Modern Comforts

Today, I was thinking about how happy I am to be living in the 21st century. Now, I used to think that I wanted to go back in time because I wanted to ride horses everywhere- but the reality is, that's a bad idea. First of all, it seems as though women that lived in the "wild west" were either bar maids and prostitutes, or having a baby every year and slaving over a pot bellied stove. Neither of those options really appeal to me. Add on top of that the lack of antibiotics, indoor plumbing, air conditioning and deodorant, and you've got yourself an unpleasant situation. Personally speaking, if it weren't for antibiotics, I would have died a long time ago from a staph infection so I am pro-medicine. Hurray for Penicillin. Anyway, who wants to deal with general lawlessness, lynchings, and a town run by men wielding a beer in one hand and a gun in the other? I'll pass. So there went the "wild west" idea.
So back to living in the 21st century. Today, I had my whole day planned out and this morning I wanted to take my dog to the park. I put all my dishes in the dishwasher and all my clothes in the dryer (without really thinking much about it). But, as I was leaving my house I could hear my washer sloshing around and my clothes tumbling in the dryer. I paused and thought, how cool is it that these machines are doing all this work and I get to take my dog and go to the park, avoiding all of it? I knew when I got back that my dishes would be squeaky clean and dry, and my clothes would be ready to go. And you know, it may be that we're all losing touch with reality because of the fact that we don't really have to do anything anymore, but I don't regret having the extra time in my day. I have lived without a dishwasher and a dryer, and I never enjoyed doing those things. It never brought me a sense of organic connection to life. So, cheers to the dishwashers and dryers of the world, slaving away so we don't have to! and cheers to not having to be a bar maid.

Term Papers

I just finished my last undergraduate term paper. I am sitting here a little dazed because when you're in college, it seems as though you will have to write papers for the rest of your life (I guess in some professions you would have to). I however, plan on finding a career that doesn't include the following skills that I was forced to learn in the now 16 years that I have been in school. Below are my top 5 skills that fall under the "circus monkey" category of things I was forced to learn and imagine I will never have to use again:

1. I refuse to ever use the quadratic equation. Ever, ever again. If my job depends on it, I plan on giving my boss the finger, gathering my things, and saying, "peace out."

2. I will never use mean, median, and mode again. Ever. Now, I may calculate the average of something...but I will not use the word "mean." And what the hell is median all about? I'm sorry, but I just don't see the "middle" item being an accurate way of measuring something. I mean, if it comes down to that, why bother? Why not just guess? flip a coin.

3. I will not take the time to point out argument fallacies such as a "red herring". If I decide someone is arguing poorly, I may just employ the above option of giving them the finger, gathering my things, and saying "peace out." OR, I may just kick them in the shins.

4. I will NEVER, EVER, EVER again memorize the stages of mitosis, or for that matter, meiosis. I DON"T CARE. Yeah, it was interesting the first time. You know, when I was in 6th grade. It's not that interesting anymore. I'm glad I know that's how it happens. It's no longer a mystery. Now shut up about it.

5. I also will never again try to remember the difference between reliability and validity. First of all, they go together so why the hell did someone name them with such similarly sounding names? that's bullshit. You know what's reliable? When it comes to research methods, I don't care about reliability and validity. At All.

I'm sure that I could expand my list, but these are the things that seem to really haunt me throughout school. It's not that they are that difficult- it's just that they never seem to go away. In fact, if I go to grad school someone will probably end up busting out the quadratic equation just so that I feel like I want to punch myself in the face.

Anyway, I am almost done being a circus monkey. Only a few last hoops to jump through and then I'm done....until I decide to jump through grad school hoops - which are probably ten times bigger...and flaming.

Road Trips

I have arrived safely back in Denver from my road trip. I actually got back a week ago. The trip went a lot better than I expected...the car made it the entire way without any problems, the dog slept the whole way, and we actually found our friend to stay with in Akron. It was actually really fun. I love road trips, I don't know why, but I always have. I think there are a couple of reasons. The first reason is that you are confined to a space and can't really do anything productive. Some people find that to be annoying, but I think it is very freeing. Even if you want to do something productive, you can't. It forces you to slow down and pause for a short time. Secondly, the scenery is constantly changing which I find to be very entertaining. I love driving past the little towns and wondering what it is like to live there. Road trips also make it acceptable to eat food that is delicious and terrible for you. There aren't many opportunities to eat healthily on the road and "road snacks" are essential. The glove box should have a constant stash of candy bars and snack foods in case that mid-afternoon lull kicks in. So, you sit and relax, listen to good music, and watch the changing scenery. I love how the inside of the car becomes your only reality, like the world is frozen and you are traveling across it. The only interruption to that solitude is the occasional call or message from the outside world. Other than that, it is as though the only world that exists is inside that car and at the gas station when you have to stop. I love that. Finally, there is such a feeling of accomplishment at every turn because you can physically see your progress as the mile markers count down the distance. It is like doing laundry...there is a sense of gratification from being able to see instant results.
Anyway, all these things combined make me always up for a road trip- especially if there is a giant ball of twine or largest frying pan involved....

I am about to be 25.

Wow. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by, but I am going to be 25 on Saturday. I feel like I was a little kid just a few days ago. I was feeling apprehensive about turning 25 until I got my last car insurance bill. My insurance dropped $60! I felt like giving my insurance agent a big hug. So far 25 sounds like it's going to work out...just keep the discounts coming...
I also am going to graduate in about 3 1/2 weeks. I am so excited. I know it has taken me a long time to get done, but I was thinking about it the other day, and I have done so much in the time that I have been in school. I have worked great and interesting jobs, travelled to amazing places, experienced a few different college campuses, met incredible people, and managed to learn a lot of useless trivial pursuit-worthy crap. The first 25 years of my life have been anything but ordinary, and I hope that the adventures will continue for many years to come.
And speaking of adventures, my friend Michelle and I are going to be doing a little National Lampoon's roadtrip this weekend. We'll be driving from Connecticut to Denver in hopefully 3 days (have to be back for my cap and gown measurement...). The tricky part is that we'll be driving a REALLY old Honda Civic pulling a U-Haul trailer, with Michelle's giant Rottweiler, "Lucy" in the back seat. So, if you guys don't hear from me, i'll be somewhere along I-80 between CT and CO. I think you'll be able to spot us pretty easily....

Halloween

I have always had such warm feelings about Halloween- which is funny considering the entire holiday is based on dead people. But, moving past that, I just love Halloween. Maybe I couple Halloween with Fall and the smell of the dried leaves in the grass. I think I have a lot of memories that go along with that whole time of year. Raking the leaves in the yard into giant piles and diving in them. That warm yet crisp feel to the air that lets you know you are right in between summer and fall. And lets not forget the consumption of absurd amounts of candy and junk under the guise of it being Halloween and you just have to. Plus, my Mom being the theater person that she is was thrilled for an excuse to throw on some costumes and parade around in them (sorry Mom, but you know it's true...). So my Mom always made great costumes for my brother and I. On top of all of that you have carving pumpkins and making a mess all covered in pumpkin goo. As you can see, I don't think we ever grow out of that...

I think that I have been disappointed by adult Halloween because it is never as good as kid Halloween. But that's ok. Because this year I decided to dress up and my friend and I trick or treated for UNICEF. It was great because you feel like you're doing something good AND people give you chocolate.
As you can see I was Santa, which was actually a HUGE hit. I thought people might be confused, but it turns out, no matter what time of year it is, everyone is just always psyched to see Santa. It's like they forget who they are and where they live, but oh! there's Santa! it's Santa! I call it the "Santa Phenomenon".

And check out my expert pumpkin carving skills...