weeks later is Bonanza Valley Days. More on this later as well.
Additionally, I believe that July marks my one year blogoversary! Can you believe I have actually continued to do this? While I realize that my popularity has not exactly skyrocketed in that time, I am OK with the fact that I still fly under the radar.
Finally, I would like to share something special with you. My family has recently become obsessed with a set of extremely funny videos narrated by a gentleman from the Second City Network. As I am somewhat technologically challenged at the moment, I will have to give you directions to find this on your own.
First, open a new browser window or tab.
In the URL line, type http://www.youtube.com/ (or follow this link).
In the Search line, type "Honey Badger Randall" and select the top option from results. Watch the video.
When you are done watching it for the fifth time, come back here. My brother started this craze in our family, and my father now refers to everyone as a "honey badger." It's insane.
Now for my favorite. Remain on the YouTube page, but now search for "Water Chevrotain Randall" and watch this video. It is the same narrator, but a different animal. Also, the Blue Footed Booby Dance is a good one.
Randall is the same character who does the "Sassy Gay Friend" videos that are also insanely funny. Now that I have exposed you all to the truly ridiculous humor that keeps me going, I hope you all still think I am sane and will continue to read my future musings. If not, too bad... "you stupid crowned stupid!"
Also, due to the fact that everyone I work with has decided to inform me of their planned vacation time off all at once, I was forced to examine my calendar for the upcoming months and discovered that I too have some excitement forthcoming.
First of all, I am now on "break." It is a short one, to be sure, as my summer class starts on June 1. I am going to utilize this opportunity to branch out in some areas. I will have more to say on this later, I'm sure.
Second, this is a summer of weddings for me. I have the first on in June and a couple more in August. All for fun and awesome people. Should be fun!
Third, I have the Hallinglag. Oh yes, and then two weeks later is Bonanza Valley Days. More on this later as well.
Additionally, I believe that July marks my one year blogoversary! Can you believe I have actually continued to do this? While I realize that my popularity has not exactly skyrocketed in that time, I am OK with the fact that I still fly under the radar.
Finally, I would like to share something special with you. My family has recently become obsessed with a set of extremely funny videos narrated by a gentleman from the Second City Network. As I am somewhat technologically challenged at the moment, I will have to give you directions to find this on your own.
First, open a new browser window or tab.
In the URL line, type http://www.youtube.com/ (or follow this link).
In the Search line, type "Honey Badger Randall" and select the top option from results. Watch the video.
When you are done watching it for the fifth time, come back here. My brother started this craze in our family, and my father now refers to everyone as a "honey badger." It's insane.
Now for my favorite. Remain on the YouTube page, but now search for "Water Chevrotain Randall" and watch this video. It is the same narrator, but a different animal. Also, the Blue Footed Booby Dance is a good one.
Randall is the same character who does the "Sassy Gay Friend" videos that are also insanely funny. Now that I have exposed you all to the truly ridiculous humor that keeps me going, I hope you all still think I am sane and will continue to read my future musings. If not, too bad... "you stupid crowned stupid!"
Saturday, October 16, 2010
When the going gets tough...
Even though I don't think that my lack of entries this week have raised anyone's ire, I still feel like I should apologize. My time management seems to have gone out the window lately, and I had planned to give a list of excuses, but that's lame.
Instead, I will give you some good news! My car was finished this week, so I am once again driving my own very special little Toyota. It was so wonderful to pull into the lot and see my very own car waiting for me with all its cracks and dents repaired. Perhaps it is a bit lame that I was so excited, but I won't deny it.
Other than that, life has been pretty normal. I have a group presentation due for my Management class this week that includes a Power Point presentation. Let me just say that I find Power Point presentations equally useless on both presenter and presentee ends of the spectrum. I would rather watch golf on TV than be in the same room as a Power Point show. Unfortunately, my course grade is dependent on this presentation, so my options are limited. As it is a group project, my teammates are also dependent on my participation, so I cannot in good conscience avoid participation.
On a happier note, this weekend is one of meetings with good and long-time friends. Tonight I met my favorite blog-reading newlyweds (and marathon runners), Rox and Bill for dinner. We shared stories, quoted South Park (at least Bill and I did) and ate good food. I really hope that they weren't locked out of their B & B due to our extended conversation!
