Awe of the everyday

Logged into Twitter and had this message.

High point of the day: finding your cd in the mailbox! Thanks a million! Looking forward to listening to it, a lot.

Made me smile. I started writing back and soon realized my message was too long for Twitter.

I'm always amazed at how the postal service works. You're the second international cd that I know made it this year. For the first one, I started humming (and here I quote my e-mail to another friend).

Glad it made it over the seas and through the city to Someone's* house it goes. The post knows the way to carry the cd through snow and rain and heat...

Umm... I'll stop singing now.

But really. Within a couple of days of me going to the post office, friends in Minnesota and New York were telling me they'd received them. Another week and we're adding Norway and Hong Kong. I know it's everyday, but in some ways I've gotten so used to the exchange of digital information that the movement of physical objects is crazy cool.

All a super-long-winded way of saying, thanks for letting me know the cd made it.

Note to self for next year when I'm wondering about the hours of getting the mailing together. This is why.

This winter is lasting forever, at least for tonight

Inspired by Brady's Project Enjoy Winter post. (Even though I'm not as blah-winter as she is yet, I am feeling the hazy shade of winter without enough outdoor activities.) This started as a comment for her, but quickly grew annoyed with the Tumblr comment box not letting me see what all I was typing. Guess they want short and sweet. Not me

First, direct response to her post:

• I need to do more candle lighting.
• More light reading.
• Less tv unless I'm actually knitting (which I should do more of).
• I have tea in my office, but should get some top-notch water-based instant hot chocolate there too.

Now then, some other ideas:

• Cook more soup (my pot's heating up right now).
  
• Bake more bread (I'm currently nibbling last night's loaf).
• Eat lots of citrus. It's in season! Makes me happy.
  
• Sit in the chair by the window instead of the sofa far away.
• Curl up in flannel and fleece.
• Pull out the crazy middle school nail polish for a pedicure that no one else will see.
• Do city stuff, inside. Museums. Plays. Concerts.
  
• Sew. I have a half dozen projects written on my mirror to do. Try them!
• Make sure I get out of my apartment and spend time with friends. Every weekend. And at least a few of times during the week. Don't allow myself to become a total hermit. (I think I've been good about this so far, but have to keep it up.)
• Go ice skating. I'm not convinced that I'll make skiing happen, but I should learn to ice skate.

iTunes is on random for my awesome playlist.
Kid you not, started this post with Hazy Shade of Winter
Snowbirds and Townies is playing as I type the end.

Checking unlisted items

27. (Is that the right number) Learn to dance lead.
28. Dance in heels.

Both could use a LOT more practice. But both were decently accomplished tonight. Might note that I learned to dance lead IN heels. And that I was the only person in the class wearing a skirt. And that I'm now exhausted and heading to bed.

Come follow follow follow

In some photo album buried in my parents attic, there are memories of learning to dance with B. They're a lil'bit embarassing to look at. More fun is playing some music and tapping my feet.

Tri-ple step. Tri-ple step. Back Step.
Over kick. Back-side-step. Brush-step, brush-step. Front-and-back-and-front-and-back. Brush-step, brush-step. Kick step. Back Step.
Tri-ple step...

It was always a fight to find a dance partner. Not a violent one. Just that there were more girls than guys. You rotate and all in the camp lessons, but who are you going to dance with? And when all the guys are taken, do you stand on the side, dance by yourself, of grab a girlfriend for the floor?

~~~

When I took dance lessons again in college, I realized I was back-leading too much. In an effort to be a good follow, I stopped trying to learn the lead. I figured if I didn't know it, I wouldn't try to do it. Other women learning to lead is great. More power to them. But not me. I've got to focus on being a follow.

It's seemed to work so far.

~~~

So I've started swing dancing again. As usual there's a gender balance issue. Only now there's usually more guys. I see guys dancing together, which feels like it's breaking a social taboo.

I kind of love it.

Here's the funny part though. Since the guys are learning to follow, I'm now getting requests to lead. From guys who I've danced with before. Who I like dancing with.

So it's time. Get over my fear. I'm a better follow now than I was first year of college. If I keep telling myself that, maybe, I can get over my fear and learn to lead

A Blessing of Sorts

May your hands be strong and willing
May you know when to speak and to listen
May you find every friend that you're missing

~~~

Again, love NPR music for introducing me to new songs from old favorites. And the feeling of fascination with a new song. It's too early to tell yet whether I'll listen this to oblivion or just a dozen times. But for now, I'm trying to figure out how to go back and forth on the video around the 13 minute mark so I can listen for a second time.

~~~

May you lose what you offer gladly
May you worship the time and it's passing
Stars won't ever wait for you to watch them fall.

