Not Really Upside Down. More Like...Cockeyed.

Dang it, I had such a nice plan worked out! Work here until January, then go see Gabe with Dad, then go to Heifer at the end of January until the end of May, then work through the summer, and head to New Zealand in October 2011.

Buuuuuuut, I just heard from Heifer that because of downsizing they can't afford to have any more volunteers before next May at the earliest. So that kind of changes things. On the upside, that frees me up to go to New Zealand earlier, but that means that instead of breaking the working for money up into two chunks, I'm going to do it in one chunk, and I'm already feeling a little burnt out.

I don't know what it is (maybe I'm just having an off day) but I feel like my life is out of balance. Based on next week, I'm going to be working from 10am to whenever the Reub lets me go (sometime between 8pm and 2am) four days a week, with a possible fifth day. On the one hand, I feel like a wimp for whining about this when the hours total somewhere around the usual 40-50 hour work week, but on the other hand, I don't want to sign my life away to being a waitress for the next six months or so.

I already don't have time for working out, and I'm feeling sick because of some meds I'm on, and I have no social life to speak of because none of my friends live in Northfield anymore...

And this is fast turning into a whine fest, so I'll stop! Life really is good, and I'm doing well over all, but I feel out of balance. That's the bottom line.

So how do I fix this?

Fitness, Food, And The Primal Blueprint

It's My Half-Birthday! Keen!

Well, let's see.

I've been to Phoenix and Las Vegas since I last updated, so you know there's got to be something to say.

Last Thursday I jetted off to see my good friend Gabriel in Phoenix, AZ, and he picked me up at the airport and dropped me off at a Starbucks and the Phoenix public library for a few hours while he was at school. We spent Thursday night catching up, sitting on the golf course near his house, and staring at the stars. Friday morning came with a wonderful flurry of getting-on-the-road-ness, and we wound our way through the desert, seeing Joshua trees and other deserty things on the way, not to mention some amazing mountains and the Hoover Dam, which was a pain in the neck to cross because of traffic. Through all this the music was on full volume and Gabe and I were having a great time singing along and making random stops when we found something cool.

Then Vegas. Friday night, Saturday and Sunday we stayed with Paige, Willie and Paige's roommate Gavin who are all spectacularly awesome. Fun was had by all, but you know what they say about what happens in Vegas.

I WILL say, though, that Vegas has AMAZING food. Wow, did we eat at a lot of great places. Yum!

So then on Sunday Gabe and I headed back late afternoon and drove through the desert at night, which is something I don't think I'll ever forget. I have rescinded all of the bad things I've said about the Southwest; at least it's beautiful at night. I kind of wish that drive would have gone on forever.

But we ended up back in Phoenix, and I spent Monday at the house stealing Gabe's music and watching Incubus in concert DVDs. Alright, I admit, I really like them. After the boy got back from school we headed out to meet his family (including his super cute niece who's two!) and then off to dinner with his uncle and out to see "Easy A," which may be one of my new favorite movies. Emma Stone is great.

Then on Tuesday I got up, got dropped off at Starbucks and then got my new tattoo about ten minutes before I got in the car to go to the airport. Ta da!

It's a heart chakra symbol called an "anahata." The outside is a lotus flower with twelve petals which represent twelve sacred sounds in meditation. The star is actually two triangles representing male and female and the middle ground in between. The symbol in the middle is to remind me to breathe, be aware, and live with an open heart. I really like it.

So anyway, I flew home and now I'm back with my nose to the grindstone, working at Hogan's and the Reub. The only news to report there so far is that one of the managers at the Reub (who really stressed me out and was a bit mean) got fired over the weekend, so that's sort of made the place feel a little different.

In other Northfield news (but sad!) I saw that one of the white squirrels near my house got hit by a car today. I'm not sure if he (or she) is ok, but the person that hit it got out of the car to tend to it, so hopefully it was just stunned.

ALSO, now that I think about it, the biggest news I have is that I've decided to take the job working with Heifer. It means I'll start on December 20th down in Little Rock, Arkansas and be down there until mid-May. I called my contact there to confirm today, but she was out of the office, so I'll try again tomorrow. Anyway, it's a big decision, but I feel like it's the right one, even though it means I'll be postponing my trip to New Zealand this way. It's an amazing chance, and I can't pass it up. Let's hope everything goes well on that front.