If you know me outside of this blog and spent any time with me this week, you probably noticed that I have been a little bit crabby/tense/psychotic. While part of this can definitely be chalked up to PMS, I am afraid that I might be in the midst of a mid-semester break-down.
In my former educational experiences (especially high school) I was a bit particular about my grades and GPA. College mellowed me out a bit, but my unexpected good performance so far in grad school has set my personal expectations a bit too high.
After laying awake for many nights troubled over all the impending doom hanging over my head, I finally remembered something that my summer class professor told us: grades don't matter to future employers. Apparently, for most places looking to hire MLIS grads, the most important part of the qualification is that you have a degree and that it is from an accredited institution. Getting a grade lower than an "A" will not disqualify you as an applicant!!!
In order to make this work for me, I have adopted a mantra that my dad likes to use that he learned from Bill Murray's character in the movie "Meatballs." IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER! When I am stressed out about beating the grading curve, I will repeat this phrase (out loud or in my head). It will become my mantra. I will use it to remind myself that once this course is done, I will never have to repeat it and can move on to classes that are really interesting to me.
OK, now it is quite late and I still have some online searching to do, but if you happen to see or speak to me in the next 7-8 weeks, be sure to remind me of my new slogan. I'm sure I will appreciate it.
Instead, I will give you some good news! My car was finished this week, so I am once again driving my own very special little Toyota. It was so wonderful to pull into the lot and see my very own car waiting for me with all its cracks and dents repaired. Perhaps it is a bit lame that I was so excited, but I won't deny it.
Other than that, life has been pretty normal. I have a group presentation due for my Management class this week that includes a Power Point presentation. Let me just say that I find Power Point presentations equally useless on both presenter and presentee ends of the spectrum. I would rather watch golf on TV than be in the same room as a Power Point show. Unfortunately, my course grade is dependent on this presentation, so my options are limited. As it is a group project, my teammates are also dependent on my participation, so I cannot in good conscience avoid participation.
On a happier note, this weekend is one of meetings with good and long-time friends. Tonight I met my favorite blog-reading newlyweds (and marathon runners), Rox and Bill for dinner. We shared stories, quoted South Park (at least Bill and I did) and ate good food. I really hope that they weren't locked out of their B & B due to our extended conversation!
If you know me outside of this blog and spent any time with me this week, you probably noticed that I have been a little bit crabby/tense/psychotic. While part of this can definitely be chalked up to PMS, I am afraid that I might be in the midst of a mid-semester break-down.
In my former educational experiences (especially high school) I was a bit particular about my grades and GPA. College mellowed me out a bit, but my unexpected good performance so far in grad school has set my personal expectations a bit too high.
After laying awake for many nights troubled over all the impending doom hanging over my head, I finally remembered something that my summer class professor told us: grades don't matter to future employers. Apparently, for most places looking to hire MLIS grads, the most important part of the qualification is that you have a degree and that it is from an accredited institution. Getting a grade lower than an "A" will not disqualify you as an applicant!!!
In order to make this work for me, I have adopted a mantra that my dad likes to use that he learned from Bill Murray's character in the movie "Meatballs." IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER! When I am stressed out about beating the grading curve, I will repeat this phrase (out loud or in my head). It will become my mantra. I will use it to remind myself that once this course is done, I will never have to repeat it and can move on to classes that are really interesting to me.
OK, now it is quite late and I still have some online searching to do, but if you happen to see or speak to me in the next 7-8 weeks, be sure to remind me of my new slogan. I'm sure I will appreciate it.
Monday, October 11, 2010
I'll have the chipper chicken!
I have just completed a most awesome and lazy Monday off of work thanks to Columbus Day. Tomorrow I must return, but hopefully I will hear some good news about my car and the day will go quickly. I still have a bunch of reading and prep work to do for class this week, but I thrive on chaos. Right?
As I sat here tonight checking Facebook and emails, I suddenly realized that the past few weeks have been full of exciting news for people in my life. Engagements, pregnancies, anniversaries, etc. One of my best friends even announced that she and her husband are relocating to Missouri because of his job promotion. While I am super excited for this opportunity and what exciting things are in store for them, the selfish part of me is a little bummed to have them move away. Thankfully, her hubby's job is with an airline, which means that it should be relatively easy (and cheap) for her to come home to visit somewhat often.
