Random Thoughts

new blog address

Anne — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:37:59 +0000

Visit my blog at its new address, now hosted by my website!

the land of plenty

Anne — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:11:18 +0000

Mike and me in the hills of the Santa Ynez Valley

This winter break has been fantastic. So far, I’ve hiked, walked, jogged, and just generally enjoyed the beautiful outdoors (something you can’t really do in Columbus in the winter). Soon enough, I’ll also be playing in the snow when I head up to Tahoe. This picture is one of my favorites so far — the scenery is so beautiful that it almost looks fake, like a movie backdrop or something. It’s a shame that I didn’t really get into the outdoor activities until I moved to Woodland, CA in 2005. Before then, I was living in Santa Barbara (1999-2004) and Moorpark (2004-2005), both of which have easy access to the ocean, the mountains, rocks to climb, trails to hike, etc. I easily could have biked around Santa Barbara if I had been into cycling at that point, and there is so much mountain biking around Lake Cachuma and Santa Barbara that I would never have had to worry about running out of places to go. But now I find myself in Ohio, which is very flat, geographically speaking. If I was the same person I was during my first few years of high school, this would be fine as I wouldn’t really miss doing the outdoorsy stuff…but now that I’m in love with mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, and all the other stuff you can do outside it’s not really a good lifestyle match. The good thing is that the people at OSU are amazing, so I spend my days with people I really like. Also, there are some really cute places within the city that make it a lot of fun to be in. I’ll always love having tea and sweets at Mozart’s, and eating the signature pizza at the Surly Girl Saloon, and enjoying a brickette at La Chatelaine. But I miss the wild abundance of nature that California has to offer. There are many things I’m looking forward to about these next couple of years in Ohio, but I’m avoiding thinking about our return trip because it’s just painful to leave all this out-of-doors glory behind for another several months.

home sweet home

Anne — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:33:29 +0000

There’s just nothing like being home, and I guess for me California is always going to be home (whether I live here or not). Driving through the hills and looking out over the ocean, something washes over me…and kind of bliss that comes from being where I feel like I belong. There’s a lot that I like about Columbus, but in so many ways, I just don’t fit in there. It’s like the round peg and the square hole I suppose. It’s funny how there’s always a little unease or tension in me outside of my home, and here, that’s just gone. I just feel at ease. Relaxed like I can’t seem to get in Columbus. Perhaps all of this just comes from being so familiar with one location, and so unfamiliar with the other. It’s been so much fun to hike and go for walks and drive around the coast…and next week, Tahoe!! I haven’t been there since Mike and I got married, and I can’t wait. The snow-covered hills, the granite peaks, the skinny pines…. The landscapes of my life.

blog blog blog

Anne — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:41:37 +0000

Well, I think I officially have too many blogs. I have this blog (duh), a literature blog, a travel blog, a blog for whatever class I’m currently teaching (URL changes each quarter), and several blog addresses on reserve. And of course I maintain the USEP (US Ethnic and Postcolonial) student organization’s blog (osuusep.blogspot.com) as well. Funny, because when Gayle first told me I should sign up for a blog back in 2005, I signed up but didn’t really see myself keeping up with the thing. Lo and behold, I’m a blogging maniac! Well, I have to admit that btemplates.com really saved blogger for me, and that wordpress revived my interest in this blog. So if you feel like browsing, here are some of my blogs:

http://magnificentdistraction.blogspot.com || http://alittleapple.wordpress.com || http://eatfoodyum.blogspot.com

It’s a strange thing, blogging. This quarter, when I had my students sign up for their blogs (a requirement of the class), a lot of them were fairly reluctant or disinterested. By the end of the quarter, a lot of them told me they really enjoyed keeping the blogs, and there are signs that several of them might actually keep blogging now that the class is over. It would be neat — it is a strange addiction, in many ways. I think it goes back to our lonely society — the way that we’re becoming more and more isolated these days — and how blogging is a chance for your voice to be heard. That’s one of the reasons I love the stats page on wordpress — it’s fun to see how many hits your blog got in a given day, even if you can’t tell who visited it. There’s something about knowing that 19 people visited your blog one day that just feels kind of nice. Silly to say, and perhaps it shows a sad side of me to admit that, but it’s true. I love that little stat chart. (^__^)