Lyrics from Iron and Wine
Biting Your Tail

Post Office Tomorrow!

I declare success on this year's annual mailing.


And last year's too. Some of these envelopes have two year's worth of content.

~~~

2 boxes
5 international
27 stateside
2 to friends who I only know online
So far a half dozen hand delivered, should be some more of those I guess, but that will probably happen unlike the second round of mailings.

~~~

It's a fun exercise, looking back at the year and figuring out what to share. Especially given the range of people these go to. People who were some of my closest friends, but I barely talk to anymore. The former housemate who I still chat with a couple of times a week. The friends who I'm surprised at how much we visit and how connected I feel to them despite the distance.

It is a way to reestablish connections. There are people who I'm Facebook friends with, but have no idea what's going on in their lives. I e-mail to get their current mailing address and, more often than not, we end up setting up a phone date.

Or I think of people who I haven't talked to in years and find them. I might have had a vague idea A. was in Africa, but I certainly didn't know she was married. I'm not even sure I knew she was dating anyone.

It's an investment of time. But one well worth it.

International letters in the pile on the left,
states on the right

Follow-up Visit

Even virtual visits count. Especially when there's a crazy time difference. The kind where oceans and/or continents are involved. Miles and miles and it's been far too long since I've talked to some people.

Which is why I'm grateful for Christmas letters. An annual reason to check out people's mailing addresses. To have them say, nope, that's not going to get to me. And while I get an address so that my mail will find it's way to them, we set up a Skype date or a phone call or something.

And we talk. You may feel like you told me too much about you and didn't hear enough about me, but that wasn't the important part. It is important to know you're still there. To re-establish that you're someone I care about and who cares about me. To spend time together, even if we're doing it on different days.

Unwritten Goal #26

26. Listen to all of the SXSW download tracks during the calendar year I download them.

~~~

I made it through the 2009 tracks, but didn't complete until sometime this summer. Secretly I'm hoping that I'll finish the 2010 tracks before December 31.

I have 361 tracks left to go.

~~~

I have a rule to only save the tracks that get 4 or 5 stars. Occasionally one with an awesome name or story will get by.

But mostly, as soon as I decide that I don't really like the song, it moves to the trash. Free up some memory for my poor computer.

~~~

I love when I fall in love with a song (and later a band) that I first heard on the downloads. A quarter of the songs on this year's review CD are from SXSW.

I should probably start the process of sending those. At least write the letter to go with...

~~~

Some awesome names I wouldn't have heard of otherwise. Written here because I'm not keeping the songs, so I'll forget them after tonight otherwise.

Band: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
Songs: 100 mph (in 2nd Gear)
It's Better to Spend Money Like There's No Tomorrow Than Spend Tonight Like There's No Money

~~~

Been listening to songs as I've typed this up. Down to 354 to go. Yikes, this one gets deleted. 353 songs in the next few weeks.

Notes to Self

Finals are done! As is the rewrite of the midterm that I was whining about. Whew. This is a finals period I will not miss. Though it did mark my first time ordering delivery pizza to the office. Or really, maybe, ever.

While I was trying to churn out pages, I left a lot of notes to myself in the margins. The two people who read my drafts when I was present laughed at one or the other at some point. So I'm saving some of my favorites. (And then deleting extra files from the computer. Common theme tonight.) Not sure this will be interesting to anyone other than future me. And not positive about that one either.

~~~

• Blargh. Need to get something done here, but just don’t wanna. Whine whine whine. But I’m spoiled by this lifestyle and really should work for it.
• I thought I knew what I was talking about, but now I’ve lost all confidence. It’s hard to care anymore.
• Same word? Really?
• Right word?
• Ditto.
• Ugh, that word again. Suggestions for what to use instead?
• I got sick of typing curricula/curriculum currici-ick new word please! Can change it back if you think I should
• I wanted to use prognosticate but I didn’t. Marvel at my restraint
  
• Feel like [prof] won’t like my phrasing here. But it makes sense to me. BAH.
• I like this paragraph. Please tell me it’s okay.
  
• Don’t need [the author's] first name. Even if I want it
• Hate this sentence. Just needed something here
• Bullshit
  Not including it as the close of the sentence, but kinda want to
  
• Okay that citation is ridiculous
• Add a bit more here. Make it fancy

~~~

Closing observation. Apparently I don't use punctuation to close the last sentence in these notes to myself. Work on that

Cheese, please?

I have no sympathy for my own whining. So I don't expect anyone else to either.

That said, the snowball fight happening outside my window sounds a whole lot more fun than the paper I'm fighting to convince myself to work on.