Dear Fellow Gym Patron

Dear Lady at the Gym,
    I applaud your ability to follow your fitness routine.  I really, truly do.  However, as you mentioned, you woke up yesterday with double pink eye, double ear infection, a sinus infection, and a sore throat.  Though the gym generally keeps you healthy, I think your doctor would agree that you can take a day off from the gym.  Get well (and non-contagious) soon!

Sincerely,
Your Locker Neighbor

Snowy Saturday

Deboning a Turkey

Here is our little Thanksgiving experiment, which was based on a Julia Child's recipe.

The turkey was accompanied by many other Julia recipes, including creamed brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, cranberry chutney, and cornbread stuffing.  Thank you to PBS for airing Julia's show and  introducing us to these lovely dishes!  I sense a repeat at Christmas.    

Turkey Day

Turkey day went down without a hitch.  However, I am currently in a turkey induced coma.  More on Thanksgiving and deboning a turkey tomorrow!

Wordly Wednesday

Paris, France

London, England

London, England

Houston, Texas

Chicago, Illinois

Rome, Italy

The Wintery Beach

Where the ocean meets the sky.  Welcome to our local beach.

Borrowed Time

Last month my car passed another dreaded milestone.  Now we are living on borrowed time.  The future is a question mark, which is kind of a metaphor for my life these days.  Unlike the inevitable future of my car, I like the potential that my future holds.  Here's hoping for great things.

Under the Wire

Obviously I am just getting in under the wire today.  Not much to report today.  Lots of studying and essay writing, with some time for friends and egg nog thrown in.  

The countdown has also begun, since the fridge is now full of Thanksgiving fixings.  We are doing two Thanksgivings this year.  More on that later.

For now I will just leave you with this.

Computers

So this is two good to pass up.  This blog and this blog are both giving away COMPUTER.  I will let you know if I happen to find the other six blogs that are also participating in this awesome giveaway.  Now go forth and enter.

Random Knowledge

I have always been a fan on random knowledge.  I have a fair amount of random knowledge stored in my brain, and enjoy adding to this collection.  Now I have a new vehicle to help me along.  I'm not sure how many of these I can use as small talk, but they sure are fun to read.  Check it out!

What I Can Teach You

Last summer one of the blogs that I followed posted about this.  At this conference name tags were replaced with "I can teach you _____" tags.  So in that spirit here is what I can teach you.

how to cross-country ski
how to row a boat
how to cox
rowing terminology
how to turn your salmon into lox
how to organize your files
about Alaska
how to register to vote
how to build a snow creature
how to pee in the woods
how to wrap presents
how to research legislation
how to read a subway/tube/metro map
how to plan a trip abroad
how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch

What can you teach?

Sunset

Today was another cold day here in the north.  One benefit is the beautiful sunsets that often accompany the bitter cold.  Here are a couple for today.  Note that these pictures were taken at 4:40 p.m.  The daylight is quickly fading around here!

In the first picture, the mass beneath the clouds is Mt. Redoubt, which is actually a volcano.  The second picture was taken from the edge of the community college parking lot.

Siblings

Lately something slightly odd keeps happening to me.  People keep assuming that I am an only child.  I have multiple siblings, some of which are full siblings and some of which are step-siblings.  This led me to wonder, do "only children" give off some sort of vibe?  If so, how do siblings change this vibe?  Is there some stigma that goes along with being an only child?  Should I be worried that people think I'm an only child or is it a compliment?

Spring Classes

For various reasons, that I won't explain here, I take six credits at the local community college.  Since my credits are not going towards a degree of any sort I can take whatever I want.  Last night I registered for my  classes for Spring 2010.  Here is what I am taking (be jealous).

The Art and History of Beer Brewing (including field trips to local breweries)

Yoga

Digital Printing (so I can actually print some of my pictures)

Film/Literature (reading the book/play/short story and then watching the movie)

All I can say is that I am very excited!

Modesty

So I am generally an optimistic person.  I go into most situations with the glass half full.  I also go into most situations being open to other perspectives.  I hold true to what I think, but I still consider the arguments of others.  I am willing to change my opinion when warranted by a good and well-presented argument.

These days, though, I have been hanging out with someone who goes into every situation assuming he is correct.  In doing so, he also assumes that everyone else is always wrong.  The arguments of others are not even considered.  He justifies this using a male perspective (i.e. "always trust a man when it comes to direction.").  He also claims that he is modest.  As a general rule, modest people don't sit around thinking about how modest they are.  He really does lack modesty and often lacks a regard for other people's feelings.

I have one simple question.  How do I deal with someone like this?

P.S.  One of these days I will post before 10 p.m.

The Cold

The Alaskan cold has officially set in.  The high for tomorrow is 9 degrees, and the low is 7 below ZERO. I didn't actually leave the house today, partially because I am sick and also because I no desire to pile on 3 layers of clothes.  Instead I spent the day in bed, catching up on missed TV shows, snacking, and napping in an effort to get rid of my headache and stomach ache.  Even though I accomplished very little today, I don't feel like it was a wasted day.  I feel much better and am ready to continued my five day weekend, thanks to my part-time employment.

I want

I want to sit by the fire and read a book all day.  I want to have an Alaskan winter without the bitter cold.  I want to meet more people my age.  I want to find a boy that restores my faith in boys.  I want an acceptance letter.  I want to go back to Italy.  I want to take more cooking classes.  I want to find outfits that are cute, but warm.  I want to stop worrying about what other people think of me.  I want my laundry to quit multiplying.  I want to volunteer more.  I want to send more care packages to friends.  I want to find someone to play Scrabble with.  I want to get better at being a grown-up, but still stay a kid.   

