Full days make you tired, but so do dark evenings. Meeting with old friends this weekend-- it's always fabulous, in an almost bittersweet way. It's true that life does move on, but when we all get together like this the ghosts of what we all used to be hang around.

I think we're trying to find a way to be our new selves together, rather than shadows of our old selves. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it's incredibly difficult. But I hope we don't stop trying.

In a nearly unrelated note, a quote from this weekend:

Uncle B: "Well then, what's new?" *long pause* "...I got kicked out of an antique store for asking that, once."

Yeah, I laughed too. Go on, smile. 

A happy new year to my friends. We celebrated in style, and in costume, of course. Working with small children means that halloween is several days long, so on friday I got to wear a crazy fur vest and ears, leading a host of small children around the neighborhood to show off their costumes. They were ridiculously cute. The best part of walking around the neighborhood with them is how people will smile just because they see them. Even without costumes!

And last night I got to do the dry run of my Amelia Earhart costume. It is almost 100 percent complete-- one day I will own an awesome aviator's helmet and goggles. However what I did have sufficed for the small get together we had.

The winner of the costume award went to my friend KJ. She was oscar the grouch complete with trash can. Delightful.

-

So today is the new year, and I'm doing Nanowrimo. I wasn't sure how it was all going to go-- not of my ideas were meshing into words. The I pulled up Write or Die (http://writeordie.drwicked.com/ ) and just started typing. I'm around 1200 words in, now. Thanks, Dr. Wicked.

-

So happy new year! May this one be more peaceful than the last.

Hellooooooo, Wednesday. And goodbye as well, I am really ready for bed. Not much, tonight, but I feel like I must get back into the habit of blogging.

So, a list:

-Nanowrimo. I am doing it and so should you.

-Small children. They are adorable, especially when being excited about becoming skeleton monsters, kitty princesses, butterflies and Buzz Lightyear for Halloween.

-Candy. Omg too much. I love halloween.

-Costumes. If you're nice I'll put up a picture of my totally awesome costume devised mostly from crap I had in my house.

Right. Now I will stretch out on the loveseat and try not to nap before my laundry is done.

My sleeping habits have become strange to say the least. 10 pm is not an okay time for a nap, body, that is when we must go to sleep for the night. Foo.

*

A series of lucky chances led to my roommate and I purchasing lotto tickets on saturday night. We didn't win, but I think you'll understand why we thought we should take the risk.

Thursday, our next door neighbors started keeping a green sofa and loveseat in the building's garage, right near our parking space. "Hmm," I remarked to poor Stan, my roommate. "I wonder if they'd sell it for a couple hundred."

Not that I had a couple hundred just lying about, but still. It was nice furniture, and leather to boot. Stan just shrugged, because she knows I am crazy, and then I forgot all about it. Come Saturday morning, as we left to celebrate my uncle's 50th birthday, a sign was on the couches: Free, we just need to get them out of the garage!

I looked at Stan and she looked at me and I think you can tell where this is headed. We were the proud new owners of far too much furniture to fit in our apartment. (Before you call Hoarders on us, we are long-term-lending the sofa to my brother and only keeping the loveseat for ourselves.)

So, joy in Mudville, all right. Had a nice celebration for my uncle, who was kind enough to haul the sofa across town to my brother's place. As we step in for the night, our sweet first-floor neighbor lady joined us in the elevator. I once helped put boots on her dog and have been on top of the "good neighbor" list ever since. She looked at us for a second, then said. "Say, would you girls like a TV? My son bought us a new one, we're giving away the old one."

Stan and I looked at each other. Did we need a new TV? Not...really. But. Free TV!

We agreed to take a look at the thing, and it turned out to be nice, several inches larger than our current one and a couple years newer. Finally we said yes.

"Can we just roll it up on this, and then bring it back down when we're done?" I asked, gesturing to the wheeled table the TV was on.

"Oh, you can just take the table too. We don't need it!"

...

And that's how I ended up with two extra couches, one new TV, an extra black end-table, and two losing lottery tickets. The more you know.

