RESOLUTION TIME!!!!!

New Year's....I guess that means I should make some resolutions. And I plan to make some, three, in fact.
1. I am resolved to be nicer to myself this year. I have always been my own worst enemy, and I think it's high time to change that.
2. I am going to try to be less passive aggressive. I see how annoying it is when other people act that way, and I don't want to be like that.
3. Get a steady work-out routine going again. I had a great system going over the summer, then it kind of faded as school started up again...but this term, I WILL work out, and maybe tighten my tummy back up to how it was during my riding days.

Snow!!! Oh geez, enough already!

The snow was great for a day, but now I am fed up with it and ready for things to get back to Oregon normal! I am going batty being cooped up in my little apartment. SOOOO here is a lovely little post with 18 random facts (why, 18? I picked a random number)

1) My legs are crooked (bow-legged) and one is 3/4 of an inch longer than the other...yet I love them.

2) I want a pet skunk (once it has bee de-stunk).

3) I can't choose a favorite color...pink and purple are too "girly", blue is a cop-out cliche color, green is associated with greed and money and horny-ness, yellow is too obnoxiously cheery, orange reminds me of traffic pillions, and my mom always told me I look bad in red. Black is gloomy and dark, grey is drab, and brown is dull. And I can't say white, since then I'll be called a racist!

4) But seriously, I guess I like all earth-tones, and honestly, black...it's classy and simple.

5) Sometimes I wish I hadn't gone to college, and had gone off to train horses for a living...

6) Doves are just a type of pigeon, basically flying rats...majestic, flying rats.

7) I'm an optimistic pessimist...try and wrap your mind around that one!

8) The tongue is the only muscle in the human body attached at one end only.

9) I like re-aranging furniture, and would change things up weekly if I had the time, space and creativity to do so.

10) Grace Kelly is my idol...I wish to be half as classy as her.

11) The coldest it has ever gotten in the continental United States was nearly -70 degrees Ferenheit in Montana in the mid 40's.

12) One of my favorite jobs was in a leather factory...I kind of liked working with raunchy old cowboys.

13) If everyone lived by the U.S. standards, there would need to be three more Earths to be sustainable.

14) Flamingos are really white, but the proteins from the shrimp they eat pigment their feathers to a pinkish tint.

15) I wish the jack-e-lope were real...

16) Charles Darwin wrote books other than his famous treatise on Natural Selection...including some amazing research on earthworms.

17) I enjoy studying law...yet will never have any desire to be a lawyer.

18) Randomness is a lack of order, purpose, cause or predictability, according to Wikipedia.

Loyalty

I am utterly disappointed in many OSU Beaver fans for their behavior on Saturday. I'm not talking about the fights that went on, the trash talking, or any of that. What really pissed me off was seeing hordes walking out as the Ducks scored more points against our admittedly deflated defense. Sure our team could have played better, given us more reason to cheer, but just because they were having a rough game doesn't mean we get to turn our backs on them. You can't choose when to support your team and when to ignore them. Fans should stick by their teams even more strongly during the tough games.
I think everyone needs to step back now and realize what an amazing season we had overall. We beat [then] number one USC when we were unranked. We only lost one home game, and really kicked the crap out of some great teams. If you claim to be a Beaver fan, be there for them!

A belated Thanksgiving post

I have neglected my poor little excuse for a blog for far too long! So here's a little post about what I am truly thankful for:

Higher Education: I feel so lucky to be able to have this opportunity to attend college. I love what I have learned here so far, and look forward to what I still have to learn. And not just in terms of academia. I have learned so much about who I am here at OSU, about what I don't want to be, and about relaxing and rolling with the punches.

Amazing friends: My room-mates, the "ranch", and countless others who I know will be supportive of who I am. Each and every friend has taught me something unique. From some I have learned great tolerance and patience, from others I have learned to open-up and relax, and still others have shown me that life is truly beautiful, even the rough parts of it.

My family *sigh*: Even though some members of my family drive me nutty (ie my mom), I am thankful for their concern about my well being. I could not ask for a more supportive family.

An amazing guy named Mike: I think he has taught me more about who I am (and who I am not) in about a year than anyone else has my entire life. I am thankful to know him, and am indebted to him for so much; support, comfort, a shoulder to lean on, and an amazing sounding board. He has become my go-to when I need to unwind, when I need to be pulled back to reality, or just when its time to kick back.

Being true to myself: It has been a life-long project, and I believe I finally have a foot in the heavy door. I am learning to trust myself and to center my life-path. It is nowhere near complete, but I feel like I have started on the journey I am destined to take, and it feels right.

New favorite music

I have found a really good band: FLOBOTS. They rap, but unlike most rap, they have an amazing message!

Checkout some of these youtube videos of theirs. BE WARNED: there is profanity.

handle bars

we are winning


In other news, oh, heck, I don't have much news, just enjoying summer, starting to workout again, and working in the lab AND greenhouse. Ah, lazy summer time!

I hope everone is enjoying the nice weather!

Wish List

So, every year when people ask what I want for my birthday and or Christmas, I draw a blank. While working in the pot-washing room on Wednesday I actually came up with some ideas! It's a ways off, but I actually have ideas, so I need to write them down before they are gone from my mind...

Leatherman
Munsell/GLOBE soil color guide
folding shovel and pick axe

Anything for backpacking!
Camel Pack

Books by Darwin, Thoreau, London or Steinbeck.

mp3 player

Clothes! or gift certificates for places like banana republic, victoria's secret, j crew, or the like

Polarized sunglasses for driving (since I have discovered my cheapos have horrible glare issues)


There we go, a start to the 2008 wish list!

Things that make me HAPPY Part deux.

So, a month or two ago I began a blog about things that make me happy, and said a part two would follow. I highly value promises being kept, so here is the part two:
I love:

• The ranch and all the ranch-hands :)
  
• Summer! It is finally [kind of] here.
  
• Photography, especially of lakes and rivers and woods. I am saving up for a nice Nikon or Canon so I can expand my skills.
• Cooking. I have been on a role lately with yummy new recipes.
  
• Our new landlords! I never realized just how difficult our old ones were until Duerksen took over.
  
• Trail riding. Okay, so I used to be a much more competitive, training oriented rider, but taking the polo ponies out on the trails has opened my eyes to the fun of trail riding, especially if you have a friend or two who will go along :)
• Driving I5 at night, when there is NO traffic.
• Having groceries in the apartment. Especially fresh fruit.
• Concerts.
• Lemonade, Limeade, and Iced Tea
  
• Bouquets of wild flowers and grasses
• Friends coming back from overseas!
• Decor with an international/traveler feel, think Down to Earth or Greater Goods in Eugene
• Cleaning, especially when I should be studying.
• Feeling like everything is exactly how it should be :)