house things.

Building a house takes a long time. I spent the morning working on my casa. Every time I go in there, I sigh, shrug my shoulders, and become exasperated by the amount of work that remains. Just when the list seems to be getting shorter, Dad adds something new. These negative feelings are not so good, especially because it makes me feel like I never want to go there again. Then, as I am working on something or finishing up a little project, I smile and think that years from now, when I am sitting on the couch or walking down the stairs, I am going to be able to smile and think, "Hey, I made that." It is the prospect of this happening that encourages me and makes me feel like all of my efforts aren't a waste. So, I will continue my work and maybe someday, I will get to move into the house that I helped build.

Today, I have decided that oil-based paint is of the devil. It is particularly unfriendly when it seems to have found its way to your ear. I suspect that for days I will go about my business with this little bolb for 'leather brown' paint on my left lobe. Who knows, today I hate it, but tomorrow I might have become quite fond of the little guy.

Who knew that you had to shake/stir wood stain? I mean, I knew that it was necessary and all (I learned that in junior high wood shop) but I had no idea how vigorously it needed to be done. I might never have known, except I am pretty sure that when you get to the bottom of the can there is not supposed to be a big pile of stain. It was also rather curious that the further I got into the can the darker the finished looked. So, for your further reference, make sure to shake the can excessively vigorously.

It is amazing how satisfying it is to finish a can of wood stain. Generally, stain is the type of thing that you use a bit of here and there and then the can sits around for ten years before you finally throw it away because it has started to rust into the stain, thus making it unusable. Well, this time, I used the whole thing, and I felt great when I got to the bottom (though stupified by the clump of stain). Really, it was so much better than the feeling one gets from finishing a can of paint. Sadly, the can ended just before the wood that needs stained did, so I am going to have to buy a new can, and it is more than likely that I am not going to finish it. Drat.

instead of studying.

I have had the stomach flu since Sunday. First, when I woke up vomiting, I thought I was hungover. This was a bit unusual because never in my years of getting drunk have I ever thrown up the morning after. I was frightened and I didn't know what to do, so I called Talya. See told me not to eat anything (because I was throwing it all up) but to keep drinking water so that I didn't get dehydrated. Well, I kept drinking water, but it didn't keep me from getting dehydrated because I just kept yacking it up. Around midday Monday, the ralphing subsided, which was good because I had to take a midterm. My mom drove me to school, I took the midterm, then I went home and didn't get out of bed until Wednesday morning.

It is now Thursday. You all seemed to have called, and I assure you I will get to you eventually, but I am still quite a bit under the weather and thus investing all of my energy to preform the necessary tasks like going to class and writing blogs. I appoligize.

This whole lent thing has gotten me to thinking. I am not so much the believer in God anymore (well I sort of do, but it far different than it once was). Let's call me the anti-organized religion. That said, lent isn't really my thing anymore, but for some bizarre reason that I have not quite nailed down, I am feeling like I should give something up. First, I was thinking coffee. But since I haven't had coffee since Saturday anyhow (not so good for the sickness), this no longer seemed like a good option. Then, I thought I would give up sugary objects. Things like chocolate, candy, etc. This is still a possibility. Then I thought I should give up beeer. This makes me gasp, which is why I am thinking that I should go with it. What are your thoughts? Maybe I should just forget the whole thing.

moving the house.

How does one move a big house? Good question. Well, according to my recent observations, one simply cuts the thing in half, loads it onto two trucks, and drives it down the highway. I have seen this happen repeatedly throughout my life and have never questioned the process until now. The house was too big.

The other day, I was driving down the highway, going to school, and in the distance, I saw a big house, traveling down the highway. Thankfully, it was going westbound to my eastbound, so it didn't pose any real problems to me. It was huge... huge, acutally quite frightening. As I passed it, I noticed that it was taking up the entirity of two lanes. While it was slowing things down, it didn't seem to be creating big problems given that this section of the road was 3 lanes. I wondered, and am still curious to know how things would go just a couple of miles down the road when it entered the construction zone that had only two skinny lanes with no wiggle room whatsoever. This got me to thinking that there must be a better way to move a house. Then, the other giant half of the house passed, and I just chuckled.

The next day, they were driving a yacht down the highway.

chasing buses...

I chased a bus today. It is cold, very cold, and apparently when it is cold, I loose my ability to make decisions that prevent me from looking like an idiot, or it prevents me from thinking at all. It went something like this...

I was walking, the bus was sitting approx. 50 yards away. I noticed that it was my bus, so I put some spring in my step. Then, the bus started moving. Without thaught, I began to jog after it. Then, I realized that it was moving faster than I was, so I started to sprint. As I ran along side, I began to slam my fist on the side of the bus, still running, until it stopped. I hopped on, thanked the bus driver, and took my seat.

As I sat and took a sigh of relief, I realized that I must have looked like a complete idiot. Then it occurred to me that I would only have looked like an idiot if the bus hadn't stopped, but since it did stop, I looked like the type of person that everyone else wishes they were (you know, the one that has the self-confidence to run after a bus).

Or, I might just be trying to convince myself of that because I am to insecure with myself to be okay with looking like an idiot. Either way, I prevented myself from further cold, so it is okay.

The Christmas Blend is back at Starbucks. This marks a change in the season. The winter has finally come, and I like that. The Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is also back on the shelves. This too makes me quite happy.

The Front Room is dead. Well, technically, it is still alive, but as we once knew it, the Front Room is dead. Last weekend marked the official closing ceremonies of that place that so many of us called home. It was very sad. I am sorry that you missed it.

Here is the thing about OSU and Michigan. I don't really care. I am not what you would call a football fan. Frankly, I think that it is a bit silly. So, as much as I would like to see you, I don't think that I will be there to join in the festivities. I also have to go to a Black Keys show here in Cleveland on Saturday night. My deepest apologies.