Curious Sights

I'm taking a break from the job search (yuck, yuck and more yuck) to think happy thoughts. What better way to cheer myself up than to review some of the interesting things I have seen and photographed in the last month or so? I'll try to write about something other than moose...
The National Parks provided some of the most fascinating parts of my summer. Besides my favorite alpine peaks, I've seen an amazing variety of landscapes in very short distances. Yellowstone provided the eerie scene of the first photo, which my sister-in-law described as an image fitting an album cover--probably alternative rock, I would think. 

The second photo is one of many natural arches from Arches National Park. Very hot and desert-like, it was worth braving the elements to hike to some of the more remote areas and see the beautiful power of erosion. 


Even more than the fabulous scenery, wildlife provided lots of viewing entertainment this summer. Never before have I experienced such an enjoyable traffic jam as the one caused by a giant bison in Yellowstone. I had such admiration for the massive beast; he felt like walking in the road, so no pesty cars were going to stop him. 

As he passed by my window, so close that I could have reached out and tugged his beard (goatee? buffalee?), his big, brown eye met mine for a second or two. I was certainly intimidated, and proud of the big guy for doing what he darn well pleased.
The man in the car behind him was filming with his camcorder the entire time. I bet his family is going to love watching his home videos. While seeing the bison in person was definitely an interesting experience, I can't imaging anyone enjoying ten minutes of footage of a buffalo rear end.

Other very fun animals include the fuzzy marmots, who live at or above the treeline in boulder-strewn meadows. They seem full of personality and are often more curious than frightened of passing hikers. This photogenic guy seemed like a grumpy old codger who did not want to have to bother moving off the trail, just because I happened to be coming up it (kind of like the stubborn bison in the end, and I do admire stubborn tenacity). I named him Melvin, because I thought it kind of fit.

Aside from the natural world, I've also seen some unique features in the human landscape. Seattle provided the first Lenin statue I've seen since Moscow, and I found the juxstiposition with the taco shop more than a little humerous. You don't have to even leave Wyoming, however, to find odd monuments. A short distance outside Laramie, a massive Mayan-inspired pyramid towers above the sagebrush, honoring some railroad pioneers (whose family apparently had a lot of money and pride).

I thought it best to capture some of these unique and memorable sights before the snows start to fly and everything just becomes blobs of white.

Maybe the winter won't be that bad, but I'm not taking any chances.

More Moose

I am astonished by the power of my blog. Not only have I been getting crazy comments about my paintings, but the moose have also responded to my emotional outcries. Not two days after seeing the mom and son combo up in the Snowy Range, I went backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park and saw a young bull moose just off the trail. I now have proof of Colorado moose as well as Wyoming ones.
The last trip of the summer was a good one. Most agreeably, I did not encounter a single person on the trail the first day (excepting my excellent hiking companion). About six miles into the wilderness, I suddenly saw four brown legs on the hillside in front of me. A few steps further revealed a moosey face--staring at me, of course. I don't think it would be easy to sneak up on many woodland creatures.
Our remote campsite perch near a picturesque lake afforded excellent views of the Rocky peaks. After setting up camp, I climbed up above the tree line and discovered a large herd of elk settling in to a sheltered valley for the night. I was too high above them to cause them any alarm.
Though the night brought some scary lightning when protected by only a thin layer of synthentic material, the moon was luminous and the breeze brought the freshest air imaginable. Okay, the ground was cold and my freeze-dried dinner left a lot to be desired, but that only made my next morning's hot chocolate that much more enjoyable. Three mule deer watched us from a meadow as we strode by on the hike out, and the afternoon rain held off until we reached the shelter of the car nine miles or so later. It was a short but lovely last hurrah in a wonderful summer of freedom.
So, as a thank you to the obliging moose, I have attached my most recent moose painting and a photo of my polite forest friend.

Moose Myth Debunked!

Here I've been grousing all summer about the elusive Wyoming moose, and all I had to do to make them appear was to express my anger in writing. Moose used to be all over the place in Alaska, hanging around the house, chewing up trees, waving their antlers in greeting, and I missed seeing their cute, long faces. I kept reading about their presence in Wyoming, but it all seemed like a big legend (oh yeah, Bigfoot and Nessie probably live here, too, right?). So I blogged yesterday that I would refuse to paint them until they revealed themselves.
This morning I decided to go for a short hike in the mountains. The drive took about 45 minutes, during which I saw herds of prongs (and cattle, naturally) and numerous soaring hawks and crows. I looked for moose in moose-probable spots (meadows, marshes), but half-heartedly because I had given up hope of finding any. The hike started out pleasantly, with a hint of fall in the cool breeze. About a mile and a half in, I came across a sheltered meadow with a little stream. As I passed--to my utter surprise--I found a female moose staring at me. After snapping a few photos, I moved up the trail to allow her to get back to her lunch, and what did I see but another moose further up the meadow! This young bull had small nubs of antlers just starting to grow. He must have been a teenager who was still allowed to tag along with mom. He stared at me, too, until I continued up the trail.
Unfortunately for the grazing creatures, the trail crossed the stream and looped back on the other side of the meadow. It probably appeared to them that I was circling in for the kill, when I really just wanted to say hello. I wouldn't have turned down a hug and maybe a tug on a dewlap for luck, but I considering that they might have wanted to trample me in return, I kept my distance. They trotted the other direction and were soon hidden in the woods.
I guess I'd better get my paints out.

Picturesque Paintings of Prongs

I spent my Sunday afternoon painting the above picture, which was both fun and frustrating. I've been seeing lots of wildlife art recently, and I got tired of wondering whether I could possibly paint pretty pictures, too. So I tried some watercolors, because I had some lying around and they seemed a straightforward place to start with no training.

I painted with an old kiddie set of watercolors and some ancient brushes I've been hauling around since elementary school (when I used to actually think I could be an artist). I even dug out my old easel, which my parents bought me for Christmas one year when I kept watching Bob Ross and his happy little trees on PBS. It's amazing that I even held on to all of these old art supplies with all the moving I've been doing, but I guess I always hoped I'd have a chance to play around with them again. (Have I mentioned how great my summer has been?)

I'm going to go ahead and blame the poor paints for my pictures' lack of perfection. After painting these and a few other random animals (like a puma), I decided that I found this hobby interesting enough to go out and buy a small set of proper paints and some watercolor brushes--a profound difference!
I figured that pronghorn antelopes deserved to be my first subject of focus because they are the most unique species near my new home. Pronghorns are actually so unique they have their own genus as well (they are the only animals in existence that shed a branched horn on a yearly basis...). They are also the most willing to be seen when I am in the mood to view wildlife (which is pretty much anytime). My other favorite western animals are moose and mountain goats. I chose not to focus on moose, though, because I am currently angry with them. They refuse to show themselves even though I spend a good amount of time in the wilderness, and I am starting to feel that their presence in Wyoming is merely a myth.
Mountain goat painting will be a huge challenge because of their solid white coats. I may have to paint some that have just rolled in the mud. Otherwise I imagine it will look something like that old joke of a polar bear in a snowstorm.

I decided to post the progress of my painting, since I haven't come up with any exciting blog topics. Please have patience with my pathetic pictures (available for purchase for the proper price...).

I Dream of Jabba

Okay, so I've been slacking on the blog. I've been slacking on just about everything lately, and it feels good. My loyal readers have requested a new posting, however, so I must oblige, however much I'd rather pull up a bowl of chocolate ice cream and reread the entire Harry Potter series.

Okay, so I've already reread the first book. What was I supposed to do? I finished the last installment in two days and, while quite satisfied with the resolution (no spoilers here...my two most loyal blog readers still need to read book 6), I felt a bit deflated to no longer have a new novel to look forward to. I went to the library, desperately searching for a bit of inventive fiction that would draw me in, but no such luck. So, August will probably find me diving once more into the wizard world, savoring Rowling's wonderful detail and searching for hidden clues predicting the ending.

That's not to say that my visit to the library was unfruitful. I have been reading all sorts of fascinating non-fiction, based manly in Biology. I'm in the middle of a book explaining how various wild animals survive the winter. (I'm looking for hints for myself, too, besides wearing three pairs of socks and stocking up on hot chocolate.) I checked out an interesting-looking book on the search for grizzlies in the Colorado Rockies, thinking I might like to join in.

