yup, i’m still gallavanting across italy…
what’s that? you want a code to break? something to while away the minutes until i return? something silly? here you go. can anyone figure out what it says?
and now it’s your turn to procrastinate. click here.
you’re welcome.
the earth’s alignment has shifted. the new tilt has left wide spread changes in its wake.
what? you didn’t hear about it? you didn’t feel it? you didn’t smell the winds of change?
the new angle of the earth has affected the zodiac signs which means i went from being an independent and loyal (and awesome) capricorn to a globally thinking, fieryly enthusiastic sagittarius. i couldn’t even spell that word without looking it up and now it’s supposed to define me?
it sure seems as though everything describing a capricorn directly relates back to me, while the sagittarius depictions only relate to me in vague and foggy ways. but wait. when did i ever let the stars define me? i thought i was forged from the hardships and joys and triumphs and setbacks and giggles and tears and puddles and rainbows of every day life. and besides, how can a tilt of the earth change one’s personality?
i was born under the capricorn sign, so a capricorn i shall stay. although, being an archer sounds a lot more badass than a seagoat. maybe there is a silver lining in this shift of the stars.
i mean, if you believe in that sort of thing.
as was evident in my last post, i read a lot of YA books. i can only explain it like this…
ok, wait, C.S. Lewis says it SO MUCH BETTER. i’ll let him talk for me. why yes, i hired C.S. Lewis (from the grave) to be my press secretary. and without further ado…
*zombie C.S. Lewis steps up to the mic.*
“When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” — C.S. Lewis
if you look past the guyliner, the bloody face and messy hair, it really was a lovely speech wasn’t it? thank you, monsieur Lewis.
in order not to leave you with a bad taste (read: zombie) in your mouth, here’s this article, which also does a fine job explaining why adults are so into YA right now. two words? BRAIN CANDY. (but don’t say that too loudly. you don’t want zombie C.S. Lewis to realize how scrumptious your brain looks/sounds/smells.)
and here’s this. it’s rather soothing, no?
UPDATE: speaking of brain analysis, check this out. i don’t think it was accurate, but it sure was interesting. even more fun when you put in your own blog address!
my brain is very scattered this week and thus, my blog post shall be too.
how come i always find the most comfortable position AFTER my alarm rings in the morning?
i’m typing this while wearing one fingerless glove. and doing the moonwalk. and singing billie jean. (seriously, i’m only wearing one glove because my right hand, my mouse hand, gets so cold being out in the open. yeah, sitting in my apartment is essentially the equivalent to sitting outside. gas heat is expensive!)
if i wasn’t me, i’d like to be carrie underwood.
i got my first squash win on wednesday (9-8) and then proceeded to get squashed on every other game. but hey, i finally won one, that’s what’s important here, isn’t it?
if i wasn’t in this state, i’d like to be on a beach, under a tree, slathered in sunscreen, reading a book.
the antivirus program on my laptop had run through its trial program, so i needed to update or download another trial or do something so my poor laptop was not running naked through the interwebs. i couldn’t figure out how i had downloaded a trial version but anyways, after 3 hours and lots of mad googling, i finally figured it out. it involved a lot of clicking and uninstalling and reinstalling and downloading and clicking. i don’t actually know what worked, but i do know i’m not afraid to touch my laptop for fear it is contagious.
if i didn’t work here, i’d like to be a professional athlete.
i wish this chair came in adult size. think of the possibilities.
if i didn’t live at this apartment, i’d like to be in one with a washer/dryer and a porch.
i don’t recommend listening to the audiobook of gayle forman’s IF I STAY while driving, unless you’ve invented some form of windshield wipers for your eyes.
i changed my phone’s ring tone to carol of the bells, my favorite christmas carol. well, after this, of course:
i recently received some bookmarks from carrie harris. they are full of the awesome. it’s not surprising really because take a look at her website. yeah, amazing! why oh why do i have to wait until July 12, 2011 for her book (BAD TASTE IN BOYS) to be released?