For me, this weekend was all about vegging out and catching up on my rest, which is great. For my father, it meant going out to the family farm and checking the status of the roof on the farmhouse which was supposed to be completed over a week ago (they have yet to start). During his brief visit, he spent time with my grandfather (of microwaved water fame) and as usual, hilarity ensued.
Before I get into the story itself, I should probably make a confession. As you may or may not know, I have a tendency to recall random and sometimes useless facts. By no means do I mean to say that I'm some sort of genius. I simply mean that one of my personality "quirks" is to break off into tangential explanations when asked simple questions or conversing on a specific topic.
Until recently, I believed that this was unique to me, at least in my family. However, one day while having one of these moments of tangential thought, it suddenly occurred to me that this habit was quite definitely inherited from my paternal grandfather. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he is better at it than me. After all, he has had 84 years of practice.
Now that I have made this connection, I shall make another. My grandpa likes to read, and he makes good use of his local library. He tends to prefer non-fiction, but I have no quarrel with that. Recently, his obsession has been with bootleggers who operated during Prohibition in his MN county of residence. My dad has strangely taken a bit of an interest as well, or maybe he has just had to listen to my grandpa too much and has been brainwashed.
Anyway, on this weekend's visit, my dad discovered that my grandpa had checked out a new book. Brace yourselves, it's pretty amazing. It is "Poultry of the World" by Loyl Stromberg. At first I found this quite humorous. To make the jump from rural MN bootleggers to international poultry seemed a bit far-fetched, even for me. Then I did my research.
Not only did I locate this book on Amazon.com, but I discovered that it is not cheap to acquire. To buy it NEW from Amazon would cost $144.24!!! This kindled my interest further, so I Googled the author, Loyl Stromberg.
As a good library student, I will include a link for his mini-bio: http://www.summagallicana.it/english/loyl_stromberg.htm
After reading this webpage, I discovered many more reasons why this book would appeal to my grandpa. My initial assumption was that as a retired farmer who at one point had raised chickens himself, he had personal interest. Also, my cousins (his grandsons) are raising chickens for egg production at the moment, so perhaps this triggered his curiosity while perusing the library.
Further investigation revealed that the author, Loyl Stromberg, lives (or lived) in Minnesota. In a blog from 2007, it appeared that Loyl was in his 90's and still alive (http://poultrybookstore.blogspot.com/2007/09/loyl-stromberg-now-93-years-old.html). From the mini-bio, it sounds like Loyl may have been a Norwegian. This fact alone was probably enough to interest my grandpa. Heck, for all I know they are buddies from his Hallinglag club. (I'm not going to explain the Hallinglag right now, but I'm sure I will later.)
Why am I sharing this story? Is it because I am bored? Am I afraid that the screaming Vikings fans in my neighbor's house will keep me from getting to sleep? No to both. I am sharing this because I would like to give you an idea of what kind of interests I expect to have when I am 84. It's always good to have time to prepare.
My final piece of useful information from my father's visit came courtesy of my 10 year-old cousin. Apparently, he somehow managed to put his father's truck in the ditch this weekend somewhere by their house (on their farm). He was fine. When asked what happened, he claimed that the truck had become possessed and driven of its own accord into the ditch and then into a tree.
Rather than question the plausibility of this statement or wonder why my 10 year-old cousin was behind the wheel in the first place, I am going to take this explanation and use it for the future if anyone else asks me how my car came to be in the repair shop for two weeks. It was a case of demon possession, pure and simple. Case closed. I wonder if my insurance company would believe it?
As I sat here tonight checking Facebook and emails, I suddenly realized that the past few weeks have been full of exciting news for people in my life. Engagements, pregnancies, anniversaries, etc. One of my best friends even announced that she and her husband are relocating to Missouri because of his job promotion. While I am super excited for this opportunity and what exciting things are in store for them, the selfish part of me is a little bummed to have them move away. Thankfully, her hubby's job is with an airline, which means that it should be relatively easy (and cheap) for her to come home to visit somewhat often.
