I am in Reardan. There is 21 inches of snow on our deck. It is still snowing. I may have to stay here forever.

I took a walk in the snow today and took pictures. Here's my dad's tractor, covered in snow. He doesn't really do anything useful with it, he just likes to drive it around the property.

My house, in the snow. It's so pretty. Other than the fact that, due to the snow, I am most likely trapped here until January 5th, when I will have to shovel my way to Santa Barbara by hand.

I want an adorably creative French toddler.

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

These are the things I find when I'm avoiding finals.

Bandana Code.

This might surpass the 'five levels of prostitution' as the best thing I learned at college.

Groceries

If you know me, you know that I love to go grocery shopping. Sometimes I call it 'going to the supermarket'. However, I am about to leave SoCal (don't call it that) for three glorious weeks, and I don't want to waste food.

So I tried to time my grocery purchasing perfectly to run out of groceries on Wednesday night. I figured I may have to throw in a purchased meal or bagel here or there, but I would be fine.

Apparently, not.

Tonight for dinner, I had a sprouted corn tortilla (WHICH ARE THE BEST THINGS IN GOD'S CREATION) with canned tomatoes and black beans (of course I have black beans, this isn't the apocalypse) and hot sauce. I also had chunks of firm (firm is better) tofu on the side. I washed this all down with a Ranier Tallboy (or, as my roommate Ainsley calls them, a Vitamin R).

The Rainier Tallboy may have had to do more with finals stress than lack of groceries, though.

Look on the bright side.

My favorite thing about finals week is having an excuse for poor hygiene and bad fashion.

Personal Observations

After approximately 2.5 beers, I get very, very chatty. I am of the opinion that the things that I talk about at this stage are the things I am truly interested in. After some self reflection about these times, apparently I am very interested in:

1. Garbage

2. Salt n Pepa

3. My bike

4. Ludacris

5. Better Lovers

Jack Black as Jesus. What more do you need?

I posted this on the better lovers blog, but I think I need to spread the world as much as possible.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Procrastination

Things I Do Instead of Writing My Paper That Is Due Tomorrow:
1. Make itunes playlists.
2. Imagine Nicole wearing a crew neck sweatshirt with a picture of Ricky the Special Cat on it.
3. Blog.
4. Look at pictures of Barack Obama holding babies.
5. Try to figure out when the Salt-n-Pepa show is going to be back on the air.
6. Eavesdrop on the people next to me at Starbucks.
7. Remember really funny things that happened at the Barn.
8. Look at pictures of Basset Hounds and picture Brutus learning how to wave.
9. Calculate what score I have to get on this paper in order to pass the class.
10. Make a really intricate schedule for finals week.

Finals Time!

Sometimes I feel like, maybe, for a grad student, I do too much research on Wikipedia.

Then I think, "Whatever." 

Collective knowledge for the win!

I also love Dickipedia.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha forever

Ann Coulter's Jaw Wired Shut.

I just went to a party. It was a fun, science nerd grad school party.

But then I got into an argument about the relative fame level of Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. I am sure I was right. 

Chuck Klosterman, the voice of pop culture, agrees with me. 

Also, honey avocado beer is phenomenal. 

Update from California

Good news everyone!

I called Josh, he is my soulmate, and he is this guy.

I found my soulmate, his name is Josh.

I bought an economics text book from half.com, and it arrived today.

I was flipping through it, and, written in the margin, was "Josh's cell number" and a phone number.

The phone number was a Bellingham number.

Obviously, Josh is my soulmate. 

Help me, Stacy and Clinton!

Today I did something I swore to myself I would never do...

I wore shorts and a scarf.

It always seemed so stupid, like wearing Ugg boots and a mini skirt. What's next for me, tall bangs?

But seriously. It is nearly impossible to dress appropriately for the temperature range here. When I wake up and ride my bike to class it is 40 degrees. My first class is in a room at approximately room temperature. By the time this class is over, it is about 72 degrees. Then I have class in the COLDEST ROOM IMAGINABLE. Seriously, it is like 48 degrees. We cuddle in big piles of frozen environmental science grad students while trying to listen to a lecture about global warming. When this class is over, it has warmed up to about 80 degrees so we all go outside and dethaw for 15 minutes before it is time to go back into ice room. After class #2 in ice room, it is now about 95 degrees, and I get back on my bike and ride back to my apartment, where I arrive dripping in sweat. 

