Friday, January 20, 2012

Why Are You So Unprepared, Olympia?!

  How to get by without electricity.
     1)  Buy wood-burning stove
     2)  Start fire
     3)  Cook oatmeal on stove top
     4)  Grind coffee by sticking beans in plastic bag, cover with cloth, find hammer, take out anger
     5)  Wait forever as water heats up on stove
     6)  Be thankful for sunshine
     7)  Pour water in French Press...oh...don't have one?  You are unprepared for the Zombie Apocalypse!
     8)  Find good books and stay sane until power comes back on just in time for sun to go down
     9)  Don't get your hopes up because power will go out again because you live in the boonies
     10) Hope you have enough candles and batteries to make it through the night

   Never, in all my years living in Minnesota, did I have this many snow days in a row (this makes 4).  The last snow day I remember having was (power went out again right here) during my 8th grade year.  And that was only one day off!  I will give this town some credit...there are trees falling down everywhere so the roads aren't exactly the safest to drive on.  Now we hope for the one plow to come through and clear out the roads, then maybe the damn power can turn back on!  For those wondering how I'm on the internet...we stole Paige's electricity and interwebs. Peace for now!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Snow!

   Well folks, its been awhile.  My laptop died and I had the adventure of trying to rescue my Hard drive. So, seeing as we've got a little snow on the ground...and I have no car to go into town with, I figured this is a good time to give whoever reads this an update.  Maggie left me for the weekend while she has some girl time up in Seattle (and I get to sleep in and play Zelda: Twilight Princess!).  Until she returns, today's adventure includes cleaning, reading, and maybe some snow time with the Egglestons.  Although I'm not sure how great the sledding is when the 1/4 inch of snow is already to starting to melt.  Washington...
  
Maren and Leona Face!
   Happy belated Holidays to all! (I apologize for the scattered nature of this blog entry.  It seems that a full french press of coffee and the distraction of snow is detrimental to the task at hand).  I was able to go home for Christmas to see family and my old pets.  Minnesota probably missed me over my absence of a year and a half, but I was hoping I could have been greeted by a damn good snowstorm.  Sadly, I have seen more snow in the PNW than the humble Midwest.  As I intended for my trip home to be filled with home cooked meals, family time, and being lazy, I didn't plan to visit too many friends.  But, after Christmas was over I found myself a little bored and got a hold of some folks I hadn't seen for years.  While getting coffee with Leona, I was convinced to go to a South HS theater nerd get together...and damn I had fun!  Seeing how everyone has stayed connected made me miss all those friends that I lost touch with (but will never forget) and started me on a new mission to figure out who else was in town.  Needless to say, catching up was a humbling experience as I always seem to lose contact with those I move away from.  At the same time, I remember how blessed I am to have so many amazing people in my life.

   New Year's was a blast (even if not what we expected).  Maggie and I went downtown with some of my AmeriCorps buddies to hit up the Eagle's Club for live funk music...only to realize that the whole dance floor was filled with people in their 50s and over.  Ok, saying the dance floor was filled gives the party too much credit.  After grabbing a quick snack we ditched the joint to check out a block party a few blocks away.  DJ on the roof!! Dance party in the street!!  Clearly too early for the party to be hoppin' so we went back the Eagle's to catch the band (not too shabby) and made it back to the block party for the countdown as there was promise of a snow machine.  Sweet dance music, half a block filled with excited Olympians, and a need to get my dance on.  All for free?!  The countdown happened, champagne bottles were poppin' here and there...now for the snow.  NOT!  Although, I must say, white beach balls thrown off the roof was a fun alternative.

  Other than the excitement of the holidays, my blogging hiatus has been fairly unexciting.  Between going back to work, figuring out computer problems (eventually having to buy a new one), and applying for grad school...let's just say I've been a little busy.  Not to mention my mission to save Princess Zelda.  I felt a little nerdier after working to get my old hard drive into an external case while sitting at the bar.  I should watch my actions in public or people might mistake me for a computer expert.

   I will end on this fantastic news.  My dad is finally working up in Northern Minnesota.  I believe it has been his calling for quite sometime.