The Myth & The Majesty

At last. My bags are packed. [I'm ready to go... Stop that, Ashley.] I'm reasonably sure I've planned for most possible catastrophes, although -- just my luck -- now it's supposed to snow while we drive to Denver. Of course. Nothing I can do about it. Instead, I'm wrapping up loose ends here so I can hit the ground running when I get back. It's quite strange, actually -- instead of getting all my work done so I can leave with a clear conscience (I'm thinking of when I went to England in 2009), I'm just making sure I've emailed all the proper files to myself so I can do a little random business in Seoul. It's an oddly low-pressure situation. Tonight, I get to take it moderately easy. Tomorrow, driving and an eventual break at Daz's place. And then dark and early Wednesday morning, we head for the airport. Then it's 18 hours of airport time till Seoul. Life is good.

T-minus ... oh, 18 hours or so and counting. Then the fun really begins. Of course, first I need to finish packing. Good thing I basically have all night. Egads. (To Mia Sorella: Requesting powdered sugar was kind of a dirty trick.)

... applying for jobs simply because they sound like fun. ... talking to strangers in bars for extended periods of time. ... fall colors. ... going on vacation even if you don't really need a vacation. ... mechanics who don't fix things that don't need fixing (and don't charge you for the "check"). ... weather improving before I drive into it. ... surprisingly cheap plane tickets. ... restaurants where you can eat alone and not feel like an alien. ... pumpkin cupcakes. ... French-press coffee. I'd rather gut something with my bare hands than stick my fingers in its poop. - My mother

As a general rule, I shop alone. My mother and Mia Sorella can probably vouch for the reason: I am not much fun to take shopping. Especially for clothes. I don't start with an adventuresome spirit and the more suggestions I get from other people, the more I clam up. And the more I clam up, the crabbier I get. Eventually, I can only be appeased by coffee or adult beverages and by then the shopping had best be over. Today, I decided to venture into town to take care of some pre-trip shopping. I needed jeans, a couple of long-sleeved shirts that could get a little beaten, travel-sized shampoo -- that kind of thing. The jeans were easy (I almost always go to the same store and I know my size ... or I thought I did. I ended up buying a size smaller today, which made me jump up and down cheering in the fitting room) but after that, the self-conversations began. A typical self-conversation goes something like this: "Ashley, you should really consider something more colorful

  [Copyright Jef Mallet. I love Frazz.]    This is the third post I've started today. Hopefully it won't also be abandoned. While it hasn't been a particularly packed week, it certainly hasn't been calm, either. It came as no surprise then that when I took a step back, I found that a) I had accomplished more in three days than I probably have in three weeks, and b) I had barely scratched the surface. It started with the grad school applications. In every case, there is some version of, "Please submit an essay of up to X pages describing your previous research experience and your intended research" -- the academic version of, "Tell us what you want to do for the rest of your life and why we should be the ones paying you to do it." Intimidating, no? Manageable, but ... scary. I think I'm finally making progress. When that gets too tough to think about, it's on to the next project: Korea. I've solved most of my major issues -

Among the entrance essays and the job applications I've been working on this week, I find myself perpetually distracted by preparation for Seoul. It's not exactly surprising -- trip prep is a lot more fun than trying to summarize what I want to do with the rest of my life in a short, succinct manner. Mia Sorella is pulling together most of the details for while we're visiting. It's a tremendous relief, actually -- reservations are a pain in the neck from half a world away, especially when you don't speak the language. From here, I'm gathering her Christmas presents, packing, and trying to figure out how I'll keep myself amused for a total of 36 hours of plane time and something like 24 hours of car time. [Wow, is my laptop scratched.] I have my usual plans -- a couple of books, my journal, a fair bit of writing planned for the flights. I've already decided that I need to finish one of my current books because I don't think I need to r