As for the next few days, I'm working, as usual. I plan to get a haircut tomorrow, though, which is exciting! I'm also considering dying it red again, which I haven't done since....jeeze...freshman year of college, I guess. We'll see. And a bunch of Lance's relations are coming to stay this weekend, which means the house will resemble a can of sardines for a while. AND because I'm working, I'm missing out on the traditional Norwegian dinner out at my great-uncle's church on Saturday, which is the suck, but maybe Maddie and Julia can smuggle me some krumkake and lefse.

OH, and I plan to be baking my ass off whenever I'm not working for the next few weeks, as
YES FOLKS, FALL IS HERE AGAIN, AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!

APPLE DISHES OF ALL SORTS AND HOMEMADE DOUGHNUTS!

I can feel my diet being ruined already.

Eulogy For Our Dog

Cricket was our first family pet. Before her I remember having goldfish that lived in a bowl in the bathroom, and which we killed one after the other with frightening accuracy. But they didn't count.
From the moment we saw her, shivering and scared, huddled in the back of her kennel in the kitchen, we were in love. She'd flown all the way from Chicago for us, and when she finally did become comfortable in our home she was the object of much attention (as well as the subject of much arguement). Maddie and Julia and I all wanted to train her, to play with her, to teach her tricks, but the only two things she got really good at were shaking hands and barking when we said "speak!" No luck with sit, stay, come, or lie down commands ninety-nine percent of the time. She loved to run like crazy the minute we let her off the leash or out of arms length, to sleep curled up in the sun (or on any soft and kooshy surface), and to pace like some kind of sad tiger when she didn't know what else to do.
People always commented on how skinny she was, but to us she was perfect. Even though she had the sad eyes of a hound, we always knew when she was happy because of her perked ears and happy howl. I'll still howl for you when I come in the door, Crick.
But because our family split apart a few years after her arrival, she became more than just a dog to each one of us, I think. To my sisters and I, or at least to me, Crick became a protector and comforter, much like Nana in Peter Pan. She knew how to make us feel better when we were sad or sick by sitting next to us and letting us know we'd be ok. I cried into her short white fur on more than one occasion during the divorce and let her know in no uncertain terms that I was mad about the whole situation. She would lick my face and tell me that it didn't matter, and that she loved me anyway.
Even now, when we've all mostly healed from the turmoil, she was able to bring us together one last time to say goodbye. Dad and I drove together and carried her into the vet's. The five of us; Dad, Mom, me, Julia, and Maddie who was there in spirit, all cried together and as we stood there I was so grateful to our little Cricky dog for gluing us together even after we were broken.
Thank you, Crick, for being such a sweet presence in our life. Thank you for comforting us, keeping us company, getting us outside, bringing us together, taking care of us, and for shedding all over the furniture, peeing on the rugs, keeping us up at night with your howling, digging holes in the backyard, and for loving us to pieces, unconditionally.
We're going to be ok, but we will always miss you.

Work, Trip, 1/3rd Of The Way To New Zealand!

So here I am in Northfield, wondering, as always, what I'm gonna do with my life.

Well here's what I'm doing right now!

I'm working at Hogan Brothers' pretty much every day over lunch, so come visit me there! And I'm working between 3 and 5 days a week at the Rueb over dinner and sometimes until close at 1am, so you can also find me there! If it's super busy at either place I'll just wave!

I'm also working out like a fiend in attempt to get all fit and capable of tying myself in knots and doing impressive amounts of push-ups. In order to achieve this I'm attending a kickboxing boot camp class twice a week (on top of my regular workout), which is currently causing me some deliciously agonizing muscle burn.

And in direct conflict with this I've been going up to the Olive Garden with Ken once a week (we're trading off paying) for endless salad and breadsticks! Delicious!

And MOST exciting of all, I've just bought tickets to go to Phoenix to visit Gabe Sept. 30th through Oct. 5th! I'm gonna chill with him for a few days, then we're gonna road trip over to Las Vegas to visit Paige! I'M SO EXCITED. Even though it's the desert, and I hate the desert, these people are worth it.

So my long term plan is still the same: I'm working to make enough money to go to New Zealand to study agriculture and work over there for a while. But for now, I'm just enjoying... now.

Also,

THE NEW ZEALAND FUND IS 1/3RD COMPLETE!

In my quest for six thousand dollars for the trip, I have now earned over 2,000!!! Yay!

Getting Up To Speed

Video Entry About Work And Other Various And Sundry Topics