coffee (caffeinated and decaf) makes me feel sick. i couldn’t seem to pinpoint when it would affect me and when it wouldn’t, so i made the tragic decision to cut it out of my life. i was good for about 10 months, but then i went to italy. they make espresso like no other. SLURP. and i felt fine. so i came back stateside thinking i was cured. alas, i felt sick again. drat. off it again. then i went to colorado and my mom makes really good decaf so i drank some there. fine. and then over thanksgiving, i drank more of the mom-made coffee. YUM. and i felt fine. WHAT GIVES, body? why do you only accept caffeinated when traveling?
from my spam filter: “makes me want to drink alcoholic beverages” in response to the art of listening. i’m going to guess that this person is NOT a good listener.
another goodie from the spam box: “People go en masse to the movies to see tales about Narnia and Harry Potter, escapist fantasies that take us away from our real world of austerity, cuts and looming economic disaster. In these tales, on our side we have wizards both brave and powerful. In real life, we look upon our so-called leaders and despair. If we want there to be a Narnia to escape to, we must build it here. Ourselves.” this comment makes no sense in response to gangsta but hey, spam is as spam does. i’m not going to unleash it from the filter, but i figured posting it here might inspire a little healthy competition. i know my commenters can get a little more creative. GAME ON.
it started with a bathmat. or rather, a replacement one. roommate said she had reached her limit and was going to buy one of the wooden ones they use in spas. upgrade #1.
it continued with a work trip. to ITALY. upgrade #2.
it was furthered when roommate reached her limit (again) but this time with the couches. we had 3 of them. all 3 were hand-me-downs when we first moved into our apartment 7 years ago. (to be honest, neither one of us expected we’d still be roommates this long, so the hand-me-down couches seemed like the perfect short term solution.) but here we are, still roommates, still with old couches. plus you have to factor in 7 more years of butt sitting and dinners being eaten and beverages being drunk while on them…yeah, ick. we attempted to spruce them up with slip covers, but that didn’t really help. roommate uses the living room more than i do, so it was natural she’d reach her limit before i did. but once she reached it and pointed it out to me, i quickly realized how frumpy that room was. she did some research and ordered 2 brand spanking new couches. and they are lovely. the apartment looks grown-up. upgrade #3.
and then a weird thing happened. E&T went off to visit Japan and needed someone to pick up their CSA farm shares of vegetables and fish during their absence. roommate and i happily agreed. and this past tuesday night, we were inundated with fish and fresh vegetables. upgrade #4. except neither one of us knew what to do. well, to be fair, roommate had more of a clue than me, especially when it came to the fish. i’ve NEVER cooked fish. heck, i’ve only just started eating it. (i rarely ate it growing up. unless it was those frozen fish sticks, which, ick.) long story short — we had a complete dinner of fish and veggies tuesday and then last night, i took the reins and made a baked fish dish with rice. for two nights, roommate and i were able to cook and eat together (while sitting on the floor in the living room so as not to spill on the beautiful new couches!). despite our hectic schedules and the variances in our taste buds, we had our own little family dinners.
eating dinner together as a family is something i treasure because it’s what my family did every single night of my childhood. no tv, no books, no phones, just food and family. sure, when i was a teenager, i wanted nothing to do with these dinners, but the forced regularity of conversation was a lesson that extended beyond the family. (because there are a lot of times here in adulthood when you have to talk to people you don’t necessarily want to.) and frankly, that lesson extended into the family because i got to know the people who sat around me. they’d talk about their days while i secretly tried to hide the fact i wasn’t eating my vegetables.
but what these recent upgrades have shown me is that i am becoming an adult even though i certainly don’t feel like one. when i was little, i thought being an adult included being married and having kids and owning a house. i have none of these things, yet my age says i’ve reached adulthood. the bills and taxes i pay depict adulthood too. but my health and imagination make me feel 10 again. so i guess it’s time to use my mind and start “faking it ’til i make it” to adulthood. or rather, an amended version of adulthood.
i can’t help but think that having a new bathmat, 2 new couches, a kitchen full of fresh food and a person to eat dinner with is a good starting point.
Abigail Mumford 