A Black Friday Rhyme

Anne — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:23:00 +0000

‘Twas the night before Black Friday and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The credit cards were packed in the wallets with glee, in hopes that the deals would include something for free. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of consumerism danced in their heads. And I in my kerchief and mama in her cap had just settled down for a post-turkey nap when out on the street there arose such a clatter I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash — when what to my wondering eyes should appear but the neighbors all piling into their cars with shopping gear…

Thanksgiving in Ohio

Anne — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:00:13 +0000

Well, Mike and I are doing our annual Thanksgiving tradition (year 2…but hey, traditions have to start somewhere, right?) today: we’re cooking all the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving (turkey for Mike, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, and green beans) which means we’ll have leftovers until we leave for California mid-December. (*^__^*) It also means that our annual Lord of the Rings marathon is in full swing. That’s right, baby! We watch all 6 discs of the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings on this day each year…but not before sitting down in the morning to listen to Arlo Guthrie’s classic song “Alice’s Restaurant” to set the mood for the day. Guthrie really starts the day off on a lighthearted and jovial note — just the way we want this day to start each year. So today, the motto is “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry” and we certainly are doing just that!

the last bus stop

Anne — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:24:17 +0000

As I waited at the bus stop this afternoon, I looked at the sky and was awed by how dark the clouds were. At the same time, I wondered how long they would hold out. As it turns out, they didn’t hold out long enough for me to get home. In fact, they barely held out long enough for me to get on the bus. During the 45 minute bus ride, I stared out the window and watched the fat drops explode in little crown-shaped splashes in the river…er, I mean, the street. The rain intensified, and the engine of the old bus whined under the strain of driving through a significant puddle of water for an extended period of time. Now, I’ve been on the bus during heavy rains many times in the last year, but this ride beat them all. It wasn’t long before water started flooding in under the door at the front of the bus, racing toward the back of the bus (where I sat, happily elevated in the rear section of the vehicle) and giving the floor a good cleaning as it did so. I stifled a laugh as we hit a bump and the water forced its way between the pneumatic doors and soaked the poor bus driver — after all, the drivers are amazingly patient and kind people, but the sight was too unreal not to laugh at. I settled down and looked out my window once again at the traffic in the lane to our left. I must admit, I was impressed by what I saw. By this point, the water in the slow lane had reached ridiculous proportions, and the bus was sending a head-high wave (which would have pleased some of the surfers in my life) cascading over the cars attempting to pass it. Frighteningly, I noticed that water was at first dripping, and then steadily streaming down from the overhead lights running throughout the interior of the bus. It didn’t seem to have any impact whatsoever on the functioning of said lights, but the sight of water pouring out of electrical devices is unnerving nonetheless. Needless to say, I carefully scooted away from the wall of the bus, avoiding all contact with anything metal, and carefully put this newest development out of my thoughts. This was fairly easy to do, considering other passengers were regularly exiting the bus, which provided a nearly endless source of entertainment as I watched them step into shin-deep puddles, shield themselves from the rain with their arms (a silly and largely unsuccessful endeavor), and attempt to run to the nearest shelter. The closer we got to my stop, the more I struggled to come to terms with the fact that it was in all likelihood not going to stop raining by the time I had to leave my mostly-dry rectangular haven, and that I would very soon become someone else’s source of entertainment (a fact I found mildly comforting). Once I embraced the fact that the walk home was going to be wet, squishy, cold, and all manner of unsavory adjectives, I was able to stow my electronic devices deep down in my backpack and prepare for the seven-minute walk home. I summoned my love of rainstorms, and happily stepped off the bus…into a six-inch puddle of grassy water. So began what is probably my very last walk home from the bus stop I’ve been using for the last year, and it was a walk I will remember fondly. Lightning flashed overhead (rather blindingly, actually) and crackled through the air, conjuring up statistical probabilities regarding lightning strikes (most likely exaggerated by my overactive imagination) and personal accounts of special abilities attained from being struck by lightning (which I’d like to believe are not exaggerated by anyone’s imagination). Eventually, I arrived safe and sound at my dry little apartment where I promptly wrung out my dripping hair and decided that after the rather cold dousing I’d received from nature, a nice hot shower was in order.