I have no idea what to wear in this climate scenario. Hence the extensive, ridiculous, counterintuitive layers. Maybe next quarter one of my seminars will be 'Dressing for Global Climate Change in the Business Setting'. It wouldn't surprise me.

An open letter

Dear President Elect Barack Obama:

I know that there are a lot of things wrong with America right now. I think I have a really good idea for what you should fix first. It's time for the US to join the rest of the world and start using the metric system. What do you think?

Sincerely,

Lynn

I am really enjoying using the water shortage as an excuse to not shower.

I didn't start the fire

Don't worry! I have not caught on fire. 

Neither has Oprah's house.

I know you were all worried.

Overheard in a coffee shop in Santa Barbara

"Dude, I'm just livin' in the Matrix..."

- Odd middle aged man

Tonight I was walking back from the gym and I was passed by a tall guy with platinum blond hair...rollerblading...while holding a fencing foil.

Thought #1. That was weird.

Thought #2. That can't be safe.

Thought #3. I can't wait to blog about this.

Thought #4. I am such a loser.

Yes we can!

Apparently, this election has melted my ice heart and turned me into a sap.

As I was walking back from the gym tonight, I could hear the national anthem being sung before the soccer game. As she was singing the last few lines, people started cheering, just yelling as loud as they could. I've never heard anything like it. Then, when the song was over people started chanting, "Yes we can! Yes we can!"

I got all choked up. And now I've gotten all choked up writing about it.

Go America!

I voted for...

Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente of the Green Party.

JUST KIDDING! I voted for Obama of the Party Like Barack.

Since I'm registered to vote in California now, I got to go to a real live polling station. I got to fill out my ballot with a big black marker and then put it into the magical ballot reading machine. Then I traded the big black marker for my I voted sticker. I didn't get any cookies, though.

Glowing Heart Eyes

Oh, Jim Wallis, this is why I love you:

Jim Wallis's response to the Focus on the Family letter.

Ha!

Ha ha. In case you were curious, this is a reference to a famous anti-draft advertisement featuring Joan Baez.

I can't deal with all this sun.

I probably shouldn't complain about the weather.

Maybe I have reverse seasonal affective disorder.

I want it to rain.

I want it to be grey and cold, and I want to wear my brown scarf. I want to drink a hot pumpkin spice latte outside while smoking cloves, and I want to be cold. I want to wear my mittens that fold into gloves and hide out during a windstorm with pumpkin bread.

I miss the fall.

You know, it seemed perfectly normal at the time, but now it's kind of weird to explain to people that, for years, pretty much my entire social life was based on 80s Night and a book club.

I miss Bellingham

Today, when I was working out, Don't Stop Believin! came on my ipod, and I didn't skip it.

Also, this is what my arms are going to look like soon:

California (not) Love

What the f, California weather? On Tuesday it was 93 degrees and right now I am wearing ski socks.

Make up your mind.

Countdown to age 25...

Green Passions

Love is Green

Earth Wise Singles

I'm glad I'm in grad school right now.

Man, this whole economy in shambles/recession thing sucks.

Good thing I picked up so many tips on being a Freegan while in AmeriCorps.

OMFG

The project director of Hybrid Owners of America is named Scott Stapf!

Can you take me higher...to a place with hybrid cars...?

In case you were wondering...

...becoming a graduate student did not make "Physical Hydrology" by S. Lawrence Dingman more interesting.

This book was a required text for one of my undergrad classes. It is now a required text for one of my grad school classes. Judging by how the book creeeeeaked when I opened it, I didn't read it a whole lot the first time around.

As I am now an EXTREMELY DEDICATED grad student, I decided to actually do the reading. However, I have discovered I didn't not read this book because I was a lazy undergrad more interested in going to 80s Night than studying (well, not only), but because it is really, really boring. And I LOVE hydrology.

I was secretly hoping that the simple fact of becoming a graduate student would magically make all scientific literature not boring. Not true. A lot of it is interesting, but a lot of it is still boring. However, my AmeriCorps job did develop my sitting still being bored skills, which I think is an advantage in the reading boring scientific literature department.

In other news, the "hipster" (and by hipster, I mean as hipster as you get in Santa Barbara, that is to say, not very) coffee shop I am now frequenting is playing a really good 80s mix...oh, wait...there's 'Don't Stop Believin'!'. Never mind.

