listening after dark

"Spiffing timepieces for low price"

So said the subject line of a spam e-mail received today. Sounds British. At work I get German spam. I kind of wish I knew German.

Today I managed to bike to work, home for lunch, then to rock climbing after work and home again, getting rained on only a little, and all without getting hit by lightning. All is well.

Climbing is getting easier each week, and my forearms are kind of huge (for me). Wes said I looked like Popeye (maybe a little facetiously). I like the muscles.

We went camping one night this weekend, got far too much sun but no sunburns, didn't catch any fish, played with our buddy Stanley, ate huge pork chops and smelled a lot of cow pies. Why is it that Wyoming's beautiful and rugged parts are always liberally sprinkled with cattle dung?

Two more days of work until I leave for Montreal! I'm not at all looking forward to flying, but the destination will be worth it. I have too many lists in preparation. Wes makes fun of my lists because there are always a few little notes on my kitchen table. But then he saw my Montreal list. I can't help it if being organized—which I enjoy—means writing everything down so I don't forget.

And how about a few photos depicting some of the silly fun I've been having lately:

More pain, or, I like rock climbing

Last night's (second) class was great. We had a few minutes of terms and then were set loose to climb. It was basically like what I imagine a school playground might have been, had I attended school and therefore experienced a school playground. We climbed around, helped each other, showed off, complained about sore arms, squinched toes—basically, we played.

I'm probably the oldest person in the class, which is a strange thing. All the others seem to be barely out of high school. One of the guys who was belaying me just turned 18. Which means he was born in 1990. !! That makes me feel old.

After biking home into the (20ish mph) wind last night, I was unbelievably tired and could hardly lift my arms, but today I feel better than expected. The weirdest things are hard, though, like dressing myself. Putting on pants especially. But I'm already looking forward to the next class on Monday, when the soreness is gone and the climbing will be just slightly easier. Maybe I'll even be able to grasp that one hold I couldn't quite reach...

Suddenly very active

It feels good to be sore and tired in an I-used-my-muscles-and-they're- telling-me-about-it way. Yesterday I went for a two-hour hike/climb/run. I meant to just hike, but of course I had to start off by climbing my favorite rocks by the waterfall (at Rotary Park). Then of course I wasn't on the right trail, so I had to climb the hillside and a lot more rocks to get there. And then it was mostly downhill, so why not jog partway?

Today I rode my bike to work and also ran a few errands at lunch (average 15 mph wind all day). I never ride slow when I can ride faster. I left work half an hour early to bike about a mile across town for my first rock climbing class. We just did intro stuff—forms, harnesses, knots—but then I did three quick climbs (belayed by my new buddy, a girl who's shaping up to re-enter the Marines). And then biked home about a mile and a half, into the wind. I think I'm a little tired now.

The long wait is over

I survived the winter. Spring is come. The lilacs are in full bloom (I keep stealing little sprigs from alley bushes). It has been raining like Washington. I don't think Wyoming is usually this green.

Finally had a holiday from work—my first day off since Presidents' Day in February (and that day was spent house sitting with an enormous Great Dane puppy who tried to eat one of my shoes—because I wasn't family, I think). Now I have many summer things to look forward to: vacation to Montreal in a month, rock climbing classes starting in June, hanging out with some new friends (really, it's true), camping, hiking, fishing.

My great discovery of the weekend was made while going through some cabinets looking for things to give away or toss out. It's spring and I must declutter. If only a little. My first digital camera, the one I got as a Christmas gift at my first job, stopped working sometime in 2006. I couldn't bring myself to throw it out, and good thing. I put in some fresh batteries and it works just dandy. Now I can carry it with me again for those small moments when I feel the need to document something.

Sunday I went hiking for a couple of hours with a new friend (also Wes's co-worker; he's been trying to arrange a play date for us for some time). It was a perfect hiking day. Monday it rained nonstop and I made green chile chicken enchiladas, knitted and watched movies.

I've been reading a lot lately. Maisie Dobbs is my latest enjoyment, thanks to my friend Stephanie. I like the mixture of history, mystery, fiction and English geography.

It's also a good time for new music. Of course, my favorite is The Weepies' new album, Hideaway (only $7.99 from Amazon). They've also posted a "making of Hideaway" video on YouTube.

And, dangerously, I listened to lots of World Café this weekend. I always discover new musicians, which can lead down a path to more and more newly essential music. Much like browsing CD Baby. It's a path that should not be tread upon lightly. A couple of stand-out songs: "Asking for Flowers" by Kathleen Edwards; "Army Dreamers" by Kate Bush.

Oh, and I might be famous now. If not now, then maybe around 10 p.m. MDT. I happened to be wandering downtown at lunchtime today and was accosted interviewed by a reporter from one of the local news stations. He asked me some questions about Casper: what I like, what could be improved. You want to know what I said, don't you? Well, if I show up on the 10 p.m. newscast, it will also be online. Next to my all-too-brief childhood appearance on the TV news in Spokane as a patient at the dental school, this could be my big break.

Getting out of town, mmmmeat pie, hi house

There's been lots of communicating going on lately: phone calls, hanging out with some new friends, planning a trip to Colorado for a weekend with some college friends (leaving tomorrow morning! yay!). I haven't spent much time on my computer at home...I've been getting plenty of that at work.

When I am on the computer, it seems like I'm always looking up something relating to vehicles. I did some test drives last weekend and learned a few good things:
• The Honda Fit is not for me.
• The Toyota Matrix is a little better.
• I really just love my Subaru.

