Monday, July 31, 2006

I See You

What I do love about Laramie is that the stretch of hot weather that we've been having (meaning 3 consecutive days that were above 85 degrees) has given way to cool, mild, even rainy weather. It is currently below 70, and sprinkly.

What I do not love about Laramie is that so many people here feel that it is a source of pride to have a car (sorry- vehicle) that is loud and obnoxious. I have lost count of how many times Mike and I have had to yell for a few moments while we sat at a light next to Captain McHummer and his brand new hemi, or we had to rewind a movie because someone driving by our house was able to drown it out with their absence of a muffler. Yes, congratulations to you and your ability to drive loudly. Now please stop ruining my eardrums and my environment.

But please do check out my picture with my pretty new glasses. I am adding it to my profile right....now.

Friday, July 28, 2006

I consider myself a fairly normal person, but I do have a few habits that could be considered a little on the crazy side. One in particular, that I am sure has to either be the result of some traumatic childhood experience that I have since repressed, or the beginnings of a very serious compulsion, has to do with checking my zipper. Every single time I go to the bathroom, I have to check my zipper at least twice to make sure that it is zipped when I leave the bathroom. I can be wearing clothes that don't even have the slightest chance of having a zipper, and I will still check to make sure that my zipper is zipped.

Like I said, this may be the result of some horrible instance of a downed zipper in my past, but I doubt it. I can vaguely remember someone telling me to "XYZ PDQ" (examine your zipper pretty darn quick!), but it's unlikely that any such instance was a scarring, emotional, life-changing moment. Granted, all embarrassing experiences are scarring, emotional, life-changing moments when you're going through puberty and desperately trying to be cool. But I still think that maybe I am just crazy.

The funny thing is, usually I will check to make sure that my zipper is up as I am walking out of the bathroom. So, theoretically, someone could see me with my hand in a weird spot and think much odder thoughts than "oh, she must be checking her zipper". If I am trying to cover up some possible future embarrassment of being caught with my zipper down, I am only trumping it with another situation that is potentially much more embarrassing. If only I could think so logically as I am leaving the bathroom.

This is where my mind wanders to on a Friday afternoon.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

So, I just stumbled upon another blog through a link from one of my favorite blogs. It's www.shapeofamother.blogspot.com.

I had no idea....

For as many children and moms I have been around in my life, I had no idea the kind of havoc that having a child wreaks on your belly. I guess I just assumed that with a little exercise, the body snaps back into normalcy and life goes on. I mean, you see actresses and models out on the beach in bikinis just months after having a child. At least I think you do- now I'm not so sure how that's possible. The women featured in this blog go through some serious changes in their bodies when they are pregnant. Most of the photos of bellies somehow remind me of jellyfish.

It all makes me a little nervous about the whole pregnancy thing. Maybe we should just have a dog and be done with it. Ok, so I'm not even close to half serious about that. I have always known that I wanted kids, and the way that it affects my body is nothing to consider when stacked up against the thought of creating life and raising a child. Heck, I will just be grateful to know that my body is capable of carrying a child- that's something to worry about more than the effects of pregnancy.

Something else I liked about the site was that someone posted a music video from Pink, called Stupid Girl I think. I didn't really know the song and had never seen the video, but it's good. It's nice that some of the female artists at least try to be the voice of reason in the midst of so much concern over weight and clothes and tan and all that. I think she even makes a jab directly at Jessica Simpson, and that was pretty amusing.

Considering how often I am inclined to write about pregnancy or having kids on here, I think my blog may be much more interesting when I do have kids- there are always plenty of stories to tell then.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Nothing like stale chow mein noodles for an afternoon snack.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Mike just found an article on BBC's website about a woman who is taking refugees into her home in Lebanon. Her name is Nadya Azar, or Mrs. Azar. Heh, I am a Mrs. Azar too. Weird. Apparently Azar is like the Smith of Lebanon. I've got a big family.

Last week our car's transmission broke, and we are still trying to decide whether we should fix it and use the car for another year, or buy something new now. I think it depends whether or not we find someone who will buy a car without a functional transmission for a reasonable price. Luckily we can take our time on this since we can walk to work and get around to most places on foot. The only problem is that I still haven't seen Pirates of the Caribbean, dangit. And the theater is too far to walk to.

We will probably get a Honda whenever we do get something. I used to have a Honda and I took it for granted- then it got crunched up in an accident and I got a Saturn to replace it, and the Saturn was a P.O.S. Hondas are great cars once you have something to compare them to.

Right now we have no idea what we will be doing next year- we don't even know for sure that we will still be in the U.S. This is why it is difficult to get a car or a dog right now. In some ways it's a bummer, but on the other hand it is very exciting to wonder where we will be next. I don't like leaving good people, good jobs, and good neighborhoods behind, but I love getting to know new places.

Friday, July 21, 2006

I feel like I need to acknowledge the conflict that is going on in the Middle East. For posterity- I want to be able to look back and see how I felt about it and what Mike and I went through. For catharsis- maybe if I try to formulate my thoughts then I will feel better about things. But I feel like if I start to talk about it, my thoughts will go on for pages and pages.

