The Myth & The Majesty

Is this the New Year or just another night? Is this the new fear or just another fright? Is this the new tear or just another desperation? Well. Here we are. December 31st. I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world, But its feeling just like every other morning before, Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone. Tomorrow, we start a new year. A new year that will include a new President, thousands of people looking for new jobs, gas prices about half of what they were a year ago, and retirement accounts horrendously shriveled. My usual optimism still fails me. It's not that I think we can't pull it off. We're a resilient country and we've been known to recover from some pretty crazy things. Yet there's this part of me that realizes that this is the first real test that my generation has ever seen. We're the ones who will see the impact in full -- and I'm not totally confident that we can handle it. The ...

A nod to Pastor Ryan for this one ...   Questions No One Asked (or My Interview With Myself)   What are you hoping for in 2009? First, that I can finish planning my trip to England in February and that the trip goes well. Second, that I can make it out to the Hills at least twice. Third, that this country can take a few steps forward for once. I'm not sure how hopeful I am about that, though. There are a bunch of other things as well, resolution-related things, but I don't want to talk about those right now.   Why not? Because the Internets are very public, and I already know of at least one coworker that happens across this blog regularly.   Are you happy being single? Yes. Not that I'm opposed to NOT being single -- just that I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to reverse it.   What is your favorite color? Red. The only reason no one asks this is because if someone's in a position to ask, they've probably ...

Ever since I watched "Prince Caspian" I've had this song in my head. Well, not constantly, but probably nightly. It's pretty darn stuck there. ---- Regina Spektor "The Call" It started out as a feeling Which then grew into a hope Which then turned into a quiet thought Which then turned into a quiet word And then that word grew louder and louder 'Til it was a battle cry I'll come back When you call me No need to say goodbye Just because everything's changing Doesn't mean it's never Been this way before All you can do is try to know Who your friends are As you head off to the war Pick a star on the dark horizon And follow the light You'll come back When it's over No need to say good bye You'll come back When it's over No need to say good bye Now we're back to the beginning It's just a feeling and no one knows yet But just because they can't feel it too Doesn't mean that you have to forget Let your memories gr...

My Yahoo! horoscope for today: Your life is more intertwined with other people's lives than you realize right now, so don't think that your actions won't have domino-like repercussions. The choices you make, from how much eau de cologne to put on in the morning to where you do your grocery shopping, has an impact on other people. So be cautious about where you vent your frustrations -- and how you vent them. If small things make a difference, then big things like anger could do a lot of damage. The drive back yesterday took less than seven hours. That was a new record, actually. I was never outrunning traffic, but I also only stopped once and the weather was perfect for driving. I came home to several fresh inches of snow and some half-melted ice. Whee. Tonight, I need to start cleaning my bedroom so that I can move my new chair into its proper place. Unfortunately, that's the one room that has been neglected beyond reason since I moved in. I have a lot ...

Getting ready in Wausau. A pretty gift from Shorty. Toying with Edgar. The best use of leftover turkey.

I got furniture for Christmas! It was totally unexpected and awesome, but Mom remembered that I was looking for a chair for my haven in my apartment. A big comfy one, more specifically. And now I have one. Yay. In any case, Christmas has been fantastic. Very relaxing. I've been terrorizing the cat (Edgar) with the blue Jeep Mia Sorella got me ... and then luring him into more terror with the laser pointer Mia Sorella and I bought for the family to play with the cat. (I didn't know until she told me that pet stores sold pet-safe laser pointers. How cool is that?) And ... my mother bought my father/siblings a Wii. I'm still pretty sure she's lost her mind -- but it's been so much fun already. It's crazy. Anyway, just checking in. Pictures soon, hopefully. Have a good evening, folks!

