the week of natural disasters.

we on the east coast like to share and this week we're sharing our weather up and down the seaboard.  earlier in the week an earthquake was felt from parts of georgia all the way up to boston and this weekend hurricane irene is coming to visit, uninvited of course.

as a wannabe storm chaser, there is a lot to take in from the past week.  first, i survived an earthquake!  i definitely felt the ground rumbling and the doors and windows shaking at work and to be honest, i thought something was about to blow up in the tech room.  having not experienced any earthquakes in my adult life (except vicariously through elizabeth and jessica wakefield in sweet valley high's earthquake), i just wasn't really sure what was going.  before i found out that it really was an earthquake, i was already telling people that i was going to fudge the story and say it was one.  who knew i would be fudging the truth?!  that's the best way to lie.

now we wait for irene.  while hurricanes are terrible and this one seems to be set to do tremendous damage from north carolina all the way up the coast, they don't give me the feeling of panic that they may give other people.  maybe that's because i also go outside in lightning storms in hopes to get cool pictures, but maybe it's also because they're something i've known ever since one of my family's trees smashed the roof of our neighbor's house during hurricane hugo back in '89.  if you grow up dealing with these types of things, even if it's rare that they inflict catastrophic damage, it just doesn't seem to make the type of impact that maybe it should.  

it's bound to be the same way northerners look at southerners when we get an inch of snow ... or even worse than that, even the prediction of snow in the forecast.  our daily lives come to a crashing halt and we are virtually paralyzed with fear that there might be slush on the roads.  and yes, in our defense, we don't have the trucks and equipment and things that might make life a little more manageable, but i still think it's absurd to clear the bread shelves when they're forecasting flurries.

anyways, as my 25th birthday (part of me just died inside) is approaching this fall, i'm making a bucket list of 30 things i need to do before i get old at age 30.  and yes, you read that correctly.  i don't necessarily want to do these things.  i need to do them.  and also, 30 is when i get old.  end of story. 

i've also decided that since i'm beginning to rack up quite a list of natural disasters, i'm going to see what others i might feasibly be able to experience without too much risk to my well-being.

and no, i'm not being insensitive to the terror these disasters cause or the pain and suffering felt by many.  i'm just saying that i've experienced a handful of types and maybe there are more to come for me.  take a deep breath.  it's going to be okay.  no need to get worked up.

here's what i've got so far from a list i found somewhere on the web.  yes, i might have left some types of disasters off.  but i either did it because it wasn't reasonable to think i could live through it or because i didn't want to bother with it.  also, i'm thinking that i might count it on my list in the future if i help people who go through the disaster even if i wasn't there for the actual thing.  my blog.  my rules.

the disasters:

blizzard

communicable diseases - check (no, i haven't had measles or the plague, but the list said the flu counts so i'm crossing it off the list).
cyclones (hurricanes) - check

earthquakes - check

floods and landslides - kind of check, but i don't think it really counts so i'm holding off on that one

heat waves - check (are you kidding me?  story of my life.)

storms (non-cyclone) - check

tornadoes - check

volcanic eruptions

wildfires

i'm thinking my move out west in the next year-ish will help me mark a few more of these off the list.  i mean, isn't hawaii always having volcanic action?  i'll have to stop by the main island as i thaw out from my winter full of blizzards.

until next time, be safe with the natural disasters, folks!

and you thought i was never coming back!

remember that funny joke when i said i was going to post more in july?  HA!  i got you!  i'm such a trickster sometimes.  but seriously, if you think about it, if i post less each individual post is more special.  right?  that might be a stretch, but as my battle cry goes: my blog. my rules.

and just for the record, i do have an excuse about not posting thus far in august.  granted, i usually have an excuse seeing as how my life is often consumed with getting out of things, but this one's legit if i do say so myself. so here it is, just so you don't think i've been avoiding you.  my dear sweet grandmother passed away unexpectedly july 31st (harry potter's birthday for those of you that live your life according to pop references like i do) and i stayed with my grandfather and mom to help take care of things afterwards.  needless to say it came as an unbelievable shock to all of us, but i'm at peace with the knowledge that my grandmother was kick-butt awesome.  i had some of my most favorite memories thanks to her (and my grandfather) and she will truly be missed.  but don't worry, pepye (i know you're reading this because obviously they have the internet in heaven and you bookmarked my blog up there) ... i'll try to stop talking on my cellphone when i'm driving (just like you always asked) and i'll finally write down the directions for making hard boiled eggs since i can't call you every time i need to figure that ish out.  and by the time i see you again, i'll have figured my life out and no one will have to worry about what crazy idea i'll come up with next.  cheers to that, right?

