Winter

December hit Helena on Tuesday and so did the snow and low temperatures.  It’s like a great big, “HI, I’M WINTER!! REMEMBER ME?!?!?!”  Winter just left in mid-June.  Okay, the snow left in mid-June.  I will adjust to this Montana life.  It’s hard, but I do love snow.  I’m not sure why snowfall makes me so happy.  I feel like I’m floating along with the snowflakes. And no, the Nutcracker does not play through my head.  It used to, but that was due to having to perform it every winter. Thankfully those days are over.

It’s hard to want to rant, and yet afraid to.  I can start down the road of how much I absolutely HATE when drivers fail to understand how to function in various weather (Mid Atlantic drivers in the snow is a great example).  I spent WAY too many years rolling my eyes at the inability for anyone to drive slowly, stop with plenty of time, and to STOP BUYING ALL THE DANG TP, MILK AND BREAD!! The snow, get this, isn’t even sticking. . . it is merely falling from the sky and insta-melting as it hits about 5 inches above the ground.  It does this every frickin’ year. You would think people would learn.  My mom is from Montana, my dad is from New England, they learned to drive on winter roads.  Admittedly, VERY different winter roads, but to each their own.  I was shoved in a car on a snowy day and taught how to drive “properly” in the snow.  Then we had a blizzard and I learned what it was like to drive in snow that fell so fast you couldn’t keep the windshield clear enough to see.  It was like that scene out of Ace Ventura where he drives with his head out the window, except I was in a 1980 Volvo and it was VERY cold and VERY slippery.

I have slowly learned that I don’t fit into a lot of the places I’ve lived.  I don’t feel very typecast into those regions. Do I belong in the Mid-Atlantic/Metro DC area?  I don’t think so.  Boston?  Again, sort of, but no.  And now Montana. . .  again with the no.  There are bits of me in all these places, but so much that isn’t. Some day I hope to find a place where I am happy.

Montana fills my eyes with glorious views, the edges of towns that back up on mountains and hills, straight highways and a sky that makes me happy beyond belief.  And yet it’s a very isolating place.  I live in a town smaller than anywhere I’ve ever been before.  The whole state has a population of my home city.  It is very hard to find a community to identify with here.  I lived for my contra dancing in Boston, but it’s once a month here and that just isn’t enough.  It’s also very small and very very basic.  Nothing wrong with beginner level dancing, but this pushes at my patience.  I help people, I dance the guys part, but I really just want a fun filled goofy dance where you can totally mess around.  People can’t handle that here because they’re still grasping just what a given move is.  I don’t feel like I can break out of a box.  I ache to break out of this box. . . and yet, if I do, who will be there with me?  No idea.

It’s limiting to live in a place like this, and yet so independent and free.  People are so incredibly nice and patient and just darn friendly!!  People stop in parking lots to let you pull out of a space, cross the road, pull INTO a parking space.  It’s insane. They still can’t work 4 way stops, but you have to let some things go.  I love the lack of traffic, the snow, the mountains with the sun setting/rising behind them. . .  of all the places I’ve never felt so peaceful. AND YET I AM GOING NUTS!!!  Would moving to Bozeman help?  I don’t know.

I need to find a pathway to let out this pent up angst and urge to socialize.  I just don’t want to have to bring beer into the mix.  Why is drinking THE thing to do here?  If I want to make friends, I need to drink. . . seems redonk.

New camera fun

I just got a Nikon D90, so I am working on the transition from point-and-shoot digital to dSLR.  It’s amazing what this camera can do.  I plan on jumping into a photography course ideally next week.  The header is a picture I took today at the Farmer’s Market. And yes, those really are massive zucchini.  I bought a foot and a half long parsnip today.  MASSIVE!!  It’s like a mini-scepter. It will find itself in some mashed potatoes soon enough.