Last weekend, as mentioned, was a trek to Wisconsin. An Oktoberfest, some quality Red Eye time, some face time with Neubs, the Arnolds, and Emma Jean (and a couple of husbands in there who don't have their own special blog-names) ... And about a thousand miles driven. Not on my own vehicle this time -- Sophie's not built for hauling boxes of junk, but my parents' Exploder is quite capable. Yesterday, I made a quick trip to the ranch. Shorty left his laptop at home and wanted it back (can't say as I blame him) so we met up there. I had a second motive; per new plans, I had to discuss a few things with Mr. Rogers, who is now going to South Korea with me. [ As opposed to Mr. Rodgers, who I'd be quite happy to take to South Korea as well. Alas, he has Vikings to beat this week and then some rest to get. Plus, you know, he has no idea who I am.] Seven hundred miles later, I was back. Next week, the real fun begins. I'm taking the long way to Seoul (right, like t

Disclaimer: I am not a dietician, doctor (yet), nutritionist, or personal trainer. I have no official expertise in this area. I don't know everything (although don't spread that one around). I can only relate my own story and opinions. Some of this may be more information than you really wanted, but it's all part of the story. And let's face it -- you don't have to be here if you don't want to. The inspiration for this comes from another blog I occasionally read. I'm not a runner -- I read her blog because she's family and she happens to have some interesting things to say to non-runners here and there. The post I linked to got me thinking ... and now, here we are. I have never been tiny. When I was little, I had the typical gangly build of a kid that spent her days running around the yard with her sister. Aside from that, it could always be said that I was my grandmother's granddaughter -- my hair, my facial features, my bone structure large

12 Things I Don't Do* (*often, if ever) 1. Pay for Internet access in public places. Really, why would I pay when I can probably go next door and find it for free? 2. Shop at Walmart. They got plenty of my money in college. They don't need it now. 3. Put bumper stickers on my car. 4. Text while driving. (It's not a moral high ground thing. It's a "not worth the fine, especially since I can only seem to text gibberish" thing.) 5. Drink light beer. That's just silly. There are too many good brews out there to drink something that tastes of stale fizzy water. (And that's the slightly more friendly description I have for it.) 6. Maintain my patience with people who drive 5+ mph under the speed limit. It's not quite road rage but it's not quite NOT road rage, either. 7. Maintain my patience with people who make me late for things. Maybe there's a pattern here... 8. Regularly drink doctored coffee. Generally speaking, I'm a

I was awake when Fifi pocket-dialed me this morning although I hadn't dragged myself out of bed. She must have been on her way to her first class -- it was extra early there. Within an hour, I had purchased a plane ticket to Seoul and started poaching a couple eggs for breakfast. It's about time, really. Mia Sorella's been in South Korea for two and a half years and I finally have both the time and the cash to visit ... although it helps that I got a pretty dang good deal on my tickets. Even last minute. Now, I have two weeks to figure out the rest of it. What to pack, transport to and from airports, other things to do there ... Good thing I have an inside source.

It's been a year and it felt awkward to return. I suppose it didn't help that I felt a bit like I was running away when I left -- I mean, after I got laid off, I got the heck out of town as soon as I could. That's not totally normal. People frequently find jobs in the same place. But I had no reason to stick around, so I made a mad dash for the door. This weekend, though, called for a return. I had things to retrieve and an Oktoberfest to attend with the Admiral. Aside from the wind, it was an easy drive, but when I drove into town Saturday afternoon, I felt like I was sneaking in. I hit a couple stores but never stayed long. More than once, I thought, "Ashley, if you stay here too long you might run into someone you know. Do you really want that?" It didn't help that it was such a short trip. I let a couple people know I would be in town but purposely didn't advertise. Meeting people for "appointments" is less than fulfilling and I just did

If I have a little money I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes. -Erasmus My spending habits have changed drastically in the last year. Of course, that's to be expected -- after all, I lost my job and went from having disposable income out of proportion to my age to having a lack of disposable income out of proportion to my age. I abruptly stopped buying things and my "social money" was carefully budgeted for an occasional dinner or birthday outing. Those habits haven't yet changed, even though I've been allowed to relax a little. However, all along, I've managed to find money if there's a book I really want. I've written from time to time about my ongoing love affair with the written word. While I don't really do book reviews here because, well, I just don't, there is another aspect of this love that is easy for me to convey. This booklust has led to me finding bookstores in most cities I've visited, regardless of

