laurenisms

I was supposed to go camping today with G. and some other friends, but last night Ruby came in from the woods all limpy and whiny about it. This morning it wasn’t any better, and was actually worse, so we went to the vet. All muscles and joints seemed fine yet she was clearly hurty and stiff when walking, so she got some painkillers and orders to keep quiet and not run around too much. We decided that would be easier to accomplish if we were not camping and visiting an off-leash dog training and herding park. So, Ruby and I, and visiting friend dog Stella, are home in front of a fire, having alone time. I am so rarely home alone, since I have longer working days than Garth, and I am kind of looking forward to it. I am going to spend some time folding laundry and playing with my Wii Fit, now that my ankle is mostly better. Fun times!

Weekend of great yuppiedom: Took a small vacation out to Vashon Island this weekend. G. didn’t know where we were going until we started following the signs to the Vashon ferry, as I had planned everything, which really just involved getting us a little cottage and printing out the directions to the lighthouse, and remembering to pick up a couple of bottles of wine. And given the week I had last week — one full day in Olympia, two late nights (getting off work at ~7pm), and spending 8+ hours on the phone (!), it was wonderful to sit around with no plans.
We spent Saturday morning in downtown Vashon, where we bought a really cute little woodblock print of peapods, and drank some coffee, and went to some garden stores in search of a seed potato for this Saturday’s ceremonial planting. I quite like the art we got, and I am glad we got it, but buying it made me feel conspicuously yuppified, even though I was wearing a comic book tshirt and my hair was all flat from my coelacanth baseball cap. It was an interesting experience.

Weekend of intended vacation and actual work and stupidness: Last weekend I was in Eugene to visit pals, staying with Andi and spending most of my time with her and Shelby. The time that I wasn’t working, that is. I took the day off on Friday to head down, and while I was on the bus on Friday morning, I learned that I would be in Olympia all day on Monday and therefore had to prepare. So I spent Friday bus time, as well as Saturday and Sunday, when I was supposed to be spending time with the girls, working on PowerPoint slides. Boo. I did have a good time, other than that, though, and I managed to go to Rennie’s (which was the only place with free wireless! wtf?), where I ran into Heath — which I hoped would happen, as I didn’t think I had his number — and also met up with Stephanie. I also made it to Roma, where I saw Sho, and we talked about comic books, and Battlestar Galactica, and library school.

In grad school I gave up writing conclusions to my papers. Once, on a not-very-important paper for a class I didn’t care much about, I was tired and didn’t want to finish the paper so I decided not to write the conclusion and see what happened. NOTHING happened. It didn’t affect my grade. After that I wrote very few conclusions. Unfortunately this causes me pain now, as I don’t like ending posts without some sort of conclusion, pref. witty or otherwise punch-line-ish. But I have lost the knack for the conclusion, and I’m not very funny in the first place, so.

(song: “The Old Black Hole,” the Fruit Bats)

Dogs are snoring, and so is G. I am up late (but not that late) because Ten Things I Hate About You is on, and because I had a cup of coffee at about 3:30, and because my Friday night bourbon is accompanying me. (Julia Stiles has amazing hair in this movie.) I have an early morning tomorrow of meeting with a photographer, and I want to go running beforehand. Lots of relationship newness around me right now, both televisory and IRL, and I am a bit weirded out by my soon-to-be-legally-declared absolute future lack of newness, ever.

Also, I love the part where Bianca kicks the stupid kid’s ass at the prom. Especially the “that’s for my sister!” There has also lately been sistering. I love my sister. We keep trying to define it but it doesn’t work. She’s the best. I’m so happy that she’s in my wedding. I think I am at least as happy to have such an excellent sister as I am to have a wedding at all. Because, really, I could take or leave the wedding itself, and he knows that. But the sister, she is essential to the functioning.

Did I mention the bourbon? Hello, rambly time.

Lots of things accomplished lately and lots of things to do upcoming soon. Work + side projects + planning + damn hell ass house needs cleaned + sleeping? what is that?

Garden has been suffering for lack of sun, but it is supposed to be clear and bright and like 70 degrees this weekend, so maybe I will get some more ripe tomatoes for the saucing, and some more corn for grillin’.

PS. Colin Firth, call me up any time! OK? OK!
PS2. I am 26! Yarrr!
PS3. Johnny, I didn’t mean it about Colin. You know I think you’re actually the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, including Scarlett and that girl who used to work at Le Panier.
PS4. I love the name Bianca. If I ever get an all-black dog, I will name her Bianca. Just for fun.

(Song: “Aïcha,” Khaled)

I think my toe might be broken. But I have an awesome garden, and the room has finally stopped rocking back and forth now that I’m off the boat after the long weekend. I have to upload a bunch of pictures and then I’ll post for reals.

(song: “Firetrap,” the Walkabouts)

I can’t believe I ever wondered why I was swearing so much. We just bought the 2nd season of Deadwood and now I remember.

Cocksuckers.

(Song: “Mother-ucker,” BBJ)

I have posted at Knitblog and at Kitchenisms. But not here.

Except now I have posted here.

