The Myth & The Majesty

I'm not known for bouts of homesickness. When I started college, it took several weeks before it really hit me; when I moved out here, there was more of the same. Occasionally, though, a conversation or news story or random thought will hit me just right and WHAM! Homesickness. As anyone who has met me can likely tell, I love love LOVE my home state. I am more patriotic and loyal toward my birth state than I am toward my home country. It's one of those things -- the place tends to inspire fierce loyalty or fierce loathing, and lucky for me it's the former in my own life. I will take any opportunity I can to talk about the people and places back west, and while I know this can get tiresome it's something I can't always help. I'm not from around here; most of my friends are. Whenever they talk about local things, they are talking about home. But I'm a transplant -- and it takes special occasions and topics in order for me to get to say much about where

I'm quickly approaching post number 600. It's odd, since #500 happened only about five months ago (this is easily the bloggingest year I've had), but all the same, 600 is coming. I won't be treating that one as a landmark post. Not because it's not a landmark -- it is -- but like so many other things in life, it's overshadowed by the very round-numbered landmark that it follows. Plus odds are good it'll be a random post that I email while at work. It was a fun weekend. I went to Minneapolis to hang out with Mia Sorella, shop, and relax. It's come to the point where relaxation only seems to occur when I leave and intentionally look for it ... Unlike last year at this time, life in Wausau is full of people and things to do. Not a lot I can say about it that would interest the rest of you. Mia Sorella found a winter coat; I found a hat rack. We had some good Indian food. The Mall was overrun with high school girls looking for homecoming dresses. That was a

I have some stories for you. The first is about some relatives. I have an aunt and uncle and two cousins who live in a suburb of Houston. Two weeks ago when Ike was approaching, they decided to buckle down, boarding up their house and prepping for some very close family time. (From my understanding of family hearsay, they missed the window to leave and decided they should -- and could -- stay put.) The winds blew, the rain fell, and the lights went out. For a couple of days, they stayed huddled in the house. When it passed, they came out to discover that the only real damage they had was a small leak by their chimney, some damaged fence, and a couple of missing shingles. They were very, very lucky. A week later, they still didn't have power, but all was well. Things are mostly back to normal now, aside from some remaining cleanup. I suspect it may be awhile before that's finished. Meanwhile, I had a friend up here who had to oil his hardwood floors. Since this is

I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world. - Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself" "Are you going over for the funeral?" Blink. "Um, no ..." "Oh, okay. Thirty-six dollars then. You're taking your car?" "Yeah." I handed the girl my money and asked where to wait in line. She sent me on my way and greeted the car behind me. Saturday had started freakishly early in the morning, at least for someone like me who doesn't hunt or fish. By 5:15 I had showered, dressed, packed a backpack, and was on the road. The sun rose somewhere north of Tomahawk, after US-51 became a two-lane, 55-mile-per-hour highway. I spent the next hour speeding through forests of evergreens intermixed with flaming oaks and maples. Fall was in full swing here and it was perfect, but there were precious few people out yet to enjoy it. The time would come -- it was possibly the last beauti

Friday. Woot. Some plans for the weekend ... Don't think any of them qualify as "big." Some driving, some sightseeing (fall colors are in full swing!), some geocaching, a wedding reception after-party, and probably some shopping for E-train's wedding in three weeks. But before the shopping, I've gotta enjoy the last Saturday of the summer and get away a bit ... Last night we returned to our Thursday night shenanigans (it'd been Wednesdays over the summer) and it was good. Most of the young'uns were out of town (or headed that way) so we were actually limited to those that have been around for at least a year, including all six that started the madness -- which hasn't happened since April or so. It was a fun change of pace, although probably won't happen again for another five months. And by then the "been here for at least a year" crowd will be much bigger. Hm. The Admiral will be living in his garage for a few days while his

This list goes hand-in-hand with the guilty pleasures list, although it's a little different. Slightly. Enough. There are few -- if any -- surprises, however.   ------------------   Twelve Things That Calm Me   1. Dark chocolate. Really, that's all that needs to be said about that one.   2. Wine. Yum.   3. Christmas music. It's odd, but I occasionally pull out Christmas music in random months because yes, it calms me.   4. Almost any bookstore or library. B&N, Borders, used stores -- I love them. My goal: to see the City of Books in Portland, Oregon.   5. Snow. Provided I'm not out driving in it (because sometimes that is the furthest thing from relaxing), I love -- love -- snow. It's beautiful. And silent.   6. Thunderstorms. Rain in almost any form is mesmerizing, as long as it doesn't come with wind. But when it comes with a light show? I can watch for hours.   7. People-watching in airports. I like g

... to Darren on his job offer! ... to Bri and Wayne on their engagement! ... to Dan and Patti on their engagement! ... to Becca and Dave on their wedding! ... to Jen and Teal on their baby girl! ... to Erin and Charlie on their baby girl! It's been an exciting couple of weeks. Wow.