In other news, Percy now goes outside as she was talking too much at night and we couldn’t sleep.  It was a cheaper and saner alternative to getting a second cat. She now cuddles A LOT more and zonks out at night.  It’s wonderful.  She did pick up some bacterial infection out there, but I can handle that.  It stinks like crazy and she gets a bit bloated, but after a few days of meds she is acting normal if not shredding my hands any time I try to put a pill down her throat.  I’ve learned a few tricks, so thankfully my hands are healing. At first it was NOT good.

Grant is trail running like crazy.  I’ve tried it, and need to shove myself out the door WAY more often.  It’s not so warm, so I need to actually purchase some tights and then shove myself out the door some more.  I merely jog, but it’s still for at least 45 minutes.

On the note of running, Grant ran the Portland Marathon the first weekend of October and he did REALLY well for himself.  Nowhere near the top of his age class, but better than he thought he would.  Street pounding is not his idea of fun, trails are the good stuff.  I can only agree.  Watched a guy running today and thought it looked like he was ramming his feet into the asphalt, not good.

Not much has changed since July.  I’m still digitizing and losing my mind.  I’m hoping to get to do more data analyses and possibly field work once summer hits, but who knows.  We shall see. . . *thunk*  I would love to get to do more than just mapping, but it seems to come and go for everyone.  Being the quiet and not super social one at work means I spend a lot of time with my radio and hearing other people talk to other people while I sit in my invisible corner.  Not too bad, but sometimes I feel a tad left out.  It happens.  I do not have the social graces of a lot of people, and that’s been apparent since I was VERY young.  Quite content as a wallflower because I have no conversation topics in my head.  Photography does work well with me in that instance.

Until later, when the snow is back for more than a day.  Haha!

Montana does have summer

In April it snowed (10 inches over 2 days in  the last week); in May, it snowed; the first part of June had flurries.  But then, true to the stories from my mom’s childhood, June 14th rolled around and the yellow roses bloomed and POW, it was summer.  It has been in the 80s for the past few days, even hitting 90/91.  Okay, right now it is 78.   At night it drops down to a nice and comfy temperature so Grant and I don’t swelter.  SO NICE!!  We don’t need AC, we just need ceiling fans.  My room/office/Percy’s new play-room has no such fan, and a window screen that doesn’t even fit the window.  No air flow in here. Ew.

Anyways, as for going’s on, work has been work.  I’ve digitized a ton of areas in Southern Montana, Grant has started running with our Helena Running Club and doing a few trail races.  I’ve attempted to start jogging, and am getting into it.  Trails FTW, sidewalk running = B.O.R.I.N.G.

Last weekend we went to the Helena Airshow, also called the Gateway to Freedom Airshow.  I’ll put up pictures on Flickr at some point.  The Air Force Thunderbirds were there as were the Army Golden Knights (parachuters).  It was AWESOME. Food cost way too much, but it was a good time.  I’d never been to an airshow before, so this was just the best thing ever for me.  Grant was not nearly as happy as I was.  The weather was a stunning 78 or so with a steady wind so you didn’t sweat buckets.

Two weekends ago Grant ran the Wulfman Trail Run outside of Butte along the continental divide.  It was raining steadily and about 53 F.  I found out a friend of mine is pregnant (YAY!!) and had a long chat with my mom.  There was a cell phone tower across the road from where I was standing, so there’s no wonder I had reception.  The finish line (where I had to wait) was right off of I-90, just east of Butte before the Hodgeman Pass.  So the temperature shift from 53 to 83 during the day has been a welcome reprieve.

I’ve even taken to occasionally wearing skirts.  Oh yes, that’s right.  Some days I just go for girly.  Shocking.  I’m also getting my chaco tan back.  I got the ones with the thin double-straps so I don’t QUITE have the Zorro Tan from my last year in Boston.