So when Elmer starts to sound worse, I'll probably look for a used Impreza or Legacy wagon. Why not stick with what works, eh? (Except for my sickening engine...which most sources say is unusual for my not-quite-150k miles.)

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Last night I made a meat pie. I had no idea it was so easy. And I must forever from now on use butter in my pastry crusts. Whyever was I using Crisco when butter makes it so much flakier and tastier?

After having leftover meat pie for lunch (which maybe tasted even better after a night in the fridge), I probably shouldn't have had that huge burger and beer for dinner...even though I only finished about half of each. These days I'm not able to eat as much as I used to. I can definitely tell my metabolism is slowing down. I also think having a desk job these past four years has really put a kink in my preferred routines. When I'm busy doing things at home or elsewhere, I don't really think about food until I'm hungry. But when I'm sitting at a desk all day, it's much easier to snack or think of snacking. If I didn't walk to work and get that hour of exercise every weekday, I would be having an even harder time.

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My mom sent me this cool photo of their house from above (click for a larger pop-up). It's the orangey one in the middle with the white trim, just to the right of the steeple. I forget how lush Walla Walla can be in the spring and summer. We moved there directly from Olympia, so it seemed like a desert. But now, after living in New Mexico and Wyoming, even eastern Washington seems verdant.

Sun and sand, anyone?

I've never thought of myself as an island girl, but this seems like a good time to learn. My job has just offered the opportunity to work for six months in the Virgin Islands as a research assistant. It's part of a grant that we're in the process of, most likely, finalizing. I still don't know most of the details, but wow! Who would have thought I could go from Washington to New Mexico to Wyoming to...the Virgin Islands? It's too much to process right now. More to come...

Still alive. Mostly.

I've spent the last week dog/house sitting and enjoying the latest brand of flu. I spent four days in bed and, though I'm back at work, I still have a cough that seems content to hang around. Wes is staying away to avoid getting sick. Talking on the phone for very long makes me cough more. So I feel like I've been quarantined—in a big house with the two dogs, one cat and a tankful of fish.

And this strain is really going around. It seems like everyone is sick. I never even got a cold this winter, but I guess the flu was too good to pass up. Well, it's been fun.

A good day

It was supposed to snow today, but didn't.

I discovered something that might help lessen my ongoing hip/back pain. Walking better. Seriously. I think I might have been aggravating whatever muscles I strained a few months ago by the way I've been walking to and from work every day (about 4 miles total)—hunched over into the wind, watching the sidewalk for snow and ice, and kicking rocks. No more rock-kicking for me. I'm walking straight and tall, swinging my arms. It sounds silly and simple, but today it helped. So tomorrow I'll try it again. Even though I slipped on the ice this morning and barely managed to catch myself with my hands, butt only inches from the pavement. Still no pain. That's a good day for me. And no neck ache or headache. Could the solution be this easy?

Good wine, a little chocolate, classical music, cozy home. It's amazing how much better life is without that little niggling ache.

Living with the wind

This morning, lying in bed mostly awake at 7:30, I had the overwhelming urge to go jogging. Really. And I then I got up and went. Half jogging, half walking, for a mile or two. It was windy, as usual, but at 31 degrees the air felt less like a slap in the face than it usually does. It was kind of enjoyable. Especially because now the wind is stronger and I feel perfectly justified to remain inside the rest of the day.

I'm still walking to work, even through 30-plus mph winds, below-freezing temperatures and snow drifts. I have a long list of people, including some businesses, who should be forced to shovel their walks. I have driven on a few of the worst days, like when the wind was howling around 50 mph. But mostly, my stubbornness (and the fact that it's less than a mile) forces me to walk.

Apparently I have a tendency to move with the weather. Last winter in Santa Fe was the snowiest in decades, probably. And this winter in Casper is one of the coldest, snowiest and windiest in several years. I guess I'll have to stay more than a year someplace to see if the pattern changes.

Also, I'm pretty sick of the nonstop pre-pre-pre-election coverage. As usual, I'm getting excited to do my taxes. Yes, I'm weird. I like filling out forms and balancing money-related things. Even paying bills. At least, the check-writing part of it, not the my-money-is-leaving-me part of it.

The great tomato explosion of 2007

I've been complaining about summer being so long and hot, but I think this weekend's weather is a little too suddenly not summer. It only got up to about 55º today, with lots of drizzling rain and thick gray skies. I know, I'm never satisfied. But actually, earlier in the week was great: sunny, cool, breezy (in Wyoming terms, that means anywhere from 5 to 30 mph winds). I'm guessing this weekend is just a fluke and we'll be back to lovely autumn weather soon.

In keeping with the mood outdoors, I decided to make tomato soup for dinner. All was going well until I started up the blender. My hand wasn't pressing the lid down hard enough, and hot, bright soup exploded all over my white kitchen—and the floor, and me. I stood back and laughed for a minute, then thought about taking a picture. Then figured it would be just too too (as my mom would say). I'm sure you can imagine it well enough. The soup, I think, was worth it. Good thing I wasn't wearing white.

In other news, I spent last evening ushering at the local theatre, where I'll probably spend some more time volunteering. It's been too long since I've been around dramatic people. My first college roommate exposed me to enough of them to know they're most always a lot of fun. Yet, in my eagerness to get involved with various things, after my laziness in Santa Fe, I don't want to over-commit myself. I do enjoy my quiet evenings.