Craigslist

To be completely honest, Craigslist is pretty janky.

However, I've had really great luck with it lately. Sold a bed within an hour of posting it, and bought a nice table for $15 and picked it up the next day after I emailed her.

I suppose, much like many things in life, you have to use it carefully.

Walking in the city after dark by yourself (Hey, I know I shouldn't, but I live alone in the city and I don't have a car. This is Minnesota, it get dark at 4pm in the winter. It is literally impossible to not walk alone after dark) is another example. Be smart about it. Act confident. Be polite. Keep to yourself. If there's a group nearby, you can keep close to them so creepers think you're with them.

I must be getting more street-savvy, right?

Life Update

So, I kind of forgot to blog for a while. My apologies. I haven't even been super busy, but life happens.

Things I've been doing:
1) Beat Pokemon White.
~Snivy was my starter for this one, and he was pretty great, but Seismitoad has to be my favorite pokemon in this entire generation. Unfortunately, my beloved cat has chewed my DS charger in half, so I am still waiting for my new one to arrive from Hong Kong. I got part way through replaying Black, but it has to wait because I finally ran out of battery.

2) Went to California.
~My friend Katie and I went to California to our friends wedding. We went to the beach, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, museums, and Jeannette's bachelorette party was in Disney Land! The wedding was beautiful and they are so cute!

3) Got a promotion at work.
~I've been trying to find a new job that pays more, but instead the Lead Teller position opened up at work. So now I am living within my means! Yay! And have more to do at work.

4) Exercising.
~While I've dropped from 4-5 workouts a week to 2-3, I've still been working out pretty regularly. I've even been biking more often, and I don't really enjoy riding my bike, but it's a good workout and gets me places faster than walking.

5) Listening to music
~I've been renting CDs from the library, and listening to the radio more often so I can hear more music and finally listen to all those albums that have been on my list forever.

6) Volunteering
~My new years resolution of 4 hours of volunteer service a month has been mostly working (except I only had 2 hours in July, but most have had 6-8, so it evens out). I have discovered that volunteering gets you free stuff and free admission and something to do during the event. I have a ton of t-shirts, have gotten out of at least $30 in cover charges/admission fees, free meals, free drinks and other random swag. And of course, volunteering gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. And I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile instead of just bumming around and spending money.

7) Having a social life
~Sort of? I have been succeeding at my 1 social event per week minimum, but I was hoping it would snowball by now. I am terrible at initiating contact, and setting plans. And I like hanging out with friends, but laying on the couch usually trumps getting up and doing something. I need to get better at making obligations for myself so I get my butt off the couch.

8) Being single
~Still single, still not dating, still enjoying it!

Faire du Camping

I love camping. Mom and I went to Lake Itasca State Park, where the headwaters to the Mississippi are located. It was a good time, even though we were down by a family member (brother, who was being a dutiful son to our dad and stepmom).

One thing I love about camping is the fire. Even when we don't need to heat anything over the fire, or roast any marshmallows, there is something comforting and traditional about a campfire. Make one first thing in the morning, even when it's plenty warm, to sip your coffee by. Or use to cook your hashbrowns, eggs and beans in the morning. At night, make it to eat dinner by, and to prepare the dessert. Smores, every evening. Who cares if you're full or are sick of marshmallows? You're camping. Smores are a must! A campfire is a good start and end to the day, and usually a good middle to the day.

I also love all the exercise. Even when you just hang around the campsite all day, you still need to walk to the bathroom, to the water pump, etc. Unless you're in an RV or something, camping means roughing it. You need to lug water, you need to stand up and stretch because your butt hurts from sitting on uncomfortable wooden benches and sleeping on rocky ground. Plus, there's hiking, bike rides, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, and climbing. We went for a sixteen mile bike ride. My butt still hurts!

The wildlife is also fun. From a big, lazy raccoon looking for handouts from all the campsites to a grouse who needs to look where he's flying before he takes off, we saw quite a few cool animals. Even the multitude of tent caterpillars (including several on our tent, coincidentally), and the many adorable chipmunks and squirrels entertain me to no end. I'd love to have seen more animals, as the park also has moose, wolves and bears, but being in the middle of the campgrounds, the only animals we're likely to see are the ones who want something from people. The grouse however, seemed just surprised as we were to see us in the middle of his flight path.