I have started thinking about Christmas. A couple of my more recent posts have hinted at this -- I've finished more of my Christmas shopping than I anticipated and I've admitted that Christmas music calms me (implying that I was listening to it at some point within a month of that post) -- but there's more to it than that. I've started prepping. Last year it started because I quite literally had nothing else to do. I had only been in town for about six months and I didn't really know people, so when I got off work every night I had to find things to do. At some point I got started making Christmas decorations and it snowballed to the point where I don't have an un-homemade or unaltered ornament for my tree. This year I think it's because there's not a lot going on between now and then and I love to have something big to plan. I could focus on Thanksgiving, since my parents will be making the trek out here -- but I'm not. No, for whatever rea

Twelve Cool/Fun/Interesting Things I've Seen That I Won't Soon Forget (in no particular order) 1. Old Faithful. [Yellowstone Park, Wyoming] 2. Fireworks over the Rocky Mountains. [Breckenridge, Colorado] 3. The Atlantic Ocean. [Myrtle Beach, South Carolina] 4. Bono, on the big screen, talking to 20,000 college students from his living room. [Urbana at St. Louis, Missouri] 5. A retired space shuttle. [Johnson Space Center, Texas] 6. "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway. [New York City] 7. 140,000 people at one concert. [Sioux Falls, South Dakota] 8. Lenin's Tomb. [Red Square, Moscow] 9. From the Empire State Building at night -- the Twin Pillars of Light at Ground Zero. [New York City] 10. Mt. Rushmore in the fog. [Black Hills, South Dakota] 11. The wreckage of a World War II bomber in the mountains. [Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming] 12. The sun setting after midnight. [Somewhere north of St. Petersburg, Russia]

Today I stepped outside into the perfect morning. Crisp. Crystal-clear. Just cool enough to give you half a shiver, but not yet cold enough to require a coat. A sharp reminder that winter is coming, but just nice enough to tease you into thinking that maybe it'll stall out a bit before the snow flies. Crazy weekend. Stuartpalooza was a screaming success. Saturday lead to a mini-celebration of M-Kay's 23rd birthday (including dinner at 2510, which is a pretty great -- although expensive -- restaurant. I highly recommend it to Wausaunians as a "special occasion" destination). Yesterday I ended up watching the Packers game with a couple of coworkers, the wife of one of them, and a friend from church. Totally random, which aids in the fun. This week? Not a lot. I fully intend to hang out at home at least two days this week, hopefully three, and finish my cleaning. And maybe watch a couple of movies while doing very little else. What a wonderful thought.

Twelve Things I've Thought About This Morning: 1. I don't know what possessed me to be convinced to wear a bright yellow shirt, but I kind of like it. Kind of. At least it's not pink, although I look like I should be wandering around an amusement park, wearing a fanny pack. 2. Why have I had such issues making myself lunches lately? 3. I'm really enjoying my new JuteBlue CD although I doubt the sanity of a friend that could write the lyrics for "Creek." Seriously, Luke. I'm concerned. 4. I think my apple just rolled under my desk. 5. Okay, I have an equation. But I don't trust how they got to it. If I spend all afternoon deriving formulas, I'm going to be incredibly crabby by the time I get home. 6. I wonder what happened to Eric? He read my blog back when it was still a new novelty. Then he disappeared from the Blogger world a few months later. Every once in awhile I still wonder where he went. Hope he's doing well, wherever h

That's right, we're throwing a Palooza. The Admiral is turning 28 today (has turned 28 today, I suppose) and in honor of our favorite loud, red-haired process engineer, we're having a Palooza. Complete with Palooza T-shirts. Which means I actually wore a bright yellow shirt with someone's picture on it to work today. I am my own locating beacon. Never a dull moment around here, I tell ya. Lots to do in the next nine hours. Including seven more hours here. Back to it, then.

Seven years. So much has happened since ... and yet so little. We are very much the same people we were then, even if we aren't the same country (My story of that day is in this post .)

It alarmed me this morning when I was walking into work and I realized that the leaves were starting to turn. Already? Well, I guess it is mid-September. I mean, it's not crazy to be seeing a bit more fuchsia in the leaves, especially up here where leaf season lasts over a month.   With fall, though, comes a chance for something new and different. And whether or not I meant to, I've been doing just that -- I have had a Girl Week.   Seriously. It started with some shopping at the Arts Festival this weekend. I haven't spent that much time ogling jewelry since -- well, ever, actually. Tuesday night I hosted an Arbonne party and actually bought some stuff (which is pretty well unprecedented). And yesterday I got my hair cut and the dress I had ordered showed up.   I also found out that I get to be a bridesmaid next year, which was way exciting (not the bridesmaid part so much as the fact that they're finally getting married -- congratulations, Bri and Wayne!).