M e r r y C h r i s t m a s ! To my parents and sibs -- well, I'm hanging out with you in good ol' SoDak, so never mind. To my grandparents out on the ranch, and all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins (Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Minneapolis, Houston, North Carolina, Salt Lake City, California, general western SoDak) -- merry Christmas, and I hope to hear from you or -- *gasp!* -- see you at some point in 2009! To Ashli, Barb, Bri, Dani, and Jessie -- the greatest girls I know and, not coincidentally, people I both stay in touch with and occasionally see -- merry Christmas and happy 2009! To my guys -- Darren, Chris, Matt, and Justin -- I miss you guys. I hope for the best for all of you and to see you all at some point in the not-too-distant future. (And to Chris in particular -- good luck, and let me know how this newest adventure goes!) To the Stormers -- I miss you (and Storm) all dearly, and I will be out before this time next year. Merry Christmas, and happy 2009! (To ...

In addition to our massive gingerbread houses , my family -- like so many others -- has a handful of Christmas traditions. It starts with the sweets. Hard candy, truffles, fudge, divinity, caramel. Cookies in various forms. Then, there's the bread. Russian black bread and crescent rolls in particular, with any number of other recipes coming out as they fit with random family meals. This year, it's sourdough in abundance. My family also does the real tree thing every year. When I was younger, it involved getting a permit and going out in the Hills to cut a tree or finding a cedar tree out on my grandparents' land. When I got older, it involved going to a tree farm just a few miles away. That's where my parents go now for their trees. My mom is starting to suggest a fake tree more strongly because she's tired of vacuuming needles. We'll see what route that one goes. Now, that's all before the 24th. Christmas Eve is specific. Seafood gumbo and chili for supper...

There's something different about being here than anywhere else. Maybe it's the people. Maybe it's because this is where I grew up. Maybe it's the proximity of a city of decent size. Maybe it's because there's a never-ending supply of coffee. Said supply seems to be causing issues, though. All of the sudden I couldn't stop cleaning. Why doesn't that ever happen at my own house? Anyway! Tonight, some high-quality time with Dad's side of the family. Or at least some time. I haven't seen one of his brothers (and my associated cousins) for over a year, so that'll be cool. In the meantime, I'm trying to keep the fire in the fireplace going and watching "Ace of Cakes" with my brother. There are occasions where I miss cable ... Oddly enough, it usually involves the Food Network. This is the way a vacation is meant to be spent. At long last, I'm getting that rest I've missed the last four or five times I've been on vacation....

For the first time ever, I'm actually cheering for the Pack. Why? Because Dad is cheering for the Bears.

Well! I made it back. And just in time, for that matter. The last 25 miles were terrible. I hit the SoDak border and I drove into a whirling bank of snow. Today was beautifully relaxing, starting with me sleeping in later than necessary and moving on to way too much food and a couple of movies. Oh yeah. Working hard. It didn't much matter. Leaving the house wasn't a pleasant option thanks to this wonderful (*ahem*) weather. None of us were in a terrible hurry to go anywhere anyway. Tomorrow, Mia Sorella can hopefully make the trip, and then the holiday shenanigans will really get started. Woot. Anyway, there's really not much to say. So I guess I'll let y'all go. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, folks, and I'll catch you later!

I am not an early riser. Not to say I'm "not a morning person" -- I like mornings. I just don't like to get out of bed before it's absolutely necessary. As such, in recent history I've been getting up after seven and getting to work by 8:30. This morning I was up by 5:30 and at work by 7:30, having already washed dishes and packed half of what I own. Well, not half. Sophie's going to look like it, though. There are two boxes filled with things I won't bring back with me, which is only half-comforting. In the meantime, I'm reading through a manual, checking the weather with a certain amount of paranoia and wondering where I can stop for coffee on my drive. I've got a long, long day ahead of me.

Usually I'm almost irritatingly optimistic, but lately I've been a little more ... frustrated with the world. There's a diplomatic way of putting it. In any case, this song has been perfect for a few days. ------ Matchbox 20 - "How Far We've Come" I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world, But its feeling just like every other morning before, Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone. The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour and I, Started staring at the passengers waving goodbye, Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time? But I believe the world is burning to the ground, Oh well I guess we're gonna find out, Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend, Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come I think it turned ten o'cl...