I'm walking along through campus, wearing my vintage 1970s Seattle Supersonics shirt.

Some guy yells, "It's a sad, sad time to be a Seattle sports fan."

Isn't that the truth?

new computer, new i-tunes, new i-tunes top 25

I feel this may change sometime soon, but for now:

#1-4) Salt n Pepa

#5) Bel Biv Devoe

Lookin for a man with a body like Barack and a Denzel face.

Living it up early 90s style.

Important Things

No, California! I will not conform! I will continue to order complicated coffee drinks! I don't want a medium latte. I want a 16 oz triple vanilla americano iced with a little bit of room for cream. Also, most of your coffee isn't that great. Boo, California, boo.

I definitely bought this shirt

Way to articulate my thoughts on Palin better than I could

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/09/30/palin_pity/

"I don't want to be played by the girl-strings anymore. Shaking our heads and wringing our hands in sympathy with Sarah Palin is a disservice to every woman who has ever been unfairly dismissed based on her gender, because this is an utterly fair dismissal, based on an utter lack of ability and readiness. It's a disservice to minority populations of every stripe whose place in the political spectrum has been unfairly spotlighted as mere tokenism; it is a disservice to women throughout this country who have gone from watching a woman who -- love her or hate her -- was able to show us what female leadership could look like to squirming in front of their televisions as they watch the woman sent to replace her struggle to string a complete sentence together."

-Rebecca Traister

Overheard at UCSB

Total tool-y, fratty, douche-y looking guy: Dude, I'm down with cuddle-buddies, but anything more...

Visitors

Courtney and Erin (on the way back from one of their many adventures) stopped by Santa Barbara to visit me. Due to a few slight navigational/directional errors, only two hours after arriving in Santa Barbara, the intrepid duo arrived right outside of my apartment. Sadly, they missed an impromptu beginning clarinet concert (Ode to Joy, Jingle Bells) by only ten minutes.

 I hopped into the front seat, as the back seat was packed with souvenirs from their sojourn. I neglected to tell them that what looks like a road directly in front of my apartment building is actually a bike path. So we drove along the bike path for awhile. Luckily, it was about 12:45 am at this point so no one really cared. 

We drove into the heart of Isla Vista, the student town bordering the campus, looking for parking. At one point, we drove past some cops and began to worry about the fact that there were three of us crammed in the front seat of Courtney's car. However, this was the weekend, so the police officers seemed more concerned with the very drunk, very obviously underage frat party attendees, than our lack of seat belts. 

We secured a parking spot, and headed back to my apartment. Courtney and Erin's large backpacks, blankets, and pillows they were carrying attracted attention. Some drunk passerby yelled, "Camp out!" But we couldn't tell if he was inviting us to his camp out or if he wanted to attend ours. We asked some of the obviously underage partiers where a good bar is located and the response was, "I wish I was 21." We laughed to ourselves and continued to head back to my apartment.

Or so I thought. Most of my time in Santa Barbara so far has been spent at Math Camp or other various forms of orientation, so I haven't exactly figured out the lay of the land. Eventually, we figured out that we were lost on a part of campus I did not recognize. (Just so I don't sound like too much of an idiot, UCSB's campus is HUGE.) On the plus side, our nighttime wandering was full of nature. We saw a skunk and a raccoon, and the raccoon didn't look nearly as rabid as the Bellingham raccoons.

We eventually found a campus map, and, as Erin refused to kiss the skunk, even for $20, resumed our journey to my apartment. By the time we made it back, it was after one o'clock, and we decided to save the rest of our adventuring for the next day.

Stay tuned for the rest of our adventure...

Update from California

No sea mammal sightings yet.

Some important facts about California/UCSB:

1. The pool has salt water and what appear to be barnacles 

2. Generally, the only people on campus so far are nerdy science students. Hey, other nerdy science students.

3. However, around the edges of campus, (ie the rec center, tennis courts, bagel places, etc.) there are a lot of tools and whores. Hey, tools and whores.

4. I am currently attending 10+ days of orientation, including 'math camp' which we have to attend on Saturday. SATURDAY!

5. There are no hippies in my program. Not one. That's 80 environmental science students, and not one of them has dreadlocks. I might have to grow dreadlocks. That's amazing.

