Habitat for Humanity

Yesterday was a beautiful day to be outside. (and no, this is not a car ad - it was the view from Kerry Park at 7am)

The Post-College group at my church worked on a Habitat for Humanity site down in Federal Way. The house itself was pretty close to being done, but there was plenty of work to be done outside. I spent 6 hours packing up garbage, loading and unloading wood, breaking up the ground, filling wheelbarrows, and taking pictures.

We started by hauling away the empty paint cans, extra lumber, tools, and various odds and ends. Once those were packed away in and behind the storage shed down the block, we started attacking the hardpacked earth with shovels and pick axes.

Inside there was trim to finish, the flooring in the bathroom to install, and various caulking jobs.

I tried my hand at the pick axe, but missed out on the circular saw and nail gun action.

Once the yard was loosened up and the extra dirt and rocks were taken away (and let me just say, they have a pretty sizeable yard), it was time to spread some topsoil.

We made our way through the entire mountain of dirt waiting on the driveway; shoveling and dumping and raking it into place. By the end, I was ready for a Slurpee and a massage. ...one out of two ain't bad.

Dirt under my fingernails - the sign of a hard day's work.

Where is this?

Anybody recognize this dashing fellow? Hint: he's from out of town, but still a local.

Fan fan

Is anyone else a fan fan? A fan of fans? As in those electronic things that spin around?

Since we're on the topic of sleeping...Growing up in Thailand I developed a strong attachment to our overhead fan during the hot summer nights. Now I find the soothing sound of a fan is a necessary backdrop to getting a good night's sleep. Without it I feel constantly on alert. Every little sound snaps me awake with a jolt of adrenaline.

Unfortunately, fans and I don't seem to get along. I must have some sort of electrical field around me - after a few months they inevitably become eccentric. The speed of the blades ebbs and flows, resulting in a pulsating sound that of course is never constant enough to adjust to. Or it will develop a clicking noise with no apparent source. The latest twist mirrors the power drain you sometimes see when you turn on a large appliance, such as a vacuum. The fan will be blowing with a force of say 3, then fade to a 2 for anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, only to flare up to a 5 with a sudden burst of energy! Not very conducive to relaxing into a good night's rest.

Do you have anything you depend on to get a good night's sleep? Or are you one of THOSE people who can sleep when and wherever? I always wanted to be one of those people.

Sleep watch

At a staff meeting a few months ago, a coworker of mine mentioned she and her two kids had been to a sleep specialist and were found to slumber at a level just above "comatose." She's out cold for three to four hours a night and that's all she needs. Can you imagine how much time that would free up? I could be a night owl AND an early bird. I could watch the late late show and still be at work at the crack of dawn. I could get a full night's sleep in the period of time my cat sees fit to snooze, before he's up and whining for attention.

I must fall on the opposite end of the scale. I have been known to spend the greater part of the day lolling in bed either asleep or half asleep. During summer vacations, sleep would occasionally take the place of the time I would have spent at school. Waking up at 2 or 3 in the afternoon was not unheard of. In a gesture of full disclosure (and to prevent my roommate from being the first to bring it up), I'll admit some weekends I still stay in bed until the early afternoon. The crazy thing is, I'm still ready to crawl into bed around 10:00 that night, a mere 7 hours later.

It was this insatiable appetite for sleep that came to mind when I first heard about the Sleeptracker. It would be interesting to be able to get a read-out of exactly what's going on when I think I'm getting a solid 8 hours...that turns into 9 or 10 before I finally drag myself out from under the covers. Am I skimming the surface of unconsciousness? Bobbing up and down like a forlorn buoy? Sleepwalking? (more on that in a later post).

Plus, the idea of an alarm that senses when you're most awake seems so much more pleasant than my current masochistic practice of hitting the snooze button knowing it will go off at the precise moment I fall back to sleep, causing no end of frustration and angst. Although, it doesn't solve the problem of actually exercising the self discipline it takes to remove yourself from the cozy cocoon of covers. Which leads to a few other inventions I've heard of.

