I think of you only

I have a couple of bands that I am dying to see in concert and fortunately, the opportunity to see one of them presented itself to me recently. I get to go see the Decemberists when they stop in Dallas in April. So I've been listening to their latest CD to get in the mood. Yes, I realize that April is still a long ways away, but I like to be prepared... and I really am enjoying this new album. This song won't replace my long-time favorite song (Hazards of Love 4), but it's ranking well so far. Colin Meloy+steel guitar=magic. It's like a scientifically proven equation.

I still remember first listening to the Decemberists. I was overseas and dying for new music, so I'd taken to downloading mixes of indie music then going through them to try to find groups that I liked. I'd generally just load the entire batch of songs onto my ipod and listen on the way to work, or while I was at the gym. That's how I first heard the Decemberists-- O Valencia...which is still a song near and dear to my heart. But now there are so many, it's hard to pick just a few favorites.

I could gush for days and days. Well, maybe not, but at least paragraphs and paragraphs. But I won't. I'm just going to sit and (loudly) anticipate the end of April.

화이팅!

You said it, Lee Seol.

Liveblogging: My Day

I have been snowed in for four days, ya'll.

Actually, that sounds way more exciting than the truth. The truth is... I have been iced in for four days, ya'll.

The first day held a thrill of excitement. There was the whole waking up late bit, which was fun. I lazed around and watched television episodes online and chatted and texted with people right and left. Everyone marveled at the weather, made predictions for the next day (would we have school? Oooh, the suspense!) and joked about staying warm. The second day.... not so fun. The third day... even less so, though I did manage to get up the nerve to brave the weather in the evening, because if I didn't get some socialization I was going to start smashing my head on my (sparkling because I've had plenty of time to clean it) kitchen floor. Now, the fourth and hopefully final day. And I'm going to share the excitement with my blog.

I'm not going to talk about waking up, having a headache or losing my phone. Or eating breakfast/lunch/dinner (I'm rationing myself just in case it snows again tomorrow) (Not really). Instead, I'll begin from now, 12:38 pm until I go to sleep.. or get bored.. or realize this is dumb. Any of the above could happen. Let's begin!


12:38 pm: Decide to start liveblogging my day. Until I go to sleep. Or get bored. Or realize it's dumb. Hmmm....

12:48 pm: Things are looking melty! Maybe I can make another go at leaving the apartment. My brain will thank me.

1:15 pm: I did not prepare for this. It just kind of happened this way. Liveblogging is off! I am leaving the apartment! This time, I'm actually driving. Gotta clear all the snow off my car. Wish me luck! 

Snow Day

The view from my kitchen window

Well, it snowed. Finally. I had been anticipating a snow day for weeks now, just reveling in the ideas of freedom and laziness that the mere words "snow day" conjure. I had been hopeful at the beginning of January, seeing a spot of precipitation on the weather.com 10-day forecast, but alas, it came to nothing but a bit of morning mist and as a result, resolved to not get my hopes up regarding the apparent snowstorm of doom that was bearing down on the country. After all, it could have turned into a bit of slush and 60 degree weather. I went to sleep early last night in preparation for my usual 6:10 am alarm (because that extra 10 minutes is very important, it really is) and was surprised to hear my phone ring at 4:45. Answering it, I heard a lovely pre-recorded message saying that school was closed for the day. I slept 'til 8:30. It was glorious. It was triumphant. It was cold.

I learned how cold it was when I finally ventured outdoors for a trek to my apartment's leasing office to drop off the rent. I'm not sure why I bothered, as no one was in the leasing office and wouldn't have known if I deposited the check a day later, but I do have an excess of conscience sometimes and felt compelled to pay my rent on time. Also, I was bored and wanted to go outside to see if it was anything like the cold weather in Korea.

It was.

