The Myth & The Majesty

It's an odd sort of day. A waiting-for-the-banker-to-call-back kind of day. A tired-of-applying-for-jobs kind of day. A holy-cow-it's-windy-it-must-be-fall kind of day. A must-find-coffee kind of day. A must-be-comfortable-with-my-nerdiness-because-I-really-want- this-shirt kind of day. You know. That kind of day. It could be the comparative idleness. It could be that I've had too much time by myself. It could be that I apparently have speed bumps to deal with before things go smoothly. It could just be the oddities I'm encountering. For instance, a not-necessarily-required-but-definitely-encouraged course for several of the programs I'm applying for is genetics. As it happens, the local university conglomerate (all of the state schools rolled into one building for the convenience of those in Sioux Falls) offers a class ... except it's apparently "Genertics." You know, genetics but more ... vague. Not exactly inspiring confidence

And I am nothing of a builder But here I dreamt I was an architect And I built this balustrade ... And try one, and try two Guess it always comes down to Alright, okay, guess it's better to turn this way ("Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect," The Decemberists) Aside from late night conversations and my occasional forays into the investment world, I have had a very quiet week. It's limbo all over again, and that's okay. I'm getting used to it. I'm even sorta kinda enjoying it, in some respects. Just gotta get moving on that next stage. Really moving. Here we go...

It's a Sunday, which in this house means church, lunch, football. And given that my team is stressing me out, this also means I needed to find something else to do. So ... I'm playing with some of my favorite pictures. Making 'em look funky. Or ... tall. ... Or old. (Which didn't really take much.) Or ... dignified? Yeah, again, not really any effort needed on my part. Same for "bright and colorful." I'd forgotten just how blue the sky was that day... And a pointless foot photo funkified, because I like things like that. And this one? It was just a perfect day. (The Great Wall at the Badaling section; the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas; an old farmhouse south of Elm Springs, SD; Sherlock Holmes at the Baker Street tube stop in London; Church of the Savior on Spilt Blood in St. Petersburg; the Sander Lodge at Storm Mountain Center; a seasonal marsh in the Tetons)

This has not been a terribly exciting week. I'm in Sioux Falls, I'm a little limited on my funds (and available friends) and for that matter, I'm feeling oddly agoraphobic. Blame the summer spent surrounded by people all. the. time. In any case, I haven't quite accomplished as much as I would have liked. There's been a fair bit of reading and I've spent a fair bit of time trying to convince myself that I'm some kind of financial guru, playing with my newly-acquired IRA and trying not to lose all my money. [By that lone standard, I'm a major success!] For the first time in months, I find myself back at a coffeeshop just for ... fun. After a summer of haunting places for free wi-fi (casually "rented" for the price of a drink), today I headed for the B simply because I needed to get out and combat said budding agoraphobia. It's interesting, being back in this world. The B is a lot of things, but one of the most prevalent is its ro

She called her mom right away. "I'm okay ... Yeah, I can see it from here." She had intended to go shopping at the Center that day, but when she got there the stores weren't yet open. On the way back to her apartment, the first plane hit. Her first call was to her mother, a thousand miles away, to let her know she was okay. While she was still talking to her -- standing on her balcony in clear view of the towers -- the second plane hit. * This is the story as it was retold to me about my former math teacher's daughter. Her daughter lived and worked in New York, light years from her hometown, but that day ... That day everything got much closer. I told my own story a few years ago  and I really don't need to replay it today. As poignant as those memories are, today I'm finding myself thinking about the things that followed. I had just started my senior year of high school. That school year went down in history as "the one when 9/11 happen

While I was at the ranch last week -- the cattle ranch, as in a place where beef is raised -- I managed to have entirely vegetarian meals. It wasn't intentional. In fact, I took a long hard look at the contents of my grandparents' freezer and basically determined that no matter what I pulled out of there, I wasn't going to finish it before I left. Instead, I had the contents of their garden at my disposal ... and so it was that I ate fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and potatoes at every meal instead. Turns out there are plenty of ways to be creative with those, especially if you add noodles or eggs. (Hey, I needed protein in some form.) Enough ways, in fact, to keep a person eating for a week without getting bored. There were interruptions, which definitely helped. After all, Shorty's 21st had to be celebrated. There was Mexican food to eat and the new staff of the Gaslight to judge. (Maybe we should give them more than two days before judging too harshly.)

Note to self (and the world) If you have any desire to harbor any hope for humanity, for crying out loud, stop reading comment threads on news articles! Especially -- ESPECIALLY -- if it's about something or someone you respect/enjoy and would like to continue to respect/enjoy. People. Are. Ridiculous.

After a weekend of sleeping, ice blocking, and wine tasting, I find myself once again in limbo. Seriously. What's up with that? I know, I know. Strictly speaking, any current limbo is entirely my own fault. A few days ago, I was even welcoming it. Enjoying it. But enough is enough. Time for something new.

While this place can feel pretty dang removed, I have to admit it's not overly so. I mean, I have good Internet access. Satellite television. The ability to make long distance phone calls, whether or not I choose to. I can chat with Mia Sorella and watch streaming videos (... or Packers games, whatever) without difficulty. And occasionally, a family friend appears to check on things and finds me making lunch. Okay, so that last one only happened once, and said family friend may or may not have scared the bejeezus out of me. She probably didn't realize that I hadn't had any "real" contact with another human in, oh, about 40 hours, either. May have explained a lot if she had. (Thankfully, I wasn't mid-conversation with myself at the time. That would have been embarrassing.) While the nearest good-sized town is an hour away (because   I refuse to count Wall in that category), it's perfectly within reach -- a fact I intend to abuse later today

There's a noisy but not overly large and threatening cloud headed this way -- but I can still see the sunset. Sometimes South Dakota is particularly cool. Like when it rains and the sun shines at the same time. Aside from that, there is blessedly little news. I'm watching the Packers game online (because apparently non-WI residents get hosed during some preseason games) and I continue to be alarmed by my interest in the game. Why, I still remember a time when I publicly shunned all things football (while I quietly kept an eye on the Pack) ... On the other hand, it's a lot of fun to be a Packers fan, and even more fun to give my dad a hard time when my team's doing better than his. And that, my friends, is my life right now. The job search continues, there are a few more random chores for me to take care of before I head to Sioux Falls, and whatever it was Mr. Rogers said yesterday is apparently something I'm not allowed to blog. (Would be a pity if I c