A Quick Recap

GUYS GUYS GUYS. I’ve been SO BUSY, OMG. The fall semester of school just ended, THANK GOD, so I finally have the energy to come say hi. There’s been so much going on lately, you don’t even know.

So in September, I petted some llamas alpacas on National Alpaca Appreciate Day. They were very cute. I also bought some yummy yarn that I’ll some day knit into a really luxurious scarf for myself.

In October, Feller and I went to a pumpkin patch and did ALL THE ACTIVITIES they offered, except ride a pony because we are both over the weight limit. But we pet some chickens and a turkey and a goat and a guinea pig and a rabbit. And a duck. Who tried to bite Feller. We also rode on a hay ride and a train that was meant for little children, and we sat in a giant chair for pictures! It was very fun and helped lay the foundations for some friendshipping. Which is awesome.

We have also had a few parties, and Feller cooked dinner for 10 people right before Thanksgiving. It was a resounding success, resulting in hangovers for everyone (I’m guessing, based on how many empties we had the next day).

I’ve started doing a buttload of volunteering to beef up my resume and gain some recent experience with people who are under 21. It’s been really fun! I’ve been doing some one on one reading tutoring with Reading Partners, homework help at the library, for which I’m now the volunteer in charge, and come January, I’ll be doing storytime at a preschool center in Oakland once a week. I’m so excited! And crazy busy! It’s been a real adjustment getting used to how many things I have going on right now, but I’m really enjoying all my extracurriculars. I’m also starting some sort of “Reading to Children” thing in San Jose. I’m not sure if they’re looking for an actual storytime like in Oakland or something a bit more casual. I guess I’ll find out at training!

This semester in school has been SO STRESSFUL. Last Spring I effed up a little, and I paid for it this semester. I was really, legitimately concerned that I wouldn’t be in school come this Spring, but THANKFULLY, everything worked out all right. I wasn’t kicked out of school, I got okay grades, and I received the kick in the rump that I need to stay on top of that stupid online discussion posts bullshit that I hate so very much. But which always screws my grade over, dammit.

Coincidentally, sort of, today is ALSO the first day of 2013. Since I was going to post this earlier (and forgot), I am hereby including my 2013 Get Shit Done’s

*One race a month. Not JUST 12 for the year, one a month. This will keep me running and on track for the THREE half marathons for which I’ve signed up.
*Finish my damn WIP’s. THIS IS THE YEAR for the Medallion Travel Bag. I got a couple other lingering WIP’s taken care of recently, and WHAT A RELIEF. Having projects on the needles for 5+ years is not only RIDICULOUS, it’s a fucking burden. That I DON’T WANT. Medallion Travel Bag, THIS IS YOUR YEAR.
*Ukulele mastery. This involves practicing more than once every two weeks. (BTW, I got a ukulele for my birthday.)
*Knit, knit, knit. Seriously, when I’m just sitting in front of the tv, I should have some knitting in my hands.
*Straight A’s in school. For reals this time, guys. This is my last year of my Master’s, and it’s time to go big or go home. No more fucking around for half the semester and then scrambling for a B. A’s all the way. Because it’s totally doable if I would just suck it up and write some dang discussion posts.

In completely different news, Feller and I (still married, still in love) are going on vacation and couldn’t be more excited. It’s HIGH TIME we had some free and easy relaxing time together. Life has been really stressful, and it shows. We’re both ready for a break.

Diving in Oahu

Getting ready for Hawaii required hours of planning, and since my feller had a lot going on at work which kept him occupied all day, most of the planning for activities while we were there fell to me. Which is not always my favorite part of vacation. By which I mean, I kind of hate PLANNING stuff. But I spent a ton of time researching diving companies on Yelp and checking out websites and calling places and figuring out the schedule and and and.