Other than that brief and exciting excursion (I almost slipped! and fell! But didn't!), I lay on my futon and watched this season of the Bachelor. It made me feel bad about womankind... mankind... reality television and romance all in the course of a few (okay, more like five) hours. That said, I'm totally going to continue watching it because it's fascinating and bizarre and they go on some incredibly lavish dates that, if I had a bajillion dollars and no concept of why it's important to not spend ridiculous amounts of money, would give me ideas about dates I myself would want to arrange. Alas, I don't think I'll be renting out any carnivals for an entire night anytime soon.

Instead, I will read poetry and pray for another snow day tomorrow. It's going to happen, I can feel it.

Dreams last so long

I had a dream about work last night in which I was in a class teeming with kids, and it was madness. I'd look up to see one group of kids with their phones out and when I was taking up their phones, I'd look up and see another group of kids with their MP3 players on and I'd have to go take those up, then I saw a trio of students with navigational systems and I had to go take those up, too. THEN, a couple boxes of pastries and donuts got delivered to my class and they were there for something, so I had to save them but the next time I looked, all these kids were eating them and I had to go up and down the aisle looking for marks of chocolate on their hands or faces or papers so I could write those kids up, and I ended up rubbing a chocolate covered cinnamon roll into one boy's face, kind of like a naughty puppy. Plus, the whole time I was trying to shout at the kids to lecture them or to, at the very least, get their attention, and my voice was gone. I could barely produce a whisper.

It was horrible.

And pretty easy to interpret.

Clearly, I am obsessed with the idea of protecting kids from childhood obesity.


Also, my pic update will come tomorrow, and I didn't really cook this weekend, unless you count my boyfriend (it feels weird to type that, but it's the proper name for the guy) cooking a fancy chicken breast stuffed with ricotta and spinach, while I took half the ingredients for a chocolate mousse and mixed them with some flour and an egg and threw it into the oven because how bad could it be? Turns out that the answer is pretty bad. It's still on my kitchen counter.

On second that, that totally counts as cooking.

Also, I've run a grand total of 6 more miles this week. At this rate, I'm only going to hit 300 miles by the end of the year. But you know what? I don't mind.

My belated weekly progress report

Yes, I meant to type this up this weekend, but I as busy. It was an eventful weekend. A lot of stuff happened! So I kind of phone it in, uploaded my pics for the week and called it a night. I didn't even get to mention that I cooked my weekly meal--kimchi bokeumbap--and that I did some running--6 miles (again, I'm building up quite a deficit). I don't really feel that bad about not making it to the proper number of miles. At this point I'm 8 short. But that's still 12 miles traveled. I'm not going to worry about it until I'm like 50 miles short. Which, at the rate that I'm going, will be in about 10 weeks. So the end of March will be the point at which I decide whether or not I should drop the whole running-500-miles-in-a-year, because who knows? I might make it but I might not and if  I do then it's great and if I don't then that whole idea was a stupid one anyway. That's kind of the way life goes.

Yesterday was MLK Jr. day, which the students got to observe but the teachers got to work. I don't really mind staff days like that, though, since they give me time to catch up on grading, or update my class assignments or clean my desk. My desk is a war zone. It's nuts, too, because I don't really have anything on it. Not anything that's not necessary. I don't have any plants or pictures or.. um.. pencil holders? on my desk. Just books and papers and pens and things that I really need but ohgeez, they take up a lot of room. I don't think I'll ever be super organized like some people. The most I can hope for is to be organized... chaotically.

Anyway, tomorrow I get to skip my last class of the day for a One-Act Play trip to the costume shop. I'm pretty pumped about this because.. well. Let's say that my last class of the day is an exciting and fun challenge but you know what? Somedays, I don't want a challenge. Tomorrow is one of those days. Thursday and Friday will probably be pretty normal, with the exception of my certification-observer-guy coming in on Friday. He'll get to watch me administer a test. I should probably think of something else to do.

Also, I've decided I want to read Gone with the Wind. Again. I don't know why I like Scarlett O'Hara so much. She's a terrible person, but then again.. she's not. She's determined and mean and thoughtless and sometimes I think that I relate to her pretty well, but then again, I never say things like "Fiddle dee dee".

