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Showing posts from February, 2009

Cov Update 1

I've made a little progress with the WAP in the last few days. I finally got everything lined up mailed to renew my passport. God willing, I will see it and the new one in my mailbox in a few weeks. I was going to make my first tuition payment, then discovered how much it would cost to wire money, and decided to try to pay it all at once instead of three times. $60 saved is $60 earned. Once I do pay them, they'll send me a letter that tells the UK government that I have a place there. I use that and my shiny new passport to apply for my student visa. Yesterday and today I filed my federal and state income taxes. Whew! Thankfully I did not owe the state as much as I did last year, but the feds wanted their economic stimulus check back and more. Oh well. I have also now submitted my FAFSA for next year. Hopefully that will yield something, but who knows in these times. The wheels are turning, slowly but surely.

Belay

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Yeah, I can belay. Last night I took the "belay test" when I went to the climbing gym with Charles. I had to show them that I know how to tie myself in as a climber and then that I know how to belay another climber. The belayer is the person on the ground who pulls the slack out of the rope and um, basically makes sure that the climber doesn't fall...far. So the last time I went climbing was about a month ago, and when the teenager who was testing me, handed me the "ATC" belay device (pictured above), I had to stare at it for about five minutes, trying to remember how the hell the thing works. I eventually figured it out, especially after he told me that there was a picture on the side of it that showed what to do. After that "a-ha" moment, it all came back and I passed the test. Now we can both climb and belay in the gym without breaking any rules. Oh, and ATC stands for air traffic control, isn't that funny? So, now if you need to know so...

As Promised

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Good News! Follow this link (click right here) for pictures of skiing and polar bear plunging. Also, I have recently purchased a flashlight for work that is so awesome it made me take my old one and throw it in the trash like it was a football and I had just scored. It's really bright! One thing off the new year 'resolution' list already. That's all.

Blogiversary 4

So, I started this post a couple of weeks ago when I realized this was coming up. By 'started' I mean wrote the title and saved a blank entry for future publication. I am now finishing it a day late. So, our 4th anniversary. I hoped last year that the blog would be more progress and less work. I was on the verge then of some good stuff and I want to always continue on the path of self improvement. I did a lot of interesting things in the last year and I hope, dear readers, that you enjoyed reading about them. 429 posts, 26k hits, and still going relatively strong. The posts have been in slightly shorter supply, but I want to limit it to stuff that's worth reading about. I am following a strange, opportunistic path right now, and I hope that you'll stick with me. I'll keep writing, even if no one reads it, but I hope someone does. Happy Anniversary, Blog! (Sorry I didn't get you a present. You didn't make a list. Yes, I could change the layout or the...

25

Thanks to facebook, I have been 'challenged' with writing 25 random things about myself. I am doing this because I find what other people have written to be very interesting. I am doing it here because I love and am loyal to the blog. Plus it is automatically imported to facebook, so this way everyone can enjoy it. Enjoy, right. 1. I am addicted to chapstick. 2. I always have chapstick with me, along with my little girly penknife. (unless I am somewhere where such weapons are not appreciated.) 3. I have a lot of books, but I haven't read them all. 4. I am terrible with names. 5. I hate when people rearrange my things. 6. I am not a fan of the dark. 7. I like orange juice, but hate oranges. 8. This list makes me look like a complainer. 9. Nine is my favorite number. 10. I forgive easily. 11. When I travel, I love to go into foreign grocery stores and try new foods, (usually candies.) 12. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. 13. I prefer busy days at ...

Falling...with style

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Turns out, I'm not very good at skiing. But, skiing does make me giggle, which is definitely a good thing. Even when I was falling on my ass, I was laughing. But I mostly enjoy when other people are falling down. I am pretty good at skiing uphill or on the flat, but I am pretty much completely unschooled and too big a wimp to really enjoy the downhill. It's the stopping that's the real problem. Stopping by way of falling is fairly effective, but sadly it is not always into a nice soft pile of snow. Overall it was a lovely day. We started by driving, well, until we found snow. That alone was amazing. We took a little hike to see a beautiful waterfall that was half frozen and looked awesome. From there we drove through the mountains, and past some energy capturing windmills which are much bigger close up than I thought. We ended up at a little cross country skiing resort full of hippies and generally nice people. They have several trails into the mountain behind them and a fe...