It snowed. Again. Five dusty, cold, annoying inches dropped out of the sky last night. Meh. I am SO over winter...
On the upside I did have a lovely day at the office. No, really--I did. I worked a normal, happy 9-5 day complete with coffee breaks and a trudge through the snow to the mailbox. It was so nice to be able to settle in get things off that to do list of mine.
And now I need to roll over and go to sleep. Good night!
Cheers,
NC
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Logistics
Courtney will be moving from Oregon to Montana in the next couple months and because her little red Honda can't handle more than a few boxes, most of her possessions are being mailed here. The conversation I had with her about said boxes went something like this:
"Oh by the way--I can't fit everything in my car so I mailed some boxes that will be showing up next week."
"Okay, no worries. I'll put them downstairs in the spare room if it's okay with Tom."
"Yeah, I think that should work. It's mostly books and clothes."
"Sure. I'll ask him about it. He might want some things in the garage."
"Yeah...but don't put my clothes in there, okay? I don't want them getting ruined."
"No worries."
"And I'm mailing a raft."
*Pause*
"Excuse me?"
"A raft."
"R-A-F-T?"
"Yep. It was on sale at Costco so I bought it. It's really heavy though so don't try to move it by yourself. It will be there Tuesday."
"Uh huh...How heavy?"
"Oh...96 pounds. Ask Tom to help you lift it when he gets back from his trip."
"How much did it cost to mail 96 pounds?"
"A bit..."
"Why did you buy a raft?"
"Because it was on sale and I needed one."
"And you mailed it to Montana?"
"Well, yeah!"
Cheers,
NC
"Oh by the way--I can't fit everything in my car so I mailed some boxes that will be showing up next week."
"Okay, no worries. I'll put them downstairs in the spare room if it's okay with Tom."
"Yeah, I think that should work. It's mostly books and clothes."
"Sure. I'll ask him about it. He might want some things in the garage."
"Yeah...but don't put my clothes in there, okay? I don't want them getting ruined."
"No worries."
"And I'm mailing a raft."
*Pause*
"Excuse me?"
"A raft."
"R-A-F-T?"
"Yep. It was on sale at Costco so I bought it. It's really heavy though so don't try to move it by yourself. It will be there Tuesday."
"Uh huh...How heavy?"
"Oh...96 pounds. Ask Tom to help you lift it when he gets back from his trip."
"How much did it cost to mail 96 pounds?"
"A bit..."
"Why did you buy a raft?"
"Because it was on sale and I needed one."
"And you mailed it to Montana?"
"Well, yeah!"
Cheers,
NC
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Purge
Okay. So it's been a fairly stressful and busy month. We could go into the gritty, gross and icky (yes, I'm aware of the redundancy, but I don't care) details, buy frankly I don't want to. I'm sick of the details, the drama and the not fun parts of being human. I'm not saying that the difficult bits should be completely ignored, but I am saying that we should all get breaks from dealing with them. Agreed?
I recently read It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh. It's a fun, fluffy little book about organization and living happily with less stuff. Basically it's a case against mass consumption, buying things just because they're on sale, and holding on to worthless junk just because you 'might need it someday'. And while the book did at times feel like it was trying too hard to be cool it did get me thinking about my own collection of stuff.
I will easily admit that I have been guilty of "collecting" things I don't need. The book calls this hoarding, but I think it's such a negative way to say it. It's sort of like saying "I'm on an eating plan" as opposed to "I'm on a diet". So much nicer. Anyway, I've taken steps this last year to be kinder to my wallet, the planet and my closet by just not "collecting" so much junk. However, I will say that when I left Oregon I couldn't part with it all so whatever I didn't sell when straight to the storage unit. Into it I crammed furniture, a fair amount of clothing, every paper I wrote in college, cat toys, shoes I have never worn, photos of people from college whose names I can't recall, pop-culture kitchen items and books I have never read and do not intend to read in addition to an astonishing collection of what can only be referred to as "useless shit". The important things are there too, it's just hard to locate them among all the other stuff.
Most of my stuff is there, while very few things made it into my car when I left. I wanted to lighten up my life, be free, carry less stuff, live more with less, blah, blah, blah... But I am glad I left with so little because it has made it easy to be mobile and it's been kind of fun to know that I really can be okay with less. Clothes, gear, a small box of books, a moderately sized box of shoes, a collection of CDs, some bedding and my laptop are the main things that followed me when I left Oregon on that day in June.