First I've got to make my way through The Great Gatsby. Again. I actually am starting to like the book. At least a little. I'll probably return to hating it once I get past chapter 5 or so. I also totally want to buy this print and hang it up in my classroom but I'd probably have to creatively censor it somehow. Maybe I'll just buy it and hang it up in my kitchen.

Finally, this update is pretty fragmented. I blame the endorphin rush.

Daily Photos

--.--;;

I am very, very tired. But my apartment is cleaned and my refrigerator is... well, it's got some food in it, and I put away most of my laundry so it was a productive Friday.
I have a three day weekend, as well. Well, it's three-days in theory, in reality I still have to go to work but can it really be called work if there aren't any students there? I call it time to catch up on my podcasts.
I wonder if I have time for a nap before going to the basketball game. At very least, a coffee run. I ....

...well I was going to write something else but then I got distracted and forgot. Maybe it's time for coffee RIGHT EXACTLY NOW.

I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

I used to work at Hastings, a book/music/video store. For about three years, I guess? I worked in all of the departments, but the book department was my favorite and the video department was my least favorite. The one good thing about the video department, however, was the fact that if you worked there, you got to select the movie that would play on the TVs that were dispersed around the area. This had some restrictions, of course, considering it was a retail environment, you were basically limited to playing movies with a kid-friendly rating. I put in a lot of cartoons, because.. well, I like cartoons. But that all change once Napoleon Dynamite came out. I was not the only one who did this, almost anyone who worked there just left the movie in to play over and over and over again for weeks and weeks.

And every time the movie neared its ending, I would go and stand under a TV and watch.

I love the Napoleon Dynamite dance. I'm going to learn it and that will be my dance and I will dance it forever and ever and ever.

For your viewing entertainment.

Our ghosts will wander all of the water.

I kind of panicked about my next bout with running, considering my awesome allergy attack that wasn't an allergy attack but I don't have a better word for it--itchy palms and scratchy throat syndrome? Nah-- that occurred last time. But today I managed without a hitch and got 3.5 miles closer to my goal. Which isn't much closer at all, considering I still have.. um.. 494 miles to go.

Though, to be fair, I was unbelievably lazy this week. I blame it on returning to work after a two week holiday. The students felt it to a much greater degree than I did, so maybe their grumping was contagious and that's why I made so many (completely effective) excuses and didn't do as much as I had planned.

Technically, however, as far as non-resolutions go, I'm still doing alright. I got my pictures in for each day... they're coming up if you don't believe me, and I got my dinner made and tomorrow I'm going to cook kimchi bokkeumbap because it's easy and I already have all the ingredients so I don't have to go to the store and buy anything. And I'll just go an extra mile for the next four weeks and that will even it out? Or maybe I'll go the extra mile for the LAST four weeks of the year so it seems like I'm building up to it? I mean, that'll give me something to think about.

Furthermore, next weekend I'll get a visit from an old war buddy of mine. That's gonna be exciting. Expect wacky hijinx to ensue, folks. Expect it.

Day 4: Spicy Tofu and Breaded Zucchini

Day 5: A closeup of my Rilakkuma pencil case.

Day 6: I like oranges.

Day 7: Friday! The scenery on the drive from work.

Day 8: This is my owl pillow. He doesn't have a name.

I'm a nerd, reason 1

My non-resolutions ended up having three parts.

Part 1: Photography (Project 365)
I've already gotten a fair start on this, and have taken a picture every day for (gasp!) four whole days. Like I mentioned before, I'm going to put them up here randomly and today is not one of the days that I want to put a picture up because of a reason that I will explain in a second.

Wait for it, it is very interesting. To me. Kind of.

