Waiting for power... and possibly for Godot.

Today we are supposed to have internet!!
... but we have no power.

Yesterday we manually lit our stove so that we could cook some food.  The night before we had a 40 minute span of power and we were able to make mac and cheese quickly, and the night before that we had no power and didn't think to light the stove so we just snacked on grapes, cheerios, and munchies.  It has been a weird week as a homeowner.

I am at the arctic tundra of a coffee shop again.  I came prepared this time in a heavy sweatshirt.  As I was walking in the 80 degree heat, I thought to myself "ugh, this sweater is overkill, why did I drag it along with me" but as I passed through the doors into Antarctica, I remembered why I hoofed it with a few pounds of fleece.  Ahhhhh.

Here are a few things the internet world has missed due to my lack of connectivity.

1. Nick is a true Mr Fix It, Jr.
Jenni: "Haaalp we don't have enough hot water to the sink" -big frowny face-
Nick: -wrench, twist, unscrew, shine light, remove value- "Well, let's head on over to Lowe's."

This is what we found.  Disgusting. >>

Nick installed a new valve.  Twenty minutes later the hot water flow was renewed and at full force.  Amazing.









2. Cat loves new house.  Especially baskets.
We got this particular basket from a neighbor.  So neighborly!

I was going to use it for sorting clothes but instead it is now cat-basket.  Another household item is taken by cat, as with many things in my life (for example, cat-shelf, cat-blanket, cat-couch).




3. When we do have power, we can:
a) watch TV with an antenna (I know!  So retro!),
b) make delicious food like these chili cheese dogs (mine are vegetarian but I went full meat with Nick's).

We are so normal.









4. Nick bought me no-reason flowers.
The best kind of flowers :)



Time to pretend to work on schoolwork again...  Maybe I'll be able to update from my house tomorrow?  A girl can only hope!

My world is a cold, cold place right now

It is freezing at Starbucks today.  I'm sure it is a comfortable temperature behind the counter for all of the little baristas back there, but for me, I am shivering.  I deeply regret my iced tea choice right now.

It has been over a week since I have had the pleasure of browsing the internet.  Sure, I have been squinting at and prodding my phone, anxiously anticipating the name reveal for Kimye's baby just like everyone else, but there is something refreshing about typing something into the computer instead of poking little letters and having to pinch zoom to read.  First world problems, right?  But I'm marginally enjoying my frosty time right now as I type on a legit computer.

Life without internet is tough.  I've actually been productive for the last week.  My lazy bone is like, "what is happening.  Go back home and cozy up on a couch, you deserving beautiful person, you." (My lazy bone is a flatterer).

However, had I not come to this Starbucks on this bright, humid day, I would not have heard a grown man  loudly direct his "homie" to his "crib", nor would I have had the pleasure of viewing obnoxious pantylines from the too-young-to-be-flaunting-that girl who ordered a large sugary mess of a drink.  I would have missed the older couple in the corner sharing a latte over a newspaper (awww..) and I may have forgotten my detestation for modern, on-the-go American breakfast items (pound cake??).  In other words, I would have missed out on life.

I prefer to indulge in these bits of humanity on a sweet and sweaty day like today.  No picture, no poems, no exciting prose today; just me and my observation of the people around me as I avoid working on some schoolwork (the supposed "real" reason I came to a coffee shop today).  Now, to the smooth voice of Eric Clapton, I will be enjoying the rest of my drink, snuggling further into my jacket, and typing out a storm of lesson plan analysis.  Have an equally successful day, my friends.  Don't take the internet for granted!

To Do Lists

I could quilt all of my to do lists together and form a sizable afghan under which I can hide and do nothing on those lists.

I really do love making lists.  I like being "organized" (what does that really mean??) and I especially love to cross things off of lists.  However, lists are lost.  Lists continue to grow.  When I cross something off, it can come back (think: dishes or laundry).  I find to do lists give me short-term inner peace, but leave me feeling empty because the list is never completed.

I am moving tomorrow.  New house.  Beautiful new house.  We got to visit it today, which was more painful than I expected because all I really wanted was to be moved in already and be home.  I am so impatient sometimes.  "Practice more patience," however, is not on my to do list.  It should be.  But it would likely never get crossed off.

I would really like to go to sleep right now, but my impatience and my adrenaline are keeping me up.  I am making list after list after list.  Moving list.  Places to contact with new address (insurance, post office, etc.).  Job search places.  Contact these people.  What book should be next for my book club.  If I combine all of these lists into one master list, I would be completely overwhelmed.  Instead, I have each list on a separate sheet of paper, labeled, and ready to be accomplished.  Here I am, accomplishing a task - "blog".