(Song: “When I’m 64,” the Beatles)

I woke up early this morning — 5:30 — too excited to sleep. Not going to post about the exciting thing for a few more days, when it’s for sure. But staying in bed was boring and I have been regretting the loss of time to sit around and do nothing in the mornings, so I got up, hoping to get some of that sitting around done before my 7:08 bus. I was full of thoughts about things to write here, but on the way from the bed to the couch, I lost them all.
Nothing much happens anymore. I still haven’t seen Brokeback Mountain; I haven’t been sewing or knitting or going to shows. I do have tickets for Rhett at the Showbox, and for Eef of Clem Snide solo at the Crocodile, though, so that’s good. I have been getting a bit better about keeping in touch (thanks, Google Chat!) and have joined the LAME-ASS gym, stupid 24-Hour Fitness, which I hate but must keep up until it gets warm enough for me to run outside again. Work is fine: a bit stressful, but it should calm down again soon.
And that’s all that ever happens to me.

(song: “America,” Simon & Garfunkel)

Yesterday it was still dark when I left for my 20ish-minute walk to the bus stop. I was cranky as I walked down the hill to the I-5 overpass, and composed a post in my head about how wretched it is to wake up every day before it’s light out and get home after it’s already dark. Then I stopped at the corner and looked away from my coffee cup and my feet as I waited for the light to change, and I saw the most brilliant, reddest, pinkest sunrise I’ve ever seen. And I decided it’s not so awful to have a job, and feet to get me there, and a city with a bus system, and a coffee cup and a coat and a scarf. And a sunrise.

(song: “Better Things,” Dar Williams’ live version)

Scraped up my elbow this morning falling off the couch trying to get to the radio: Click & Clack were playing the Old 97s. I don’t think I’ve ever heard them on the radio (possibly because I don’t listen to KEXP as often as I should) so it was very exciting. And now my elbow hurts.

Last week I had to go out to a software company out on the Eastside to get an ID card and stuff for my work. It was an adventure but not too scary. I might have to learn to drive in order to be able to go out there on my own in the future. Oh no, Lauren in a car!!
But I still feel like I’m playing grown-up at work and am being totally transparent — it’s obvious to me that I have no idea what’s going on, but no one else seems to notice. I’m still figuring out how well I’ve convinced them of my adulthood, and I seem to be doing OK: last week I asked if I could have a footrest and a mousepad with a wrist rest, and they just came.

(song: “Bel Air,” Old 97s)

Oh good, it’s still here!
Several smallish stories piled up over the last … month.
***
Mentally composed on Monday, September 19: I am cranky because last night I organized my life: figured out hours at my new job (which is the same as my old job), blocked out homework time during every day so I can try to keep it out of my free weekend time, made sure to schedule gym time three days a week. I was excited and energetic about my goals and I was going to DO IT, dammit, and today I woke up sick. Now no gym until I can breathe again; no work until I can move without feeling like my head is going to fall off. I get sick so rarely; did it have to interfere with my beginning-of-the-term optimism about getting things done? Now I may never recover.
***
Mentally composed at some point within the last couple of weeks: Yes, it’s definitely fall now and this means it’s time to reread Jane Eyre* and Ahab’s Wife. For some reason — perhaps the fact that they are full of wind and water and darkness — they remind me of fall and fall reminds me of them.
***
Mentally composed at some point within the last several weeks: Seven thousand fifty-eight flying and driving miles, four states, and ten-ish months later, the fourth and final stage of the extensive project that is meeting all the various combinations of divorced and remarried parents is over. We learned that the interaction between my mother and me at Thanksgiving is not a good first introduction to my mother; that Hawai’i is too hot, even in December, that I have become a (or discovered my hidden inner) dog person, and that three days in different states is bizarrely traumatic; that Wisconsin weather is hard on poor Northwesterners, but that Madison would be lovely if it weren’t so sillily flat and if it would just cool down at night (although then there would be no thunderstorms); and that my Reno family is almost too large to be tolerated, but that drinks in Reno are very cheap. It was a fun and adventurous project, the meeting of the parents, but I am happy never have to do it again.
***
Composed today: I did recover from the cold, physically and in terms of optimism as well. I started going to the gym again last week, finally, and though I couldn’t make it last Friday, I went today, and it’s already getting easier. School is well underway and I am actually getting stuff done. I am almost done with my portfolio; pending a few changes, my advisor will pass it and it will be on the randomly-chosen secondary reader. I got to see my sister last weekend, and we drove to Astoria to take her to her orthodontist appointment. That meant we also got to go to the beach and Shannon’s favorite restaurant and a wonderful fishmonger. I saw Serenity again and everyone else should go see it, too, even though J.W. ruined all my hopes and dreams. Today I applied for a really exciting job that I’m actually qualified for, even though I’d have to be in school full-time and working full-time through December. It might be the perfect job, though, so I am willing to sacrifice those six weeks to misery. In about a year an honest woman will be made out of me. I plan to wear a red dress. So maybe not that honest.

(song: “Question,” Old 97s)
* I love Project Gutenberg. Everyone should use it all the time.