Camping is a great escape. It's a literal happy place. Even with rain, and forgotten items, and unexpected events, it's hard to not have a good time while you're camping.

States I've visited

I have only a few states left to go in the US, and most of them are in the Bible Belt.
Red means I've driven through it. Amber means I've slept there at least once, but don't really know it very well. Blue means I've been there multiple times or spent extended time there. Green means I've lived there, or have been there a lot.

You can make your own map at: http://www.defocus.net/visitedstates/generate.html

First Sunburn of the Year

My face is pink! I love the feeling of being sunburned. It's just warm and cozy.

I got my sunburn by apartment hunting. I unfortunately have to move because rent went up, and my roommate moved away. And I don't really want to live with anyone else, so I should probably get a 1 bedroom or studio so someone can take the larger space who needs it.

So, I hoofed it around some areas in uptown and eat street and phillips to see if there are any rentals around there. I have a couple I need to follow up with, because they looked promising. I don't really want to live in Phillips, but it's more convenient than Uptown, and I get less angry about the privilege in our country.

For some reason, every time I'm in uptown, I just get upset that white privilege exists, and that wealth is so concentrated with one class of people. I know it's not the fault of the people who live in Uptown, but people jogging with their dog past the lakes, or pushing their children in fancy strollers past their beautiful gardens just makes me sad. Especially when I then go to Phillips, where people are taking the bus to work on a Saturday afternoon, and asking strangers to help pay their bus fare, and the sidewalks and road surface quality is noticeably worse than in Uptown.

So, I probably shouldn't live in Uptown. Plus the bus ride would be 40 minutes instead of 15 from Phillips. Even though Uptown is prettier and safer. Plus, Uptown is expensive and tempting! So many amazing restaurants and coffee shops. In Phillips, there are good bakeries and coffee shops and stuff, but most of the restaurants aren't so veggie friendly, so I will spend less.

Found Pet - Thankfully!

Twice this week, I've almost had to make "LOST PET" signs.

First, I must have snapped the leash on the tag ring instead of the collar, because the second Hazel and I stepped outside, the ring broke and she zipped off after a rabbit. "ffuuu...." was my first thought. I ran around the block and neighborhood, calling her name, and asking random people walking by if they'd seen a dog. Considering it was 10pm on a weekday, there were only two or three people, and no one had seen her. Resigning myself to calling animal control, I trudged back home. As I turned the corner, who was sitting on the front porch but Hazel! I was so happy, I just gave her a hug and a "good dog" for coming home, and put the leash back on. We found the tags laying in the yard the next morning.

So relieved.

Today, I got up at 6 to feed the cat, and take the dog for a walk. I had a headache (not from a hangover, though! I went to bed at 10 because I was so tired!), so I went back to sleep for a couple hours. "Odd that the cat didn't come when I poured her food out. She must be hungry by now," I thought as sleep took me again. When I got up at 8, she still hadn't eaten her food. So I went searching in all her favorite spots. Not on the cabinets, nor under my bed, not in the shower, or in the closet. I had left the window in the living room open last night, so maybe she was still hunkered down there, even though the dog was in there. I pushed back the curtain only to find a big gaping corner of the screen pushed out. "Fuuuuuu.... How long has she been gone? She could be anywhere!" The last time I saw her was 10pm when she jumped off my bed after cuddling before I fell asleep.

So, I run outside, looking up trees and under neighbors porches. Around and around theg neighborhood I go. "Momo wouldn't go very far. When she gets scared, she hides under stuff or jumps up." A lightbulb when off after twenty minutes. "Is it possible she wiggled through the trellis skirt on my porch?" I went to look. Sure enough, there are definite signs of digging underneath the porch skirt. I go inside to grab a flashlight. I don't see her right away, but I go around the corner, and look again. Lo and behold, what is looking back at me but those two adorable green eyes? She let out the most piteous "mew." I pull the skirt back enough for her to wiggle back through, and she jumps into my arms, covered in dirt and spider webs.

Thank goodness my pets know where they live!

Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day!!

To celebrate, I baked and brought a french silk pie, pumpkin pie and berry pie. I should have taken a picture of the berry pie. It was my first crust I've made with a lattice top crust, and I put a cute little pi symbol on it. TASTED AMAZING TOO!!!!!

Hope you celebrated this irrational day!