Part 2: Cooking (I haven't thought of a catch-phrase for this yet.)
I realized how lazy I'd gotten about cooking after about my third trip to the grocery store in which I only purchased microwave pizzas and Lean Cuisines. Cooking is fun, and I'm not a terrible cook. I can follow a recipe at least. For the most part. I do tend to skip parts of alter ingredients, but that's all in the name of science. So I decided it would be good to create a home-cooked meal once a week, and microwaving broccoli in one of those vegetable steamer bags wouldn't count. This week, with some assistance, I created a lovely kimchi jiggae, spiced tofu and breaded zucchini. I took a pic. It'll go up here this week. It's like killing two birds with one blog update. 

Those vegetable steamer bags are amazing, though. Just for the record.

Part 3: Running (500 miles)

I have been running pretty regularly for the past two months or so. So I decided to up the stakes a bit and set a goal for myself. Then I wrestled with how high of a bar I wanted, because honestly, if it's too daunting, I'll just stop and if it's too easy then it'd be kind of embarrassing to even worry about. So I decided to try for 10 miles a week....ish. I want to have run 500 miles by December 31st, 2011. That's not too much of a stretch, plus it has a nice ring to it. I like numbers in multiples of five.


Well I told you all that so I could tell you all (ya'll) this. I finished running today. 2.5 miles. That brings my grand total for the year to 2.5 miles. Haha. I'm kind of a procrastinator. But! That's not the point. I finished running and I noticed that the palms of my hands felt really itchy. And then my nose started running. Then I started coughing and wheezing. Now I feel like I'm going to die. So I googled "itchy palms after running" and it turns out that this happens to people sometimes. I am allergic to running*. It's kind of like how I'm allergic to being outside. I officially have the nerdiest allergies in the world, guys. I mean, allergies are inherently a nerd sort of thing, but I am taking this to an entirely new level.

This might be a sign. I should change my projects completely. Running 500 miles? Heck no. I should be playing 500 hours of video games. Are there 500 pokemon yet? Maybe that should be my goal.

Gotta catch 'em all--

Pokemon!


*I am not really allergic to running. 90% sure. I think it's a fluke, but I did take some Benadryl so I'll probably pass out soon. My life is exciting, people.

Buh-bomb. (Day 3)

I saw this on the way to a tapas restaurant in downtown Dallas.

As a sidenote, I am very tired and slightly panicked about work. We had a staff development day and got a rousing speech about state budgets and how they affect the campus and the ideas that resulted are concepts that have been floating through my mind for the past week or so. It was kind of unsettling. I'm going to practice not thinking about it.

I'm kind of tired now. I might take a nap. It will probably be amazing.

Project 365: Day 2

This was an excellent Christmas present to myself. I had ordered it about a week and a half before Christmas and anxiously waited.. and waited.. and waited. I had almost given up hope when I checked my mailbox on NYE and got this happy surprise. I am going to have a listening party today.

Also, though I am going to try, I'm probably not going to post pictures daily, they are probably going to come in waves. I'm saying this because the last time I tried a photography project, that's what ended up happening. I won't be on vacation forever, after all. I actually won't be on vacation starting tomorrow. It's really sad, if I think about it. Why can't Christmas holiday last forever?

Project 365: Day 1

For awhile there, I panicked and thought that I was responsible for two photos today, but that's just because last night was so long and awesome and eventful that it felt like another day entirely. Today however has been nice and calm.

The Old 97's concert was amazing. I wanted to take more photos than I actually did but I took my older camera since it's small and light and I didn't want to carry my bigger camera and oh yeah, there's a reason why I upgraded from a point-and-shoot to a megazoom. Because there aren't enough settings on my little camera to make up for low lighting and naturally shaky hands. Someday I'll upgrade to a DSLR. In the distant distant future when I have money. I'm thinking 2014. =[

Resolved:

It feels like I'm submitting a proposal to the United Nations when I think about resolutions. I am not normally into the entire idea because honestly, I never follow through with them and I don't know anybody that does. Besides, it seems very strange to think that I'm going to have a start and end to doing something different in my life. This year, I will be a better person, but the year after that? I am going to regress, baby. Plus, resolutions always tend to be so vague, which I was actually reading on CNN (yes, I'm a dweeb) about how you are supposed to set specific goals so as to avoid breaking New Year Resolutions. So instead of saying that you'll be a better person you're supposed to... I don't know... walk old ladies across the street at least twice a month? Or something, I don't know and that's why I haven't set any sort of resolutions for the past several years.*

However, this year is going to be different.