Percy, the little spastic ball of fur, is growing up.  She’s a full sized cat now, but is just as cute as ever.  She no longer fits comfortably in my lap.  She has also stopped digging her claws into people’s legs to just look at them.  She does it to chairs though.  The past few nights she has been BLISSFULLY quiet and we’ve been able to sleep, but for the past few months she has been a right nightmare and Grant and I have had to contemplate various things to do with her overnight.  As long as she is good (i.e. we play with the laser pointer, chase her around and make sure she has food and water) we’re alright. . hopefully.  We just need to put in some evening effort to keep her wired up so she’ll calm down by 10 pm.

People are coming to visit us too!!!  These will be our first non-family guests!!  My cousins came for a visit in March, which ended in finding out our Grandfather had died (they drove over to Missoula to see people and him and on their way to the nursing home got the call he had just passed away that morning).  But on a happier note, Grant’s friends will be here . . NEXT WEEKEND and then they are off to Glacier and other sites to explore and hang out with us in short doses.  Then my friends will be here from Baltimore with their mom.  WOOHOO!!  So yeah, we are super excited about this.

My Aunt and Uncle will actually come over tomorrow for a late morning-early afternoon visit (they’re in Missoula seeing my grandmother).  It’s a good thing we cleaned today!!  Our apartment was looking like a pig sty and in the course of several hours it looks like a clean-ish place.  We’ve washed A LOT of dishes, and broken down a TON of cardboard.   We still have more to do, but it looks 10x’s better than it did.
Now for that mountain of laundry we have to do. . .

Owie, I’m sore

Yesterday I attempted a Step Aerobics/Sprint class.  I nearly didn’t finish.  Today my calves are DYING.  I had this great Frankenstein lurch going on.  I was all keyed up to do the Ab Blasts class, but dinner came first.  FOOOOOOD!!!!   So I passed on that. .  and the Infusion Circuit.  Instead I went to Pilates.

I’ve never done pilates before and I now have a happy “between hell days” class to go to.  It’s at 7:15 pm, so that’s a bit later than I would like, but at least it’s only for about 30 minutes.  It was just 2 others in the class, even though it says a max of 14.  Boooo  we need more people.
Anyways, the class was pretty great.  I have to work on my leg flexibility and well, just general flexibility.  I’m going to get there though.  Right now my goal is endurance and toning.  I have crap endurance, so this is really going to push me.  Hopefully by the time field work season comes around (i.e. in 2 months) I’ll be doing reasonably okay.  I have to work on strength too, so I need to work at mixing it up and basing my days around the classes I want to take.

KICKBOXING?!!? Am I nuts?  Should I just take the Yoga at 7:15 instead?  Sweat-relax-sweat-relax right?  *whimper*

Anyways, off to bed and I will hopefully be alive after tomorrow’s workout.  Maybe my lovely raspy voice will come back.

On another note: my cousins are coming to visit this weekend.  It will be fun figuring out where they can sleep. I hope Percy doesn’t go too spastic.  Mwahahahahaha crazy kitten can be played with while Grant and I get some shut-eye.

*ZONK*

Valentines Day

Last year Grant and I exchanged PlayDoh and he gave me a bear.  This year he went to the bakery next to where we had lunch and bought cookies while I waited in the car to see what he’d get. . . minimum surprise.

Yesterday was our Merlin Day #eleventybillion, and we went to Macaroni Grill.  It was way better than eating at Mediterranian Grill today for lunch. Land-locked state that loves Buffalo and BBQ is not a place to get Turkish food.  Sorry Montana, you FAIL!!

The rest of today will be spent geekifying and then I am off to the contra dance.  I love me some contra dancing and I haven’t been in SOOOOO long!!!  It’s only here once a month so I need to go when it’s available.  Apparently Bozeman is a bit bigger on the contra dance scene.

Hope everyone else’s day is going well, whether it’s Valentine’s Day or Singles Awareness Day.

Also, it is snowing.  I LOVE the snow.  This morning it was all light and fluffy.  I cleared off my car by blowing on the snow.  AWESOME.