I have started and abandoned four posts in the last 24 hours or so. It's always been a matter of one of two things -- either the words suddenly fail me, or I realize I'm being more open than what makes me comfortable. One of these days I'll be able to give you a more complete rundown on what's been going on. One of these days the words will be there and I'll become a blogging crazy woman. One of these days. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your week. And Chris -- good luck tomorrow.

It's lunch time, and once again a hush falls over the cube farm. I find myself distracted today. There are a million things on my mind that have nothing to do with work -- things like my trip to England in February, or the possibility of going to Vegas in January, or the as-yet-unwrapped gifts sitting at home. I have a lot more cleaning to do and I need to pack -- but it's only Tuesday, so that seems like I'm looking too far forward. Today is more of a list-making day ... Things I still need to do (Sophie needs an oil change) and things I need to pack, specific outfits that I want with me and my required grocery shopping before then. I'm ready for a vacation filled with sleep and good food and relaxing hangout times. It'll be good.

I am aaaaaalmost done with my Christmas shopping. So close I can almost feel the ensuing freedom. Of course, I won't be DONE done until I get to SoDak where I can finish the last couple of steps with one or two of those gifts. Oh well. In the meantime, I have the attention span of a squirrel.

There is an awful lot going on in this picture. First, there's the intended subject: my new coffee mug, filled with wondrous, life-giving hot chocolate. (And a candy cane, one of my favorite Christmas things.) Have I ever mentioned how much I love snowflakes? Because I do. Then, there's the unread books on which said mug is perched. The table runner that prompted a comment from Emma Jean about celebrating V-Day at the wrong time of year. (She didn't realize at the time how strongly I dislike the faux holiday.) Candles that are normally lit by this time of night -- on the nights I can find my lighter, that is. Remotes that are, miraculously, right where they should be. The white elephant gift I got on Friday waving at the camera. (I thought Moonie's girlfriend had brought it, but I was wrong. It was, of course, Moonie himself.) And there's the silver nativity in the background. And my sewing machine. And a stack of not-yet-wrapped Christmas presents that, thankfully,...

I wish -- oh how I wish -- I could post a picture of Grandma Dan for you right now. Last night's Christmas party included an ugly sweater contest, and Danimal won by a large margin. Huge. His sweater was a work of art unto itself. I slept late today ... sort of. Same number of hours of sleep as usual, just starting much later than normal. Probably could have stayed asleep for quite awhile longer if I hadn't parked M-Kay in. In any case, it's the end of what has proven to be a very interesting week, and I'm tired again. I think it's time I do something about that. Have a good night, all.

And yes. My desk has a rearview mirror.

I still think about them from time to time. I blame it on Christmas. The truth is that it's this time of year that gets me thinking about all sorts of people -- people from my past, people I have and haven't stayed in touch with over the years, people I knew in middle school or high school or college. Friends and former friends, ex-boyfriends, old bosses and coworkers, cousins and aunts and uncles that I haven't seen in a couple of years. Each year the list gets just a little longer. It's this time of year that I think of two guys specifically. I still remember the night I found out almost four years ago ... Andyman had called me and asked if I would be able to go out for a little while, just to Perkins or something. We were both home for Christmas break and our parents live just a couple miles apart, so this was a fairly normal occurrence. It didn't occur to me that there would be a specific reason. He picked me up and almost immediately asked if I had heard the ne...

I don’t think I've been able to feel my toes for more than a couple of hours since some time Friday night. That is to say -- this office is cold.

I was shocked to find that I could come up with twelve things for this list, but it was rather exciting, too. Just goes to show that things definitely change after college. ----- Twelve Things I Do In My Spare Time 1. Read. A lot. Books, magazines, newspapers, online stuff. I'm addicted. 2. Go hiking. When I can't go hiking, I go for long walks around town. My legs are my most reliable mode of transportation ... Well, most of the time. 3. Write. A lot. Journals, this blog, a couple of budding works of fiction. Part of the word addiction. 4. Paint. Not one of my bigger talents, but something I really enjoy doing. 5. Cook. Yay food! 6. Geocache. Fantastically fun and cheap (after the initial GPS purchase, which still makes it cheaper than most hobbies). And hey, I now know more about this town than I ever anticipated. Way cool. 7. Sew. Ever since I got my sewing machine for my last birthday, I've been oddly obsessive -- although in st...