I am recovered, but only just. Here is a tip, gentle readers: don't get bronchitis and the stomach flu on the same day. It's just....not good.

I've got more jewelry coming your way later tonight. But first on the agenda is a shower. Then food, then a wild night of Munchkin. 

I know, I lead a very exciting life. Aren't you impressed?

New jewelry post:

Jewelry in the Round: You know you want the shiny.

So, uh. Here goes nothing...

http://jewelryintheround.blogspot.com/

:D?

Oh. My. Lord.

I did not intend to be truant for a month. But I'm not so sure I'm even back, but I thought I'd say hello.

Hello!

Work is definitely going well, but I am cutting back on some online activities as I try to sort out my new schedule. This is actually my favorite time of the year, what with the State Fair (I went, I saw, oh my god I ate), the Renn Fest (next week!), and the back-to-school weather.

What I am slowly discovering is that I miss back-to-school. This might mean the Dreaded Grad School Decision, but I'm trying not to think about it too hard just yet. 

In the meantime, have two things that sum up my summer: Mini Donuts and Turtle Crossing.

Day one.

It went well-- my new place of employment is a very relaxed, very chill place. I did a lot of paperwork today, and a lot of observing. But I got three hugs from small children so life is pretty good.

I'll be working with preschoolers, mostly, and hopefully enjoying every minute of it.

Summer is fading fast, sad to say. Yes, I know it's only just August, and really, the state fair is the true marker of when the season is coming to a close. But my brother and our cousin are on their annual journey together, this time to New York City. Every ten minutes an adventure, I'm told. They've made the pilgrimage to the Apple Store of all Apple Stores, as well as some other touristy things. 

I'm slowly getting ready for fall. Their trip usually signals the beginning of that slide into shorter days, and of course now that I'm working at a school again, the sight of notebooks and backpacks on sale at Target mean even more. 

The past two months have been a hidden blessing. I didn't know how much I needed the break until it was forced upon me, and I didn't know how much I appreciated working until I was nearly desperate for a job. 

So the good news of today is that I am employed again. I don't have much more to say, other than that I'm very very relieved. He's some shiny for you from the amazing Treasure City. 

Right now I'm watching Ace of Cakes, and I am endlessly amused by the show. My mother once told me in all seriousness that it reminded her of me, and my friends, and yeah. I can totally see it.

We ran the newspaper office much like they run the bakery. Madness, creativity, and laughing until we couldn't see straight. One thing in particular I recall is my Editor in Cheif's tendency to leave notes for people, written with sharpie on duct tape, and taped to their desk. 

It was fun. I miss it. I'm hopeful that my new job will bring as much to my life as my previous ones have.

I went north for my Aunt's birthday-- three days in deep lake country, it is fabulous I'll tell you what. My brother and I had many adventures in flea markets and barely escaped with our lives. 

Also we bought a book of crappy North Shore ghost stories and he read to me while I drove home-- this is the best sort of entertainment. There's nothing quite like MSTing a book while it's being read aloud to you in ridiculous accents.

 This is an example of what it is you can find at a horrifying tourist trap in the North Woods. Yes, that is the Boy, as a southern belle, and a confederation hand fan. Why?

I do not know.

At any rate, as you can see from the aisle in the picture, many a soul has stopped at this place and soon they were NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN.

We only just made it out with our lives. 

The job hunt continues. It's unbelievable how slow going it all seems-- and it's not really from lack of jobs to apply for. I've applied to about 15 places in the last month and have only heard back from three. Yes, three. At one interview, the hiring manager told me they had 50 applicants for one job. That's not an astounding number if it were for a high profile position, but normally this type of job merits about 15 to 20 applications. Where my brother works there were hundreds of applicants just for three jobs.

But! I keep applying. And I sold a few pair of earrings over the weekend, these things really do help. (No, fiends, they were not as special as the Drunken Earrings, that was not just jewelry, it was an experience.)

I'm considering selling one pair of earrings per post here on this blog. Any thoughts? 