And I found this diving place in Oahu that had great reviews on Yelp or at least decent reviews and for God’s sakes after awhile, after you’ve looked at SIX MILLION businesses on Yelp and checked out their websites and called them and they all have BASICALLY the same reviews and similar schedules, so it comes to a point where the price is the only thing doing the talking. And how nice people are on the phone. Surly people don’t get my business (like the one lady who told me not to bother with a nose piercing if you have any allergies, to you, my allergic nose that has been pierced since 2005 says Eff You).

Which is basically how I wound up planning on using Rainbow Scuba for our Oahu diving, though I was a bit worried when they told me their boat was in dry dock; however, I was assured that it would be fine and they would be able to work something out for us. Which is why I was so shocked when I called them the day we arrived to arrange our dives, and I was told that Oops! Their boat was in dry dock and there was nothing they could do for us. And I was so shocked that I just said thank you and hung up the phone.

And immediately, FRANTICALLY, started Yelping more diving companies and began the process of calling them. THANK GOD, the first company I called, while not being able to accommodate us, gave us Captain Bruce’s number, who SERIOUSLY, NO JOKE, saved our Oahu leg.

Mark (or possibly Mike) bent over backwards to hook us up with two AMAZING days of diving. He was understanding about our inexperience and made sure he had a scuba instructor for us on our first dive, which happened to be a 90 foot deep night dive. We hit up the Mahi wreck and then hit the LCU wreck, and saw some AMAZING little critters.

They were SO amazing, and we got to see the LCU again the next day.

We also visited the Makaha Caverns and saw more turtles and so many fish, and I saw my first little eel poking his head out of the reef.

I seriously, honestly, no way can express how AWESOME Captain Bruce was for us. They were understanding and accommodating and patient and wonderful with a couple of newbies. They saved the first leg of our trip, and I am so appreciative for everything they did for us. Awesome, and completely worth the hour drive from Waikiki.

(Also, my Flickr photos were all taken by my feller and are in no order whatsoever. Sorry about that.)

Waaaaay too short

I love getting my hair cut. I love cutting all the nasty split ends off and maybe trying something new – but not too new! I’m not that adventurous! – and having someone else wash my hair and maybe get a head scratch, and in the last couple of years, I’ve had some nice haircuts that I’ve loved. My stylist in Tucson was AMAZING. The first time I saw her, I walked in and said “I like it really choppy, I like the front to frame my face (about chin length), and I don’t want bangs” and she gave me THE EXACT hair cut I wanted, the one that I envisioned in my head but had never successfully received until that point. So maybe she set me up to have unrealistic expectations about a stylist. Maybe this debacle is all her fault! At any rate, I got a horrible, no good, very bad haircut this weekend.

I took this picture into the salon and said “I want my hair to look like this again.”

And he said “Oh nice! Let’s make it a little more full in front, but otherwise, that’s a look I can get behind!” Awesome! More full up front! Less bangs perhaps? Not really sure, but he sounds very confident! And then he’s washing my hair and massaging my head, and it’s all very pleasant! He even gives me a mimosa! Yay booze! And we even look at a picture of another girl to whom he gave a similar cut, and I said “Yes! Similar to that, but I like the back shorter and the front a longer.”

So I’m sitting there, enjoying someone fussing over my hair, when all of a sudden, I look up and realize that something seems a little … off. He’s cutting the hair near the front of my head awfully short, but oh well, there’s plenty of other front hair, let’s just see what he does with it, because I’m SURE he knows what he’s doing. And next thing I know, ALERT ALERT ALERT TOO SHORT HE’S CUT IT TOO SHORT MY HAIR IS TOO SHORT OMG because now ALL of my front hair on half of my head stops in the middle of my face, which is about TWO-THREE INCHES shorter than I wanted, but at that point, the damage was done, and I had to just let him finish lest I walk around uneven. And now my hair looks like this:

Which DOES NOT look like that first picture! Not at all! And when he asked me how I liked it, and I told him that I wished it were longer, he kept saying that it didn’t look that long in the picture and that he didn’t take THAT much off the front. Apparently, we were looking at two different pictures and have two different definitions of “that much” because he cut a good 4-5 inches off. My hair was getting LONG. And now it’s NOT. NOT AT ALL. I mean, you can’t really tell in this picture, but he easily cut off HALF of my hair. HALF. THAT’S A LOT.