I also recently finished a book on the strange phenomena of the mind which set me on a new path: I've started keeping a dream notebook. I began recording my dreams a few weeks ago, mainly out of curiosity. Writing any memories or images you have in your mind right after you wake up helps you to remember your dreams more clearly so that you can look for patterns and try to figure them out.

So far I've discovered that I dream very vividly almost every night, sometime remembering as many as six or seven different scenes. Occasionally, I will wake up feeling that I didn't really rest because my mind kept me busy all night. Sometimes I can tell exactly what real-life conversation, situation or daily event my dreams are reflecting. Some dreams, for example, have incorporated my recent free time spent reading. I dreamed that one of my sweet little kitties had bitten great big chunks out of the thick cover of my mom's library book. Another time I was in my college music class reading a book about animals when the professor came over and I covered the book and tried to distract him with the bald lie, "I love learning about the lives of composers. It's so interesting."

Often in my dreams I am confused or annoyed. Or both. People get in my way. Heavy doors don't have handles. Former coworkers or strangers try to get me to do their work. Signs or clocks are difficult to decipher. People get my name wrong.

Some dreams have nightmarish qualities of injured or dead pets, scary men, car chases and plane crashes. I try not to remember these dreams too clearly.

Mostly, though, my dreams are weird enough to make me think I'm more than just a little fizzy in the head.

I dreamed I drove my car into a Texas post office (the door was open and somehow wide enough) and the floor was covered in vomit. Piles of it, all over the place. When the postman came back from lunch he didn't seem to notice anything strange, but just said that there was no mail for me.

I dreamed Jabba the Hutt captured me, but I tricked him into being angry at one of his lackeys instead, who he proceeded to gobble in one gulp while I escaped.

I dreamed that people I knew a long, long time ago (but in this galaxy) were running up and down dorm room halls wearing as many Elizabethan collars as they could around their necks and waists. (Not lacy Shakespeare ones, but the stiff plastic cones you put on dogs to keep them from licking their sutures.) They put some on me, too, and I laughed for a minute but then sneakily stashed them in someone else's room.

I dreamed my main man was eating tortilla chips but running each one through a credit card scanner first because he said it made them taste better.

I can't even begin to explain that one.

Three Little Words

Sometimes little incidents are enough to make your day brighter. A card from a friend in the mail nearly always improves my mood. I now have a postman who delivers the mail directly to my front door. I think this is absolutely fantastic. The sound of footsteps followed by the slight squeek of the mailbox door causes me to almost jump out of my seat in excitement. Of course, my enthusiasm is most often squashed by receiving merely a handful of circulars, credit card solicitations and bills, but occasionally, a most welcome letter or a postcard is hidden amidst the junk.

My blog so far sounds like the three little words might be "mail for you!" (I refuse to advertise internet providers or very bad movies by using a slightly different phrase), but they are not. I simply got distracted by the thought of mail. Since today is a holiday and there is no chance of receiving any, I would be wasting my energy anticipating it. I also am not following cliche by having my three little words be "I love you", even though those words are quite nice as well. No, the three little words that are in the forefront of my mind make an average day a bit more cheerful; they make you feel special and happy and lucky.

Free ice cream.

Get this: I have been given free ice cream two days in a row. Chocolate. In a cone. On hot, sunny days. Can you believe it?

Yesterday, I went for a long hike in the Snowy Range, walking almost continuously for seven hours and covering roughly thirteen miles of beautiful land. My peanut butter and jelly sandwich, granola bar and apple, while nourishing and providing ample energy to propel my legs, left me wanting something sweet. I had conveniently noticed a storefront sign in a town I drove through on the way to the mountains that advertised homemade ice cream, so I devised a plan to stop there on the way home. By my rationale, I had earned it due to my hearty exercise.

My father is probably to blame for my sense of entitlement concerning ice cream. He used to offer ice cream rewards for finishing various challenges, and I continue that tradition today, even though now I usually have to pay for my own ice cream.

Yesterday, however, I was given my ice cream cone "on the house" in the words of the shopkeeper, because the power was out at the time and she had no way of getting in the cash register. She could have refused to scoop out the ice cream, or asked before hand if I had exact change, but instead she was kind enough to give me the ice cream free of charge. Of course, now I will be a return customer, which was probably her intention, but she could just have easily said, "sorry, we're closed" instead of being nice.

Today, Independence Day, a celebration was held in a nearby park with music and food and family activities. I read in the paper that the League of Women Voters would have a booth there to register people to vote. As a new resident, I had need of that service, so I decided to walk by. After taking care of my constitutional right, I wandered around, smelling the corny dogs and watching the people until I stopped in my tracks. I had seen a most welcome sign: free ice cream. I stood in the line labelled "chocolate" and was handed a cone by a Mason. Apparently, it was a community service, and it was quite tasty.

I only wonder what tomorrow will bring!

Laramigos

I now have Wyoming license plates, so people are waving to me on the mountain roads instead of staring in disbelief at FLORIDA. I only have a temporary paper license, though, because I have to wait for the official one to come in the mail. I guess Laramie didn't spring for one of those laminated printer machines and decided to let Cheyenne deal with the hassle. How rustic!
I have to say, I can't remember dealing with more pleasant officials. There was no DMV as such; I had to go to a license department, the sheriff's department, the county clerk and the county treasurer, and everyone was smiling and pleasant and friendly. The county clerk even apologized for our "long wait" in line behind three people. The whole process took less than an hour and there was no take-a-number-and-take-a-seat-in-our-creepy,-crowded-waiting-area-with-the-weird-smell. I should know about DMVs; this is my sixth state license in ten years, and the process was never easier.

I think this part of the country is just mostly laid back and relaxed. I walked last night to a free municipal band concert in a local park and people were comfortably hanging around on blankets and lawn chairs, letting their dogs meet and enjoying the fresh air and music. Casual cyclists safely ride their bikes all over town and greet you when they pass by.

Downtown is quaint, but vibrant, with western touches in the architecture and decor. A sign on a marquis says "Welcome, Laramigos". Today I saw a bison on skis outside a sporting good shop and a happy bear welcoming me into a restaurant. Those kinds of touches make me laugh.





There's a difference in lifestyle a mere hour south in Fort Collins, Colorado. It's a town about four times larger than Laramie, so there's much more sprawl, traffic and crowds. Many people there drive with obvious aggression and agitation. I got so flustered I had to stop for a double latte.

Although I enjoy the ease with which I can escape to the mountains, I'm glad I live in a place where I can easily walk to grab a snack, or sit in a well-maintained park, or see a free museum of art or native plants or dinosaur bones. "Big Al" the allosaurus is a pretty fun neighbor and there are some cute cottontails nearby, too. Luckily Big Al is well past his bunny-eating days, but he still lurks in the shadows, hoping.

Wild Wyoming

Gone are the days of traffic jams and look-alike street corners plagued with identical Walgreens and CVS stores. Pronghorn counting and prairie dog dodging have become my new driving entertainment. I have happily traded billboards screaming "We bare all" and "Life begins at conception" for more tasteful signs like "Elevation 2 miles above sea level" and "Now crossing the Continental Divide".

Laramie, Wyoming has very little urban sprawl. Yes, there is a Wal-Mart, but even it has pretty views. Many roads simply end with no more warning than a white and orange wooden barrier indicating that it may be wise to apply the brakes. I'm not sure how excited I am about Outlaw Days, Jamborees and Rodeos, but then, festivals were never my thing to begin with. As long as no one forces me into a cowboy hat or makes me eat "barbeque", I can coexist peacefully with the country themes of local towns.

Laramie is pretty with its unique sandstone university, old west downtown and quiet tree-lined streets, but I find the beauty of Wyoming centered in its wilderness. Sparsely populated, it takes mere minutes to be in the midst of crazy rock formations, mountain lakes or scrubby pastures full of cattle and antelope. Colorado and its mountain vistas in places such as Rocky Mountain National Park are an hour or two away by car. I feel lucky to be so near such magnificent beauty.

I am excited by the variety of wildlife seen from the road and hiking trails. In ten days of exploring I've already seen more deer, elk, antelope and prairie dogs than I can count, not to mention big horn sheep and marmots. Okay, so I've also found mosquitos and ticks trying to attach themselves vampire-like to my skin, but I will put up with a few pests for experiences such as accidentally flushing a baby pronghorn from a brush thicket on a hike. We were both quite startled, but in the end I felt bad for scaring the poor little thing. I apologized, of course, but I'm not sure that made much of a difference. In the end, though, when confronted with nature I always find that politeness counts. I like to thank trees for their help with balancing over snow patches and streams. I regularly pat rocks in gratitude for providing a seat or acting as a step stool. "Please don't eat me Mr. Mountain Lion, good kitty" has also kept me safe thus far.