Memories from the beginning

I remember days when servers were down and I wanted to waste my day doing nothing but watching pixels run around in purple hued environments.  I remember the notices saying that due to a day of no-login we got “free days” between billing cycles.  I recall the rants and raves that people had.  I remember how our guild just sucked it up and dealt with it.  It’s an online game that millions subscribe to.  Servers have to be updated, problems happen, and yet the paying population demand 110% play-time.  Sleep is not an option, breaks don’t exist, and HOW DARE THEY KEEP ME FROM MY GAME!!!

I feel pity for the people that can’t go on with their lives because they are deprived of their game.  You know, there’s a reason I like playing, it’s called the people I get to play with.  If you’ve played any other online game don’t you think you’d be aware the servers require down time for repairs and touch ups from all the work they get.  If anything a few hours of relaxation is probably just what they need.  A nice mother board massage and facial.  Every…thing deserves a good massage!!

——–

I’ve spent the day reading and having a cat curl up with me.  I even went out the grocery store.  I dislike not being employed, but I can’t quite bring myself to go to the one place I’m pretty sure would take me on: Pestmart.  I could see if places are taking on seaonsal workers, I could go find a temp job.  I’m sorely tempted after Thanksgiving to do just that.

Speaking of the cat. . er. .kitten, she’s getting fixed on Friday.  We pick her up Saturday morning and head back to VA.  We’re taking her up to Baltimore since it costs $500 + $60 initial consultation fee to get her spayed in Northern VA.  The SPCA does this weird partner program that gives a whopping discount on spaying so you only pay $260.  Uh…. no.  The SPCA in Baltimore will spay her for $30.  She has the sneezles too so we’re taking her to the vet so they can kill 2 birds with one stone.  Cutest darn sneezes ever, but if I were her I’d be miserable.  Poor Percy.

Anyways, I’m off to go do real things that don’t involve trying to hit 70 before WotLK comes out.  Why can’t people focus on the happy thought: REST XP.  Oh wait. . . they all have 70s with Orange T-eleventybillion and have daily heroics to do so they can get those Achievements squared away.

WHO THE &#$* CARES?!?!?!

And that sums up that.

Latest news

Percy, our kitten is a crazy little spaz monkey.  She is fascinated by all things keyboard.  You should see what she does as I sit here typing.  She keeps sitting up suddenly and watching my fingers intently.  With my laptop she used to curl up over my fingers and take a nap.  She likes the feel of the keys.  Weird kitten.

In other news, my mom called me up last night to read a letter Newcastle University had sent me. It was my transcript.  Apparently I have passed and am now the proud graduate of a British university.  Yay?  I’m really not very thrilled.  I’m relieved that I do graduate in December.  Actually, in less than a month.  I’m just not very excited about some of my grades.

My dad wants to take me to graduation.  It’s called “Congregations” over there.  Fancy shmancy. I am not entirely certain I want to be there for graduation.  I don’t even know who is going and who isn’t.  It seems like a lot of people are iffy on the whole thing, and a few more have said they won’t attend.  It’s going to cost a CRAP TON to go there.  I don’t think I really want to spend all that money for about an hour’s ceremony on a cold and blustery Wednesday. I remember last year and it was DAMN WINDY. *sigh*

I am very torn. Should I go?  Should I stay here?  Should I should I should I. . .   I need to fill in the paperwork saying they need to mail me my diploma.  I don’t want to say, “Yes I’ll be there” and then not.  I also don’t want to have to pack it up in my luggage if I do go.

Anyways, back to job applying.

That’s the other issue, if I go, I can’t get a job before Christmas.    That’s not good.  I don’t really have money to spend right now. . . I think people are going to get “New Year’s Gifts” this year. . . .

Sooo nice

I’m always amazed at how nice and genuine some people are.  Words can’t quite explain it, but I get very flustered around it.  I keep feeling like someone is going to jump out and go, “HAHAHA YOU FELL FOR IT!”  Either that or they won’t pull through on their end.

