This Weekend In Oklahoma

This horse is mean and its not my fear/hatred towards horses as a species that makes me say this.

I like how grandma is in the background peering around to see what's going on. Unlike myself, she shys away from the camera.

She's telling me she'll break the camera if I take her picture; I do anyway.

Last Week...

...Ceri sent me a package, well, actually she sent it the week before last week and I only got around to the post office last week to pick it up.

The package was in a Skilsaw box and after I had signed and turned to walk out drew the attention of everyone waiting in line. Men smiled encouragingly, the women commented on my new saw, "Now you can do some sawing!" "Oh Yeah!" Except I knew what was really in the box and there would be no sawing when I got home and opened it. Printing, yes. Candy eating, certainly. Even surprisingly, I could do some toweling off, but no sawing. The box was, in fact, being recycled and even though I knew this as I walked out of the Post Office, I couldn't help but smile proudly at the image I conveyed to those in line. For the walk out the door I was a home owner and maybe I was going to spend Memorial Day building a new deck, maybe I was going to saw up some fire wood, or maybe I was going to cut Mrs. Castle into manageable pieces, no matter what DIY project I was going to tackle I was well prepared, and the post office line knew it. The saw box, combined with the boredom of a slow moving post office line, had made me for a few seconds more mysterious and more fun.

Vocables

I wait beside the counter while the sales clerk and his friend finish their conversation. I'm not sure if they were in an organized band or if they were a group of friends that got together and played, but they settled on the sales clerk calling his friend tomorrow to see if he was busy, if not, the friend would join in the playing.

I step up to the counter and Lollypop, Lollypop, oh lolly-lolly-lolly starts playing over the store's speakers. The clerk sees me glance behind him to the display of what's currently playing, I can barely hide my smirk. He guiltily shrugs and blames the selection on his boss and I can't leave it alone, "Are you going to be playing this tomorrow?" He starts stuttering around denying they would play it and then I add, "I bet that falsetto is pretty hard for you to hit." "Not a chance. My voice can't get that high. No way."

Lesson learned: don't make me wait and listen to your personal conversations. For me, the wait was worth it, not only did I get to make the sales clerk feel very uncomfortable, I really enjoy the CD I bought.

Mexican Meat Market

It smells like the Mexican meat market here today. I went there last night and bought sodas, but i don't know why the smell would follow me to work the next day.

I'm in the mood for enchiladas.

Weekend Scores

Ticks? Zero.
Poison Ivy? Zero.
Mosquito bites? Zero.

Sucks to be you Mother Nature. Rocks to be me!

"You've got weight"

A direct quote from my friend's wife that I haven't seen since Christmas. Ah yes Wei Wei, I have gained weight, and thanks for pointing it out.

I've been in a fashion crisis for a while now.

I've been thinking that I should make an effort at wearing something other than t-shirts and jeans, yet the only clothes I have are t-shirts and jeans. The weight gain is another reason I've been sticking with the basics of my wardrobe; you know, to hide my rolls. But earlier in the spring I went so far as to vow to myself as I walked into the Salvation Army that I would leave with something a little trashy to spice up the rotation of jeans and t-shirts. And I found trashy right there on the first rack; a red sweat shirt spelling out "strange" in gold studs. It didn't have much of a neckline, more of a shoulder line, with sleeves that ended abruptly at mid-forearm and at $1.50 it might have been the trashy bargain that would start my wardrobe revolution. I gave it the benefit of the doubt going so far as to try it on, but even at a $1.50 it was just too trashy, and I know it's hard to get too trashy. It revealed my pale belly button, something I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of, so instead of embarrassing myself with the shirt on, I settled instead for an on-the-hanger shot.


So I'm still on my clothes shopping quest, an activity that quickly loses it's fun factor as soon as I open my car door to head out to the mall. Actually, I don't usually make it to the mall, the crowds of people are just too much for me, and I usually stick with second hand and thrift stores, occasionally supplementing them with online browsing. But today I found myself in south Lincoln and went in to Plato's Closet* to see what the cool kids were getting rid of. I didn't see much beyond the racks and racks of American Eagle t-shirts and a lot of Extra-Low-Rise jeans from Hollister. Not the kind of spice I was exactly looking for. But then! Deep in the black shirts (they organize by color) I found a grey shirt with pink stripes and an EAGLE! With an olive branch in its beak. It is a little strange; with elastisized gathers on the cap sleeves and a side bow on the hem, but overall it's the kind of shirt I've been looking for.


Then, a few weekends ago I bought some Adidas Sambas to replace my red sneakers as my everyday shoes. In the store I was a little nervous that they were too shiny, making my feet look disproportionately long. Though, later that night I found a quick remedy for removing all traces of newness: take one Ukrainian, add a soccer ball, then mix in a dirt field and your new shoes will look like you haven't taken them off for six months. Perfect.


I think I'm on my way out of my fashion crisis, of course, I could just come to terms with jeans and t-shirts being an acceptable wardrobe.


*Plato's Closet is a consignment store geared toward the teenaged and 20-something crowd, seemingly a demographic that only buys American Eagle t-shirts.

Over Thinking Infrastructure

I've lost my motivation to write things down and post them here. I think it's, more accurately, a reflection of my life right now; I'm not where I want to be and I'm not entirely sold on where I'm going. Though Leah did a wonderful job of showing me how much fun Champaign can really be or how much fun hanging out with my sister can be. Regardless, I'm in a slump and I'm thinking of ways to get out of the slump.

Here are some ideas:

+ Use all the art supplies in my house. The added benefit of this is that I won't have to move scraps of binders board and the container with the casting resin that gives me an instant headache to Illinois.

+ Move out of the country.

+ Start getting paid through my imaginary company.

+ Start on the project that requires a table saw (I'm really excited about this one).

+ Play soccer.

+ Finish all the posts I start and never publish.

+ Stop taking naps after work.

Quote

"You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think" -D. Parker

DIY

Leah, I hope there's enough room in your back yard to make this...

Eric and Darts

Note the dart on dart action.

Illinoise

Wi-Fi is back at my apartment!!!

Yield Signs

Today I didn't have the yield sign but had to yield to a yield sign runner, but I'm not mad at all because he was on a skateboard.

For Ceri and Bryant

"The Book of Love Is Long and Boring"

Lately, I haven't been able to stand any music other then three or four bands; Calexico (of course), Cat Power, Rocky Votolato, and The Magnetic Fields...especially The Magnetic Fields. I bought Part I of The Magnetic Fields's three part series called "69 Love Songs" for one song that I had heard on the radio. I ended up liking the whole album and have been listening to it over and over while I work. It has soon-to-be classics like, "The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be," "A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off" and the song I bought the album for "I Think I Need A New Heart." But today I woke up with Ryan Adams and the Cardinal's song "Let It Ride" playing in my head. I'm going to Illinois for the weekend and I think that will be the CD I'll buy to play over and over on the trip, which is very long and very boring.

I need to think of something for my brother-in-law for his birthday. I had a dream I bought him a wooden puzzle at a thrift store, but I'm not sure if he's into puzzles. Maybe he'd like a mix CD of the song I've been obsessively listening to...maybe a CD with the same song for every track?

I think my Lincoln Literacy Council student is breaking up with me; more on that later.