For me, this weekend was all about vegging out and catching up on my rest, which is great. For my father, it meant going out to the family farm and checking the status of the roof on the farmhouse which was supposed to be completed over a week ago (they have yet to start). During his brief visit, he spent time with my grandfather (of microwaved water fame) and as usual, hilarity ensued.
Before I get into the story itself, I should probably make a confession. As you may or may not know, I have a tendency to recall random and sometimes useless facts. By no means do I mean to say that I'm some sort of genius. I simply mean that one of my personality "quirks" is to break off into tangential explanations when asked simple questions or conversing on a specific topic.
Until recently, I believed that this was unique to me, at least in my family. However, one day while having one of these moments of tangential thought, it suddenly occurred to me that this habit was quite definitely inherited from my paternal grandfather. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he is better at it than me. After all, he has had 84 years of practice.
Now that I have made this connection, I shall make another. My grandpa likes to read, and he makes good use of his local library. He tends to prefer non-fiction, but I have no quarrel with that. Recently, his obsession has been with bootleggers who operated during Prohibition in his MN county of residence. My dad has strangely taken a bit of an interest as well, or maybe he has just had to listen to my grandpa too much and has been brainwashed.
Anyway, on this weekend's visit, my dad discovered that my grandpa had checked out a new book. Brace yourselves, it's pretty amazing. It is "Poultry of the World" by Loyl Stromberg. At first I found this quite humorous. To make the jump from rural MN bootleggers to international poultry seemed a bit far-fetched, even for me. Then I did my research.
Not only did I locate this book on Amazon.com, but I discovered that it is not cheap to acquire. To buy it NEW from Amazon would cost $144.24!!! This kindled my interest further, so I Googled the author, Loyl Stromberg.
As a good library student, I will include a link for his mini-bio: http://www.summagallicana.it/english/loyl_stromberg.htm
After reading this webpage, I discovered many more reasons why this book would appeal to my grandpa. My initial assumption was that as a retired farmer who at one point had raised chickens himself, he had personal interest. Also, my cousins (his grandsons) are raising chickens for egg production at the moment, so perhaps this triggered his curiosity while perusing the library.
Further investigation revealed that the author, Loyl Stromberg, lives (or lived) in Minnesota. In a blog from 2007, it appeared that Loyl was in his 90's and still alive (http://poultrybookstore.blogspot.com/2007/09/loyl-stromberg-now-93-years-old.html). From the mini-bio, it sounds like Loyl may have been a Norwegian. This fact alone was probably enough to interest my grandpa. Heck, for all I know they are buddies from his Hallinglag club. (I'm not going to explain the Hallinglag right now, but I'm sure I will later.)
Why am I sharing this story? Is it because I am bored? Am I afraid that the screaming Vikings fans in my neighbor's house will keep me from getting to sleep? No to both. I am sharing this because I would like to give you an idea of what kind of interests I expect to have when I am 84. It's always good to have time to prepare.
My final piece of useful information from my father's visit came courtesy of my 10 year-old cousin. Apparently, he somehow managed to put his father's truck in the ditch this weekend somewhere by their house (on their farm). He was fine. When asked what happened, he claimed that the truck had become possessed and driven of its own accord into the ditch and then into a tree.
Rather than question the plausibility of this statement or wonder why my 10 year-old cousin was behind the wheel in the first place, I am going to take this explanation and use it for the future if anyone else asks me how my car came to be in the repair shop for two weeks. It was a case of demon possession, pure and simple. Case closed. I wonder if my insurance company would believe it?
Monday, September 27, 2010
I've got your strategery planning right HERE...
So just to let you know, I AM working on an entry about the only thing I hate about autumn, but like a genius I went and drew the illustrations on my parents' computer. Which is at my parents' house. Which is not where I am right now. Boo-urns. You shall simply have to wait for it. Actually it may be a blessing in disguise as I feel like the entry was getting a little wordy and tangent-y.
Basically, right now I am in high-procrastination mode. I have just completed the required textbook readings for my Wednesday night class and SHOULD be diligently reading the articles with my highlighter in hand, but instead I am on the internet. This is not because I hate school or libraries or books. This is because I have an aversion to corporate/management jargon.
