[Insert Title Here]

So I have trying to wait until I finish a blog before I type the title....much like I write my papers. However, I have noticed that by the time I reach the end of my post I tend to forget to actually title the piece. This normally wouldn't create an issue and most often results in the piece being labeled automatically with (No Title), as when my blog imports to Facebook. Oddly, my blog woks differently in that when a post has no title given it will fill the title space with as much of the text from the post as possible. Microsoft Word does this same kind of thing. I am going to my best to remember to title because not only does it slightly bug me but it is makes the titles in the archives look a bit silly.

In other news, it has been warming up here to the point where some of the snow actually melted.

Well, I was not able to sit in my favorite NDSU place and write today due to some errands I had to run in between classes. I did stop by quickly as I almost forgot about what I had to do. Unfortunately, I noticed more people have discovered the location. More specifically, two people have discovered the two tables that have the best view through the large picture windows. I was sad for a moment as I begrudgingly sat at a high table some twenty or so feet from my original spot(s). Then I was blanketed by the warmth of sweet release when I realized I had to be somewhere and as such did not have to sit in torture. All and all it was a good day. To add onto that, it was pretty much over 20 degrees Fahrenheit all day and later in the evening the fire alarms went off in our building because someone burnt their food. My neighbor and I stayed put. I hit each floor to find the source and found it came from our floor around the middle of the building. I have a funny story behind the whole thing but it is one meant for face-to-face.

P.S. Yes, Will, you will just have to be patient. ;)

How I do the Dishes

The following was from a step in an exercise that I was working on for class. This is the process I go through when doing the dishes. I am also very picky when it comes to the cleanliness of said dishes and have been known to spend hours scrubbing difficult stains.

First you turn on the faucet and rinse any food bits down the drain that may have been left there. Then you open the top of the dish bottle and pour a small amount onto a dry and clean washcloth. Crumple the washcloth up and put it under running water to spread the soap throughout. As the cloth fills with water be sure to squeeze the crumpled cloth a bit to help with the saturation of soap. With the soapy and wet rag, wipe all areas of the sink to ensure it is clean. When complete, rinse out rag and wash suds down into drain. Plug the drain and fill the sink to about three-quarters of the way with hot water. During the filling process be sure to add a small amount of soap near the flow of the water to create a good soap and water mix for cleaning. Be careful as to not lose track of where the water line is due to the suds from the soap mixing. Once the sink is full you may place a few dishes in the water to begin to soak. Reach into the hot water and lift up whatever dish you are washing to the water line. With the other hand, scrub or wipe the dish with the dish cloth being sure to scrub off any food particles or greasy liquids. Once you are satisfied, take the dish and either dip it in cold water or dip it under running water to rinse off the soap. Set the wet dish in the drying rack. Continue this process until the drying rack is full. At that point find a dish towel and dry off any moisture that is still on the dish. As you dry the dishes it is best to put them away in whatever location they are originally stored. Continue this process until the dish rack is empty. Then return to the washing step. This cycle will continue until all of the dirty dishes are now clean and put away. It is important to note that if the dish water should ever become extremely soiled from the dishes that you drain the sink, wash out the debris, and refill the sink with the hot water and soap mix. It is up to your best judgment when you consider the dish water to be filthy enough to need to be drained. Furthermore, the order you complete the dishes is not necessarily important but I tend to complete them as such: silverware/utensils, cups, plastics, bowls, plates, stove ware/pots, pans/trays.

Missed a day since this time seems to be the main productive time to type. After some errands though I only have a few minutes.

I am really enjoying the classes I am taking this semester. Four of the five reference topics and ideas from the others. Also, I feel that these classes may be actually turning me from an alliterate/required reader to a casual reader which in turn will push into the realm of the bibliophile. Although, I think it will take some time to get up to 50 books per year. These classes are also intriguing and feeding my interest in writing, publishing, and marketing. Mmmm, knowledge and sensations of entrepreneurship.

A New Location

I have entered the library and found a nice quiet and relaxing place. In the background I can hear the hum the of electric fireplace next to me and the occasionally stomps of people as they enter from the snowy exterior. I came here mainly to charge my computer after my last media class but instead found a serene place in which I may frequent. I am seated at a table with a fireplace to my right and three large picture windows to my front. I can just watch the occurrences between people as well as the stillness of the nature in the courtyard in which I overlook.

Which brings me to the fact that I need to write more. One of my textbooks suggests we have a journal in which we try to write at least once a day. Our entries are not necessarily suppose to simply list our daily events but instead be host to ideas, thoughts, lists, experimental writing, and accounts of people that we observe in everyday life. To keep myself from writing about me too often in that journal I am going type more often on this blog. Tuesday and Thursdays I am definitely planning on taking advantage of this location and the 45 minute block I have between classes.

I think I am fairly decided that, when this next lease is up, I will be moving to either a different one bedroom or two with no additional roommates. I have 9 months starting next month. I like the location of our current place because of its proximity to pretty much everything but the neighborhood isn't the best. Where ever I choose I am going to follow the same plan in choosing somewhere that is somewhere between all my needs so I can bike/run/roller blade when the temperature is nice. Which brings me to the next quick point...sort of.

I am really looking forward to spring cleaning this year. Not because of the usual reason (collecting "useful" junk from others) but because we are actually going to be the ones ridding ourselves of useful junk. That will not only make it better for moving but also help us if we want to do any world traveling in the future. Then we can have a somewhat smaller storage unit that isn't piled up to the ceiling with boxes.

