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« June 2008 | Main | August 2008 »
Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 20:00:32
It's the Principle of the Thing, You Guys!
My coworker Jill is apartment hunting, and she asked how I liked my complex. It’s fine, I told her, plus there weren’t any other serious contenders. The first place I checked out seemed nice enough until I asked about internet service, and the girl giving me the tour hesitated a moment before telling me: “Yeah, you can only get dialup here.” I stared at her as if she had suggested I keep in touch with friends and family via smoke signals and then, gave my mother a look that said, “I think we’re done here.” Driving out to another complex, we passed the following: liquor store, liquor store, trailer park, cemetery, liquor store. This time my mother was the one giving the look, but I didn’t disagree. I picked the place I’m at now because I could get high speed internet, a decent gym and reasonable rent. Done. Sold. And yet, the ladies in the office tried to seal the deal by promoting the fact that they have tanning beds and lots of single men.
Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 23:08:57
Possible, but Highly Unlikely
I headed to
I’m in awe of my friends who have bought houses because it seems like an incredibly grown up thing to do, and I love to grill them about how they pick paint colors. There are so many options, how can you decide? Autumn painted her walls with lots of bold colors, which I love, and it all goes together in this way that I like but would never have thought to try. Coming home this afternoon, I am reminded that I have stalled in setting up my own apartment.
I started off in the right direction. For this last move, I bought a sofa that is neither a futon nor from Goodwill. I have furniture made of actual wood, and when my best friend, Christi, came to visit, we spent two days picking out dishes, measuring cups, and decorative things. She even bought me a spatula as a housewarming gift. But there are still a few boxes that are placed just out of the way enough that I haven’t felt the need to sort them, and not for lack of trying, I still have no idea what to do with my bathroom. Christi and I went to five stores in three cities trying to find bathroom stuff, and by the time we got to Bed, Bath, and Beyond I have no idea how she resisted the urge to shake me. Whatever the reason is, though, I’m pretty sure it’s the key to our friendship.
The problem was that when it comes to setting up house, I am both incredibly picky and at the same time totally indifferent. My fussiness means that I can whittle the things I like down to a good half dozen options, but after that, I don’t like any of them enough to pick one over the rest. At the end of the day, I was standing in front of a wall full of towels, struggling to decide if I liked any one shade of blue more than the others. At least four of them were equally nice but not particularly compelling. I turned to Christi. “Do you want to kill me right now?” I asked.
Friday, July 04, 2008 - 11:56:49
Perhaps I should watch more Food Network
I’ve got a couple of ideas about 4th of July plans, but I know this: I will not be grilling.
In college, my friend Robyn and I took over an apartment from some friends who were moving to
We’d never grilled before. My cooking repertoire consists largely of peanut butter sandwiches, basic Mexican food, and frozen pizza. Robyn is more of a baker. But when I got some venison from my brother, we thought we’d try wrapping it in bacon and cooking it on the grill. I have no idea if that is a ridiculous idea or not from a technical standpoint, but I figured the combination of meat, bacon, and barbeque sounded tasty.
We stood on the porch with a bag of charcoal and realized we weren’t sure what to do next. We shook out a healthy layer of briquettes and tried to light them. Nothing. Half a dozen wasted matches later, we figured it was time for a new approach. We had some lighter fluid, which we applied liberally, and then, we struck a few more matches. I’ve since heard that it’s good to give lighter fluid a minute to soak into the coals, but at the time, we figured it was like lighting any flammable substance. Match + accelerant = instant fire. Only that didn’t happen. Now, I’m not a patient cook, which is why I consider peanut butter such a diet staple. It’s delicious, it’s filling, and it’s ready in the time it takes to open a jar. So, when the fire didn’t pick up right away, we tried more lighter fluid. We kept dousing the coals, and, frankly, I’m surprised either one of us still had eyebrows by the time we were finished. When the fire finally got going, it burned so hot and so high that some of the meat caught fire, which is one way make sure that it gets cooked all the way through, I guess.
We ate what we could, but the end result was that what wasn’t charred was almost impossible to chew. Not to mention that we used so much lighter fluid that it took the better part of an hour to get the flames out completely. After that, we retired the grill, and when we moved out, we left it on the porch for the next renters. My dad has since tried to show me how to grill burgers, but he mostly wanted someone to have a beer with and keep him company while he made dinner. Now, that I could do.
Have a safe and happy 4th everyone!!
Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 21:50:12
Hang in there!!!
Sometimes I pretend I’m a badass. Last night, I went to a rock climbing gym believing that I was a tough chick and left barely able to pick up my keys. Which is not to say that I had a bad time. I’ve only been climbing a few times before, but I like the challenge of it. Of course, I could have gone with my friend Paul a few weeks ago, but we opted for having beer and plates of fried things instead. That was enjoyable in its own way, but kind of the opposite of the original plan.
I was in the mood to go climbing again, but Paul’s back in
I didn’t need to worry. Everyone was really nice, and, in fact, two guys—Peter and Justin—showed me how to follow the routes taped off on the wall. And when I proved to be incapable of doing that, they kept me from seriously injuring myself, which I really appreciate. Thanks, guys! Peter also offered the sage advice that if I felt like I couldn’t climb any more, I should stop doing it. I nodded while assuring him that I was probably not going to do that. I pretend to be hard core, but I am stubborn for real. Even when I got a butt cramp (I’d tell you which cheek, but I don’t want to overshare), I walked it off and tried again. I didn’t make much progress, which only fueled my determination. I’d study the wall, grabbing at different holds to see what felt right. Climbing reminds me a little bit of ballroom dancing because when you do it right, it feels natural, and when you do it wrong, you clothesline yourself. After an hour and a half, though, my arms pretty much quit on me, and I decided that was a sign that I should take Peter’s advice.
I feel better today than I expected to when I tried to brush my teeth by keeping my arm still and moving my mouth around the toothbrush last night. I had a friend in college who said that having a mild hangover made her “a worthless human being” for a day. For 24 hours, she lazed in bed, wore her most comfortable pajama pants, and left the house exactly once to go to McDonald’s for fries. That’s how this feels. I’m sore, sure, but I can move. It’s mostly that I’d rather not, and so any time I started to reach for something, I stopped and asked myself: “Do I have to?” If the answer was no, then, I conserved my energy in case something came up that I absolutely must do. In fact, why am I typing right now? I’m off for a quick fast food run and a nap!
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