I am excited to be a Wyomingite. On a recent trip to a Laramie outdoor adventure store for some topo-maps, the clerk asked, "Local or tourist?"

I'm a local!

Better than a Badger

A film version of "The Golden Compass"--the first book in a series that I quite enjoyed--is slated for a December release. I find it fun (but sometimes difficult) to see a movie based on a good book, because the director's vision usually differs quite significantly my own.
Initially, I was a bit perturbed to see that Nicole Kidman had been cast in a leading role. I can't think of any film of hers that I have liked. "Moulin Rouge" was interesting, but that had more to do with the crazy directing style of Baz Luhrmann. Let's see...."Far and Away"? "Eyes Wide Shut"? Nope, I think she worked too much with Tom Cruise, who also hasn't made any good movies. Why are these people so famous?
Anyway, since her character is a silkily charming villian, it will probably work. Daniel Craig seems perfect for the part of Lord Asriel (I'm not a fan of the whole Bond franchise, but I think he made a good 007), and I only hope that the little girl in the starring role can act. A weak, stumbing heroine would ruin the whole thing. In recent years, though, other films in this vein like "Harry Potter" and "Narnia" have managed to exhibit some talented kids and become excellent adaptations of imaginative stories.
I went to the website The Golden Compass Movie to view the trailer, and stumbled upon another version of the "what animal are you?" quiz. All right, this one is supposed to reveal the incarnation of one's soul, a daemon, which takes a friendly animal form. I found this concept to be quite appealing when I read the novel. Who wouldn't want a constant buddy (and a cuddly one at that) with whom to face the world?
Although I don't agree with all the characteristics--I've never considered myself all that competitive--I ended up with a pretty cool animal. And it's a cat, naturally.

My Unsolicited Views

My lovely blog friend Feminist Chick has just returned from a much-deserved holiday in London and Paris. While I am quite jealous of her good fortune at such an opportunity (but much less jealous than I would have been had I not recently had the chance to spend 10 days in Italy, and much less jealous than I would be if I had to go to work today), I am excited to hear her impressions and see pictures. In the mean time, I decided to give my own opinions.

I am, and have been since a child, an Anglophile. I used to watch the BBC and affect an accent. I still sometimes buy loo paper and take the lift and put "u"s in the middle of words like neighbour and favourite. My favorite Monkee is Davy Jones. I majored in English Literature and totally enjoy Shakespeare. All things British appeal to me. Well, except blood pudding. And fox hunting. And those little pre-made packaged triangles of buttered white-bread sandwiches. But otherwise, I love the accents, the countryside, the humour.

The farther north you go, the more rugged and interesting the British Isles become. I chose to study abroad in Aberdeen, because that's about as far north of as I could get (although I did take a bus up to MacDuff and Banff just for kicks. I liked the names and wanted to see that northern coast. Wick was a little too hard to get to--but there's always next time). Scotland had even more appeal than the rest of the U.K. because of the brogue and the kilts and the lochs and the highland cattle. But I'm getting off the subject here: I was going to discuss London.

London is a strange place. The sites (locations....palaces, squares, parks) make for lots of nice sights (views from my eyeballs), but it's a busy, dirty, crowded, expensive place. It's all bustle and bankers and barristers and it's hard to find a nice cafe or spot to relax and watch the town go by. You have to join the crowd and go with it. I mean, in 2000, I saw the Olsen twins outside of Harrods. What on earth was I doing at a department store while on vacation? That doesn't sound like me. I'm definitely not posh enough for Knightsbridge (as made evident by the rich tv-star company), but it was one of those places you somehow end up because you can't find a quiet place to just sit and enjoy (except the Tower of London, which is cool despite the creepy history).

So while I am still a HUGE fan of the U.K., Paris certainly tops London for ambiance. You can spend hours at cafes, eating pan-au-chocolat with your coffee and people-watching. You can stroll and stroll and not run out of unique streets to explore. The food and wine are consistently good. I do have a language issue, since I've never been able to properly pronounce those French vowels or that tricky "r", but even so, I would not hesitate to go back in an instant.

Who am I kidding, though, really? Where in Western Europe would I decline to visit? Nothing comes to mind. Even if I did end up in a second-rate suburb somewhere, I could just hop on a train and easily get wherever I wanted instead (unlike an American suburb, where you would be totally lost without a car. Help me, I'm stuck in Manassas! When's the next train out of Wesley Chapel? Thonotosassa?) I currently have interest in Zurich (starts with a "Z", can't be bad) and Riga (why not visit exotic Latvia?) if anyone is offering free tickets.

Facial Blindness

I recently saw a report on a man who lacked the ability to recognize faces. He could not tell if a person walking up to him was a stranger or someone he'd known his entire life. Some brain abnormality made it impossible for him to pick out the face of even his mother. You can imagine the frustration and embarrassment such a disorder could bring.

When I first heard of this issue, I couldn't help but relate to it. Apparently, there is a broad spectrum of face blindness, with minor recognition troubles being more common than previously thought. People with mild face blindness may use clues like hairstyles, setting, clothing and voices to recognize people instead of instantly knowing the face. While I generally have no trouble recognizing my friends and family, I am easily thrown off when trying to locate them in a crowd. It often takes numerous encounters before I recognize a new face, and I have trouble picturing anyone's face in my mind.

I have a slight knack for drawing, but, no matter how hard I try, I have great difficulty drawing someone's likeness. I can draw a perfectly respectable picture of a face, but if I try to copy from a photo or a model, something doesn't add up. The face just does not match. If I sketch from another drawing or painting, however, in which the likeness has already been transferred from "real life", I am able to reproduce that certain combination that makes each face unique and recognizable.

I also occasionally have trouble figuring out who's who when watching a movie, a problem I've inherited from my mother. We find it especially hard when there is a large cast of white men who all have short brownish hair and wear boring clothes. The two of us recently tried to watch the film "The Good Shepherd" and could not keep track of the characters. It irritated me that Matt Damon's character wore glasses the entire time. I thought it was quite unfair that they gave a notable prop to the one actor whose face was most recognizable to me, and did nothing else to distinguish between the other guys. I mean, was an eye patch or a hideous scar asking too much?

I went online to do some research about this condition and found a very interesting website Faceblind.org which included some tests to assess the problem. Surprisingly, I did okay on the tests, especially the one recognizing famous faces. I guess I've seen too many "People" magazines in my lifetime to not know Brad Pitt on sight.

So my inquiries have just left me with more questions--which always seems to be the case. Whenever I start with just one question, I end up with exponential growth (but that's another issue altogether). So now I wonder if I have a mild brain abnormality (well, one of many, I guess), which would be genetically supported by my mother sharing the same difficulty. Or perhaps I just don't remember faces well due to lack of interest (it was quite a dull movie on a boring topic). That would transfer over to the real world, as well (not that I'm saying I encounter a lot of uninteresting people on a daily basis...). Maybe I don't remember faces on the first few meetings because I don't bother to look too closely. Perhaps if I just tried harder I would recognize loads of people and be quite friendly and social.

I'd rather just blame my brain.

Adventure Awaits

In the words of Tom Petty: "What lies ahead I have no way of knowing, but under my feet the grass is growing. It's time to move on, time to get going." My two years in this crazy place are drawing to an end, and just in time. Two years is a good length of time to live in one location; any shorter and you may miss some nuances that make a place unique, but any longer and you begin to overstay your welcome.
So now I will have a new state to explore and new adventures to write about. And of course, lots of new questions to research on Google. I've already looked up info on living at high elevations. My new home will be at more than 7000 feet elevation, by far the highest I've ever lived. My body will, apparently, make more red blood cells to deal with breathing in less oxygen. I will have to watch out for sunburn and dehydration (so no big change from Florida there). Best of all, I will get to use the alternate high-altitude directions for cake and brownie mixes.
This will be my first occasion to live in Mountain Time. I've lived in Eastern, Central, Pacific and Alaskan, so that rounds things out quite nicely (I will probably skip living in Hawaiian time, but you never can tell). I've also managed to live in GMT and the time zones +1 and +3 from there. Some day I will have to move to Riga or Istanbul in order to get the zone +2. Anyway, Mountain Time sounds cool, and it has the Continental Divide which is hard to beat.
I will no longer be hot all of the time, but I'll have to watch out for frostbite instead. I will miss the waterbirds, turtles, dolphins and manatees, but I should soon get to see pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, moose and other western wildlife. I'll gladly give up the intercoastal waterway, scary grated bridges or people saying, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity".
I guess I'd better take a few more walks on the beach, since the nearest beach from my new home will be over a thousand miles away in the Pacific Northwest. The mountains, however, will be right out my back door.