We use to have (and I think it's still around somewhere) a game called The Inventors. In this game, you would buy patents and try to make money off of the inventions you selected. The best part was reading the descriptions of things people actually invented and submitted a patent for. I suppose in this day and age gentlemen no longer have a use for an automatic hat tipper. There aren't that many people in need of a Horse Water Wing Jacket. And who really paid money for an Eye Protector for Chickens? But one of the inventions is an E-Z Wake Alarm that actually drops a cage on the bed of the hapless owner, to jar them awake. I don't know about you, but I think such a contraption would only make me LESS of a morning person.

Same with the alarm clock that scuttles around your floor requiring you to chase after it before you can silence it. Seriously! You can watch a video of it, and make sure you have the audio turned on so you can get the full effect of its unbearable chirping, beeping and whirring.

There's even a Flying Alarm Clock for those who prefer to wake up to the sound of an air raid alarm, scramble for the propeller top, and reassemble the two pieces to restore peace. Here's a somewhat outdated site with a list of other odd alarm clocks: http://www.bspcn.com/2007/10/20/14-of-the-worlds-strangest-alarm-clocks-for-those-early-morning-risers/.

I have to say, the Sleeptracker is looking more and more appealing! If I feel the need to subject myself to discomfort or just feel ridiculous I'd rather see if there are any Dimple Makers still on the market.

Contentment

The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove.

- Samuel Johnson

Memories

What do you remember about elementary school?

Do you remember playing tag all through recess? Or a game of football?

I remember running the length of the field in pursuit of a boy on the other team, bound and determined to catch him, even if he was the fastest runner in our class. Didn't catch him. He scored. Learned a frustrating lesson in limitations. You mean I can't be the best just by wanting it with a passion?

How about four square or tetherball?

There were always those kids who would slam the four square ball, or nick a corner, or nudge it over the line with a bounce that barely cleared the asphalt.

Were you twirling around a bar on the jungle gym? Could you go over backwards?

I climbed up on one recently and walked away with pinched skin and bruises.

Do you remember playing the recorder in music class?

Hot Cross Buns over and over, and that funny little pinkie hole that was actually two holes.

How far did you get on Oregon Trail?

Shooting your dinner, stocking up on supplies, losing family members to random illness or accidents. All on those Apple computers with the black screens and bright green images.

Can you still sing the songs? Miss Mary Mack?

Having lived in Thailand from the time I was 4 until I was 7, I was at a distinct disadvantage upon returning to the States. All of those clapping games, and jump rope skills (double dutch anyone?), and catscradle configurations to learn.

Were you daring?

Picture a stretch of monkey bars similar to those pictured below, only made up of large metal circles.

Now picture an eight-year-old hooking her feet in the circles and dangling upside down. It worked too! At least the first time. Got cocky and tried it again only to end up with a rubberized asphalt burn on my cheek.

Any creative teachers?

Fifth grade we had paper airplane contests. Farthest distance, longest air time, most acrobatic, etc.

Did you have to ride the bus?

The worst was when it was packed and you had to sit three-to-a-seat, buried under your backpack.

Any favorite outfits?

I still remember feeling so cool in my grey and purple t-shirt and matching purple stretch pants. The t-shirt had a extra strips of purple fabric around the sleeves and neck to give it a slight layered look and contrast with the grey. I bought a couple pairs of comfy thick socks at $8 a pop a few months ago and I've already worn holes in the toes. This is why my mother made me wear hiking boots in elementary school - I couldn't wear through them as fast.

What are your favorite memories?

He's Just Not That Into You

Pets are God's way of saying 'Don't lower the bar because you're lonely.'"

- Liz Tucillo and Greg Behrendt

Pesco-plastic surgery?

I don't think this is what the Beverly Hills woman in search of the perfect figure has in mind when she's considering a derrière augmentation.