6. Also, there are no hipsters. I went to a locally owned organic coffee shop, and there were no hipsters. However, the barista did have dreadlocks.

7. Everyone here rides bikes, mostly beach cruisers. Except for me. I don't ride a bike at all because mine hasn't arrived yet. Tons of people ride around on their beach cruisers, while drinking coffee and talking on their cell phones. I want to learn to do that.

8. My on campus apartment is farther away from my classes than at any point when I lived off campus in Bellingham. Oh well, at least it's not raining and there are no hills.

Goodbye Bellingham!

Things I will miss about Bellingham:

- How great it feels when the sun finally comes out again in mid-March.

- Riding my bike down hills.

- Lemongrass.

- Having nicknames for 50% of the people in a given place.

- "I keep getting older, but they all stay the same age."

- Watching hippies from a safe distance.

- Participating in loud parties/street high jinx on High/Indian Street. Especially the night it was really warm and raining really hard and everyone in the neighborhood ran outside in their underwear to play in the puddles and people were shouting, "Whose rain? OUR RAIN!"

- Fabio.

In the spirit of moving

Things I will not miss about Bellingham:

- That 2 month period where you never fully dry out.
- Riding my bike up hills.
- Sharazad.
- Running into people I have drunkenly made out with.
- Feeling really old at age 24.
- The way hippies smell.
- Trying to sleep through loud parties/street high jinx on High/Indian Street.
- The people upstairs.

People who have moved away? Anything that you don't miss about Bellingham?

I need to buy more fleece

So I've been facebook stalking my future classmates and the Bren School of the Environment at UCSB. I know that facebook profiles do not completely accurately represent real life personalities.

At first, I was worried, because I saw hipsters. I don't fit in with hipsters. As I increased my stalking, I realized that a majority of my future classmates only really have 2 interests- skiing and disc. I guess I'll have to brush up on my ultimate. And buy more fleece.

Discrimination

Should the International Olympic Committee ban countries (Saudi Arabia and Brunei) that don't allow women to compete? There have been precedents, South Africa was barred from competing during Apartheid. Would the IOC allow a country to compete if it didn't allow black or Jewish people to play sports? Would an Olympic ban on these countries just cause more trouble? What do you think?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/13/AR2008081303366.html?

I love sports montages

So I'm not a very emotional person, but the same Olympics commercial has made me cry twice. Twice. That's like two more times than I cried from 2003-2006.

Everyone also needs to watch this video:

Glorious Sports Moments + The Killers = The Greatest Thing Since the 'Dream On' Montage.

http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nike/en_US/courage

USA! USA! USA!

I like to imagine carrying around the US Olympic Men's Gymnastics Team in my pocket.

Heavily affected* by childhood reading

I almost started my last post with "I was killing time looking at old facebook pictures", but I stopped myself. The reason I stopped myself- in The Phantom Tollbooth, the clock-dog, Tock, gets really upset when Milo uses the phrase "killing time". Since reading this, I can't use this phrase. I think my childhood reading may have had too large of an effect* on my psyche.

* Did I use effect/affect correctly here? I'm pretty sure I did.

Ah, the memories

I was looking at old facebook pictures and the comments posted, and I ran across several series of comments that I think more people deserve to read.

(This is a picture of former barnacles. If you are not fortunate enough to know what barnacles are, they are stationary salt water detritus feeding crustaceans, or, alternatively, people who lived in the Barn from 2004-2006.)

Jodi: What a Barn Reunion! We all look soo much older ... 2/6 graduated and 4/6 almost graduated!

Becca: and one getting hitched! that was fun. i love you girls. a lot.

Me: reduce your fractions, teacher! 1/2 graduated and 2/3 almost graduated.

Morgan: Lynn, I was going to say the same thing!

Nicole: You're all freaks! 2/6 = 1/3 not 1/2. Come on guys. Am I really the only smart one?

Mary: Wow! Nicole does know her stuff. I worry about the rest of us...

Becca: i love us

Morgan: I was too distracted by Lynn's mole to think clearly.

Jodi: In special education, we focus first in finding the right fraction, that is a hard enough CONCEPT, then we later work on the CONCEPT of reducing fractions and then possibly a strategy to actually reduce them. Obviously, I am not a big fan of reducing things otherwise my brests would be A LOT smaller.Lynn's mole is the amount of pure substance containing the same number of chemical units as there are atoms in exactly 12 grams of carbon-12 (i.e., 6.023 X 1023).