The whole high school mentality of writing in people’s yearbooks, “I don’t know you very well, but you seem really cool.  KIT”  It’s like, uh…  thanks?  The empty offers, the never calling back, etc.  So much of that has gone on and it irritates me. But when someone comes out of the blue saying wonderful things it’s like, “Whoa. .who. .what….  ACK!!” I feel very confused and it takes me a minute to get words out.  I go into shock.

On another note, my little Percy arrives today!!! My parents are coming down to VA for the Head of the Occoquan to spend time with us.  We’re living at Grant’s parent’s house for now while we look for jobs and see where our lives travel to next.  I’ve applied to several jobs and am looking for more.  Grant has had a few interviews but no, “Yes we love you” replies. We’ve got a feast of tasty goodness planned.  Tasty meats and such.  I hope there will be vegetables, or else my mom really will have a fit.

Last night we had potato soup, and it was SO GOOD.  I like soups.  A LOT.  Last weekend Grant and I made vegetarian French Onion Soup.  It was just amazing.  We made a Peasant Loaf of bread to go on top of the soup, and provolone cheese.  Mmm mmmm mmmmmmmmm    There was not very much left. 

I’m thrilled my parents will be here.  I just hope they get here sooner rather than later. Hopefully the traffic won’t be too bad.  Apparently last night things were a bit nuts in DC.  Grant’s parents headed over there to see the sights with their friends who are also staying here.  There were drunks and crazy driving and people in costumes (it was Halloween) everywhere.  I am glad I wasn’t out driving around.  I’m avoiding using my car on Tuesday as well.  There have been a ton of articles saying how accidents sky rocket on election day. I’d rather avoid it all.

Autumn FINALLY

It feels so crisp and cool outdoors.  I LOVE IT.  Die you evil mosquitoes, DIE!!!!! *ahem*  I also like getting to curl up with Grant at night.  Part of the reason is that I’m apparently a blanket hog.  I get cold, okay!!  Seriously, I managed to get the sheet up around my neck last night, all of it.  We still had two other blankets, but I was suddenly in a very small area of the bed and Grant was diagonal and curled up next to me.  WHOOPS!!

Silly getting cold.

I can see why people have left WoW.  After trying AoC I finally see just how annoying WoW is.  Those quests and respawnings, etc.  EW!!  But with the constant booting from the wireless network via Windows I’ve had to settle for WoW on the Mac side.  It’s not bad, but I’m finding a lot less help for quests than I would like to see.

Anyways, in the real world: In THREE days, the Board of Examiners meets and they will decide if I passed my MSc or not.  I hope so.  I’ve decided not to fly back to England for graduation though.  It’s too expensive and I just can’t afford the time or the costs.  Pity, but there it is.  I’m ready to get a job and move on with the world.  I just need to get that dang resume all polished up and stuff.

Game fun

The world of games is available to me again.  WHOOOHOOOO.  Today I’m going to install Age of Conan. Grant went off and bought it and has a second key, so I’m going to give it a whirl.  After that I might see about returning to the world of WoW.  I know I know, I shouldn’t. I should just move on and leave that game behind me.

I’m hoping this will be a fun time.  We’re going to severly limit ourselves in what we play and for how long.  I still have desires to play with Baldur’s Gate.  Bwahahahaha

Mmmmmm  Minsk and Boo.  I haven’t played it since March.  Sad.

On another note, I HAVE A KITTEN!!! Her name is Percy and she’s currently at home in Baltimore getting over her roundworms.  She is one bloated-belly kitten.  Poor thing.  She’s almost 4 months old.  Around December I think is when we get her spayed.  Not sure.  I need to talk to the vet about that.  I also need to find a vet down here in VA since she’ll be living at Grant’s parent’s house with us. . . . until we find jobs and move out and then she’ll go wherever we go.  She’s awesome. . .  I just hope these wormies leave her because she can stink up a whole room.