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Jan. 23rd, 2010 @ 06:08 pm snowshoe!
Beautiful hike today during which I saw a bald eagle, ended up so wet that it looked like I peed myself, and tried out my new snowshoes. They (the shoes) have this tension thingy on them that makes them flip snow a little bit when you walk, but also makes it easier to turn and stuff. The flipped snow ended up on the backs of my legs, which were warm...the snow melted and since I don't have snow pants, soaked me. Yep. Off to a fashionable start! I had my running tights on underneath, though, so I wasn't cold as long as I was moving at least a little bit. (The rental snowshoes that I used before didn't do this, but the bindings weren't my favorite, so I didn't get that kind...) I guess some kind of waterproof snow- or rain pant is my next purchase. Any recommendations in that realm?(At this rate I am never going to own proper furniture, etc. It's more fun to buy "toys." Besides, why do I really need a couch, right?)

Great day! Beautiful weather!

Oh, the hike was eight+ miles, all of it unbroken before our group headed in. I was never first in line, but being the first short person made it feel like I was doing the breaking: I just couldn't match the leader's stride!

Oh, but now I'm tired, and possibly off to veg with hulu. Tomorrow's 11 mile planned run is going to be sluggish. Ah well.
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lusi plane
Jan. 17th, 2010 @ 05:18 pm Happy MLK day!
Hey, wait, I thought I lived in Central Oregon...home of the terribly hot summers, and cold, snowy winters. It rained all day today. And now it's windy. Not high winds like on the coast, but windy enough. And it's in the 40s. High desert, my foot. (Not that I'm complaining...!)

In other news...nope, never mind. The weather is all I have to report on, 'cause the rest of it is grumbly and I've decided to stay positive.

Take that!

Oh, and I get Monday off, yay, another day of rest! And may everyone have equal rights and treatment under the law, as Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned.

Rambly, but there you have it.
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lusi plane
Dec. 22nd, 2009 @ 10:48 am Happy Solstice (yesterday)
It's just gonna get brighter from here on out! (Keep telling yourself this, even if the sunrise is still getting a tiny bit later each day.)

Fingers crossed that my gifts get to the PO in time to take them to little cousins, and that the passes are pretty, clear, and totally driveable on Thursday. Portland, and Eugene, here I come!!

Only one and a half days of work left this week! Woo-Hoo!!!!
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Dec. 13th, 2009 @ 08:23 pm Sunday
I feel super duper productive. Today I: ran 10 miles, did a load of laundry, (sorta) cleaned my shower, baked pizza crusts for future use, made chili and blended up a superb batch of hummus. Oh, and finished a teen book I've been meaning to read for work. Yay me!

Of course...I ignored the kitchen floor (needs to be swept, at least, and should be mopped, too), left the mess in the garage and didn't even look at the pile of clean clothes that really need to be folded. Ah well, ya win some ya lose some. :-)
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Dec. 11th, 2009 @ 10:41 am (no subject)
-20 temperatures kept me indoors this week, and I didn't get out and run. I will get back to it this week! So what if I'm officially starting training for a May marathon. It'll be fine.

In other news I accidentally stayed up 'til 1:30 this morning, reading. Mistake. Ah well, I don't actually have to awake to be at work, right?

I wish I still got money with my holiday cards. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't wish I was the age, again, to receive such a gift, and I would much prefer to have my grandparents back, than to have the money the used to send me...but still, it'd be fun to open a card and have a $20 fall out. Ah well.

Finally, it's cold, yes, but it is so darn pretty! I am so happy to have experienced so much of earth's diversity! Oh, and I went snowshoeing for the first time last weekend. Verdict? FUN! I think I'll do it a little differently next time: more bounding around and playing, less direct hiking...but that'll depend on timing and weather. :-)
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Nov. 25th, 2009 @ 09:09 pm cookie drama
The plan was to make two batches of cookies: lemon and oatmeal cranberry. The lemon I've made once before (in Bolivia, with Jessica for the holidays last year) and the oatmeal recipe is a regular from Joy of Cooking, except I decided to use cranberries instead of raisins this time.