But somehow my collection has grown over the last few months. Books, shoes, clothes, gear--it's all multiplied, exploding out of the shelves and boxes that have been trying to contain it all. It's been a bit overwhelming, for lack of a better term. So since I was preoccupied with worrying about taxes, friends, relationships, the price of gas, my jobs, my writing, my family, US politics and how I was going to get that stain out of my sweater, I decided to take that nervous energy and put it to good use. I headed to my room, opened a box and began to toss things out.
First it was a pair of light hiking shoes that I never wear because they give me blisters. Throwing them out was simple enough. Then I sorted all of my work out/rafting/hiking clothing on the bed and decided just how many tank tops, shorts and cotton tee shirts I really needed, then threw the ones I didn't want/need into a pile to go to donation. Then, just for kicks, I went through my bag of gear and paired that back down. Then it was the sock and underwear drawer, the office box, the camping/kitchen box and finally that mysterious none-of-the-above box. When it was over, two cardboard boxes were full in addition to two grocery sacks of trash. I purged and it felt great. Fabulous even.
And what's more, my problems seemed to sort themselves out, too, letting go of what didn't matter and reorganizing what did. Purging, as it turns out, is very therapeutic.
Cheers,
NC
I recently read It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh. It's a fun, fluffy little book about organization and living happily with less stuff. Basically it's a case against mass consumption, buying things just because they're on sale, and holding on to worthless junk just because you 'might need it someday'. And while the book did at times feel like it was trying too hard to be cool it did get me thinking about my own collection of stuff.
I will easily admit that I have been guilty of "collecting" things I don't need. The book calls this hoarding, but I think it's such a negative way to say it. It's sort of like saying "I'm on an eating plan" as opposed to "I'm on a diet". So much nicer. Anyway, I've taken steps this last year to be kinder to my wallet, the planet and my closet by just not "collecting" so much junk. However, I will say that when I left Oregon I couldn't part with it all so whatever I didn't sell when straight to the storage unit. Into it I crammed furniture, a fair amount of clothing, every paper I wrote in college, cat toys, shoes I have never worn, photos of people from college whose names I can't recall, pop-culture kitchen items and books I have never read and do not intend to read in addition to an astonishing collection of what can only be referred to as "useless shit". The important things are there too, it's just hard to locate them among all the other stuff.
Most of my stuff is there, while very few things made it into my car when I left. I wanted to lighten up my life, be free, carry less stuff, live more with less, blah, blah, blah... But I am glad I left with so little because it has made it easy to be mobile and it's been kind of fun to know that I really can be okay with less. Clothes, gear, a small box of books, a moderately sized box of shoes, a collection of CDs, some bedding and my laptop are the main things that followed me when I left Oregon on that day in June.
But somehow my collection has grown over the last few months. Books, shoes, clothes, gear--it's all multiplied, exploding out of the shelves and boxes that have been trying to contain it all. It's been a bit overwhelming, for lack of a better term. So since I was preoccupied with worrying about taxes, friends, relationships, the price of gas, my jobs, my writing, my family, US politics and how I was going to get that stain out of my sweater, I decided to take that nervous energy and put it to good use. I headed to my room, opened a box and began to toss things out.
First it was a pair of light hiking shoes that I never wear because they give me blisters. Throwing them out was simple enough. Then I sorted all of my work out/rafting/hiking clothing on the bed and decided just how many tank tops, shorts and cotton tee shirts I really needed, then threw the ones I didn't want/need into a pile to go to donation. Then, just for kicks, I went through my bag of gear and paired that back down. Then it was the sock and underwear drawer, the office box, the camping/kitchen box and finally that mysterious none-of-the-above box. When it was over, two cardboard boxes were full in addition to two grocery sacks of trash. I purged and it felt great. Fabulous even.
And what's more, my problems seemed to sort themselves out, too, letting go of what didn't matter and reorganizing what did. Purging, as it turns out, is very therapeutic.
Cheers,
NC
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Not All Is Lost
I had a bit of stressful afternoon today. It was the kind of afternoon where I found myself leaning over the laptop with my head in my hands breathlessly counting to ten. Lovely. But then five o'clock rolled around and I decided to put it behind me till tomorrow and go have a refreshing dinner of sushi with a coworker and her roommate. I left the restaurant floating on a sushi high, not even the least bit annoyed that the forecast tonight calls for lows somewhere around, oh, 13 degrees. But who cares? I'm fat and happy off sushi and possibilities. I guess it really is all about finding balance.