I am coming to believe more and more strongly that my own beliefs and ideals and hopes will never ever fit into any kind of political or international relations philosophy. I am personally a pacifist to the extreme- I don't want my kids to have toy guns or make gun noises, and violence of any kind just cuts me to the core (except in movies- for the most part I can separate that into the make-believe category and I can appreciate things like martial arts or tactical strategies or whatever). But I am hoping that what is going on right now in Lebanon, Israel, and Gaza will begin to make everyone think twice about the way certain countries are handling terrorism (and all of the other agendas that they have in going to war).

I am so tired of hearing the broken-record cliche that "Israel has a right to defend itself". Is this becoming comical to anyone besides me? Can you really characterize what they are doing as defense anymore when it is so clearly an unbalanced fight? If military force really is the only option for maintaining peace, then it's just going to go on forever and ever. Israel (and the U.S.) are just making more and more people angry, and it's only a matter of time before there is more retaliation. Unless these powerful countries gain control of all of their enemies and subdue them completely, they are just going to have to continue to fight. It's a lose-lose situation.

I would really love to see some leadership with integrity around these parts. It doesn't seem like Bush can talk without sounding defensive, maybe because he knows how asinine his actions have been. I don't know. And it scares me how leaders can justify all of these actions with religion (some say that what is happening right now is fulfilling prophecy). It scares me because I've been in that camp before, and it's not exactly intellectual.

Mike's family in Lebanon decided to move north in the last few days to get out of the worst of it. This time around, I feel all of this so much more closely because of the family that I am worrying about and the people that I feel close to just by proxy. But I do think that the Israelis are victims also- everyone in that area seems to be victims of rage, extremism, and pride. It's hard to watch.

This week has been pretty awful for many reasons. I wanted to write a blog about our trip to SLC last weekend, but I don't feel like it. I will say that the hotel we stayed in was amazing, and we had a grand piano made out of chocolate waiting for us when we got to the room. I am trying to include the picture of it, but I'm having issues.

Unfortunately, no Sundance goodies for me. But we had a great time, and I got better at "networking", which was my big accomplishment for the weekend. The Mormon Temple is a pretty impressive piece of architecture, but it had walls around it, which seemed weird to me. But it's another city to add to my list.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

My flip flops are about two sizes too big for me. Every time I look down at them, I feel like a clown that is flip flopping around in fashionable clown summer wear. I have no idea why I bought shoes that are way too big. It is possible that my feet have shrunk in the last few years, but it is much more likely that I had to have these comfy Teva flip flops, and this size was the only one close. I think that somewhere lurking inside of me there is still a 6-year-old who has to have things. How annoying.

Monday, July 17, 2006

My boss called this morning to say that she wouldn't be coming in. She assumed that I had heard the news, but because we got home from Salt Lake City in the evening and then decided to watch a movie, I was shocked to find out that 3 UW students died violently sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning. One of the students was her daughter's friend. It's horrible to hear about something like this.

There are very few details at this point, but the local news is stressing that the community is not in any immediate danger. That stuck out to me, because it's rare to find a town that does not experience this kind of thing often enough to just be used to it in some ways. Most communities cannot make the claim that they are still safe, because some other horrible thing is most likely going to happen again soon. But I don't think Laramie has seen much violence since Matthew Shepard died several years back.

In any case, I am keeping my eyes peeled for more details, and my prayers go out to the families and friends of these young people. I can't help but wonder what was going through their minds, or what plans they had that were cut short- even just plans to sleep in, or to go on a vacation, or talk to their parents. Everything is so fragile.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

I feel a little shifty and Enron-esque when one of the things on my work to-do list is "shred documents". But I guess everyone shreds documents, it's the content of the shredded documents that matters.
My husband is totally the best. Last Friday he finished his first real college teaching experience, and concurrently ended four weeks of long hours of preparation, late nights and early mornings. So on Monday night, to show his appreciation of my having taken over most of the housework, he made me pasta. From scratch. I came home from work to find flour everywhere, the radio blaring, and my husband trying to mash down the sides of little raviolis with a fork. He says he'll never try that again and I don't blame him. It looked pretty tedious. But it was delicious, and I definitely loved the surprise. Some guys expect their wives to do all of the housework, but my husband not only helps with it, he also makes sure to thank me when he can't help because he's busy shaping young minds. Sorry ladies, I got him first.

With more free time on our hands, we've also been able to just hang out with each other. We went miniature golfing, and saw a play last night. Tomorrow is Mike's birthday, and we'll be in Denver for that. Then it's on to Salt Lake City for the weekend for my job. And we get to go to Park City on Saturday, as in, the place where the Sundance Film Festival is held every year!! I begin to salivate every time I think of it. I really hope they have some cheesy Sundance souvenirs, because really my life will not be complete until I have a keychain or some sort of trinket to show that I have been in the place in which the festival resides. No, I didn't go to the actual event, but I do have this lovely snow globe with the word "Sundance" written on it to commemorate the occasion.

I had two years to go to the Tribeca Film Festival, and I didn't end up going either time. I'm an idiot. Being the movie nerd that I am, I think I would eat up the whole film festival atmosphere. The kinds of movies that are shown, the demographic that shows interest in the festival, it all seems really enjoyable. One of these days I will get myself to Sundance or Tribeca or some other equally cool movie mecca. Maybe we will be living on the East Coast again in the not-so-distant future.

Today's lessons: my husband is fantastic and I need to watch more movies.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Men with a strong cologne smell should only live in Florida.