A love of words

Can I share something with you? Below are two excerpts from In the Woods by Tana French, a book that was gifted to me this Christmas by a cousin who is serious about her book-o-philia (I'm sure there's a latin term for that, but I'm too lazy to look it up). Take a minute and tell me what you think:

Picture a summer stolen whole from some coming-of-age film set in small-town 1950s. This is none of Ireland's subtle seasons mixed for a connoisseur's palate, watercolor nuances within a pinch-sized range of cloud and soft rain; this is summer full-throated and extravagant in a hot pure silkscreen blue. This summer explodes on your tongue tasting of chewed blades of long grass, your own clean sweat, Marie biscuits with butter squirting through the holes and shaken bottles of red lemonade picnicked in tree houses. It tingles your skin with BMX wind in your face, ladybug feet up your arm; it packs every breath full of mown grass and billowing wash lines; it chimes and fountains with birdcalls, bees, leaves and football-bounces and skipping-chants, One! two! three! This summer will never end. It starts every day with a shower of Mr. Whippy notes and your best friend's knock at the door, finishes it with long slow twilight and mothers silhouetted in doorways calling you to come in, through the bats shrilling among the black lace trees. This is Everysummer decked in all its best glory.

...The wood is all flicker and murmur and illusion. Its silence is a pointillist conspiracy of a million tiny noises-rustles, flurries, nameless truncated shrieks; its emptiness teems with secret life, scurrying just beyond the corner of your eye. Careful: bees zip in and out of cracks in the leaning oak; stop to turn any stone and strange larvae will wriggle irritably, while an earnest thread of ants twines up your ankle.

Are you hooked yet? I love how descriptive and vibrant her writing is - covering all the senses. The sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and feel of summer. And how she uses descriptive words in new ways - summer "exploding," the "fountain" of bird calls, the "irritable" larvae and an "earnest" trail of ants. But what I love most about Tana French's books (she wrote a sequel - The Likeness), are the relationships. The easy camaraderie between characters.

So if you're in need of something to read on a warm sunny day at the park, this might be just what you're looking for.

Where is this?

In the interest of paying more attention to my surroundings and any photo opportunities that may arise, I've decided to attempt a weekly feature. When I find something that seems characteristic of a location or something that catches my eye, I'll post a picture and see who else has spotted said item. To kick things off, here is the first picture:

Name that location! Can you tell me where this picture was taken?

New favorite lunch spot

Don't you love finding good food at a great price? There's a "Thai Food Cook Truck" that parks near my office that I'm slowly but surely getting addicted to. $7.50 for a combo that feeds two! Hard to pass up when our yogurt parfaits just hit $3. $1.89 to $3, people! We're talking a 59% price increase!


But back to the cook truck. Pad thai, spring rolls, rice and curry. Yum!

Disco garbage truck

Do you ever have those days where you're just down in the dumps? The world is gray and dreary and all you want to do is crawl under the covers and hope for happy dreams. The silver lining of these dark days is how easily little quirky things can make you smile once you emerge from the gloom.

A few weeks ago, I was on my way to work the morning after one of those dark days and noticed a garbage truck ahead of me. It's a bit of an oversized vehicle, so it has four yellow flashing lights on the back - one at each corner. What caught my attention, however, was the pattern of the lights. They would flash so that the lights diagonal from each other were on at the same time. You've seen the cover of Saturday Night Lights, right? I believe John Travolta's pose comes from The Hustle. Whatever the dance is called, I started cracking up picturing the unwieldy green vehicle in front of me grooving to disco music.

Yep, things were definitely looking up.

About Me

This blog came about following an introspective afternoon of blog surfing. I need a reason to take more pictures, and a place to practice throwing thoughts together.

So here we go, with a little structure, a lot of randomness, and a healthy dose of humilty (I have no idea what the world at large will think of the crazy thoughts that tromp around in my head)!