You don't really notice how bad a cold sounds until you have complete strangers looking at you like you have the plague. (I feel like I should be apologizing to those within ten feet of me. I swear, this is the end of the cold! I'm not contagious!)  This is still probably the most peaceful picture I've taken. Whatever happened to the normal buckets of Legos? The new Muppets movie (aptly titled "The Muppets") comes out this Thanksgiving, and it is distinctly possible that I am inordinately excited. Particularly since I'm 27 years old. I suddenly want a privacy filter for my laptop. Has something to do with people sitting behind and a level above me. There's a fine line between absurd and brilliant. Case in point: in 1955, Dr. Thomas Harvey thought it would be a good idea to steal Albert Einstein's brain during his autopsy. In and of itself, that thought is absurd. Yet decades later, that very brain provided genuine scientifi

1. Weather-wise, the biggest difference between Rapid City and Sioux Falls -- and Wausau and Sioux Falls -- is the wind. In Rapid or Wausau, there is shelter. Trees, hills, foliage of other varieties, plenty of things to slow it down. In and around Sioux Falls, there's ... grass. The wind howls. 2. I do not like wind. 3. I especially don't like it this week, as we were in the process of building a shed ... and now we're in the process of re building a shed. That was an unwelcome incident Thursday evening. 4. It also gave several wildfires across SoDak an extra edge this week. 5. Yeah. Really do not like wind. 6. In other news, I aaaalmost got a real night's sleep for the first time in a week and a half. As many bouts of insomnia as I generally have, this one has been particularly rough. Aided by a couple of bad days of allergies, I suppose. Blech. 7. But hey, it's almost a new week. A week of slightly more seasonal weather (look, 80 degrees is nice, but

My brief post last night was right after I heard the news -- and now I feel the urge to do a bit more justice to a man that has altered the very fabric of our reality. We're talking about the brain that led to Apple computers (I know there are many who don't give a rip about Apple computers, but let's face it -- for years, they were the only mainstream competition for Microsoft. Can you imagine how things might have turned out without that push?) ... And then mp3 players, cell phones, tablets, and countless other iItems. This is the man who, at the age of 31, bought The Graphics Group from Lucasfilm. You know them better as Pixar. The man who fought pancreatic cancer for seven years, keeping up his CEO job until it really was too much to handle. And stayed married to the same woman for twenty years, ended only by his death. He accomplished more in 56 years -- 56 years -- than most do in a lifetime. Whether or not you liked him, whether or not you thought much of

I'm not much of a computer nerd, but as a general nerd this made me sad. The computer world lost a great one today ... Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs .

Today's Yahoo! Horoscope for Taurus: The most direct route to enlightenment right now is communication. So if you're on a quest to learn more -- about your career opportunities, a new romantic possibility or how to get a healthier lifestyle -- you need to talk about it more. Spread the word that you're curious, and you will be rewarded with more information. Plus, you'll get people sharing their own experiences and offering you insider tips on how to get your own thing going faster. I don't put much (any) stock in horoscopes, and today's was general enough to be a bit laughable. But there is a good little piece of advice there -- communication is key! And I suppose there may be improvement needed in my career opportunities and my healthy-ish lifestyle. (Not sure to what the "new romantic possibility" is referring. I'm going to ignore that part.) In the interest of keeping things simple (clear self-communication, if you will), things this week

[Raise your hand if this has happened to you...] Ten years ago, I was an unapologetic band geek. I wasn't particularly good (although not particularly bad, either) but I was committed. Jazz band, concert band, marching band -- I was there. It helped that my particular class was ... well, fun. My best friend was a fellow band geek. Some of my most amusing high school friends were super-nerds like me that happened to be there as well. And by all means, there were more "One time, at band camp..." stories than I care to admit. (Not to mention band bus stories, band trip stories, and the every-popular early morning band stories.) Of all the various areas of participation, marching band is easily the most grueling. The weeks of band camp before school started, the early mornings, the memorization, the pages of field formations -- it's a lot to take in and can take a surprisingly large toll on a person. There's more coordination required to roll step backwards w