The Myth & The Majesty

[It's a tough life.]

Well, it's been a few days, and for good reason: I'm living it up in western South Dakota, and I have to say, I'm loving every minute of it. Heck, for about 48 hours there, I didn't even have Internet access. It was awesome. The Mines career fair is going on today -- which led to a few more random run-ins than I had anticipated. People I graduated with are recruiting now; a few are back to look for a job after getting laid off in the last year. I've been more and more grateful to be gainfully employed ... which is really easy when you're on vacation. And the Hills ... Wow, have I missed this. Gorgeous. Now, I sit at the Blends once again, thankful also for wireless and a working laptop ... and for blueberry muffins ... and mochas ... and random coffee with friends. Life is good.

I sort my popcorn before I eat it. There aren't a whole lot of stereotypically type-A things about my personality -- at least not obvious things -- but I sort my popcorn before I eat it. I don't do it if I'm in a movie theater (too dark) or if I'm sharing a bowl or bag with someone (although I'll be more particular about the kernels I choose), but here at my desk on Popcorn Fridays and when I'm watching a movie at home ... I sort my popcorn before I eat it. As you may have guessed, the mayhem in my head is continuing. Today's actually going a little more smoothly than yesterday, likely because all of the hard work is behind me. I don't need to think about things like what I still need to pack. If I don't have it by now, it's too late. For all you Wausaunians out there, especially those who own motorcycles -- Bull Falls Brewery is the start and end point for the Bikers for Babies benefit ride this coming Sunday. Live music at the tasti

I can't concentrate. It's the packing and cleaning and waiting and rushing through work stuff so we can get a submittal out tomorrow -- and then more waiting and rushing. It's the madness and mayhem at my house right now and the thought that I could be more useful there at the moment. It's the plans in my head that have yet to reach fruition. But there's something else, something keeping me distracted -- and I can't quite put my finger on it. The awesome weather? The friends I'll be seeing? The idea of this year's fifth wedding? Yes, all of that. Plus something else. I don't know what that something else is yet. Whatever it is, it started yesterday and it's continued through today. I can't even listen to a full album on my mp3 player -- normally not an issue. Heck, that's normally something that helps me focus ... and today it's a symptom. Here's hoping it's just cabin fever. Whatever it is, I have to deal

My pile shakes as I hit eighty on the open road This is an open road song - Eve 6, "Open Road Song" It started almost three years ago. With graduation around the corner, I had been eyeing cars more eagerly -- my Flying Jeep wouldn't survive much longer and I was pretty sure I'd have a steady paycheck some time soon. Fusions had caught me right from my first pass through the Ford lot in Sioux Falls; even now I can tell you it was because of the headlights. (Odd but true. I wouldn't lie about such things.) When I found out they easily came with manual transmissions I was sold and soon the search began in earnest. The following June, after questioning three dealerships in two states, it ended with a find in Milwaukee. This car had everything I wanted and none of the things I was avoiding -- it was a manual, got the expected mileage, had an upgraded (but not crazy) stereo system, no antilock brakes, no random features (like GPS). It was perfect. Twenty-seven months ag

I feel like such a rebel, borrowing Best Buy internet. But they'll get some of my money soon, so no big deal. It took a record fifteen minutes for me to get help. Never used to take more than thirty seconds.

It's official. At 7:40 this evening, Moonie declared it; my computer has suffered hard drive death. I am limited to my work laptop and wireless connections until I replace it. Which, in theory, will be soon. I shouldn't be using this thing all the time for this. At least I'm also getting real work done tonight ... Granted, today's been crazily productive already. Plenty to do, plenty to prepare. I should be getting back to it.

Okay, okay, I know it's not Wednesday ... but I'm watching "Stranger Than Fiction" again and this movie has a tendency to hit me every time. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's brilliant. Will Ferrell in a role you'd never expect from him -- a serious, straight character who starts as an adult and stays one through the whole thing. And Maggie Gyllenhaal, who totally rocks. And Dustin Hoffman, who also rocks. And Emma Thompson, who is several levels of brilliant in a boring role and absolutely phenomenal in a quirky, complicated role. Yes. I love this movie. I've never lived a Harold Crick life, probably because while I have a detail mind I don't have a keep-everything-in-spotless-order mind. At time things have seemed as routine as his life -- everything in the same order at the same time of days for weeks at a time ... Perhaps that's why I love this movie so much -- Harold breaks out of his predictable and boring. He doesn't do anythi

Well, following Moonie's lead, I'm slowly starting to look at computers again. The catch is that I'd kind of like to have a laptop again ... I've missed being able to take my computer with me. And some of the laptops you can get now are pretty nice in both price and quality. Besides, for what do I use my home computer? Internet access, some MS Office work, movies and music. And if I'm really good, maybe Photoshop. I'm not a gamer, I don't have a million programs to run, and I don't have a home business. I don't need a complicated computer. Actually, it would do me some good to be computer-less for awhile. Purge my system of electronic addiction. Or at least of surfing/blurking/Facebook addiction. Any suggestions out there? Input? Preferences? I'm happy to have some advice. Yes. Today is a Friday. And things are getting much quieter around here. It's going to be a dull afternoon.

I'm surfing in uncharted waters this evening. I'd much rather be on my paid-for Internet service, but my computer is in a coma and my work laptop refuses to be hardwired. (Which is ironic, because it doesn't refuse to be on a neighbor's unsecured wireless. I don't get it.) It's been one of those days. Left work after five, ran a few errands, ate a half-meal, milongaed ... milonga'd? -- danced myself sweaty, then made a late-night run to the grocery store (still sweaty and smelly, mind you). Now I bake cupcakes, wrap some gifts, clean my living room -- and surf the net on borrowed time. In theory, this computer crash will make my next few days more productive. It's a great theory. In truth, I have no more concentration here than I've had at work this week. Too many things to think about; too many things I should be thinking about that are getting left out. And nothing of interest to say.

