Unexpected Surprises

They let me leave work an hour and a half early today -maybe I have some benefits as a part-time employee after all.

So here I am with the rest of a beautifully cloudy Saturday, the perfect oppurtinity to do some blogging.

I'll continue on with my list:

41) I love doing laundry. The fresh smells, the gentle sounds of the machines (though I can't stand a dryer with the buzz alarm), the clothes come out fresh, clean, warm, and smelling nice.

It's the folding I can't stand. That's why I use hangers for most of my clothes.

42) I hate electronics beeping at me. That's why I wake up to a song from my phone's ringtones every morning. Whoever thought of making an annoying machine that buzzes until you wake up? That's a terrible way to start the day. But I guess some sound sleepers really need it.

43) I lost my wallet in October, and had to replace everything: the wallet itself, new driver's license, new debit card, new temple recommend. Then last week, I got a letter from the Flagstaff Police Department last week saying they'd found it! I have to make an appoinment with their evidence claims people and go get it from them. I wonder what's left in it, how, when, and where they got it from.

44) I confess, the playlist on my blog is music I like -sort of selfish of me, since the blog is written for others to read. If you don't like the music, you can scroll down to the bottom of the page and push the pause button on the player. But I guess people do get more of a sense of my personality by seeing my taste in music.

45) I love rainy days. Sometimes I wish I lived in Oregon or Washington where it rained all the time.

46) My favorite colors are blue, gray, black, and green -in that order.

47) I was in clogging with a bunch of guys my age when I was a kid.

48) Even though I'm a Geology Major, I'm not a rock nut. I sat in a lecture at NAU in the Geology building, and listened to the other geology majors, brimming with joy, telling everyone about the Halite crystals they'd found.

The things that interest me are the questions behind the rocks. I am fascinated by the earth forces and seeing them at work. I get excited over the rocks that help answer the questions. They're all pieces of an immense puzzle. One piece doesn't thrill me much at all. Seeing the picture come together does.

49) I really want to get one of those little Vespa scooters. They look like fun, and seem practical in our economic condition, and I bet chicks would dig it.

50) I hate interrupting waitresses/waiters. I like them to be attentive, but come on -if I need something, I'll probably tell you when you come to ask how everything is the first time. I can't stand the every five minutes, just like clockwork "You guys still doing OK?" How is a person supposed to carry on any sort of dinner conversation? Seriously, I will tip less for going overboard with it.

51) I grew to really love the climate in southern Arizona, especially Thatcher. It cools off just enough at night. It's perfect.

52) Living in Flagstaff, I get bad nosebleeds probably twice a month.

53) I can't stand the movie JUNO.

54) I hate the Simpsons. I admit that there's some great humor tucked in behind all the crud. I'm not going to eat a moldy blueberry muffin just because the blueberries are still good.

55) I don't understand the allure of anime.

56) I don't want my kids to play video games. I think once they're 14 or so, I'll let them choose. But gaming is habit-forming, expensive, and a waste of good years. I don't want them missing out on riding bikes, the fun of a trampoline, swimming, hiking, slip n' slides, reading, all that fun stuff all kids should do.

57) I remember the amazing adventures my brothers and I had when we were kids. We would save up our change, ride our bikes out to the Jack-Rabbit Trading Post, buy all sorts of dumb trinkets, have some of their amazing "Ice-Cold Cherry Cider" and ride home. Quite a ride on those little kid bikes. We'd take fishing trips out to Cholla Lake (yeah, it was still open back then). It was tricky trying to hold your little tackle box and a fishing pole while riding a bike. Then the big semi-trucks heading out to the Power Plant would come by, and we'd be scared they'd run us off the narrow shoulder of the road. Those were amazing days. Our bikes took us everywhere back then: the school, the shop, to grandma's to mow lawns. I think J.C. got us to embark on more fishing adventures than we ever would've thought to try on our own. There's the Smith Pond down by the cemetary that was totally off-limits, but we found our way in, and knew we were going to catch the big one that lurked there. All we caught was a scolding when they found us there. What was so wrong with us fishing there? Maybe they were worried about somebody drowning. I miss the summer nights when Mike and I would sleep out on the trampoline and look at the stars forever.

58) I still get the urge to go play in the mud at the Pioneer Dam.

59) J.C. and I used to have contests with who could kill the most rabbits and birds with our BB-Guns.

60) I think the song "Before He Cheats" is the most asinine and ignorant of all the songs I've ever heard: Oh, she's a tough girl, what with the Louisville slugger and all. She's a real woman -she ruined her boyfriend's truck, and she did it all by herself. Yes, that's the surest way to get the guy to be faithful. It's supposed to be one of those huge women-empowerment ballads. Is this the skewed idea of real womanhood in our time? That song irks me so bad every time I hear it. Ooh, she's bad. She can throw a big fit and ruin things. If I knew a girl like that, I'd tell every guy I knew to steer clear. "Yeah, she's cute, but she's a mental-case. She went all psycho and wrecked Larry's truck." How did it make it to the top of the charts? People are dumb.