Some honesty

I disagree, but I can see your point.

I'm listening, but I doubt that I have a response that you want to hear.

I would usually much rather walk.

I immediately delete most of what I write.

My dishes, although purchased in Amsterdam, were actually made in France.

I check the peep-hole before opening my front door.

I could tell you a lot of stories about interesting sights and places, but I probably won't.

I like simple things, but they had better be the right things.

Precious Friends

Chocolate is my precious friend. I have a chocolate brownie cake suprise in the oven as I type and I CAN'T WAIT!!!! until it is ready to eat. I will put a pot of green tea on and have a lovely evening snack with another precious friend, my man Tyrongle.

Other precious friends:
--My kitties. They pretend to be rivals for food and affection, but then I catch them snuggled up together in the warm laundry basket and I know their true feelings. I especially like it when they both try to fit in my lap together.
--My friend in Connecticut. She is coming to visit in a couple of weeks (no matter where I move she comes to see me!) and I look forward to her company. Maybe we will have some chocolate together (or ice cream...another precious friend!).
--My blog friend Feminist Chick. She was kind enough to think that my fizzy puzzle actually had some clever trick, when it was really just my nutso brain being silly.
--The internet pair Mick and Bashi. They really seem to care deeply for each other and respect each other's advice. They are also kind to kitties.
--My Viking friend. She reads my blog from across the pond (hello!) and sends encouragement and pictures of cool places like a cabin in the mountains.
--My super parents. They want to come visit me (regardless of the locale) and always offer to help me out with random things like driving cars long distances.
--My super parents-in-law. They always want me to come visit and play games and eat lots of good food (some with chocolate!).
--My vet friend who sometimes reads my blog although it makes no sense (and who is also kind to kitties). Please, please come back to work...
--My old roommate friend who is quite busy right now, but I'm still thinking of her!

My cake treat is ready. It's no prune cake, but it will have to do.

A Fizzy Puzzle

It will happen soon, in a galaxy close, very close...
things change quickly for strange minds.
It's time for some prune kake, but there's none to be found.
A kralageria is needed. Look above the tree line.

Stuck in Poggibonsi

In January 1996, I was flying back to college in Virginia from Christmas break at home in Amsterdam, when the "Blizzard of '96" hit. I was somewhere over the Atlantic, en route to JFK, when they decided to close all the airports on the east coast from Atlanta northward. The pilot alerted us that we would be landing in Orlando, Florida. I was travelling alone on a standby ticket, which meant no free hotel for me, and no telling when I would be able to get back to school.

I was fortunate to encounter a colleague of my father's working in the Orlando airport who snuck me into the employee lounge to let me avoid the chaos of stranded travellers. She later even took me home with her for a night. Soon after, I flew to Dallas to stay with family friends for the next days of airport closures and bad weather in the Northeast. Despite the good fortune of having kind people looking after me, I couldn't help but think that if I had been a tiny bit luckier, I could have been stuck in the fabulous city of Amsterdam for an extra week instead of the Orlando airport and the boring suburbs of Dallas.

Last week, my travel luck came through for me. After a lovely week's vacation in Italy, I arrived at the Milan airport on Saturday morning to discover that my flight home (via Philadephia) had been cancelled due to bad weather on the east coast of the US. Further, numerous other flights to other American cities had also been cancelled. I was informed that, due to the backlog, the earliest I could possibly get out of Milan was Tuesday morning. After the initial shock that I would be stuck in a foreign country for three more (expensive) days, my next reaction was relief and joy at being stuck in Italy rather than, say, Cleveland. I also had the good fortune of not having to spend those three days alone in the airport. My man and I simply hopped on a bus, a train, and another bus and got to visit the wonderful city of Siena.

Our extended holiday allowed us to see much more of Tuscany and to enjoy a few more days of vacation. We even managed to enjoy the random town of Poggibonsi. We intended to switch buses there on our way back from the medieval hill town of San Gimignano, but we realized too late that we had been reading the weekly bus schedule. It was Sunday. We were only stuck for about an hour and a half, and it became a bit of a joke that we'd much prefer be stuck in Poggibonsi--a town we knew nothing about--than in Philadelphia.

The Great Apes

A good friend used to enjoy the quote "Man's a kind of missing link, vainly thinking he could think." I don't remember who wrote it, but it came to mind recently when I was reading about new research on chimpanzees. Scientists have found that chimps not only employ tools to fish out termites and other bugs, but they also create spears and use them to actively hunt and kill rodents. I find this fascinating, as I am always interested in the intelligence of animals and the wide variety of creatures and behaviors that exist in the natural world. I don't believe that animals merely exhibit mechanical responses to stimuli, but rather feel emotions, solve problems and even manipulate the behavior of others.
I like this gorilla picture: he is probably just scratching at a flea, but it looks as if he's trying to figure out how to get a treat out of the container.

It's hard not to anthropomorphise, but we also shouldn't assume that humans are somehow separate and above the rest of nature. If global warming isn't enough to prove the interconnectedness of things, just observing animals will show that we have quite a lot in common with other creatures. I've read research that elephants and dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors. Herd animals will get upset if a long-time memberof the group is removed, and some can remember an individual's voice and smell for years. Scrub jays are aware enough to understand that if they see another bird watching when they hide a treat, they will go back later to move it to a new hiding place!
It would be nice if more poeple would pay attention to the similarities we have to other creatures, rather than trying to be master of all.

A NyQuil Daze

Well, I'm not in a NyQuil daze exactly, but a fog brought upon by the supermarket generic brand that is two dollars cheaper and claims to be made of comparable ingredients. But that's hardly a good title. Foggy Notions, perhaps?
I have a terrible cold. All stuffiness and sore throat and sniffles and aches. The nasty licorice elixir allows for a few hours of light sleep in which I subconsciously try to find a way to hold my head that allows a bit of air to get in. My raw nose reminds me of environmental destruction by way of the Kleenex factory.
This convalescent environment is hardly helping. I stayed home from work to seek rest in a construction zone. Outside my window, roofers blare Faith Hill while shouting, banging, and providing a stench of tar foul enough to permeate through my stuffiness. My neighbor has decided to take inspiration from the construction team to begin his own home improvement, which consists of hammering and drilling at odd intervals (I also imagine, or hallucinate through the cold medicine, that I hear the occasional curse-filled shout of him hitting his thumb). The fire marshal has chosen this time to test the fire alarms on the building next door, adding random alarms to the already joyous cacophony that makes up my sick room.
My one silver lining? At least I got to miss Valentine's Day.

Toasties Totally Deserve a Blog Entry

I have been utterly remiss. I've been blogging for a a year and I've yet to expound upon the merits of some of my favorite foods, namely bread and cheese. I love freshly baked bread, especially with a bit of a crispy crust, and I'm a big fan of the major cheeses (as long as they're not too old and smelly. I'm also a lifelong cottage cheese nut, but that deserves it's own blog). Put them together, add a little butter (mmm...the smell of cooking butter) and a wonderful creation emerges in the kitchen. (I make my toasties in the kitchen, but I suppose if you're desperate you can make one in the living room with an iron, in the den with a fireplace, or in the library with a flame thrower. Versatility is one of the beauties of this simple, delicious meal).
Americans choose to call this magnificent marvel a "grilled cheese sandwich", which takes all the romance out of it. I much prefer the Dutch "toastie" which sound cozy and warm, with a hint of fun. I had a little teddy bear named "Toasty" once (he came with a name tag, that's how I know). He wore a little red and white scarf and looked like he would have enjoyed a cheesy delight if his mouth hadn't been sewn on. It wouldn't have been cannibalism because he was a bear, not a sandwich. Anyway, Toasty is long gone (he was a gift from a John Deere boy in 3rd grade, so still having him would be weird), but I can make a comforting toastie anytime (unless I run out of cheese, which would be a major catastrophe).
I have this device called a George Forman grill (a gift from my in-laws, so it's not weird to still have it), named after a boxer who needed to make money doing something else. I don't know why his name sells grills, but apparently it does. All his kids are named George, though, so maybe he has a strange compulsion to put his name on everything that crosses his path. I don't call the apparatus "George", though. I just call it the grill. It cooks meat well, but only makes second-rate toasties because it's too hard to put butter on. Give me a frying pan anyday.
I don't name my frying pans, either. Should I? I used to name my cacti, but I've grown out of that. Or maybe I've become cold-hearted. I did give Toasty away, after all. But I never gave John Deere Texas the time of day, either, so I've been cold-hearted all my life.
Nothing heats up a cold heart like a warm toastie.