Cheers,
NC
Song of the day: Whatever it Takes by Lifehouse
Cheers,
NC
Song of the day: Whatever it Takes by Lifehouse
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Because I Can
Last month my dear friend, Courtney (and by dear friend, I mean that she's my partner in crime, drinking buddy, and go-to gal for stealing horses and hiding bodies) came for a little visit. While she was here she became smitten with more than a few things/people and will soon be relocating to the great state of Montana this May, or sooner depending on how she feels about it. With all this talk of her loading up her little red Honda and driving east to live in the west, I started going through all those photos from when she was here. With permission, which was only obtained after I begged and pleaded, I have posted a few here. Think of it as a preview to spring.
Trading mutual funds, drinking beer and getting to the know the cat on her first day in Montana.
The Conversation: This is Courtney and Ike, the oldest male of the three dogs. We call this photo "The Conversation" because it is very reminiscent of how us girls talk to boys who like us in bars. Hmmm...
Ike Hat: The love affair continues...On the way to a short walk, Ike decided that the best place for his head was directly on top of Courtney's. He kept in there for a good five minutes, too. It was like, "Hey, you! Yeah, you. The cute blond. Guess what? I like you. A lot."
A day with the ponies. On the last day she was here, my roommate was kind enough to take us for a ride near Sheridan on his horses. From left to right: Gabby and I, Courtney and Star.
Cheers,
NC
Song of the day: Love is Free by Sheryl Crow AND The Brightside by the Killers. It's been a good day ;-)
Rock on, dude...
Trading mutual funds, drinking beer and getting to the know the cat on her first day in Montana.
The Conversation: This is Courtney and Ike, the oldest male of the three dogs. We call this photo "The Conversation" because it is very reminiscent of how us girls talk to boys who like us in bars. Hmmm...
Ike Hat: The love affair continues...On the way to a short walk, Ike decided that the best place for his head was directly on top of Courtney's. He kept in there for a good five minutes, too. It was like, "Hey, you! Yeah, you. The cute blond. Guess what? I like you. A lot." 
A day with the ponies. On the last day she was here, my roommate was kind enough to take us for a ride near Sheridan on his horses. From left to right: Gabby and I, Courtney and Star.Cheers,
NC
Song of the day: Love is Free by Sheryl Crow AND The Brightside by the Killers. It's been a good day ;-)
Rock on, dude...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Apparently, I Need A Social Life
It was recently pointed out to me that after spending a total of three months in Bozeman I have yet to accumulate a social life. I mean it when I say that I was surprised by this. The conversation with person X went something like this:
"How are you liking Bozeman?" (I hate this question.)
"Fine...better...it's not so bad...well...spring will be here soon, right?"
"Yeah."
*Awkward pause*
"Well what about friends? What do you do when you're not at work?"
"Not at work?"
"Right."
"Um..."
"Well, what do you do with your friends?"
"Friends?"
"You do have friends, don't you? You know--people you see when you're not at work?"
"Uh...well...I have the one friend. We see each other sometimes."
"One friend?"
"Yeah."
"Outside of work?"
"Well there are my roommates dogs, and I see my roommate when I come home...and at my other job there are lots of coworkers I like."
*Doubtful blinking from person X*
"I read a lot."
*More blinking*
"And spring is coming soon."
*Awkward silence*
"You don't have friends, do you?"
"In other states I do."
"But not here?"
"I guess not. To be honest, I hadn't really noticed until now."
Yep. The fact that I hadn't noticed let alone been at all concerned by the fact that I've become a reclusive-workaholic-loner-bitch is a VERY BAD SIGN. And now, after having just worked a 12 hour day, I'm going to finish my beer and go to bed. So there.
Cheers,
NC
Song of the day: Say by John Mayer
"How are you liking Bozeman?" (I hate this question.)
"Fine...better...it's not so bad...well...spring will be here soon, right?"
"Yeah."
*Awkward pause*
"Well what about friends? What do you do when you're not at work?"
"Not at work?"
"Right."
"Um..."
"Well, what do you do with your friends?"
"Friends?"
"You do have friends, don't you? You know--people you see when you're not at work?"