I love the "Oddly Enough" section on Reuters. ----------- Postman hoards 20,000 letters in Germany FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A Scottish postman working in Germany hoarded at least 20,000 letters at home because he felt his work was too taxing, police said on Tuesday. The postman in Frankfurt was caught when a neighbor saw him tipping a mail delivery into a rubbish bin and alerted police. "It's worth mentioning the 23-year-old didn't deliver mail addressed to himself either , " [my emphasis] local police said in a statement. Investigating officers found rubbish bags and boxes full of letters and other post stashed around the man's flat and cellar. He told police he had got behind with deliveries because of his night school studies and felt too "overtaxed" to catch up. Police said at a conservative estimate, the hoard, which the man had built up since August 2007, comprised at least 20,000 letters. Two vans were needed to remove

My week started with a bang. But somewhere around the 10-meter mark I tripped and made a rather spectacular tumble. Today did NOT start well. We're talking oversleeping, missing utility bills, drawing errors not well. At least I remembered to grab my lunch. Unless I get pulled into a meeting right before noon (a possibility I'd rather not even consider), I shouldn't starve. So ... Cheers, folks! Here's to nowhere to go but up!

I am about one third of my way through my Christmas shopping. " *Gasp!* Is that true, Ashley?" Yep. That's true. And something new and different for me, I might add. We'll see if it continues in that kind of force because I would LOVE to be done by the end of October. Maybe that's too ambitious of me, though ... Had some fun with the Art Festival here in town and spent the rest of my time cleaning and shopping. Managed to get back to church this morning, too -- the first time in eight weeks. (Inward cringe.) I don't think I realized it had been so long until I heard the phrase, "Well! You're back!" about six times. Oops. I hate to say that's all, but aside from getting caught up with half of my friends (including two fantastic conversations today -- hi, Calvert, and congratulations Bri!) I really haven't done anything noteworthy. So ... yeah. There's an update. Have a good week, everybody.

Well, here we are. Arts in the Park at the Square and Marathon Park if there are any readers from Wausau out there ... Highly recommend it! I'm taking it mostly easy this weekend, limiting myself to cleaning and whatnot. After what I can only assume was a drug interaction gone bad last night (I won't go into the gory details, but I won't be taking Aleve again) I have had little ambition to leave the house. I still have a lot of work to do before I'm invaded by the ten women I know (plus the Admiral) on Tuesday. So instead, I'm having my own personal Ocean's marathon and making chicken for supper. Sounds exciting, eh? Perhaps not, but I'm enjoying myself. It's feeling very fall-ish around here, and I love it. Tomorrow I fully intend to spend some time enjoying it. Perhaps next weekend I can make a trip north ... We'll see. Lots to do before the snow flies.

We're going to do something a little unprecedented while I'm feeling open and honest. Some of these you already know; some of these are only known by my close friends. But in any case, here we go. Welcome, Internet, to the inner workings of Ashley. ------- Twelve Guilty Pleasures 1. Dark chocolate anything. This is getting quite easy to justify -- dark chocolate, at least in small amounts, is actually quite healthy. Candy companies have caught on to it's new popularity, too; now there are several choices when you're standing in front of the chocolate display at the grocery store. 2. Cheesecake. Wow. Yeah. Now, when I say cheesecake, I generally mean the real, cream-cheese-containing, has-to-be-baked stuff. But there are a lot of delicious derivatives out there ... 3. Almost any movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. That's right. I still love "Titanic." And he actually manages to impress me now as he becomes less of a pretty boy. I also get the impression that he&#

Okay, okay, okay. I shouldn't post when I'm in a lousy mood. While I'm at my most honest, I'm also at my most brutal. That combination can be a little more than even I can handle. And I'm the one writing. Anyway, I'm feeling much more normal now. Went out to dinner last night -- as per usual for the summer, although we'll be moving to Thursdays now -- and apparently it was like hitting a big reset button. I was friendly, even talkative most of the night. Kind of a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde change there. The upcoming week holds a lot of cleaning followed by a girls' night (plus the Admiral), then the much-anticipated Stuartpalooza. I'm also looking forward to a day or two of sleeping in. Too many late nights and early mornings lately. A few extra hours at work, too, I suspect. I got pulled in on another project -- one that's not actually mine, but they need some stuff done NOW and the process guy is already swamped. Enter Backup Ashley. Wo

We never talk anymore. That's not entirely true. I've been a comparative blogging madwoman for the last few months. Half of those posts have even been worthwhile. But I've noticed a trend as of late in my life: I am not talking to people. Instead of eating with my friends, I hole up in my cubicle at lunch. I've all but stopped initiating interesting and thought-provoking conversations. And I haven't been to church in ages, for good (out of town) and bad (overslept) reasons. The bottom line is that I'm becoming more and more of a hermit, and it's getting to be a bit alarming. The truth is -- that's not really me. I love being around people. I love talking to people and hearing what's going on in the lives of my friends ... and complete strangers ... and random acquaintances. Or until about six months ago I did. I'm not sure what happened. I started shutting myself up, physically and metaphorically. It became easier to sit back and zone out than co

When you're in high school, you can't imagine a bigger, wilder world than the one you're in. When you're in college, you can't imagine a better way to spend your life. When you're in the "real world," you wonder what you're doing with your life and what kind of world you really live in. Heavy thoughts for 1AM.