hopefully that didn't bum anyone out because this blog is obviously not about bumming.  it's about learning!  so here's a list of a few things i learned this summer.  some have been blogged about previously (but i know you skim the posts so it's not like you'd know that), but others are brand spanking new.  enjoy the list and get ready for some daily (weekly? monthly? eh, we'll see) blogs detailing my LAST SEMESTER of school!  and the job search process.  but let's not talk about that right now.

five things i learned this summer

1.  photography is no easy task, but every now and again you'll get something that doesn't make you shudder. this was grasped after a summer of classes and many evenings of being told my pictures were junk.  you win some, you lose some.
 
2.  sewing is a skill everyone should have.  my preschool bff is way good at it (hence why i learned from her), but i'm grasping it little by little.  and goodness it's fun to have a craft/quilt/purse/etc. when you're done!  although if i'm being honest, i've given away most everything i've made so far.  one day i'll keep something and it will be even more exciting.  

i've got your back, harry.

3.  i will never stop wanting to be a wizard.  harry potter may be finished, but until that acceptance letter comes from hogwarts, i'll never stop. ever.

4.  reunions are SO fun.  and no, i'm not talking about the high school kind, although i'm sure they're dandy (and by dandy, i mean awkward and potentially unnecessary thanks to facebook).  i'm talking about the 1991 kind!  again, a reference to my preschool bff, but she organized the best 1991 reunion complete with potato (her brother) and the perfect setting for the remake of our finest preschool photo.  AND there was a chocovine challenge which happened to be my first servery challenge and i didn't fail.  if you don't understand most of what i just wrote, that's good.  that means you aren't a creepy stalker.  but feel free to read more about it at my preschool bff's site.  my drink might have been strange tasting (but really that's because chocovine is gross), but it was oh-so-pretty with my monogrammed wineglass and ribbon.  never underestimate the power of presentation.

left: luckily my mom saves all her pictures. especially from 1991.
right: the 1991 crew can remake anything. photo props to steven.

who doesn't love the '80s?

5.  my parents are wonderful. and no, 'rents, i didn't put that in there because i need money (although feel free to put some in my account at any time).  nor did i do it because we're going to be roomies when i graduate and become unemployed.  i just put it because it's true.  and tom, stop getting a big head or i'll do my next blogpost on embarrassing things that you've said (preview: convos with preachers).

that's all folks!  until next time, mischief managed.

team harry.

i just got back from seeing hp 7.2 again, but this time in 3D.  and i can now say i've enjoyed a 3D movie!  i wasn't such a fan after i saw the jonas brothers movie in 3D (yes, i saw it ... and yes i would've seen it even if i hadn't been babysitting at the time), but hp in 3D was so cool.

papa gill, who hasn't read any of the books but enjoys the movies, accompanied me to this 3D hp experience and enjoyed it as well.  i think my only real hang up is the idea that they collect the glasses at the end ... and i can only imagine reuse them?  i hope whoever had them on before me didn't have a nose fungus or lice or something.  gross.

but anyways, hp 7.2 2D and hp 7.2 3D both get 5 magical stars.  long live hp.

the adventures of harry, ron, hermione, and megan. coming soon.

the end of an era: harry potter edition

as you may or may not know, harry potter and the deathly hallows (part 2) came out in the theatres this past friday.  or thursday night at midnight if you're hardcore (like me) and not scheduled to work friday morning (like me).

for those of us that are roughly 24ish years old, the harry potter era began when we were harry potter's age when he got his lovely little letter from hogwarts.  i remember reading the first book in 6th grade (more details on that in a sec) and being immediately drawn into this world that i wanted so.very.badly to be real.  i remember asking my dad if there was any chance that it could be real. humoring me he always said sure, but  part of me most have known it wasn't possible.  i guess the part of me that still believes disney world is the happiest place on earth believed in muggles, hogwarts, and quidditch (and that part of me still believes in them just a smidge).