weird ohio and its awesome bikers

Anne — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:44:11 +0000

This morning, on our way home from the grocery store, Mike and I saw the best bikers in the history of ever. First, there was this lone guy on his Harley, and I looked over and he was riding along smoking a cigarette. I’ve never seen anyone smoke and ride at the same time, and let me tell you, it was a funny thing to see. It looked weird and hilarious at the same time. But then, just when I was thinking that he was randomly hilarious, the next bike rolled up and it was even better. There was a guy driving, and a girl behind him, and they were passing each other a cup of coffee. Not just any cup of coffee: a lidless disposable coffee cup 3/4 of the way full of steaming coffee! They must have been the most awesome bikers in the world! I don’t know what kind of biker group they were, but I love them.

getting older

Anne — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:31:40 +0000

I’m another year older today. After attending the pre-quarter workshop at OSU I went to Wonderknit in Clintonville, and then to Wholly Craft! next door to browse around. When I got home, Mike took me to dinner at Giorgio’s, which was delicious (and super-affordable, and really delicious). Then we went miniature golfing at this place in Westerville, which was pretty cute, and mostly empty except for us. That’s where this photo is from — we were waiting for these kids ahead of us to finish up with their hole, so we decided it was a cute place to take photos. That was the cutest part of the course, too!

Anyway, I don’t feel any different (as usual), but it’s kind of weird to think that I’m another year older. It seems like a lot of years when I think about it, but then again half of them were spent being a kid, so I have a lot of years left to go. Anyway, it was a good birthday and a good year (all told). The funny thing about birthdays (for me, at least) is that I always think they should be super special. Like, Christmas-caliber special. More special than Christmas, even — like New Year’s but with presents instead of hats. And then, when they’re not and I have to do ordinary things (like attend classes, or — worse yet — go to work) I find myself feeling glum. So to counteract the seemingly-inevitable birthday blues, I have a simple remedy that I tested out today: I wore my ruby slippers. And it worked! I was hyper and cheerful all morning. I also treated myself to a special birthday soundtrack of The Living End — all albums, all day long. There’s just no way to be melancholy when you’ve got those great Australian melodies filling your ears. So between the shoes and the music, it was a great beginning and as the day wore on, it only got better. Cheers!

constant adaptation

Anne — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:04:36 +0000

Well, here I am again, starting my third blog and wondering how long this one will last. After all, the constant evolution of today’s internet seems to translate to the constant shifting of my online activities. It’s funny, but when I was a senior in high school my English teacher told me that the most important trait a person could have in this life is that of adaptability, and the willingness to embrace change. As the years pass, I have to agree that this trait has been essential to my success and mental well-being over the years. There was a point in time where I was still living according to the life-plan I’d made when I was five years old: graduate high school at 17 (almost 18), attend college for 4 years and earn my BA, attend teacher school for 1 year (which I did with 1 change: I got an M.Ed. in the process), start teaching, get married, live happily ever after in the Santa Ynez Valley where I grew up. Well, somewhere along the way I got sidetracked. I believe it was during my second year as a high school English teacher when I decided to go back to school for my MA in English. Well, that did it. The get-married-and-live-happily-ever-after part got pushed back. Then I decided it sounded like a good idea to apply for PhD programs. Well, as you can imagine, getting into one further derailed my little life plan, and although I got married in between the MA and PhD programs (what a summer!), suddenly teaching high school students is no longer part of my vision for my future. And as far as living in the Santa Ynez Valley is concerned, that’s not really on the radar anymore either. But the truly amazing thing is that somewhere along the way I learned to stop obsessively mapping out my future and live in the present instead. That doesn’t mean that I never think about where I’m going or where I’d like to be, but it does mean that I’ve stopped stressing myself out about not being “on track” in my own life. Adaptation is a beautiful thing, and although somehow I ended up in Columbus, Ohio attending classes ten years after I graduated from high school and not knowing where I’ll be in another five years, the experience has been worth it. So cheers to constant change and learning to adapt!