Poor lighting, yes, but here is the Wall Crap at Gustav's in Minneapolis. My interview on Tuesday went well, and in celebration my parents, brother, and I went to eat ALL THE FOOD IN THE WORLD at Gustav's. 

We were very entertained by the accordion player, sang along with the Wandering Song and Roll Out the Barrel (a family favorite!) and generally were obnoxious. 

You might not believe me when I said ALL THE FOOD IN THE WORLD, but I assure you it's absolutely true. On one plate I got spaetzle, croquettes, chicken, pork, asparagus, bratwurst, cabbage...well. You get the idea. 

I should be hearing back in the next few days about the interview. Thanks to everyone for the good thoughts, it's amazing how much better you feel when someone is rooting for you.

I don't have much else in my life that's bloggable today, so I'll leave you with a few lines from something I'm working on.

"How do you know my sister," she managed after a moment, surprised her voice didn't betray the shaking inside of her.

He shrugged. "I was trying to help her. She's in a lot of trouble. But after about a month she was gone. Before I could teach her anything really useful, other than just basic mending. Not that she had any natural aptitude for it. But it would have helped."

Knife stared at him, trying to make sense of anything he just said.

"We were in California," he added, completely unhelpfully.

"Oh."

I wish the above picture was not a lie. There is not more art laying about in this entry. Though I have been thinking about it quite a bit.

Today I did nothing. That is not a cute exaggeration or a complaint. I really honestly did not move from my bed (aside from food/bathroom breaks) until 9pm when I came out to the kitchen and made cookies for no reason. I spent most of the day watching Leverage.

I don't know why I couldn't do anything today, and quite frankly I feel a bit sick now. Inactivitiy settles into my stomach like food poisoning and can very quickly build up into a panic attack of sorts. Right now I'm focusing on little things, like the blog and baking cookies I won't eat.

I have a job interview again tomorrow. I would really like to get this job-- it's full time and would be fun, unlike the other I interviewed for. I need something to do with my days or my creativity can be drained.

Over the weekend I kept busy, and got the urge to pick up the 11,000 words of a novel I'd written some time ago.  Today when I had all the time in the world to do it? Zilch. Stupid human brains, eh? We're so contrary.

But tomorrow is another day, filled with an interview and a museum trip, I should think. And maybe some work on the novel-- but beware! If you ask me about it, be sure to schedule at least an hour of time for me to ramble on and on and on and on. It never gets old to me. ;)

So I had an adventure! We heard this beast before the sirens even went off, a low sort of roar that you recognize immediately when you grow up in tornado country.

We're a bit stupid, my papa and I, so we went outside. The trees on the property blocked the view to the west, but we knew it was in town and that it was close. And then, just like that, it was all over. 

I drove into town a bit later, to get some things before I headed home. Driving on the outskirts it didn't seem like much-- but there were trees down as close as a half-mile away. Our neighborhood didn't even lose any branches. One street was blocked by police, I figured it was a downed powerline and then I made the drive home quite peacefully.

This morning a friend who lives in North Dakota called me, fairly early. "I'm on my way to work," she said. "CNN was on this morning and they said there was a tornado and lots of damage and is everything ok?"

"Uh. Yeah," I said, half awake. "It wasn't that bad, at least not by us."

But when the conversation ended I got curious and went to the local paper's website. The above picture is what I found. (Yes, I stole it. Don't hate me, WC Trib.)

Yeah, that's a big tornado. And when I looked at the caption I realized the photo had been TAKEN BY MY NEIGHBORS. If the tornado had continued moving east, (moving right in the photo) it would have landed smack on my parent's house. Our neighborhood is just off the right side of the frame.

So that's the second in two weeks. Let's hope they're at an end, now.

The impetus behind last night's tweet was this: so much painting. (And no, I did not drive on no sleep-- I honestly know better and was simply trying to force myself to go to bed. Poor fiends, you were all so startled for me! This is why I love you.)

Anyway, I drove to my parent's house. Papa paints houses in the summer, sometimes, and since I am broke I came home to help him and get myself some monies.

It was a good day for it-- about 75 degrees and breezy off the lake. Cloudy later, too, which is nice because painting in the sun is really not a fun experience.