Good Thing I Don't Believe in...

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS: It's more than a week into 2007, so it's about time I got my act together and wrote a blog. If I believed in new year's resolutions, I would have forced myself sit down and write long before this evening. I would have been racked with guilt that I last created a blog entry well before Christmas, and I would have felt bad until I came up with a worthy topic. This way, fortunately, I can write this lame excuse for a blog and be quite content.

ADVERTISING: I don't believe anything anyone on any infomercial tries to tell me. I don't think that I need Requip for twitchy legs or Lunesta to get a good night sleep. I don't need a hemi in my engine or representation by a crooked lawyer. I still don't want a cell phone, a Tivo, or a fast food meal no matter how often those sort of images are thrown in my face. But wait, there's more! Imagine how much money I save by being so skeptical!

ASTROLOGY: Well, according to my horoscope in the local paper, Jupiter is rising in my sign for the first time in years, so 2007 is looking up to be a great year. Good thing I don't believe in astrology or I might have to blame myself instead of my stars when things start to fall apart.

A Perpetual Spree

Doctor's orders from the land of the moose-eating reindeer (a beautiful, but scary place): "write about things you like". That's a difficult assignment for a pessimistic cynic, so I guess it's time for a Scrooge-like change of tune (a la Albert Finney) from "I Hate People" to "I Like Life". If you don't know what I mean, watch the movie, but be warned: "Thank You Very Much" will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Anyway, Scandinavians know best, so I will give it a go and pick a nice topic. Since 2006 is nearing its end, perhaps I will be totally unoriginal (but Cheery!) and list some of the best things about this year. Maybe that will fulfill some year-end obligations or expectations. Or whatever.

Best Album: Tom Petty's "A Highway Companion". It makes me want to take a road trip every time I hear it. Of course, maybe I'm just super-ready for a road trip...

Best Movie: "Thank You For Smoking". Great satire. Finally a smart, entertaining comedy in the land of "Deck the Halls" and "Meet the Fockers", etc, etc. Please go away, Ben Stiller. No, no, I'm not being negative here...I'm being optimistic that comedies will improve. Hey, "Little Miss Sunshine" was pretty good. And did you see Steven Colbert's speech in front of the president?

Best Stupid TV Show: "Hell's Kitchen". Not only was this reality show slightly entertaining with its angry British chef, but the prevalence of risotto dishes also inspired me to try ordering some, and I think it's yummy.

Books: This topic is definitely a lot harder, because I don't often read new releases. Even trying to pick the best book that I read in 2006 is difficult, because I can't remember reading any truly fabulous novels this year. "Pop Co", by Scarlett Thomas had a very intriguing idea--combining code-breaking and crossword puzzles with fads, trends and the dishonesty of advertising--but I wasn't thrilled with the cop-out resolution. For non-fiction on a related topic, "Status Anxiety" by Alain De Botton had interesting explanations of various types of status-seeking (which made me even more inclined to become a mountain recluse).

Success of the year: Wookie the cat learning to sit and lie down on command. I am a master feline trainer, or he is just very interested in treats.

Best location visited: Sorry, Rochester, NY, I'm going to have to go with Goat Rocks Wilderness in Washington State on this one. [NEGATIVE FLORIDA COMMENTS EDITED OUT]

Since I left me cannon at home, I'll simply have to say...Tra la la. Oom pah pah. See you in 2007.

Thanksgiving

Just because I don't like stuffing doesn't mean I shouldn't give Thanksgiving a chance. I will forgo the turkey and yams, but I can still spend a few minutes reflecting on my good fortunes.

First of all, I am thankful for my loving bond with a thoughtful and funny man, who not only puts up with my 'sodes but who also started reading "Pride and Prejudice" to see why it's considered a classic and one of my favorite books. (I'm thankful for good books!) I'm grateful for my kind and generous parents and parents-in-law, the people I would most like to share Thanksgiving with (and not only because both moms can cook a great meal--stuffing aside). They're the only reasons I'm glad I have a phone.

I'm thankful that I'm healthy and fit and can walk anywhere, whether up a mountain or down the street to get an ice cream or a coffee. (I'm thankful for ice cream and coffee! and tea, and chocolate, and mountains....) I'm grateful to have a safe and comfortable place to live, no matter where the location. I appreciate my two furry house-friends that make home a little more cozy. It makes me happy to watch the Wook, purring rustily, kneading a soft blanket with all four paws. He must have so much contentment that two paws just aren't enough. I enjoy watching prim and proper Sammy forget herself for a moment and chase her tail.

I'm thankful for horses rolling in the dust, goats trying to eat my clothes, squirrels craftily stealing bird food, and any wild animal sightings. I'm grateful for my old friends who keep in touch with email and postcards and visits, no matter where I go. I'm thankful for travel, because I love to explore new places. I'm glad I can move to different parts of the country and don't have to settle anywhere (or for anything).

Right now, I'm thankful for the slight drop in temperature that has made long sleeves and cold kitties in my lap possible. I am looking forward to a quiet, relaxing day at home. I'm ready for the pecan pie.
Happy Thanksgiving.

A Collaborative Effort

My man Tyrongle and I, after a lovely sunset picnic on the beach, decided to pen an entertaining short story. I think it has an important message.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Chair

All I wanted was a comfy chair--a big, squashy, cushy spot to read or do crossword puzzles or watch movies. I was looking for a chair you could really sink into, that you could spend an entire afternoon in and not get stiff or uncomfortable. What I found instead were gigantic seats for the fat-bottomed that seemed more like couches in their size or chairs of wood and plastic that looked posh and modern but offered very little in coziness.

Whenever I think I know what I’m looking for in consumer goods, I can never find it. Perhaps the lack of a unlimited bank account is part of the problem, but even when I’m willing to shell out some shekels, the items of my imagination are not to be found.

So, I had no choice but to buy one of the big-bottomed chairs and put it next to my lamp, so that I could do those crossword puzzles. Then I became interested in crocheting. And my big chair became my crocheting chair until I spilled a double latte on it. I cried, and my pet cat, Twinkles, got angry and wouldn’t let me pet him for weeks.

“It’s just espresso and steamed milk, precious cat,” I said, trying to coax him out from under the bed. He wouldn’t hear of it. He hissed at me and tried to bite my hand. After that, my comfy chair just wasn’t so comfy anymore.

I decided to move the now offensive chair to the front porch so that Twinkles would not have to smell the permanent latte stain. He is a strictly indoor cat, which, while protecting him from disease, wild animals and bad drivers, has made him very sensitive to his environment. He has developed a firm dislike of caffeinated beverages, freesia-scented candles, and crème brulee, but he is otherwise safe and healthy.

I had a bit of trouble maneuvering the wide chair out my front door by myself, but I was very pleased with the resulting affect it had on my outside décor. The blues in the chair upholstery nicely matched my artistic garden sphere, and I started to envision the porch parties that would soon be inevitable now that this luscious indoor furniture has been brought into the great outdoors.

The next morning, I discovered a family of raccoons sleeping on my comfy chair. They did not seem to mind the latte stain at all. I tried to shoo them away, but they ignored me and I didn’t want to get too close since they are wild animals. Wild animals are magnificent creatures, but they can be dangerous.

I wanted the raccoons to be as comfortable as possible, so I decided to crochet them a small blanket to keep them warm on cold nights. When I presented it, they chirped and chortled at me.

I knew better than to feed them, as everyone knows a fed wild animal is a dead one, but I thought a little homespun charm might keep them warm as the winter winds whistled through the night. It seems, however, that raccoons have an affinity for wool yarn, and my blanket was quickly ripped to tattered shreds as the raccoons ingested my masterwork. I guess some creatures will eat anything.

I didn’t see the raccoons after that, so I kind of figured that my blanket gave them gastro-intestinal upset. I hoped they were okay, but I was kind of glad to have my chair back. I had a party to plan.