Morgan: Exactly what I was distracted by! (that would be 6.023 x 10^23)

Becca: morgan, only you would know how to make that 'to the' symbol! .... so how do you do it?

Morgan: shift 6

Becca: that's really funny....i looked for it everywhere before i typed that so i wouldn't look stupid. i never found it so apparently i am stupid :)

Me: my lips are blue.

Lindsay: Wow AWESOME hair

Lindsay: Seriously I can't get over it, i just keep laughing...

Jodi: I didn't notice it until now and I have looked through my pictures hundreds of times and I didn't notice it. I guess I thought our hair looked like moss on the rock pilar (probably because we hadn't washed our hair with non ocean/chlorine water in a few days).

Me: seriously. all three of us have GREAT hair.

Lindsay: At least you don't look like a troll doll... ;)

Jodi: If you could be a troll doll, what troll doll would you be? I used to have tons of them and I lined them up on my window sill looking out of my bedroom window for everyone to see.

Lindsay: I would be one of the troll dolls with the good luck jewels in the belly button.

Me: i had a troll doll with a recycle symbol on its shirt.

Lindsay: you would.

Why I haven't been blogging.

I don't blog because I'm too busy watching the Tour de France.

Oh hey there, Christian Vandevelde...

(If you're wondering what happened to Kim Kirchen, it turns out, I am very fickle.)

God Bless AmeriCorps

Today is my last day as an AmeriCorps VISTA.

Things I'm going to miss about my time as a VISTA:

- Chloe and Sasha, the office dogs.

- Coming in when I want.

- Convincing people that all AmeriCorps VISTAs are required to salute when they see an American flag.

- Leaving when I want.

- Getting paid ($4.50 an hour, but still) by the US Government to google image 'cute baby polar bears'.

- Blogging at work.

- Having 'Defend the Constitution from all enemies, domestic and foreign' in my actual job description.

Tour de France

I've never really watched the Tour de France before, but I started watching it this year and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!! I suppose it doesn't hurt that I generally enjoy watching any sort of sporting event, but seriously! The Tour de France is awesome! I contemplated waking up and watching it at 5 am, but then I realized that it is rerun several times throughout the day. All of this awesome summertime television (Tour de France! America's Best Dance Crew! Wipeout! American Gladiators!) could make it difficult to go outside and enjoy the actual summer if I wasn't so awesome.

Also, I am kind of in love with Kim Kirchen.

Go Team Columbia!

What language do they speak in Luxembourg?

Red, White, and Blued

Yesterday, I celebrated the holiest of holy days to AmeriCorps members, Independence Day.

To quote Kyle Raden, when asked if he was red, white, or blue:

"I'm all of those colors, because I am as American as fuck."

This is how American I am:
First, I had some coffee at Starbucks, a major American corporation. Then Nicole, Rachel, and Carolyn tricked me into going to to Walmart (Don't worry, I didn't buy anything there). Then we went to Red Robin for lunch where we ate overly large portion sizes of food that had been made with partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. Eventually, Jodi and I made it down to Zuanich Park to watch the fireworks.

The fireworks were awesome. Nicole and I made sure to salute whenever the fireworks were red, white and blue. After one particularly spectacular red, white, and blue firework, Jodi announced, "That one was like an American planet!" Yes it was, Jodi, yes it was.

Things I'm glad I'm not doing

If I was back in high school, I would probably be at basketball camp. I would be playing basketball in a gym with no air conditioning. Instead, I am going to Lake Padden. That is one of the reasons I am glad that I am not in high shool anymore.

Also, I am trying to watch Wibledon, but I really, really don't understand tennis scoring.

Oooh! Canadian horse jumping is on. I'm gong to watch that instead.

Scratchy Scratchy

I think that you should read this really interesing article about perception and how our brains work. Prepare to itch for about three hours, though.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all

IV

Dear Chuck Klosterman,

Please marry me. I generally don't want kids, but I'd totally have yours.

You don't have to buy me a diamond. I'll just buy myself one of these.

Let me know. Thanks!

Sincerely,
Lynn

I am so creative

Today, I made a reinforcement by hole punching a mailing label.