Painting is one of the most soothing things you can do. I'm a chatty person by nature, but I can appreciate a good silence when I need one. Papa is quiet, and when we work together we don't need to talk all that much. He tells me what to do and I do it, and that's about it for conversation unless we start talking about Reno 911. I don't know, it's this weird bonding thing we have.

So I painted, quietly, and fell into the rythmn of it quickly. I'm not sure what it is about my brain that makes me think the most clearly when I have a physical task to do, but there it is. I get my best story ideas while driving, my best poems written while walking, and my best life ponderings done while painting or folding laundry. 

The view helps with the meaning of life ponderings, I'll admit it. Nevertheless, I painted and I thought about work and about -not- work and what I'm going to do if the money runs out before a job appears. And also I thought a little about Torchwood, because I like shiny things and I'm not serious -all- the time. 

I decided that if I heard nothing from the latest batch of resumes by tomorrow, it would be time for Serious Business. I painted and I was okay with that idea.

I totally painted this wall, guys. It was very satisfying to have half a house change its look in my wake.

Of course, I hurt like hell now, because I am -so- not used to painting like that, and my carpal tunnel thing was, um, shall we say unhappy? That's a delicate way to put it. Nevertheless, it's the accomplished sort of sore that we're all familiar with.

I celebrated with victory pizza. And at dinner I got a call-- job interview on wednesday. Slowly things start clicking into place.

Home Sweet

Home Sweet
Originally uploaded by El-in-the-round

When everything else is a mess I can always go sit on the balcony and enjoy the weather. I'm grateful for a beautiful day.

Got a submission accepted yesterday, just when I needed it. I'm thrilled to say the least.  Also, tonight, I went to food heaven. (For the curious, food heaven includes smoked ribs, grilled chicken, green beans and chocolate cake.) 

Now, mostly I'm tired. Slow, slow recovery from the past two months. I ran out of spoons* about two weeks in and I'm just praying I'll be able to make up the deficit. Spending a few days with my parents and taking a day off from work has helped immensly.

And the weather, too, has finally been kind. First a string of 75+ degree days and now a settled pattern that puts sun in the sky and the temp at about 70 has done a lot to banish the misery that was lingering from the winter.

* While I don't have an invisible disability like Lupus, I have yet to find a descriptor that works as well to help me describe my troubles with depression and S.A.D.

Somedays I wonder about my job. Today's not really one of them, because I got to play with a mostly non-verbal little guy today. I even got to break out my incredibly rusty ASL so we could communicate more clearly. 

(The only signs I use on a daily basis are the alphabet and "sit down, please")

So we played some games and I don't even know, I am just head over heels in love with this kid! We had a ton of fun-- I love when my days include phrases like "do you think the key will start the bear? No? How about the table? Oh, you're right, it only starts the truck."

And when it was time to go, not only did he sign my name and say goodbye, but he actually made an attempt to say it out loud as well. I am so, so smitten.

Went on my first bike ride of the season, just now, and I feel fabulous. Well. Directly after I felt like I might die. Now I feel fabulous. 

It's cold today, the wind chapped my knuckles and my nose is still a little chilled. But there was sun, there's no snow on the ground, and I could bike in just a sweatshirt and jeans.

Little steps forward, but steps nonetheless. I keep hoping and hoping for spring.

I've been submitting here and there, and I intend to be doing a lot more of it in the future. It feels strange to say, but I almost am looking forward to rejection letters. Directly after, I feel like I might die. But then I feel fabulous.

Because, see, to me they're like receipts. Proof positive that at the very least, I've been trying. When the winter comes and the days are short, it's the easiest thing in the world to just give up. In the spring I can collect emails and letters that say "no, sorry" with something close to a positive attitude. Because I'm alive, at least, and moving.

Okay, so I'm a bit crap at updating. I'll put it on my new year's resolutions list, along with brushing up on my spanish and reading more "important" books.

Honestly, life is boring. But it seems that my wish in the previous post has been answered. There was an EPIC amount of going out last night, and it was fun. Even if my brother refused to go to the drag show with us. His loss.