Results? Mixed...The lemon needed a little more time than called for in the recipe, but that was easy to work around. The oatmeal, though, are a total fail. What happened? It's the same recipe as always...but this time they puffed up (like normal) then flattened out like pancakes. Arg! The variables: using cranberries instead of raisins (I don't know my chemistry, could the acidity make things act funny?), using a glass pan when I should use a metal one (but glass is all I have right now, does this heat up differently than metal and hence deflate my cookies?), and finally, the elevation...but I don't even know how that could change things.

Ah well, I'll have one nice batch to bring tomorrow!

Happy turkey day to all!
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Nov. 22nd, 2009 @ 11:13 am Sunday
Snow is falling, the sun peeks out from time to time. There's at least half a foot on the ground. (Do I exaggerate? Possibly, but not on purpose.) I've had about 4 cups of coffee. Time for a run?
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Nov. 6th, 2009 @ 08:05 pm A few steps forward, some back...hey...I'm dancing!
That subject line is nonsensical. Ah well. Tomorrow I head out for my first hike with a group from meetup. I'll report back with all the details...if it doesn't slush. If it snows, I can deal, but I don't want to hike in the sleet. As long as the weather agrees, though, I'll make it out.

I think I need a guidance counselor. Like one that I can sit down with, take the Myers Briggs test, and they can tell me what my perfect profession would be, or something. Not really, but I like and don't like aspects of every job I've ever done. Isn't there a perfect one out there for me? I heard that one's answer to the question, "What would you do if you won the lottery and never had to work for money again?" is what you should aim for in your work life. How can I make a job out of, "Start an organic farm, travel in the off season, swim, hike, cook, craft and read"? Hmmm, and organize stuff. But that can be seed packets and train rides. Oh, and educate. Heh. Sounds like a self employed type situation. But, then again, if I ever did throw it all away for that dream "job," I'd certainly find something I didn't like about it, as well. I'm too picky.

How does one become content with one's life? I'm sure contentment isn't just settling for some people...but that's what it seems to be, often. There are too many great, interesting, amazing things in the world to be happy with a small set of them. And it feels like you can only get a small set of them in any one place/time.

Rambly ramble tamble.
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Oct. 20th, 2009 @ 08:30 pm Good stuff does happen
Screw you computer for erasing my post. It was nice and heartfelt.

Suffice to say...I recently learned that a lot of the kids in my community have to deal with some pretty crappy things, and I am now even more committed to making the library a safe and welcoming place for them to be.

And stuff...
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Oct. 14th, 2009 @ 11:32 am (no subject)
At least with the cold weather I get to wear my knee high argyle socks. Silver lining, I found you!
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Sep. 30th, 2009 @ 09:05 pm Samoan tsunami
Tags:
As you may know, I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Samoa from 2002 to 2004. Yesterday morning (their time) an 8.0 (or 8.4) earthquake shook the ocean floor to the south of the archipelago, between Samoa and Tonga. Reports vary, but it seems that at least 100 people have died, and many more are still missing. Furthermore, entire villages have been wiped out so that survivors do not have homes to return to. The tsunami hit the hardest on the southern coast of Upolu which houses many of the country's resorts, meaning paying jobs and tourists will be few and far between on that part of the island.

People that I know and care about appear to be safe. The island of Savai'i, and the far eastern, inland village of Falealupo, where I spent my two year service, weren't highly damaged. Not everyone was so lucky. If you're interested in helping out the people of Samoa, please consider donating to the New Zealand Red Cross or Oxfam New Zealand.

According to the Peace Corps website and some PCV blogs (here and here, for example), all the volunteers and staff are accounted for. Staff and volunteers are helping out the Red Cross, and working in their site communities as well as those of staff members' relatives.

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Sep. 19th, 2009 @ 11:26 am furniture
My furnishing style is still, um, minimalistic, to say the least, but I am getting some stuff. I now have enough places to sleep should any guests come visit (just have to buy some more pillows). I even have chairs for them! Well, a chair for me, and a chair for you...plus a cooler which makes a great seat. :-)

Today, though, I was browsing a beautiful furniture store. Way too fancy for me, but fun to look at, ya know? Well, there was this table right at the front that just had some amazing lines, plus great grain in the wood, not too much ornamentation, nice and big, rectangular, classic feeling. Sort of what I'd want to get if I was in the market for actually buying right now. Well, I wandered around the store looking at all the pretties and the saleslady mentioned that the table I had been drooling over was on sale for 45% off. Now, I wasn't serious about buying and hadn't actually looked at the price. I would've guess, maybe $1000-$1500...Yeah, huh, I went and looked after she told me about the deal. The sale price? Somewhere a bit above $8000. Who the hell buys a table for $8000? And that's the sale price! Whoa, I was so out of my league. That's more like a car price.