Actually, it's probably not, but it's kind of going to be different because I'm going to try something? And they're not going to be resolutions, they are going to be non-resolutions. Ready?
 Here we go.

For 2011, I hereby non-resolve to engage in the following practices... activities? Projects. Sure. Projects.

One of them I got halfway through in 2009, which was to take a photo a day for 365 days. I actually liked that one and ended up taking some very interesting pictures of things inside my apartment since I'd forget to take my camera and then put it off until the last minute and just half-ass it with a pic of something. That's probably what I'm going to end up doing this year, too. At least half of the time. Be prepared. It will be exciting.

The second one? I'm not sure of the exact details about. Once I have that sorted, though, I will inform the world through an interpretive song and dance.

Or just through another update...


*Unless you count my default resolution that I stole from my friend Joe, which is to quit smoking. Since I don't smoke, I'm already ahead of the game! Yes, this is probably cheating.

It ain't love until it's over.

Okay, Christmas is over, I'm back at my apartment, listening to the baby crying next door and the dog running around upstairs while a guy yells "Knock it off" at it.

Life is good?

I'm also savoring the last quarter of my Christmas holiday. Today I am going to be productive as hell, that's my intention at least, and I've already started... kind of? I'm dying my hair, if that counts as being productive. I mean, it should count, since it's something that I've intended to do and haven't done it. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't mean much... if you count having great hair as something that doesn't mean much, which I don't personally, but I realize that it's a big world out there and probably lots of people think differently than I do.

Most people.

I'm not really sure what else a productive day entails. I'll clean my apartment, I guess, and finish cleaning my car. I started cleaning my car yesterday but ran out of inclination. That sounds bad. I should make up a good excuse for why I stopped cleaning my car.

Okay, I was cleaning my car yesterday when all of a sudden I got a text message from a mysterious number that I'd never seen before. The text message said, "I'm watching you and I like your sweater." I looked around but couldn't see anyone so I decided that it was too creepy and went back inside.

How's that? It sounds much better. We'll go with that one.

I think it must sound really mundane and boring, my life, at this point. And I'll tell you what. It kind of is. But the funny thing is that I like it? It's calm and relaxing and I'm going to appreciate it while I can. And meditate. Or something.

This song never gets old.

Though, being the purist that I am, I still sing "wingtip shoes" rather than "Converse shoes".
It just sounds better that way.

Ennui, pt 2.

Well, I vacuumed.

Ennui.

I guess I can vacuum.

Jubilation!

I am... I'm not sure what word to use for it. Ridiculously excited? Thrilled beyond measure? Happy as a clam in a bed of mud? Are clams happy in mud? I am not sure. Sand? It doesn't really matter.

I got my scores back for my teaching certification course, and I am a-okay with the world! This semester I'd had to write paper on paper for that course, all in the name of being gainfully employed in the future and I'll admit.. I procrastinated.

A lot.

But! Wonder of wonders, I got (um.. the majority of) the work turned in and it was enough! I passed! Plus, next semester I don't have to worry about writing papers or anything of the sort, I just get to have my observer-person-dude come in and watch me a few times. Do you know what this means? The enormity of this situation? The hard part is over! I am practically free! Until I choose to try to get my master's, which, let's face it... might happen. Maybe.

Anyway, in celebration, I am enclosing a picture of my (now my mom's--she's a thief) pet cat, when he was a cute little baby kitten that played and played for hours until I had to force him to leave the room because, gosh, I was trying to sleep and a girl needs her sleep, you know?

Cheers,

Me.