And a small note to Britney Spears fans: if you stand in the middle of the street to get pictures of her tour bus, I will run you over. Just sayin'.

For the first time in my life I've become the sort of person who wants to go out on friday night.

When I was younger, I enjoyed visiting friends on the weekend, but I never had much desire to do anything but see a movie and hang out at the house. In college, all my friends were built in to my house-- they were there constantly and we got into more trouble (and had more fun) working in our office or making culinary, ahem, masterpieces in the apartment.

Plus, North Dakota. I love you, but amazing with the nightlife you are not.

And now, I'm much more on my own. I live with a friend, but only one. Many of my friends are having Adventures on the other side of the globe (I'm looking at you, Boxgirl) and many others are simply invovled in their own lives.

Apparently becoming an adult is boring. Or at least -my- adulthood is boring. 

Of course, it doesn't have to be. I'm working on it.

So now that we're nearly at the end of the month I'll post again, mostly just to say that I had Taco Bell for the first time in ages and it was heavenly.

I've started compiling my portfolio- 4 out of ten poems are edited to my satisfaction. I'm...not actually sure what I'll do with it when I'm done, but I guess it's simply a good idea to have it done. I think I'll certainly need to write a few new pieces. I'm still feeling unsure in my voice. All I can do now is practice and try new things.


In an unrelated note, what is is about watching The Dog Whisperer that is so soothing?

Oh my god.

It has been an incredibly long week. New boss is good, frustrating student is EPICALLY frustrating and I hate all oncoming flu viruses.

There. Now you know. But my mommy and daddy are coming to take me out to dinner and it'll feel like college all over again. That's gotta be worth something.

Old boss is leaving this week, new boss is coming on Monday...

It's not too much to ask for a little stability, is is?

Oh well. No worries, no worries! The car is getting fixed, tomorrow. Coffee with a friend, tomorrow. That's as far into the future as I want to look right now.

Maybe a quick look ahead to the weekend. The Boy wants to go ice skating and it may finally be warm enough. The lake we go to is wonderful and beautiful, but sometimes one longs for the modern convenience of walls.

I was really cranky, and then I watched Youtube videos of kittens falling over. Bless the intertubes.

Some new training at work today-- I get stupidly excited. I always loved the first day of school, too. I did some work with lesson plans and reports. Not even all that thrilling, but I bounced around all morning.

Still dealing with a frustrating student. Hopefully this is the day that we make a breakthrough. (I hope this every day, it hasn't happened yet. The perils of eternal optimism.)




Yesterday, yesterday, I don't think I will talk about yesterday. We have a new president. I am happy. That's all.

Just got back from meeting with a friend who was in the Bahamas. I am unbelievably jealous.

It's so nice to catch up with old friends-- sometimes I wonder what I'd do without the family I've built around myself.

My blood-relations are wonderful and a gift, but my heart-relations are just as spectacular. It's a blessing that I try not to take for granted.

Another blessing: a sock full of rice and a microwave when your uterus decides to throw a coup. Ah, womanhood.

Some days my horoscope is so accurate it's scary.

Today, not so much.

"A day with good surprises" my ass.

I mean, besides the extra hour of work. It's all be downhill from there.

A pleasant surprise this morning- an extra hour of work!

Odd, yes. But you see, we'd only just had a meeting where our CEO crowed endlessly about how we managed to make a profit in a down economy last year. And all by "managing labor costs." Which is to say, cutting myself and my coworkers down to half-time and yelling at us a lot for non-billable hours.

It's understandable-- better half-time than layoffs. But if only they hadn't sounded quite so smug and pleased with themselves, and made an attempt to remember the people that were giving up a lot for that small profit margin.

It's a shame I love my job. I could be a lot less poor right now.

Last night's dream:

A children's play, hosted by a different person each night. The host must introduce the play via haiku, and the first letters of the haiku must be the first three letters of their name.

I think I'm working too hard on forms.



This morning's dream:

Finding a way to get to work that doesn't involve going outside.