I am awesome.

That is all.

Oh, good. Way to be, Americans.

The "Green" trend is on it's way out.

Good to know that American consumers have such small attention spans that when faced with more than one choice of green product, or, you know, having to use logical thinking to answer ethical questions in response to consumption, they simply opt out.

The need to simplify the green message has become obvious, she said, especially after the argument over Nalgene bottles, which are made of a strong, reusable plastic. As recently as last summer, the bottles, marketed to sports enthusiasts, were hailed as an alternative to disposable water bottles, which environmentalists say waste petroleum, both in their manufacture and their transport.

But some environmental groups and scientists raised concerns that polycarbonate plastic, used in the manufacture of some Nalgene bottles, baby bottles and the linings of tin cans, can leach bisphenol-a, an endocrine-disrupting chemical.

Because going back to chemically treated water stored in plastic bottles that you only use once is so much better.

Anyway, if you are not too busy being greened out and selling your bike to buy an SUV and putting your unreusable plastic shopping bags over the heads of endangered baby seals, check out Simple Steps, a good guide for practical environmentally-friendly living.

I love puppies!

I was going to write a really interesting post about biocontrolling noxious weeds with Mecinus janthinus and using methane digesters to create energy.

Then I realized that everyone who reads my blog (and 85% of humanity) would find that boring.

Here is a border collie puppy instead:

Hold the phone!

Whoah!

Listen to this...so I'm reading along in Northwest Business Monthly, which happens to be the first annual green issue. So reading along...Sustainable Connections...SSC...ReUse Works...wait a minute! I work for ReUse Works (ReUse Works is the name of the non-profit which is supported by our business, Appliance Depot)! Headline: Don't waste these factoids...blah blah blah, my boss provided 6 bullet points of facts about recycling, waste, and reuse in the United States. A couple of months ago I did a research project about the change in recycling and waste production rates on a county, state, and nationwide level.

Two of the six 'factoids' were directly a result of my research! I am amazing! And famous!

Someone should throw me a 'extremely easy research you did was published anonymously in a regional business magazine party'.

Today is the best day at Appliance Depot

Today it is the best day at Appliance Depot because today is the day that this month's issue of Northwest Business Monthly arrives. That means I get to spend two hours reading a magazine. There are all sorts of interesting articles in Northwest Business Monthly, like- "Business Personality: Mayor Dean Maxwell" and "Sedro-Woolley Surveyors Get Serious" and "Ferndale- The Next Downtown Destination?".

I am so excited.

Today is also the best day at Appliance Depot because my officemate and my boss are both gone, so when I am done reading Northwest Business Monthly, I can watch youtube videos while I stuff envelopes.

Your marketing is wasted on me

Something I will not be purchasing from American Apparel:



















High waisted shiny hot shorts.

Friends do not let friends wear these shorts.

Weird dreams

I have really weird dreams.

Last night, I dreamed I was in Los Angeles because I was playing on Roberto Cavalli's softball team. We were playing against the Chanel team for the championship. We won in an exciting, clash of skills, a real nail-biter until the bitter end. Then Kelly blogged about our victory. Our softball team/fashion entourage was staying at a fancy hotel casino, rather like one you would expect to see in Vegas. Unlike most hotel casinos, however, in order to travel to other parts of the hotel, (the pool, the bar, etc.) you were required to crawl through human size hamster tunnels. While crawling through these tunnels, (before sliding down to the pool area) I ran into Spencer from The Hills. He was a tool. Then I went swimming.

The End

Life goal #76: Cuddle with a baby polar bear

Further proof that there is nothing on earth cuter than baby polar bears.

I also love Maddeline L'Engle

"If I had my way, none of us would have to read this review at all. Instead, we'd join hands, hear a great dark thunderclap, and be whisked off to a rambling house in the country, where we'd view odd things bubbling in a lab with a stone floor, then eat limburger-and-cream-cheese sandwiches while swinging our legs at the kitchen table. We'd sidestep for a moment onto a planet inhabited by gentle gray creatures with dents for eyes, then be inserted into some mitochondria. We battle for the soul of Madoc /Maddox, and eat small crayfish with our lesbian kind-of aunt who insisted on calling us our full name (Polyhymnia). We'd hop on a freighter and solve a mystery, then go to boarding school in Switzerland. We would make a brief detour on the Upper West Side by way of Portugal, and be concerned with cell regeneration in starfish. We'd be smacked on the ass by a dolphin. Most important, whatever happened, we'd know we could get through it—because we are creatures that can love."