But, it was a nice table.
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Sep. 14th, 2009 @ 08:26 am booky talky
I got up at six this morning to give a book talk to high school seniors on 1) a book I read in high school, 2) a book I read on Friday, and 3) two books I haven't read. I'm tired. But I think it went okay. There'll be a repeat performance today at 12:30. Six am is too early to get up for any reason that doesn't include the great outdoors. Or travel. (And, yes, in my last job I got up for school at that time every day, but I've adapted to my new, 9 am thing!)
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Aug. 9th, 2009 @ 02:47 pm brilliant flash!
Current Mood: silly
I've been thinking for a while that I'm not going to get a TV, or if I do it's something for far, far in the future. I've lived without off and on for years and the on times haven't been any more exciting than the off times. But...then I realized something earth-shattering and possibly decision changing: somewhere in the deep, dark corners of my cabin (aka storage of random, random stuff) I have my old Nintendos. Heh. Maybe I do have to get a TV so I can play Zelda and Super Mario Bros. Maybe. It'll take some more thought, but sure as heck those babies aren't going to Goodwill!
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Jul. 16th, 2009 @ 03:01 pm tax and budget question, fuen, eh?

I'm a fairly intelligent person, but I lack a ton of real world (or US "real" world) experience...so, here's a question for you all who are light years ahead of me:

When considering pay, what percent should I estimate will be taken out in a normal year for taxes? What is the US tax rate these days?

(I've seen 25% for the income bracket I hope to fall into, does that sound right?)

Thanks!

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Jul. 14th, 2009 @ 02:43 pm Rapa Nui!
I finally finished uploading, tagging and describing all my pictures from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and mainland Chile. Take a look at them. (I warn you, though, there are 233!)

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Jul. 12th, 2009 @ 03:23 pm settled-ish
I've kind of got things set and settled for a short-term stay in Portland. I have a place to live (cheap, and found quickly, nothing special). I have a library card. I have a loner bike. I've found a good bike path and three grocery stores (one is not really worth it, but just across the street). The post office seems too far away, as does Whole Foods and food coops, alas, but I'll survive.

The bike...hm, well, it's my  aunt's and she doesn't use it much. She won it in a raffle and the price is right: free, but whoa, not what I would've chosen were there money involved! I just feel like it doesn't fit me, size wise. Ah, well, it's fun to have! (Even if the seat is ouchy.)

Let's see, exciting things today: went for a run, got my library card, put Hunger Games, and The Hemingses of Monticello on reserve, ate my first Garderburger in years, talked to my dad and continued the flickr upload of Rapa Nui. (That last one is taking forever 'cause I get burnt out on tagging and adding info, but can't stand to not do that!)

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Jul. 9th, 2009 @ 03:34 pm interview questions
Failed interview question:

Name top 5 adult reference sources, not including Google and the world wide web.

What would you say?

HELP!!!

(I'm not going to admit to my answer in a public place.)
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Jun. 16th, 2009 @ 10:04 pm Back in Santiago
Current Location: Santiago, Chile
Last post was lame. I should write a big long one, but suffice to say that Rapa Nui was incredible...but really, really, stinking expensive. Hiking and views were amazing, the ocean was beautiful and powerful, and the moai/statues were just out of this world bizarre and unique. I promise a million pictures to come when I'm back at my own computer.

Bus for penguins tomorrow of the next day...but debating the environmental and social reprecussions, so might just hang or go to Vina del Mar. We'll see. Bagels are definitely planned, though!
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Jun. 16th, 2009 @ 12:56 am 30 second update
Current Location: Rapa Nui
Tags:
Page took too long to load! Rapa Nui is g
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