Well, off to class!

October 2005

A question was posed in my creative writing class the other day. "October 2005...what happened in October 2005?" The first that popped into my mind was that was around when Katrina and I started dating but I figured that wasn't what she was looking for so I remained silent. "Wasn't that Hurricane Katrina?", someone questioned. As the teacher replied, "Yep, sure was." For some reason I still find that amusing that we started dating as a hurricane of the same name devastated the world. I also found it coincidental that when my grandpa and grandma were together there was a hurricane Opal, my grandmother's name, that hit the shores and headlines

It is Official

Every class has at least one person I recognize from previous endeavors. It is kind of neat in a way. Another neat thing is that I am in a class that had a prerequisite that I didn't even know about. One prerequisite was to have taken English 120. The other, unknown to me, was to be a junior in standing. Luckily, I have all those credits from majors before me that has helped me to reach such a status.

One thing I keep forgetting to post about is the excitement of not ordering books. I didn't order books this semester and planned on just walking down and searching for the books myself. Never has such an adventure been made in a bookstore by me. There were people all over basically tripping over each other like it was Black Friday and the books were free to grab. The best part was hunting down your book and determining which shelf contained the books that the tags allured to. Also, luckily I had previously written the class numbers down since classes had multiple stacks with each one being for a specific class number. All in all, I felt fairly victorious as I walked out of the store being only short by one workbook that is yet to be stocked.

Joyous New Semester

The first day of actual classes is half way through and already I am fairly confident and oddly more social than last semester. I am actually excited to get home and read my books. Also, I am even more excited to be writing again. I need to re-read my "Call to Write" book and possibly my "Leadership" book from English 120. So far I recognize people in every class that I have. That is kind of neat. Now it is time for me to go to my next class. Speaking of....one of my classes even has assignments in the form of "Blog" entries.

Spring Forward

Our new semester begins here if the Fargo-Moorhead area. All my classes are at NDSU this semester with only one class being downtown. Today I prepare. I am going to buy books, tour my class locations, and organize the office for a productive environment. Maybe sometime this week I will also set up a work out schedule since Insanity is all finished. Maybe I will even think about joining martial arts with NDSU...although after watching some Guardian Art classes I really want to bring that form of training here.

All in all, I am pretty excited for my classes and the experience. I am even more excited that I finally spelled experience right the first time through. Woo!

Contracted Health Insurance

I just found out that once you are signed up for health insurance that you are locked in and can not adjust any of the main benefits for a year. This is kind of sucky since I signed up last year and now, that I am part time, can no afford it. My health benefits take half my paycheck. I walk away with about $300 per month. There is no way around it either. I called them this morning to cancel it and they said that it wasn't possible unless some pretty horrific life events occur (death, divorce, birth, or deployment). I may have to find another job soon since my time will pretty much be wasted paying for health insurance that I don't use. For any issues with the my deployment injuries I can just go to the VA hospital. Maybe I can find a job with the VA. They are usually pretty good about those kinds of things for veterans.

Omen?

This story was on the news today.

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/42338/arkansas-birds-dead-killed-by-haarps-death-ray/

On the 30th many fish were found dead in Arkansas. On the 31st many red wing blackbirds fell out of the sky. No matter the cause, this whole thing is kind of ominous given the time of the occurrence. It doesn't leave me with a comfortable feeling at all.

Happy New Year

A lot is already happening this year but first let us back track a bit to last year.

There was something I wanted to post first but the idea left me...boo...so on to the next idea!

Wednesday or so I received a text message from a couple people looking for a place to sleep. It was cool since we actually had the apartment half decent. They ended up being snowed in because of the storm so we were able to celebrate New Years with at least one of them. The other walked over a mile to celebrate with some friends. The only sad part is that I worked pretty much everyday they were here so I didn't get to hang out with them as much as I would have liked to. They were nice enough to leave a half-bottle of rum though which I will take with me when I go play poker with Justin tonight if he finishes work early enough.

We upgraded our ordering program at work so that made for an interesting weekend. We are all operating on individual handhelds now instead of pen and paper. There were (and my guess is still are) some issues with the whole switch over but all in all I was able to pick carts like normal and send them out. I was a little uncomfortable sending the buckets with no paperwork but, eh, I guess with tech comes a little bit of trust.

Last night I came home to find a car parked in my spot. Now I am not sure why people still park in my spot seeing as not only do I park there every night but there are also plenty of open spots next to me. Maybe it is part of my slight OCD thing with perfectionism but I even though the snow covers the lines for the parking spots I still know exactly where my spot is and it really bothers me when people park there. So, instead of smashing their window, we went to WalMart and bought a window marker. I wanted a red one but they only had white. I parked in the free parking area so I wouldn't be parking in another person's spot and then went to their car and drew a large X on the driver window. I think I am going to do that for every car that decides to park there from now on. Eventually, either my vehicle will receive some retaliation or people will stop parking in my spot.

Now I am going to bundle up and shovel out my Park Avenue so it doesn't look like an abandoned vehicle and end up being towed. Maybe I should just push that car over to the reserved spot. Then no one will be able to park there. That sounds like a lot of work though.

Later today I will have my face and head trimmed. My hair seems to have come to a halt since I have not cut it since the Voorhees wedding. A good trim will maybe kick it back into gear. Kat and I are actually making it into a sort of date.