Dear Gym

Dear Gym,
     Are you selectively dealing with comments from the comment box?  I will use your treadmill sign-up sheet and consider abiding by your 30 minute treadmill limit when you give me what I asked for.  PLEASE put a new scale in the women's locker room.  A broken scale is bad for everyone.  Are you really prepared to tell paying patrons that they can only spend 30 minutes on the treadmill?  Based on the locker room mutterings I heard today, you might have an uprising on your hands. 

Sincerely,
A.

P.S.  Too bad I already paid for December.

Blackout

Tonight I was at one of my evening classes at the local community college when the power went out.  Class was let out soon after.  My drive home was one of the most eerie I have ever had.  I passed building after building with no sign of light.  When I reached the city limits all of the stoplights were out.  The 24 hour grocery store was dark and the golden arches were unlit.  I can't get the image of a ghost town out of my head. 

Hometown

Since I moved back to my hometown I end up running into a lot of people that I know, or at least people who have known me since I was little.  What is the proper response to "I have known you since you were a baby!  It makes me feel old that you are out of college." ?  And while we are on the subject, what is a good response to "So are you married yet?" or similar questions?

Holiday Food

I'm enjoying a glass of warm egg nog right now, and it is not my first of the holiday season.  To me egg nog is a sure sign that the holidays are here.  With that comes Thanksgiving.  I'll admit that I am a bit of a foodie.  I love experimenting in the kitchen and trying new things.  This year my parents have decided to try a Julia Child's turkey recipe that we saw on her show last week.  This recipe requires that the turkey be taken and part, cooked, and then re-assembled for presentation.  Don't worry, I will have the pictures to prove it.

P.S.  We had the first snow of the season.  A light dusting, but it is better than nothing.  Also, SARAH: great talking to you tonight!

Snow

As a child living in Alaska my Halloween costumes were designed with snow in mind.   Generally, the costume was something that could fit over a jacket, and could be worn with boots.  However, this year Halloween came and went with no snow.  This is unheard of around here.  I think the snow is finally coming.  It feels like it might snow soon.  I checked the weather forecast and snow is expected for tonight.  All I can say is bring it on.  

Currently

Current Book(s):
Bell Jar; Fahrenheit 451; LSAT Study Books.  When did I become one of those people who reads more than one book at a time?

Current Music:
Travis and Brandi Carlile

Current Colors:
Dark blue (a potential color for my bathroom)

Current Obsessions:
Exercise, particularly running.  I even like running on a treadmill.  Weird, I know.

Current Drink:
Gatorade, water, and AK Chai w/ Egg Nog, alternated accordingly.

Current Songs:
I Do Not Hook Up. I love the attitude that this song has.

Current Movie:
Unbreakable.  M. Night Shyamalan is interesting.

Current TV Show:
Criminal Minds.  I need to stop watching that show at night when I’m home alone.

Current Wish-List:
A brand spanking new camera or a cute little travel tripod.

Current Needs: New running clothes, since all of mine seem to be in boxes in Illinois. 

Current Triumph(s):
Actually studying for the LSATs and not hating it.

Current Bane of my Existence:
No cute boys arounds.

Current Goal(s):
Finish my applications by next weekend.

Current Indulgence:
Popcorn and pomegranates, but not together.

Current Blessing:
I have a job, with great people and flexible hours.

Current Slang or Saying:
Seriously?

Current Mood: Ready to rock and roll.

Writer's Block

So I am experiencing writer's block with my personal statements.  Sorry for the lame post, but I think my writer's block is transferring over here since I can't think of anything more exciting to report.  Except that Obama is coming to Alaska!  Still no snow though...

Boys

So I have decided that I am looking for boys in all the wrong places.  And by that I mean my hometown.  A famous Alaskan saying comes to mind: the odds are good, but the goods are odd.  However, I am willing to be surprised and am keeping my eyes open for cute Alaskan boys with brains.

Go Team!

A couple of weeks ago I spent the night at the ice rink.  Surprisingly it was colder inside the rink than outside, which is unusual for October.  The hockey game was great and local team won after a full game, overtime, shoot-out, and a sudden death shoot-out.

One of my favorite parts: the zamboni.

I guess I haven't been to a hockey game in a while, or at least since I turned 21.  As I was walking to the far side of the rink I was carded.  I thought this was rather unusual, until my friend informed me that we had just entered the beer garden.  I had a great beer from one of our local breweries.  What a great way to spend a Friday night: beer and hockey!

Photos

As I mentioned earlier I was able to take a photography class this semester.  I truly enjoyed the class and learned a lot.  As part of the class I was required to open a flickr account.  Feel free to visit my flickr page and see my final portfolio.  I will probably post some of my favorites later this month, but you can take a sneak peek here.

New Blog Topics

I started this blog earlier this year to document my travels and adventures.  Lately I haven't been doing much traveling, especially because it is so expensive to leave the state.  Anyway, I am curious to see where my blog goes during NaBloPoMo.I took a photography class this semester and really enjoyed it. I also love running and cooking, but can't decide if my blog is the place for those things. If anyone is out there reading please let me know.

NaBloPoMo

So I know it has been a while since I last posted, but that is mostly because there is little to report these days. In an attempt to get out of this non-blogging rut I am going to try to complete NaBloPoMo.

This means that I will try to post every day in November. Here we go!