So far, we have endured the discussion on "leadership" and "team-building." This week we are learning about "planning" in its many diabolically inane and banal incarnations. It isn't that I don't think plans in general are useful. I PLAN to brush my teeth before bed. That sounds like a good plan to me! I just get a little crazy at the fact that these chapters could effectively be summarized in two pages, but in order to create an entire textbook that can be sold to students for $40, the authors insert all sorts of ridiculous filler.
On a side note, have you ever noticed how words lose all meaning when you're reading something that is of no interest to you? You're required to read it and know the content on some level, but you swear if you ever have to turn around and spout this nonsense to someone for your livelihood, you will run off and live among the Crab-people.
Whew! Thanks for listening to my rant! Just know that this is for a REQUIRED course in my graduate program and that I am not taking this by choice. I do think that my professor is a lovely person who genuinely feels that the subject matter is worthwhile and wants us to engage with the discussions. So what if most of the discussions devolve into people complaining about their own workplace/management horror stories? We've all been there and done that.
Now that I have successfully procrastinated for about half an hour, I shall check Facebook one more time and then trudge back to complete my reading for the evening. To help you understand my mood, I will leave you with a self-portrait illustration. Please note that while I would love to spend the time drawing the details of my pajama t-shirt, it is just too busy of a design. I shall verbally summarize it by saying that it contains a picture of a race car that is driven by some guy I have never met named Danny Bayer. Hey, it was FREE!
Basically, right now I am in high-procrastination mode. I have just completed the required textbook readings for my Wednesday night class and SHOULD be diligently reading the articles with my highlighter in hand, but instead I am on the internet. This is not because I hate school or libraries or books. This is because I have an aversion to corporate/management jargon.
So far, we have endured the discussion on "leadership" and "team-building." This week we are learning about "planning" in its many diabolically inane and banal incarnations. It isn't that I don't think plans in general are useful. I PLAN to brush my teeth before bed. That sounds like a good plan to me! I just get a little crazy at the fact that these chapters could effectively be summarized in two pages, but in order to create an entire textbook that can be sold to students for $40, the authors insert all sorts of ridiculous filler.
On a side note, have you ever noticed how words lose all meaning when you're reading something that is of no interest to you? You're required to read it and know the content on some level, but you swear if you ever have to turn around and spout this nonsense to someone for your livelihood, you will run off and live among the Crab-people.
Whew! Thanks for listening to my rant! Just know that this is for a REQUIRED course in my graduate program and that I am not taking this by choice. I do think that my professor is a lovely person who genuinely feels that the subject matter is worthwhile and wants us to engage with the discussions. So what if most of the discussions devolve into people complaining about their own workplace/management horror stories? We've all been there and done that.
Now that I have successfully procrastinated for about half an hour, I shall check Facebook one more time and then trudge back to complete my reading for the evening. To help you understand my mood, I will leave you with a self-portrait illustration. Please note that while I would love to spend the time drawing the details of my pajama t-shirt, it is just too busy of a design. I shall verbally summarize it by saying that it contains a picture of a race car that is driven by some guy I have never met named Danny Bayer. Hey, it was FREE!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Bad Hair Days
However, if you were hoping for my much-hyped multi-picture blog that I've been working on for over a week, I must disappoint you yet again. Take heart, dear reader. I am tentatively planning to spend some time at MY home over the weekend, and in between study breaks I may be able to finally get the job done.
At some point in my day, I was reminded of a time in my life that perhaps is better left forgotten. Unfortunately, I've already delved into that era more than once already, so I really can't ignore it any more.
Yes, I am referring to that magical and idiotic time known as my freshman year of high school. As you should be well aware by now, I was a bit boy-crazy in that year. In addition to several other ridiculous schemes and antics that I engaged in (with my friends) as a response to these out-of-control hormones of puberty (that I shall likely relate to you later), I made a very odd and uncharacteristic choice to become a manager of the varsity track team.
First of all, let's back up and have an explanation. My very good friend, Liza, was a well-established distance runner on both the varsity cross-country and track teams by the time she was in 7th grade. By 9th grade, she was quite familiar with the practice patterns of both teams. She was also quite familiar with the roster.