I called my friend Steingord Prilo-Wantock. He was an expert party planner with an eye for interior design. I knew that I could count on him to help me put together a killer get-together and that if a nicer comfy chair was available in the greater Nampa area, he would know about it.

“Do you want to do theme?” He asked. “I suggest either a vampire theme, or possibly a dentist theme. I have this great dental hygienist outfit I have been wanting to wear for a while now. The fishnet stockings are 100% authentic.”

“What do you mean authentic?”

“They were once used to catch North Atlantic Cod. By the way, I happen to have two dozen crab cakes in my fridge now. Should I bring them over?”

“Sure, but what about my comfy chair?”

“There’s a small problem,” Gordy (as he was know to his friends) continued. “I am an expert in interior design, but you seem to want an outdoor porch party. I’m not sure how well I can handle that. If you will reconsider moving your party back inside where it’s safe, then I will help you in your comfy chair quest (provided that the chair stay indoors, too). Otherwise, I think I will just hand over my crab cakes and leave. You know that being outdoors gives me the willies.”

I had forgotten my friend’s odd fear of the outdoors. It seems that when he was a child, he’d been the recipient of many of Mother Nature’s nastiest surprises from the sky. A large lump of hail had broken his nose. He’d sustained a concussion from a stray meteorite. I think the swarm of palmetto bugs attacking his face may have been the last straw. Even now, he could barely go for a walk without getting pooped on by a bird flying overhead. A word of advice: don’t ever try to tell him that guano is lucky.

“Yeah, we can move it inside. Besides the raccoons might come back, and I can foresee trouble if that happens.”

“Raccoons! Those vicious little bastards! What do you mean ‘back’?”

“Oh, nothing, I just saw some on my front porch.”

“Well, I’ll tell you this now. If I see one raccoon, I am going to start chucking crab cakes at it.”

“To be honest, I don’t think they will be back. They ate a mini-blanket that I made for them and then disappeared.”

“Thank god for that. About your chair: I know a place in downtown Boise that has just what you are looking for. It’s an old dental supply warehouse and I think if I come with you, they will throw in one of those lights that dentists use for exams. Those things are great for reading the morning paper. I guess that means we’re going to have a dentist theme. I suggest that we keep this thing open because some people are going to want to come as orthodontists and we might even get a few gum sturgeons and we shouldn’t turn them away. We have plenty of crab cakes, you know.”

“Right.”

“I’ll be over in ten minutes. I’ll wait in my car if that’s okay. With all those beasts around your place, I’ll feel safer. I’ll honk twice and just so you don’t get scared, I’ll take my eye patch off.”

As I waited for Gordy to arrive, I started pondering how to combine his desired themes. I couldn’t understand how dentists and fish went together, but Gordy was always so much better at party-planning than me. I assumed that his mention of sturgeons must have something to do with the fish tanks that always seem to be in dental waiting rooms. I think watching fish swim is supposed to be relaxing, and we all know the anxiety of a dental visit, especially with fillings or root canals on the horizon. Hey, maybe we can serve root vegetables as party snacks!

I didn’t have a fish tank, and I didn’t think Twinkles would approve. He would either try to eat the fish or drown trying, and I would be forever guilty about whatever loss of life ensued. No, better to make fish-shaped hors d’ouerves and toothbrush-shaped decorations than to suffer Twinkles’ displeasure. I did hope he would enjoy the party.

I was actually quite worried about Twinkles. He had been standoffish since the comfy-chair incident. I knew I had to be careful when telling him about the party. “Twinkles Kitty,” I said, “don’t get upset, but I am having a party here, and I don’t want you to get alarmed if you see a bunch of dentists walking around.”

He threw up a hairball and walked away.

Then I heard a horn sound outside. It must be Gordy, I thought. I rushed outside to meet him so that we could get down to business.

“I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news,” he said.

“What’s the bad news?”

“The party is gonna have to be off for now. The x-ray machine that I was going to rent is unavailable for the next three weeks. But that’s not the worst news. My drill that I was going to use for cavities and root canals overheated right after I hung up the phone with you.”

“What’s the good news?”

“I think I may have found the perfect chair for you. And we won’t even have to go into Boise to get it.”

Gordy was right. He drove me to a store and I bought the perfect comfy-chair. It was purple velvet, quite cushiony, and just the right size for my bottom. When we got back to my place, I asked Gordy for some help bringing it inside.

“I don’t know. Can you guarantee that I won’t be attacked by wild beasts?”

“You should be safe.”

“Okay, but I’m really nervous about this.”

We each took an end of the chair and walked toward my front door. When we reached my porch, I noticed that the raccoons were back, curled up on the discarded comfy chair now on my porch. Unfortunately, Gordy saw them too, and he dropped his end of the chair, let out a high-pitch scream and ran off. I was able to drag the chair the rest of the way through my front door and put it in an appropriate spot. I sat down with my crocheting and before I knew it, Twinkles was back in my lap. His contented purrs told me he wouldn’t miss the party.

Boo Humbug

I guess I'm just not a fan of holidays, because it seems that every time one occurs I get grumpy about it. Today is Halloween, and I'm just not interested. I really don't see the point of Halloween for adults. As a kid, I enjoyed dressing up and getting candy handed to me. Halloween was one of four times a year that involved loads of chocolate, a huge deal for any child. Santa brought some, as did the Easter Bunny and Grandmom when she came to visit, but Halloween brought the mother-load. I used to have a huge stash that I savored for months, and I don't fault any kid for wanting that.

Once you become too old for the trick-or-treating, though, I just don't see the draw. I don't like scary movies (thank you, Jack Nicholson) or haunted houses. I definitely don't seek the attention that wearing a costume to work would bring. The last time I dressed in a Halloween costume, I was eighteen and naive enough to give a Halloween dance a try. I went as Laurence of Arabia in full robes and ended up bored and overheated. I outgrew Halloween, and I don't understand why others haven't.

But maybe I'm just saying that because I've never been invited to a bitchin' Halloween party.

Next up, Thanksgiving. Stuffing: yuck. American football: yawn. Baking a turkey: yeah, right. I guess Tyler and I will just have to gather round the pecan pie.

Rompecabezas and Todi-Coltex

Upon the advice of the highly-respected Johnny-on-the-Spot Dr. Slojak-Pittman, I have decided to write a blog about some of my favorite things. Although I am a fan of raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens (and numerous other things about cats--have you seen the pictures of the two precious creatures that share my home?), I thought I'd focus on slightly less cutesy joys.

I like puzzles. The word has two z's, which obviously makes a good fizzy topic, and it's even better in Spanish. Doesn't "rompecabeza" just flow enjoyably off the tongue? Crossword, logic, jigsaw--it doesn't matter, as long as there's some challenge to it. (My cats present an additional challenge to jigsaws, because they like to play with the pieces during the night and leave them scattered around on the floor. Yes, I'm talking about my cats again.) The newly-popular Sudoku games are too easy (no z there, either), and I can do word searches with my eyes closed (try it--it's a blast). I once won a word search contest in the fourth grade, so I've achieved all I can there (the prize was a Snoopy sticker album--try to top that). So far, I'm only really stumped by the odd puzzles in Harper's Magazine--they're overloaded with puns, anagrams and other weird clues. Maybe someday I'll work up to that.

As for Todi-Coltex, I don't so much like the object as much as how it sounds and what it signifies. Try saying it with umlauts and a fake German or Swedish accent, and you may understand. Anyway, Todi-Coltex is a type of tread to put on the bottom of your cross-country skis to help you go uphill without sliding back down (it's quite embarrassing to slide backwards down a hill you are trying to ski up). My cross-country skis and the aforementioned Todi-Coltex are hiding in the closet, waiting for the right opportunity to emerge.

Other words that I like: Kake. Lava bombs. Alstublieft. Medulla oblongata. Griggle and glayfer (nicknames for my cats. I can't help it). Melkesjokolade. Conundrum. Afromox.

If You Must Know, Your Personality Type is "Big Jerk"

I've been reading some interesting commentary on the history of psychological testing and the large numbers of personality tests that have come in and out of fashion over the years. I admit that I think personality quizzes, like the ones I've linked on previous blogs, are entertaining to a certain degree, but I always assumed their accuracy was somewhat akin to horoscopes. I've read certain descriptions of my personality based solely on my date of birth that seem a bit true, but I've also read ones so far off the mark that they make me laugh. This variety of accuracy (stemming, no doubt, from the idea that the more descriptors someone writes, the more likely at least one will fit the person reading) seems to be the same for these personality tests, so I was surprised to learn that many companies and doctors place a good deal of trust in some of these results. Some of these tests are even used in court, affecting important life decisions.