This was a fantastic, utterly exhausting weekend. I took a half day so that I could actually get some sleep and get caught up on life in general. When I get pictures collected I'll post a few. I still need to go grocery shopping.

I am out of bread. Again. I don’t like to buy my bread, so this can be problematic. Alas, I finished off what I acquired over Thanksgiving (which is a good thing because it'd all be stale by now anyway) so now my house is bread-less. Or my apartment is, anyway. M-Kay probably has bread. No bread means more creative lunches, which means I was done eating several minutes ago. I need to finish my Christmas decorating before next weekend's party, and I need to take pictures so all of you can see the fun. I'm rather proud of what's already up -- I love decorating. I spilled my tea in Emma Jean's cube this morning. Actually, all of today has been rather helter-skelter. I ended up cutting up nametags for tomorrow's Christmas party, running some calcs for a project revamp, giving a quick lesson on spreadsheet locks in Excel, and digging up old relief valve info. I need to go grocery shopping. My next chance is Monday after work. Uh-oh. I love snow, b...

I'm already tired. Today started just a little bit earlier so I could shovel the sidewalk. We've gotten a few inches of snow now ... It's gonna be a white Christmas. Tomorrow night, The Brit is throwing a housewarming shindig after the holiday parade downtown. I have no idea how late I'll be up, but I imagine it'll be hard to leave early. Not sure I'll totally want to, either. Saturday E-Train and his wife (weird sentence) will be in town in the early afternoon because the company Christmas party is Saturday night. I'll have the morning to take care of any last-minute details for that evening or the next day. And on Sunday, Mia Sorella is graduating. I'll get up dark and early on Sunday so I can be in the Cities in time. On top of that, Matt's there for a couple of weeks of training, so hopefully I'll catch him Sunday afternoon. Assuming I do, I probably won't drive back to Wausau till Monday morning. That makes this a very full weekend. And ...

This is a weird, rather frustrating week. But it's Thursday, so the worst of it is already behind me, right? And no, Darren. In the cases of the Guide, you're not one of the girls.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the holidays can be rough on a single chick. Even the relatives that normally respect your singleness might ask nosy questions, try to set you up with someone, or worse -- feel sorry for you. The truth is that you're going to hear that the holidays are intended for family and friends and those are easiest to find when you've got that built in family-friend of a spouse. So how does an eternally single chick cope? First of all, it's easier if you acknowledge that it might not be easy , no matter how spectacular, cute, unendingly confident, and generally awesome you are. When you're only grocery shopping and can't avoid the constant bombardment of advertising aimed at convincing you to please that nonexistent horde of children that must be at your house, you know it's going to be a rough half hour. You don't have to give in to it and wallow in self-pity, but you can save yourself the denial stage an...

What exactly is the big challenge with monogamy? Let's call this a reoccurring theme in life this past year; it's come up no less than six times in very serious ways. It's also something that I just don't understand. Don't blame it entirely on the fact that I'm single, please. Even when I've been in relationships -- even when that relationship was a bad one -- cheating was not an option. It wasn't even considered. Since I don’t have any clue as to what the answer to this is, I ask again -- what's the challenge? Anyone out there have an acceptable answer? Or even an unacceptable one?

You know, there are some things about American culture that alarm and worry me. HBO has its moments, for instance. The very existence of an obesity epidemic. The fact that we have a music television channel that doesn't play music. The popularity of reality TV. "Caution: Contents may be hot" warnings on coffee cups. Carrot Top. But what gets me most right now is the fact that a man could be TRAMPLED at a Black Friday sale (at one of the Evil Empire's holdouts, nonetheless), leading to possible legislation for crowd control at large sales . I'm pretty sure there's not a specific point where things started to go terribly, terribly wrong. It was a gradual shift to the mayhem we now see. Tell me, though -- does it really have to be this way? I mean, seriously -- why do we let it stay like this?