- Review of A Wrinkle in Time/Homage to my favorite author

Everyone should read more Madeline L'Engle

I love breakfast!

I love breakfast! I love breakfast food, in the morning, or for dinner. I love to eat breakfast, whether it be cereal or leftover Chinese food. I love breakfast places. I love the abundance of breakfast places in Bellingham. I want a boyfriend because then someone would be societally required to buy be breakfast once a week. My last two years of college, I ate peanut butter toast for breakfast every single day. I love omelettes. I love toast. I REALLY love homefries from the Original Pancake House. Today for breakfast, I had a granola bar and Apple Jacks. Yesterday I had leftover cold spaghetti. I had my most surreal life experience at a Chinese breakfast restaraunt in New Zealand.

Apparently, breakfast is in again.

Also, I might be really hungry right now.

I think this is awesome.

Recruiters for top women's colleges in U.S. see a bounty in the Middle East.

Douchebag Party

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004449470_seattleuparties31m.html?syndication=rss

I'm going to make a value judgement here:

- Douchebag party: okay
- Party named after an offensive word for the female anatomy where the men dress up like hunters and women dress up like prey: not okay

Buzzed Blogging

I may have been slightly inebriated when blogging last night. Please edit my post for all gramatical errors, misspelled words, and typos.

Sincerely,
Lynn

Life lessons

Oh, VH1, I learn so much from you.

Sometimes, after a long day of defending the Constitution, I am too tuckered out to do anything more intense than sinking into the couch for television time. Today was one of those days.

Previously, I had seen most of the series in bits in pieces, but, today, Thursday, May 29, 2008 I watched all 5 hours of 100 best songs of the 80s. I learned a lot.

Fact #1: One of the girls from Bananarama is married to the other guy from Wham.

Fact #2: First, some backstory. In the last year and a half or so, Jodi and I have noticed that Don't Stop Believin' by Journey has become quite the tool anthem. We wondered why on earth this had occurred out of nowhere. Don't get me wrong, Don't Stop Believin is the perfect tool anthem, but we wondered why on earth this particular song had resurfaced out of nowhere to become the song to which all of the guys in popped collars and cargo shorts ran drunkenly onto the dance floor to point meaningly toward the ceiling along with. Turns out, this song was featured on MTV's the Hills, and soon after, became an itunes top ten song. It all makes sense now.

VH1, whether you are educating me about the Sexual Revolution or Bret Michael's diabetes, I learn something new everyday.

Are you ready to celebrate...

S.U.M.M.E.R S.A.N.S. C.L.O.T.H.E.S?!?

Simply Ultimate Magical Merriment Evolving Rapidly, Schnozzled and Naked Summer- Clothing Lost on the Epic Solstice

or would

S.A.N.S. C.L.O.T.H.E.S. S.U.M.M.E.R.

Schnozzled and Naked Summer- Clothing Lost on the Epic Solstice, Simply Ultimate Magical Merriment Evolving Rapidly

make more sense?

Perhaps I should write acronyms for a living.

Ski to Sea

This weekend I participated in Ski to Sea. I had an excellent time, but I've come to the realization that, unless you are being chased by a bear or some other large carnivore, there is absolutely no reason to run 8 miles downhill.

Highlights of the weekend include:
- Seeing the start of the race, with 400 cross country skiers all beginning at once.

- Making friends with the last 15 or so people waiting for their skiers.

- Not seeing a bear as I ran down.

- Sticking my feet in the glacial creek when I was done with my run.

- Ghetto Pig's leg of the race, which was driving down the mountain with nearly no gas. Due to her excellent coasting skills, we made it to Maple Fuels in Maple Falls. Way to go, Ski to Sea hero!

- Eating a quarter pound of cheese and drinking a quart of lemonade when I finally got off the mountain.

- Winning the most inspirational Ski to Sea team. This was mostly due to our multicolored shirts and ability to be really loud for long periods of time.

- Winning the entire race. Way to come in first overall, Better Lovers!

- Ending Mostly Sober May and starting Strictly Schnozzled Summer with a trip to the beer garden in Jodi's trunk.