When I worked for the government, part of my training was to take the Myers-Briggs Personality Test with other new hires. The proctors were careful to call it a team-building exercise and an ice-breaker, but I figured that they really wanted to add a label to our personnel files. For a few hours, twenty or so people answered question after question on social and recreational preferences and feelings towards specific situations. Periodically throughout the test, I couldn't help thinking, "I can't believe I'm getting paid for this!" I was paid well, too--your tax dollars at work. In the end, I was presented with a very elaborate printout of my personality type (one of 16 possibilities), and what strengths and weaknesses that entailed. I was perplexed and a little amused, and that was the end of it, as far as I knew.

Since then, I've heard and read many things about that specific test, particularly that a large percentage of people score a different personality type when they retake the test. This change could be due to being in a different mood while answering the questions or understanding the wording of some questions differently the second time. I would be happy to take the test again to see if my type (which, according to the test developers, is supposed to be immutable from birth) is different, but only if some company wants to pay me for my time. While they're at it, they can also tell me which of my humors are out of whack (I feel my bile rising) and whether the natural variations of my skull make me predisposed to liking chocolate.

I highly doubt that the government would waste so much time on administering the personality test to simply build teamwork among people who would soon be working in different branches and locations, so they must have placed some emphasis on the results. Interestingly, my placement into the niche INTJ by the proctors at the U.S. government did not seem to warn them that I would quickly become immensely dissatisfied with employment there and quit to run 3000 miles away. That should be proof enough of the limits of such testing. I've already blogged about my dislike of labels, and in that I agree with Carl Jung: "Every individual is an exception to the rule. To stick labels on people at first sight is nothing but a childish parlor game." It can be a scary prospect if those in positions of power put too much emphasis on these sort of group types; besides being rigid and inflexible, it leads closely to the type of thinking that certain races, sexes, etc, can be similarly judged and labeled.

Choose Your Own Disaster

I remember certain interactive books geared towards young adults called "Choose Your Own Adventure". They consisted of a few pages of plot with a choice at the end. The option would go something like: You pull aside the tangled vines to reveal a hidden doorway in the ancient wall. Crude symbols, etched deeply into the surface, send shivers of warning down your spine as you pull the door open to reveal a dark, musty passage. Behind you, on the wooded path that was empty just moments before, you think you hear a muffled snort as leaves crunch and twigs snap. Could the bounty hunters have found you at last? If you bravely explore the hidden passageway, turn to page 56. If you turn around to discover the cause of the noise, turn to page 78.

I never read very many of these books, because I found them unsatisfying. The plots were generally crude and quite creepy, often with endings like: You turn to leave the cave only to discover that you cannot move your legs. While you were greedily examining your treasure, you had unknowingly stepped into a quicksand booby trap. The more you struggle, the faster you sink, and no one can hear your cries for help. You spend you last moments wondering if you'd even managed to save your mother as the earth slowly swallows you whole. The end.

I don't like stories ending with starving in a pit or being eaten by giant spiders, and I like them even less when the horrible result is somehow my own fault. Not wanting to take credit for bad decisions, I would have to systematically find every possible route through the book to see all the potential results, thus defeating the purpose of the book, but easing my mind. Maybe this early exposure to stressful reading is one reason I tend to make decisions based on ruling out what I don't want, rather than deciding what I would most like.

That's always how I've made important decisions, such as choosing a college to attend. I first crossed off states that I didn't want to live in (incidentally, I think my 16-year-old self crossed off Florida....), then discarded universities that were too large, too fraternity-based or too expensive. I then ruled out places with any particularities that I found annoying and ended up with 3 colleges out of all of the U.S. Unfortunately, since I was accepted at all three, I still had to narrow it down. I discarded the most expensive one, and went to visit the closest one to my home at the time (that meant only an ocean away, rather than an ocean and a continent). I figured if I liked the feel, I would go there (in Virginia) and if not, I would go to the other one (in Washington State)--sight unseen. I ended up liking the first one, and it turned out to be a good choice, but I still don't know if my methods are healthy. I guess I don't know what I want, but I know what I DON'T want.

I don't want to end up drowning in ship wreck. I don't want to be attacked by killer bees. I don't want to be poked in the eye with a pointed stick. In my adventure, if I turned around and find out what was behind me on the path, would it be a cuddly pot-bellied pig digging up forest truffles that I could give to the old lady in the village in return for a magic charm that would heal my ailing horse who I could then ride into the mountains to save my captured friend and live happily ever after? Or would it be the enraged werewolf ready to tear me in two (I'd have already used my silver bullet on the vampire earlier that day). I definitely wouldn't choose to go into the dark passageway; that would most likely be walking into a trap.

No, I would choose plan C, the unwritten option: Using the vines to scale the wall, you get the heck out of there.

More nerd than geek....

Lately, some conversations and choices of leisure activities have caused me to feel somewhat geeky. I've recently dredged up from my memory some embarrassingly specific details of science-fictiony things, I've been reading about sociology, ethology and geography for fun, I've completed a jigsaw puzzle and numerous NY Times crosswords, and I've become increasingly uninterested in clothes and fashion (hardly seems possible, I know).

These geeky behaviors, however, have not sprouted any new interest in the traditionally geeky fields of technology or computer programming. Although I'm computer literate enough to have this simple blog and watch videos of interest on You Tube, I have no idea how people achieved such funny and elaborate results with things like Stephen Colbert's Green Screen Challenge. Even if I wanted to participate, I would have absolutely no clue how to start (which is okay, though, because I'm not much of a joiner anyway). So, though I am enough of a geek to know about the Rancor Monsters and Daleks featured in some of those projects, I seem to be lacking in any real geek ability. (I admittedly even have a Rancor Monster in my closet (it's only a model) along with a Darth Vader shaped box of Star Wars people and an Ewok village. Granted, they're packed away in a moving box, so it's not like I'm staging blaster battles on a daily basis, but I just can't bring myself to give them away. I also just watched the latest Doctor Who out on DVD with Christopher Eccleston (good bit of casting) fighting a new wave of Daleks in a very entertaining update of the old series.)

I've never hacked into anything (or even tried to (or even ever thought about it really)), and I'm no good at video games (unless you count the Sims, which I did like when it came out, but you can hardly lose at that game unless you lock your person in a room with no doors and no food, which is a really cruel idea, but, of course, one that had to be tried). My method for fixing any computer problem after trying "esc" and "ctrl-alt-del" is to turn it off and on again (which, surprisingly, has been a very effective strategy for me).

So, to answer the question of my geekiness, I did the geeky thing and turned to the internet. First, I turned to a geek quiz to find my geek factor, which turns out to be surprisingly low--or not that surprising, it seems, since I don't like comic books, programming, or conventions of any kind. This low number came with a picture of Kirsten Dunst, which I guess means something good, although I'm not sure what.

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You are 29% geekYou are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator.

Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend.


You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines!


Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals!


You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

I like this assessment. I've always felt that I could communicate with a wide range of people. So, by this website, I am not geeky, but definitely not hip. My next search, then, was to find the difference between being a geek, a nerd, and a dork. Not surprisingly, I immediately found a webpage for this as well, which led me to understand that I have been feeling nerdy rather than geeky.

My results:
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Pure Nerd

82 % Nerd, 30% Geek, 21% Dork
For The Record:


A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.
The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular,
which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendencies associated with the "dork."
No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older:
eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.
Congratulations!
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I'm glad to now know that the skeletons (Rancor Monster) in my closet mean that I will end up a huge success. All this time spent on the internet has been totally worth it!

Incidently, the screwy font sizes on this blog should be evidence that I'm not geeky enough to fix computer glitches!

Steven Colbert's Green Screen Challenge

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Take the Nerd/Geek/Dork Test

A Very Merry Cat Birthday

Today, in my best estimation, my cats turn 7 and 4. Sammy, born in Virginia, has been in more states than a lot of people. Wookie, once a wild Oregon kitten, is now the most spoiled of lap cats. We celebrated the day with some cloth mice and a new laser pointer. Perhaps a little catnip might be in order, although by the looks of them, they hardly need it!

