The Myth & The Majesty

This is possibly my last first day of school ever. Okay, that's a freaky thought. I'm almost done with school. Anyway, it's my last first day of school, and I might not even have class. My morning lab isn't being held (so now I'm in the compy lab instead) and I don't know about my evening class yet. In the meantime, I've got time to clean up my room, eat some lunch, get my senior hat ... Yay. Ooh, and take a nap, maybe. It seems I should retract my own comment on my last entry; a few of those comments seem to be automatically generated. At least, the gaming one and the debt consolidation one. Tricky way to advertise, that's for sure. I've got a few more people to track down as well. The main issue here? I have no idea where they live. No idea. Some people are in the dorms, but a large chunk have moved off-campus now, and ... yeah. No idea. Hmm. My last first day and I want to take a nap. I'm definitely a college student. I may not be

Okay, I liked this one. It cracked me up... Take the quiz: "Which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Are You?" Donatello You've been described as 'the brains' of your family or group of friends. You're the natural born, 'Mr. Fixit'. You're also considered the most reserved, preoccupied with your own little thoughts and ideas. But that doesn't mean you don't hang with your family and friends! But, you still find it easy to get lost in your own thoughts...daydreaming often. You'd rather talk things out than fight. You long for a day when there's nothing but peace in the world, and when you can finally rest with your own thoughts. Violence is something the world could completely live without. One of your labels may be, 'true to blue friend'. You're strong at heart and powerful at mind.

Welcome back, dear readers, to Ashleyland. It's a bright, sunny day out and Ellsworth AFB is NOT closing. (And there was much rejoicing.) Funny. I wasn't sure I would actually care when the commission finally made its decision, but when I heard the news this morning I was rather jubilant. Somehow, the fact that I'm calling RC home makes all the difference in the world. (Shocking.) The coolest part is that the whole town was behind this, and I imagine there are some very, very happy people out there today. After the long day yesterday, I ended up going out with Ashli, Zeeb, and others until far too early in the morning. It was great to see everybody, right up until my alarm went off at 6:15 with the reminder that I had to be back at work in an hour. There is one definite up to being down here all alone in the lab -- lots of time to think. I realized that 1) I complain about being bored too much and 2) I could fix the boring stuff. I think the term I once heard was "Call

It was a dark and stormy night. It began like any other Thursday; early. When she entered the dungeon, it was quiet. Too quiet. Later, the dungeonmaster informed her that everyone else had the day off and she was on her own. The day passed uneventfully. Inmates were characteristically silent, and there were no visitors this time. As darkness set in, she began to feel a little more alone and exposed; after all, no light passed through those windows to illuminate passers-by. Okay, I'm starting to give myself the creeps. In all fairness, it is dark and stormy. And quiet. But it's really only a basement, and my boss probably wouldn't appreciate being called a dungeonmaster. Oh, and bacteria are always silent. If they're not, you've got more to worry about than a failed experiment. I wasn't kidding about the feeling alone and exposed, however. I'm sincerely hoping no one was walking past while I was dancing in the micro lab a couple minutes ago. Could be rather e

I woke up yesterday morning confused. You see, when I got to the city of Rapid this past Sunday, I found everything pretty much as I had left it. Drivers were still mildly psychotic, it was hot and dry outside, and the school was still bustling with people (although one big building is finally gone). I still had to wait for a train when I went on a coffee run. Unlike when I appeared at home, things hadn’t changed much. But, when I woke up, I was confused. I suppose that happens to a lot of people when they wake up somewhere new for the first time. That “Holy cow, where am I?” moment when you realize things are going to be different. The confusion didn’t end there, as I got ready for the day in this strange new house. This was my new home. This was where I would run off to when I was sick of homework and projects and needed to sleep. It was strange, but I definitely liked it. Work came shortly after that, and there the confusion continued. Again, not much had changed, but that w

Hey, I got the picture to work! Woot! So, here's a shot from our recent trip to Yellowstone ... More specifically, this is from the day we spent in the Tetons (the highlight of the trip for me). The storm was finally moving out when we left ... The best part of all this was the chance to see real mountains again. The Black Hills are perfectly fine most of the time, and I love it out there, but every backpacker gets that urge for real mountains every now and then (especially when she happens to live in a rather flat state). I'll be back there someday, and I'll get to go on a real hike. Happy thoughts.

Home again, home again ... Okay, so technically I've been here since Saturday. It's been mildly eventful since then (mostly because I was only home for a couple of hours before heading out to join a mix-n-match bonfire) and I'm rather tired now. Today's events: spending money with my sister and getting caught up with JN. Yay! Well, the getting caught up part anyway; I'm happy to hang out with my sister, but it's once again time for that horrid thing known as "Back to school shopping." I fear for my checking account. Nothing beats a time of need to let a department store suck the money out of you. However, I refuse to let that money go to the Evil Empire. I'm a purist -- it's ShopKo and Target for me! In other news, Black Hills Power is irritating me with the whole "put you on hold for fifteen minutes before mysteriously disconnecting you" schtick. No worries, girls, we'll have electricity in the house. It'll just take a little

Well, I'm back at my grandparents' place. Yellowstone was awesome -- so many sights and anomalies ... So many times to just sit back and say, "That's not normal." Hey, any time the world's largest active volcano is close by, things aren't normal. Now that I'm back in my quiet place, I've realized (again) how much I miss so many different people. I love my family. However, when I'm with them, there are so many others that I'm not around. Currently, that includes Anya, Tanya, Sasha, Anfisa, Lyosha, Marina, and so many others from Russia; Darren, who's hanging out in Australia; Zeeb (etc.), who I'll probably see in a couple of weeks; Ashli, who's in Turkey; Bri, who's in Illinois; Andy, who's waiting to go to Iowa; Benjamin, the Amys (Aimees), Marilynn, Danielle, Virginia, Brian, Sandi, and Mr. Bond, who are scattered across the Midwest; the whole Storm crowd; the whole Sunnycrest crowd; Dani and Jessie from home; and Aaron

It’s dry and dusty, but it feels most like home. We’re on our way out to Yellowstone, on a good old-fashioned family vacation. In the meantime, we’ve stopped at my grandparents’ ranch for a couple of days of rest and relaxation. I am infatuated with this tract of land. At first glance, life seems sparse. Brown ground, only a little green hunkered down low, if you look closely enough. The nearest people are three miles away by road, two miles if you’d rather walk, a little less as the crow flies. The land is as strong-willed as the people; grass should have abandoned it years ago, yet each spring it reappears. For ages, the creek has been dry (or nearly so), but the trees still grow there, shining greenly each and every summer. Ground that would be used as farmland in friendlier climates works wonders as pastureland. Cattle wander to areas most ranchers aren’t even interested in, finding water in hidden pools sheltered by spruces. In the winter, snow falls and melts, intermingled

After disappearing from home for roughly a year (this is the longest stretch that I've been at my parents' house since ... well, last August at the least, the August before that at the most), I'm reminded again and again that the world turns on without me. Not that I wasn't aware of this, mind you. I might be dense, but at least give me that much credit. Anyway, I've been noticing some changes around here. For instance, there is now a four-way stop south of my house where there was not a week ago. And lower speed limits going past Tea, on both sides. For that matter, one of those speed zones is located where one didn't even exist before. My brother is hooked on "Gilmore Girls" now. That was a little more alarming than most everything ... I don't know why. It shouldn't be alarming. Maybe that's mostly in the name. Ah, yes. There's also a lake behind my house. That's the real shocker. There used to be a corn field back there,