Photo Delights:















Oh Captain, My Captain (You can't see in this picture, but our shirts have literary terms like 'irony' and 'context clues' ironed onto them.)
















Ski to Sea (Note the sunrise in the backround. SunRISE!)

Woo! Woo! I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!

Today is the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Here are some facts about me and my long history with Indiana Jones.

1. The first movie I ever attended (at age 2 months) was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Apparently, I started to cry, so my mom missed the ending.

2. The first movie I remember seeing at the theater was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

3. My first love (at age 5) was Indiana Jones.

4. I had one of those cassette tapes that went along with a picture book for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The audio tape narrated the story, and told you when to turn the page by a cracking whip noise. It was awesome.

5. This story may be apocryphal, but my mom claims it's true. At some point in the early nineties (probably 90 or 91), my family was watching some show on tv, and on it, Steven Speilberg announced that they weren't making anymore Indiana Jones movies and I started crying. I have no memory of this, but my mom insists that it is true.

6. I would wear an Indiana Jones hat to the premiere tonight, but I can't. I used to have one, but our dog chewed it up when he was a puppy.

7. I was an archaeology major for a while.

8. I still have this poster on the wall of my bedroom at home:

Countdowns

Here are some countdowns to some important things upcoming in my life:

Ski to Sea: 6 days.














Indiana Jones Movie Premier: 3 days.

End of VISTA: 38 work days!!!!!!

High rolling rodents

The guys in our shop have an ongoing competetion to see who has found the most money in one dryer. Yesterday, Rod set the current record finding $45 dollars in a mouse nest made entirely of money and ladies underwear. As Rod said, "That mouse must have grown up in a strip club."

Do something good with your day

Visit Kiva.org. Kiva is a microlending organization where you can look at profiles of entrepenuers and donate money toward their microloan.

Debt

So I got my financial aid letter today. Because the degree I am completing is part of a professional program, I am not eligible for grants or work study. Reccommended loan amount (for my first year):

$46,449

Ack!

Life's biggest conundrum

Whatever shall I do?



Tonight is the season finale of Gossip Girl.





But it is also the season premier of American Gladiators.

F You, Beyonce!

Don't you know that Sexualization Of Girls Is Linked To Common Mental Health Problems In Girls And Women?

I found this on jezebel. Here are some of my favorite titles of related blog posts:

How Many 8-Year-Olds Have To Get Bikini Waxes Before We All Agree The Terrorists Have Won?

Dear Moms: Your 6-Year Old Daughter's Ass Is Not "Juicy"

Britney Spears & Jon-Benet Weren't Born In Inappropriate Outfits, You Know

Awww.

How heartwarming.

Softball opponents offer unique display of sportsmanship

I am so committed to Better Lovers...

I went to the gym...at 9:15 pm...on Cinco de Mayo. We are so going to win Ski to Sea.

Parking Tickets

Western Front: Parking tickets on campus last year totaled nearly $387,000

And I was personally responsible for approximately $87,000 worth.

My weekend

This weekend, I saw Gunther:

He signed my chest:


















My life is complete.

I wish the weather would be nice.

31 days until Ski to Sea! I ran 4 miles on Tuesday. I did yoga and spinning yesterday. I am trying to convince myself to go running in the yucky weather today. Inspire me, fellow ski to sea-ers!

Happy Earth Day

Today, I was eating lunch with Nicole 'I Hate the Environment' Raden. It also happens to be Earth Day. After we were done, she THREW AWAY a recycleable bowl. I, generously thinking that she had made an unfortunate oversight, said kindly, "Nicole, that's recycleable." What do you think she did? She just looked at me and kept walking. All I have to say to her is:

Following up yesterdays thoughtfull post

GOSSIP GIRL IS BACK ON!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!!!!

Arrrrggghhh

Now, I think that Richard Dawkins is a douche bag and kind of a jack ass, as well as a good scientist, but why do Christians keep doing things like this? Are they trying to make us look stupid? If you want to question Darwinism, go for it, but don't stoop to tactics like interviewing the scientists under the pretense of a different movie and bringing up the Nazis. Isn't the number one rule of intellectual debate that the first side to bring up the Nazis automatically loses?

My joy is pure

Last night, while watching The Office

A preview came on for American Gladiators

I got so excited that I spilled my beer.

If I was a Gladiator, I would be Crush.