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Besides enjoying cat birthdays, today I received some mail from my mom. She had enclosed a letter that I had written as a joke when I was thirteen. It was amazing; in tone, in humor, it sounded like I had written it just the other day. I thought I would have developed a little further from the mindset of a young teenager, but I suppose in essentials we remain the same as we ever were (in my case, sarcastic and difficult).

Fresh Perspective

Now that my summertime travels have ended, I've decided to improve my attitude towards my residence by changing things up a little. I like moving (on a yearly basis) and changing my environment (as often as possible), so when I live in the same dwelling for a long period of time (1 year and 2 months and counting) I become a rearranging maniac. I enjoy the challenge of finding all the possible permutations of my IKEA furniture in this one bedroom apartment. I think I've had my bed in every possible location except the living room.

Moving the furniture is not only an opportunity to tidy up a little, but it's a fascinating experiment in feline behavior. In my kitty subjects, the immediate alarm of change quickly changes to curiosity and sniffing of previously covered areas of carpet. Next comes perching on all pieces of furniture to test for new napping spots, followed by actual naps in the old napping spots' new locations. Now doesn't that sound like an interesting Saturday afternoon?

I've also found a hidden benefit to living under the harsh Florida sun. Some of the art decorating my walls has become dramatically faded. I could respond with anger to this destruction. (Well, I'll admit that was most likely my initial feeling. I am angry all the time.) Instead of lamenting (with rage) the slow disappearance of my lemur and monkey paintings from a Chinese calendar and the sad demise of an adorable tabby cat (also from an apparently poor-quality calendar), I logged on to do some on-line shopping for art prints.

There's no way I am in the market for an original piece of art. While it would be nice to have a one-of-a-kind painting, I'm just not rolling in that kind of dough (or any kind of dough, although cookie dough might be fun). I just like the reprints of captivating art that I can put in a cheap frame and stare at when I'm trying to think of the answer to a crossword clue. That said, some of the art prints I liked still soared past my budget, so I couldn't purchase everything that caught my eye.

I already have a Miro print in my living room that's mesmerizing. It's a surreal abstract of a figure playing a guitar and surrounded by funky animals. There's an attentive dog and a proper cat, a swooping bat, and even a frog all in bright blue, green, red, white and brown. I bet that's a fun place to live. To complement this wonderful Miro, I decided to buy a Picasso (well, not A Picasso, but you know what I mean). I chose one of his Cubist still lifes, a violin and guitar, which I though Miro's guitar player might like to look at from across the room.

I have Van Gogh's Irises in the bathroom. I love the way that man painted! My eye happily follows his swirls and swoops, while taking in his perfect colors. I almost bought a print of his Wheat Field and Cyprusses, which has always been one of my favorites, but I thought it might be better to branch out a bit. I already have Starry Night on a candle holder and a Van Gogh cookie tin with a different painting on each side from my Amsterdam days. I don't want to go ear-chopping nuts from overexposure.

In the bedroom I have a relaxing blue and white Georgia O'Keefe flower print and a bright, fun picture called Gatos de la Casa, which is just what is sounds like--3 cats in a sunlit room (plus a bowl with a pineapple and a bunch of grapes, presumably for the human of la casa, who is thankfully not pictured). Along with that is a Tibetan picture of the Guardian of the Himalayas (a beautiful woman in flowing robes on top of a tiger). To this mix, I decided to add a Matisse painting of a colorful room interior and another abstract (of cats, of course). I mean, what else would go?

To complete my redecoration, in an overt attempt at a cheerful second year in Florida, I bought a monkey picture. You always need some monkey art to make you smile.

Escape from Floridatraz or The Exile Returns

In the month since my last post, I happily left my laptop at home to visit friends and family across the country. In the green hills of western North Carolina, I could breathe deeply the freshest air since moving to Florida. The break from the monotonous flatness and humidity was overjoying. I could stare at the trees and the landscape for hours.

Then I flew to Washington State. Backpacking in the Cascades, away from crowds, drinking fresh filtered water from mountain streams, I reveled in the smell of the evergreens and the feel of the temperature dropping in the evenings. Imagine needing to wear long sleeves at times! One morning my toes were even cold! (I admit, my toes and nose have been cold in Florida, but only at the movie theatre or domed Devil Rays' game.) I patted rocks, poked squishy moss, hugged trees, listened to babbling brooks and watched wildlife (like a cute marmot, who also watched me and whistled shrilly to warn his buddies of my presence). I hiked nearly 40 miles and got pestered at times by mosquitoes and flies, but sore muscles and bugs and sleeping on the hard ground only meant that I was finally again in the alpine wilderness, where I am happiest.

North Carolina was pretty. South Carolina was restful. I'll even admit that Florida has its nice bits and interesting animals. But I only feel at home when I can climb thousands of feet, cross above the treeline and absorb the tranquility.

The Fresh-mess-maker

The new fad of Diet Coke and Mentos homemade rocket fountains has been getting a lot of attention. Besides television and newspaper spots dedicated to this crazy stunt, lots of people are trying out their own versions (many which end up in videos on the web). Although I don't really have any interest in making my own soda mess, I'm amused by the whole idea. It made me laugh one evening to pass a small group of middle-aged people trying their carbonated rocket skills in a quiet parking lot.
One question has puzzled me since I first heard of this phenomenon: if this mixture is so powerful, what happens when a person drinks Diet Coke and eats Mentos at the same time? While I don't really believe that anything truly interesting or dangerous would happen in this scenario, I'm not willing to experiment. Thanks to Dee for providing the answer:
http://www.revver.com/video/31264/
I especially enjoy the woman's dance moves as she shakes up her personal mixture.

Independence Day

I think it's interesting that Americans often refer to today as the 4th of July. Why call it the "4th of" when the month comes first for every other date? You could almost say it is un-American to put the day before the month. Norwegians, for example, refer to their national day as the 17th of May, but they would also write that date as 17-5. Americans would never write 4-7-06 unless they meant April seventh. It seems logical and natural to progress from smaller to larger--day, month, year--but Americans, for whatever reason (something akin to disliking the metric system for making too much sense) have chosen to record the month first. Except for today, the most American of days. Why?

Regardless of the semantics, I am enjoying having most of the day off. I had a pleasant bike ride this morning, watching people set up picnics and walk their dogs in a leisurely fashion. I expect to be suitably appreciative of the downtown firework show tonight. Unless it thunderstorms, in which case I will watch the lightning from my couch.

I've already used the holiday excuse to have some Haagen Dazs chocolate chocolate chip ice cream, and I am feeling pleasantly sated from the delightful experience. Tradition recommends partaking of at least one hot dog, but I think the ice cream was a far superior choice. So many people are barbecuing that the smell of hot dogs has pervaded my bedroom. I do not find the smell appetizing. One cat is sleeping through the holiday smell, resting up to enjoy the pyrotechnics this evening from a special viewpoint under the bed. The other cat, my man (who would probably eat a hot dog if offered one, but does not feel strongly enough about them to have bought some for today), and I have retreated to the living room, where we smell only normal apartment smell (ourselves?). Out here we can also watch some footie. What better way to celebrate U.S. Independence than to watch the Germany-Italy semi-final in Spanish on UniVision?

Happy fourth day of the seventh month.

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I admit that I have become something of a beer snob since living on the West Coast. Oregon microbrews have unique flavor and lots of hops that are as far from Bud or Miller as imaginable. I enjoy the red ales and special bitters, with my all-time favorites coming from the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, OR.

Since relocating to this less cultured part of the country, I have suffered numerous disappointments in beer tastings. None of the local brews I've sampled have any real character, and I won't resort to a boring lager unless I'm trapped in a bowling alley or baseball stadium. If you search high and low (and believe me that the Mega-Beer-Snob that I live with would jump on a sidewalk grate, balance on the edge of a tall building or wrestle a gator for a good ale) you can find some decent microbrews from Colorado or, unexpectedly, Delaware in a progressive liquor store. Bottles can't quite compare with great beer on tap (Best ever: Terminal Gravity nicely chilled at Rennie's).

Surprisingly, I am thrilled to report that I have found a tasty ale on tap at a hip, local bar. "The Independent" sells no mass-market beer, only interesting microbrews, many of which are imported from England and Belgium. Last night I sampled the "Hobgoblin" ale from England and I found it quite delightful. I rag on Florida so often that I thought this positive experience deserved special mention in my blog. Not only was the beer tasty, dinner at a sushi bar afterwards was utterly enjoyable and satisfying. Well done, St. Petersburg, Florida.



**Condolences to England for their World Cup loss. So close!**