"Uh...well...I have the one friend. We see each other sometimes."
"One friend?"
"Yeah."
"Outside of work?"
"Well there are my roommates dogs, and I see my roommate when I come home...and at my other job there are lots of coworkers I like."
*Doubtful blinking from person X*
"I read a lot."
*More blinking*
"And spring is coming soon."
*Awkward silence*
"You don't have friends, do you?"
"In other states I do."
"But not here?"
"I guess not. To be honest, I hadn't really noticed until now."
Yep. The fact that I hadn't noticed let alone been at all concerned by the fact that I've become a reclusive-workaholic-loner-bitch is a VERY BAD SIGN. And now, after having just worked a 12 hour day, I'm going to finish my beer and go to bed. So there.
Cheers,
NC
Song of the day: Say by John Mayer
New Digs!
Whew! Yesterday I helped move the office across town. Yep. Lots of boxes, dust, car loads and schlepping up and down stairs. Duct tape, mud, bruises, blood, sweat and tears--the whole bit. BUT the new place is so worth the effort. The old office was located in the industrial district in a warehouse literally on the other side of the tracks and conveniently located to what we suspect was/is a meth lab. Yay. The new offices are in an office park on the nicer end of of town and come complete with carpet, new paint, offices with doors that close (for a writer who has been known to work with ear plugs this is fantastic!), a lovely kitchenette, windows, beautiful landscaping and boys and girls bathrooms. In short, I love it!
K...time to run off to my other job at the shoe store.
Cheers,
NC
K...time to run off to my other job at the shoe store.
Cheers,
NC
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Having a Sunday
I had a great day today. In involved pj's, walking the dog, drinking coffee, talking to friends and family on the phone, cleaning my room, changing the sheets, getting the groceries, answering emails and making dinner. I didn't even get dressed until 3pm. It was normal, calm and overdue. I realized how much I actually like and value my solitude, which is something that took me a little bit by surprise. Not that I'm saying I want to be alone all the time. I like being around people and socializing with friends, but I also need the down time to recharge and be healthy.
I've got another busy week ahead of me. We're moving the offices tomorrow and I'm excited to get a move on with that. I get to inventory and number all the boxes coming out of the upstairs AND put it into an excel spread sheet. Hehehe... I mean it when I say it will be fun. In fact my boss said that my enthusiasm for such a project was "spooky".
So yeah. Apparently solitude and organization that borders on obsession makes me happy. Who knew?
Cheers,
NC
Song of the day: Shadow of the Day by Linkin Park
I've got another busy week ahead of me. We're moving the offices tomorrow and I'm excited to get a move on with that. I get to inventory and number all the boxes coming out of the upstairs AND put it into an excel spread sheet. Hehehe... I mean it when I say it will be fun. In fact my boss said that my enthusiasm for such a project was "spooky".
So yeah. Apparently solitude and organization that borders on obsession makes me happy. Who knew?
Cheers,
NC
Song of the day: Shadow of the Day by Linkin Park
Friday, March 21, 2008
Spent
The warehouse got on a truck and left for California this morning. Woohoo! But where was I? I was at my second job at the shoe store wondering why it is I love shoes so much. I still have yet to find out.
Anyway, my point is that I'm all farted out. I need sleep. I need solitude. I need fresh air. In short, I need a day in my pj's. But that isn't going to happen until Sunday when I will blithely emerge from my bed sometime around noon, stumble to the coffee pot, grab the lap top and then commit myself to a day of writing all while muttering to myself about the cruelty of March and it's fickle weather.
I have never claimed to be normal...
Cheers,
NC
Anyway, my point is that I'm all farted out. I need sleep. I need solitude. I need fresh air. In short, I need a day in my pj's. But that isn't going to happen until Sunday when I will blithely emerge from my bed sometime around noon, stumble to the coffee pot, grab the lap top and then commit myself to a day of writing all while muttering to myself about the cruelty of March and it's fickle weather.
I have never claimed to be normal...
Cheers,
NC
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Little Bits
Here and there, there are beautiful acts of kindness. Little things. A hello, a phone call, a smile, a bunch of flowers. Just little things that in truth, are huge. Those are the best pieces of life. The ones you scoop up and put in a box where you won't forget them. It's the beauty of the little bits that hold up everything else. And I am so grateful for those ribbons of life.
Cheers,
NC
Cheers,
NC
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