It just so happened that a high percentage of our adored senior boys were on the track team in the spring of our freshman year. We were all quite jealous of Liza that she would be able to spend nearly every day after school in close proximity to these boys and possibly even (gasp) speaking to them.
I believe I have mentioned before that my friend Liza is very intelligent. In this case she was a genius. In what was probably both an attempt to spread the joy of hot guys in running shorts and a way to have her friends close-by to talk about said guys, she suggested that I, along with two of our friends, volunteer to be track team managers.
If I remember correctly, I had moments of doubt about my skills to manage anything. In addition, I knew next to nothing about what a track manager would do, and I pretty much knew next to nothing about what track and field events really were.
Despite our collective ignorance, we actually were able to pick up on our duties quite quickly and I would like to say (from my foggy memory) that we did an OK job overall.
Now that I have given you the back story, I have to come to the point of this entry: hair dye.
There was a girl on the track team who was a freshman, like us. She was new to the school as she had recently transferred from a smaller district nearby. I think her parents thought that a Willmar education would improve her chances for the Ivy League. On a completely unrelated note, she was transferred to a boarding school on the East Coast after sophomore year. So much for that plan.
To come to the point, this girl was a bit "spoiled" to put it mildly. She always had the newest and most fashionable things that her parents bought her from Minneapolis. Ooh la la indeed. One of these unique items that she brought to the school was real permanent color hair dye. I'm not talking about Loreal or Clairol. This was professional-grade, from a jar solid color dye in bright pink, green, red, orange, etc.
For the most part, these colors only appeared during spirit weeks such as Homecoming and Snow Week, when one day was fully devoted to "Weird Hair Day." She really took it to a new level with the permanence of her color as it stayed with her far beyond the end of the week (or month, for that matter). I was always a bit intrigued by her bravery, and although I often imagined what I would look like with purple hair, I never took the leap.
At the end of the track season, the team was preparing to go to the regional meet. There were several team members who were quite promising, and there was just a teeny tiny chance that they could advance to the state championships. We were all fired up and ready to go as we rode the bus into a high school that I cannot now remember.
Prior to this trip, the big point of discussion was that as a show of school spirit, various members of the team were going to let the hair-dye girl paint their hair red. (My school colors included this color as a main feature.)
Ever the prudent child, I asked the permission of my mother to participate in this plan. Not surprisingly, her answer was an emphatic "NO." My friend Liza took a different approach by simply not telling her mother anything about the plan and thereby avoiding the denial of permission.
I should add here that neither Liza nor myself intended to dye our entire head of hair. At most, we wanted to just add a small streak. We weren't that daring, after all.
However, once we got on the team bus to travel to the regional meet, my fear of motherly disapproval began to waver under the seemingly logical persuasion of peer pressure. As I watched my fellow track managers and Liza get their streak on, I made one of my only bold and defiant moves as a 15-year old and decided to defy my mother.
Although I decided to break the rules, I was not stupid enough to do so blatantly. With my hair in a ponytail, a small amount of hair always escaped at the back on my neck as the length was overall somewhat short. When my hair was down, this section of hair was completely hidden by the top layers. I decided to have this small amount dyed as it would stand the best chance of avoiding detection.
I spent the rest of the day feeling like a real rebel and trying to block out the fact that my mom was definitely going to find out and that I would likely have to face severe punishment.
The day passed in a blur, and I cannot even remember my initial arrival at home. I do remember the next morning. I was preparing to take a shower, but was somewhat unsure of the protocol for washing newly dyed hair. As I was pondering this problem, my mother happened to check in on me and discovered my disobedience.
Here is where the story gets a little weird. I had been expecting some anger and probably some punishment, but I actually think that my mom found it a little bit humorous. She told me to just get in and wash my hair. Strangely enough, it washed out almost completely, leaving me with a slightly pinkish tint to the bottom layer of my hair. Within a week it was completely gone, and oddly, I received no punishment.
Now that I look back at this event with older eyes, I can see why my mom did not react as forcefully as anticipated. First, I had not dyed my whole head. Second, I really did not ever get in trouble for anything, because I just didn't know how. Third, I had done it as part of a school-sponsored group event.
Really, how much more lame could I be?
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