Wheeee, I am having so much fun!  Here is to my marginally interesting blog post!

edit: As a side note, someone searched for "giraffe diarrhea" on Google and clicked through to my site, so that's a bonus.  When I searched for "giraffe diarrhea", my blog came up as #8.  Some of the other links look promising, too.  Maybe I'll give them a weird search word reference on their web stats.  Can't really tell if this is a great keyword or not.  I'll take it.  I'm just in an accepting mood tonight.

Blackberries & blackbirds

If you were ever wondering when the best time to buy blackberries is, that day is today!  Here is my scientific evidence.

Fact #1: They are HUGE.
Opinion #1.1: They are great as an ingredient, but not great as decoration because they make the plate look oddly disproportional.
Opinion #1.2: It is much easier to eat an entire carton because there are only like 8 berries in a carton due to their size.  When have I ever needed an excuse to eat an entire carton of berries though?

Fact #2: They are all juice and beautifully sweet.
Opinion #2.1: They are excellent in smoothies or jams or anything you need juice for...
Opinion #2.2: If you freeze them, and put them frozen into water, they make water even MORE refreshing.  This will become relevant to my life if it ever warms up in Minnesota.

Fact #3: They are on sale at virtually every grocery store.....
Opinion #3.1: ... and if they are not on sale, you need to find a new grocery store to shop at.
Opinion #3.2: If you are planning on buying blackberries for a recipe, you'll need to double or triple the amount you buy.  If you are anything like me, you will burn through a few cartons before getting down to business.  I meant to make a blackberry dessert but oops, I just devoured the entire carton as I'm typing this post.

The blackbird part seems irrelevant to my delectable berry discussion, but I had my recurring blackbird dream last night.  The dream is terrifying.  In high school, I wrote a short story about it at 2am one morning because I had woken up from the nightmare with the vivid thoughts still bouncing around in my mind.  Anyway... Blackberry.  Blackbird.  You see the literary gem here, right?

I had a similar experience this morning.  Here's my 4am sketch and my 4:39am poem.

"Untitled poem of a young blackbird"

Fear.
She sings,
blood pumps.
Desperate, confused, alone.
She cries "help".
"Wait for me,
I'll help you escape."
She screeches and halts.
The threshold is occupied.
He is all dark.
Black innocence flees black mystery.
"You've got to help her."
He flickers with aphotic movement.
He is quick, obscure, confident.
She chirps in his hand.

Snap.
Stunned silence.
Dark eyes glower.
Her head artlessly angled,
her last chirp is withdrawn.
I stare into the night.
Is this the freedom
she sang for?
I sing.
Fear.

Old Obsessions

Know what's amusing?  How many blogs I have.  Like 20.  I should stop and think before I sign up for a new blog.  Mine are all over the place.  Blogspot.  WordPress.  Weebly.  Google sites.  I can't make up my mind.  They are of varying topics: books, cooking, personal, teaching, artwork, travel...  I have yet to dedicate one solely to my cat, but I promise it's in the works once I come up with a clever title.  I am a hot mess.

Glenda, my very much alive plant

Let's get right to it, though.

I'm blogging today because I just read my friend's great blog, and she's going to China, and I have no doubt that her blog will be amazing.  This post is not out of jealousy (although, clearly I am envious of her travels!) but out of reminiscence.  That "oh yeah, I have a blog I used to love to write in" feeling.  So here I am, blogging about blogging yet again.

Latest news in Jenni's life:

- Got married to my best friend; it was spectacular

- Started practicing yoga; my life is forever changed for the better (probably should have said this for that getting married event...)

- We are closing on a house on Friday; I absolutely cannot wait

- I will be a licensed teacher in July; right now I am job hunting

- I have managed to keep a plant alive for more than a year; serious celebration ensues.

Here is a picture of said plant.  Her name is Glenda.

In solidarity with Glenda, I am hereby resurrecting this blog.  It's aliiiiiiive.  Last time I lamented about not having a topic - I still have too many things to write about, but I am choosing not to care right now.  It's late.  Cut me some slack maybe.

I am going to talk about.....

1. My new house and all of the projects we are going to do in it!  (on the list, installing a garbage disposal!  Running a water pipe from the sink to the fridge!  Hanging up pictures!  We are basically the HGTV channel, but IN REAL LIFE!)

2. Glenda, Pax, and Nick, and anything interesting they may be up to.  Glenda likely will not be up to anything interesting, her 5 minutes of fame are up.

3.  Anything I want, buddy! Maybe some artwork?  Maybe a poem?  Maybe a bread I baked?  Maybe a crocheted blanket?  Maybe an interesting website I found?  Maybe a new Sanskrit word I learned?  I did write a poem the other day, actually, about a giraffe screen cleaner my parents gave me for my birthday.  I love it, and he just stares at me happily all day.  Ahem....

brown, white, spot,

a friend my parents bought,

if you were a real pet

on your life you could bet

that I would hug you a lot

Lame?  Yes.  I didn't claim that my writing/art/thoughts would be good.  You should read Moliere if you want clever rhymes.

Goodnight!  Go forth and conquer!