And look, I’m not fishing for compliments here. I’m not the kind of girl to be all WAH I LOOK UGLY PLEASE VALIDATE MY HOTNESS. Objectively, I know that this is a good haircut and looks decent on my head. Even while I was sitting in the chair holding back tears, because I am NOT crying in the stylist’s chair dammit! Did I cry later? OH YES, the ENTIRE HOUR trip home I cried, I could look at the cut and rationalize that it’s not THAT bad, that I don’t look weird or horrible or anything, but I just wasn’t mentally or emotionally prepare to lose HALF of my hair! My hair has not been this short since an ill advised blunt bob that made my round face look even rounder when I was 11. I don’t even have any pictures to show y’all of that cut because it was THAT BAD. So when he started cutting my hair to that length again, I flashbacked to that really bad hair cut when I was 11 and chubby and didn’t have very many friends (not that that has anything to do with the haircut; I was new in school).

And so now I’m adjusting. And hoping it grows quickly.

Linkspammy

I want a Gin & Tonic for my living room. Or possibly whiskey. Pictures of alcoholic drinks under a microscope.

This Swiss farm lets you ride cows! I wanna ride a cow in Switzerland!

Old Spice Man Responds to the Internet. I haven’t watched any of these videos yet, but I’m sure they’re awesome.

Ohhhh my. I kind of need a minute here. Bookshelf Porn

Knitting clock!

This is a really great post about what society teaches women about our behavior and how it can result in rape. Another post about rape.

Green Thumb

In the past few weeks, I’ve bought some little plants, and I’m working hard at cultivating my little garden!

I’m going to start growing cucumber, eggplant and edemame, which YUM. I could pretty much happily live off cucumbers and edamame, so I was pretty excited to see the little plants for cheap. I just replanted the cucumber and eggplant in those pots you see, and the feller gave me a big plastic bin for the edamame. I can’t wait for them to really start growing! I also have a couple of strawberry plants that I’m pretty stoked about.

I also bought a really lovely little Calla Lily this weekend.

The feller’s apartment complex has a really beautiful big white lily that I’ve coveted since I first saw it, so when I saw these little plants at the store this weekend, I couldn’t say no. I’m gonna keep her at work with the other lonely plant we have there, otherwise I’d never get to enjoy her.

I really REALLY want an aloe vera plant, but I don’t really want to pay for one, so I was going to try to poach a baby off this big stand down the street from my apartment:

Then I got out of my car and realized that this pretty much the biggest group of aloe plants I’ve ever seen and there were NO BABIES to be had.

Also, I want to show off how big Butch the blackberry bush is getting:

When I first got him, he was just that little stick in the middle of all those leaves. I’m such a proud mama.

And that right there is how I like to garden; stick ’em in some dirt and hope they do their thing. This is probably why it’s a good thing I didn’t have plants in Arizona. Nothing just GROWS there; it’s a lot of work to get shit to grow out there, but here, it’s EASY. And I feel so accomplished even though I’m not actually doing anything! It’s awesome! I am worried about Sookie, but I have seen a giant patch of the same plant in Mountain View, so I know she’ll do okay once she gets a good foothold.

I’m looking forward to someday having a home and a yard of my own, so I can just plant stuff in the dirt to my heart’s content. I have lovely dirt here, but I know that I’m not here forever, and I’m already going to have to uproot my blackberry bush when I move, and I don’t want to do that to any more plants than necessary. For now, I’m happy with the little garden I’ve got going, which now includes two planters full of flowers, which have started to sprout.