My last trip, I was packing for 100-degree weather, days spent at museums and on roller coasters, and nights spent at shows and clubs. For my next trip, I'm packing for nights potentially below freezing, a couple days on a cattle ranch, and a few other days spent hiking and in coffee shops. Oh yes -- and a wedding. It's just a bit of a switch. I'm going to spend about the same amount on gas as I did for my last trip's plane ticket. That was an interesting revelation in itself. For this trip, I'm not pulling up maps and planning routes. I'm not searching for restaurants or places of amusement. I'm not concerned by having to amuse myself. This time, I get to go with confidence -- that I won't get lost, that there will be no shortage of things to do and people to see, that if I forget something at home I'll know where to go to replace it (unless it's my bridesmaid dress, in which case I'm kind of screwed). That's a good feeling.

I'm starting to get genuinely antsy for a real vacation ... This is going to be problematic. There's a bit too much going on between now and then for me to be this ready now. Isn't that how it goes, though?

This is the kind of week where you turn around and wonder how it managed to reach Thursday without your notice. Where you add to your calendar without thinking about the fact that you need to sleep occasionally. Where you find yourself relieved that your landlord didn't deposit your rent check as early as usual. Where you sigh and start taking a different route to work to avoid the kids now walking to school. Where you have to pause every so often to make sure you remembered socks. I guess what I'm trying to say is -- I'm feeling the crunch.

I got home tonight still sweaty from milonga (apologies, that's gross -- but it's also true) and my brain full. The thing is ... it's been a tremendously long summer. Eventful. Parts of it have been fantastic, beyond what I could have expected. And other parts have been crushingly low. As much as I would prefer to write about Vegas right now and the awesome things I saw and did there ... that's not what's on my mind. What's on my mind is this guy. I'm about as attached to this teddy bear as a 25-year-old woman can be and still have her self-respect in tact. This little blonde bear, his single right army boot, and his khaki shorts are a daily reminder of a friend I dearly miss. And that, my friends, is what is on my mind.

Vegas was awesome. Just plain awesome. There will be pictures at some point, I'm sure. Not sure when I'll get them, though. "9" is not being released in Wausau today, much to the consternation and disgust to several of us here. As such, my intended Wednesday plans are now much different than they were when I woke up this morning. (Tango!) The Palooza is this weekend. Woot. Neub's bachelorette party is next weekend. Woot again. And the weekend after that ... Vacation! The relaxing kind! September just keeps getting more and more interesting.

I don't know if it's the insane engineering, the adrenaline rush, or something completely unrelated ... but I love a good roller coaster. Life is good.

(From a Frazz comic strip) Student: You know what I'd do if I were rich? Frazz: Spend it until you weren't? What would you do with a million dollars? Megan over here got this question from a blurker (I love that word ... I am that word) and for whatever reason I really wanted to answer it. Probably because I'm an unoriginal copycat. And it's one of those icebreaker questions that you never have a good answer for when it's an icebreaker -- but twenty minutes later you've got thirty different ideas. Plus I can't think about anything important today. So let's pose it ... If someone handed you a million today (for argument's sake, this is a million after taxes -- the take-home cash), what would you do with it? Personally? About half of it would get designated to a few places -- my home church, Storm Mountain Center, Heifer International, and a couple of AIDS organizations. About a quarter directly into various forms of savings; about

I am a nerd. Yes, I know. Not a revelation. But I've realized that, as much as I look forward to trips like this one coming up, I always get way more excited about it when I start diving into the details. England was like that. At one point -- when I looked at all the things that needed to fall into place -- I was actually dreading it. Dreading it! Who dreads a vacation? But as soon as I started planning things, I was psyched. Vegas ... I skipped over the dreading phase this time, possibly because so many things about it had already been talked up to the point of fear disappearing. Plus, well, I did a week in England alone. I only have to get to Vegas myself. I do that all the time. Anyway! In amongst the lists and planning, I realized the kinds of things I'm intending to do -- and I had to laugh at myself. Thrill rides . A few geocaches -- those for which I won't need my GPSr. The atomic bomb testing museum. A Cirque du Soleil show. The Titanic artifact exhibition.

Little black dress: check. Sandals: check. Camera: check. Phone charger: check. List of available rollercoasters: check. Jeans and tank tops for riding rollercoasters in 100-degree weather: check. As much time as I've spent promising myself I won't overpack for this, I already know I'm lying. It's just ... going to happen. I keep trying to give myself options, figuring I'll change my mind sixteen times every time I try to get dressed. Well, not sixteen. I'm not giving myself that many options. And I don't know if I've ever changed my mind more than twice about what I was wearing, ever. I think it's safe to say that I'm looking forward to this trip.

It's September. It's amazing how you can turn around and suddenly two-thirds of the year has passed. But there you have it -- it's September and fall is quickly approaching. I don't usually bid a month good riddance, but to be perfectly honest -- I'm happy to see August go. It wasn't a good month. At times, it was downright bad. I won't miss it. September holds promise. It's starting with beautiful weather and a much-anticipated trip. It will end with a real vacation and the wedding of a very dear friend. Heck, on the last day of the month I'll be home again, back where I feel most like myself. That, my friends, is something I am truly craving. In the meantime, I start to gather my numbers for the first trip. Phone numbers of fellow travelers, numbers for shuttle services, confirmation codes for flights and the hotel, Minneapolis transit numbers, Vegas transit numbers, ticket prices for shows and rollercoasters, hours of operation, rest