Wednesday, July 30, 2008

wireless in Minot?

What do you call a dangerous sea plant that is constantly seeking your destruction?

An enemone.

I invented that word on my Scrabble rack last night and really wished I could have played it. At least is made us all giggle. I am currently spending the week with my folks in Minot, ND, visiting my grandma Elsie in her new assisted living condo. It's an amazingly nice place, and I'll probably take some pictures before we leave so you can see what I mean. We've spent our time so far looking at photos and playing Scrabble in the lounge on her floor. It's been good to see her, since I haven't been able to for quite some time.

I know I promised an update blog, but there just hasn't been time yet. what with doing laundry on Friday and having wedding duties on Friday night and all of Saturday, it just didn't get done. But the wedding was amazing, and I'm so glad I could be a part of it. Jesse is practically family (like so many of my close friends), and to play violin at his wedding was as much a gift to my soul as to their special day.

More on all aspects of life later--we'll be heading back to the condo now to look at more pictures, eat in their amazing dining area and undoubtedly play a few more games of Scrabble. Good times.

-Kim

Thursday, July 24, 2008

separation anxiety

Sorry for the long absence. Geoffrey was having battery/power cord issues, and the Mac store ended up keeping him for a week figuring out just how to deal with it. But, with a new used battery and a new power cord to go with the power jack they replaced last month, things seem to be running properly now. And as long as he makes it through the next two years, I'll be happy. After grad school, when my little laptop reaches his seventh birthday, he'll probably just need to be replaced, but for now things are going fine. And the guys at the Mac store were really nice about it all, trading in the bad cord they sold me even though it was past the 30 day limit. And I'm pretty sure they cleaned Geoffrey while they had him, which is nice, and they replaced the missing little rubber foot on one of the corners, so now he sits level again. So nice.

As for the rest of my life, I hope to write a general update later. For now this is all you get, but take heart, with Geoffrey back in my hands and a day off tomorrow, I'm pretty much guaranteed to write.

-Kim

Saturday, July 05, 2008

My superpower is AAA

It's true. Just the other day I got to rescue Cowboy Sam from missing his bus out to see Elaina by calling AAA to get him into his truck, inside which he had locked both his keys and his suitcase. We only realized the full potency of these powers a few weeks ago, when I had to summon AAA to break into my own car in the Old Market of Omaha, where I had locked the keys inside. I think the power to summon friendly, competent people who acknowledge your foolishness without thinking badly of you is quite amazing. Still, I'd rather I could fly.

-Kim

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Grr!

Apparently the offices at Simmons College have decided that they should be closed today as well as tomorrow for the holiday. That means I have to wait until Monday to ask someone why I still haven't received my financial aid letter. Aggravation ensues.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Time for a change

You may have noticed the change in the appearance of this blog. I decided that, after more than three years, it was time to change things up and try a different template. After all, everything else in my life is changing.

I was looking online today to see about plane tickets to Boston. Scary thought. My departure is becoming more and more real, and I'm finally beginning to feel the long-expected resistance to change ingrained inside me working its way out to try and make me regret my decision to leave South Dakota so far behind me. Don't take that the wrong way. I'm thrilled to be going to Simmons, and excited to be living in Boston, it's just that it's starting to scare me, and I wish it wasn't quite so far from the safety of South Dakota. Katie, the thought of you meeting me at the airport on August 29 is the only thing right now that makes this trip seem doable. Thanks again.

So what else is happening besides the realization of inevitable change? Work is pretty good, even though yesterday was far too hot a day to spend working outside. My boss is due any day now so by next week I expect her to be on maternity leave. Although, the fact that she's still working as hard as ever while she's ready to pop would indicate she'll be back on the job sooner than any new mother probably ought to be. Oh, and yesterday we had an unusual blessing. While Emily and I were driving the gator back from a piece of work we had to do outside the park, we found little pieces of paper strewn across the road halfway up the hill. Picking them up, we discovered them to be coupons to Taco John's. There were 114 of them. (Yes, I counted them.) So now I can get one dollar off a purchase of at least five dollars as many times as I want for the rest of the summer. Sweet deal.

During this, my last summer in Sioux Falls, I've decided to try to get to all the places that I've never been. The length of the list is rather shocking. Although, in the past few weeks, I've accomplished quite a few of them, all of them being eating establishments, of course. I finally got to Red Rosa, the shiny diner downtown, Buffalo Wild Wings, Nick's Gyros and HuHot. I know, it's a travesty that I've been in town for four years without making it to those places, but there are certain things that don't fit well in a college student's budget, such as eating out at a place that doesn't have a 99 cent value menu.

And Monday was Sherwin's birthday. It was a great day, because I got to spend most of it with him. It's great that he has a job now, but the hours don't match up with mine very well. Well, that and the fact that he is helping to destroy America and modern civilization as we know it by working at Wal-Mart, but I let that part slide. ;) Anyway, we took advantage of the fact that we both had the day off and saw a matinee of WALL-E before heading out to Lennox to grill out with his family and friends. WALL-E was great. Hooray for robots in love! And now I have songs from Hello Dolly running through my head. A spoiler is probably necessary to explain that statement. While WALL-E is alone on Earth, compacting trash and developing a personality, he watches the musical Hello Dolly every night, and a few of the songs are played throughout the movie. I felt like such a nerd for being able to identify the opening music. But, a nerd I am and ever more shall be. You can hardly be anything else and work in a library.

Well, I'm off to another day of weeding and sweating. I'll try to not wait so long before the next post.

-Kim