i didn't really think about the fact that this movie being released marked the end of the harry potter era until i saw a friend's tweets (shout out to tan!) about being ready for the movie but not ready for the end of childhood (or to see a weasley die).  and just for the record, everyone's been saying that as of late, but i read her tweet forever ago.  so she's my source.

and maybe, just maybe, now that i'm 24 it really is time for the end of childhood.  i mean, i'll graduate (again) in december and apparently get a job (although if we're being honest i'm not so sure about that anymore).  most of my friends already have big girl and big boy jobs and do other adult things. ex: see harry potter 7.2 on the weekend because they work friday morning.  the jury's still out on whether i'm going to be good at this "adulthood" thing, but at least i have a few more months to figure out what the heck that means.

in the meantime, i wanted to pay tribute to the magical world of harry potter with a few of my hp memories, one from each of the seven books.

ron, harry, and me. no big deal or anything.

1.  it took me forever to read the first book.  and not because i'm a slow reader.  but because i was terrified (like get the sweats and sleep with the lights on kind of terrified) of that darned cat in the first chapter of the book.  oh, you don't remember that cat?  that's because it's really insignificant to the rest of the story.  but it freaked me out in the worst way.  i mean, it sat on privet drive and watched the houses all day.  how freaky is that?  no thanks.  i actually hid the book and didn't get past that first chapter until other kids in my class used the book for a project.

2.  i have had two harry potter and the chamber of secrets books.  i left the first one in a closet on a trip in 10th grade (i was rereading them, don't judge) and never saw it again.  my set was actually incomplete until the past year when i asked for new copies for christmas of the ones i had lost.

3.  the prisoner of azkaban is one of my least favorite books.  and that's a hard choice because i really love them all.  but that one still gives me the willies because of those dementors.  yikes.  i'm pretty sure i've met a few dementors in real life.  seriously, those people that always seem to suck your energy out?  those are dementors.

4.  i read the goblet of fire at the beach on vacation and [spoiler alert!] i don't think i've ever cried as hard as i did when cedric diggory died.  like gasping for breath, blotchy face, bloodshot eyes kind of distraught.  also, because my family was at the beach, i was super bummed i wasn't going to be able to get the book at midnight.  but surprise!  my mom found the closest walmart to the beach house and staked it out to snag me a copy and surprise me the next morning.  best mom ever.

5.  i went to books-a-million at concord mills to get this book at midnight.  there were all kinds of people dressed in crazy costumes and the energy was so electric you could feel it.  and i thought it was all awesome.  some worker even came around and let you get sorted into your hogwarts house by picking a pin that was one of the four houses.  unfortunately i got ravenclaw which couldn't be farther from the truth.  anyone that knows me knows that i am such a hufflepuff.  i'm not gryffindor brave, ravenclaw smart, or slytherin evil (no, mom, i'm not evil enough to be in slytherin regardless of what you're thinking right now).  so by default i'm a hufflepuff.  the one good thing?  i would've gotten to hang out with cedric diggory in our common room...prior to his death and all.  another thing about this book?  my parents took it away from me as soon as i got home from the midnight release.  they didn't let me have it again until after i had taken the SATs.  thanks 'rents.  real cool.

6.  i can't re-read the half-blood prince because it's too much for me.  but apparently i was really into it when i read it the first time because the spine is busted and the pages fall out when i open it.

7.  i refused to read the 7th book until just last december (2010).  even though it was published in july 2007, it wasn't over for me until the day where i finally caved and read it.  hp7.1 had finally come out in theatres and i refused to see it without reading the book first so i gave in and cracked it open.  i read it straight through and stayed up all night because a) i was seeing the movie the next afternoon and b) i couldn't stop crying and who can sleep through tears like that?  maybe that's when my childhood really ended.  i mean, i extended mine three and a half years longer than most of my friends, but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

now that the books are done, the movies are out, and pottermore is a bust, i can set my sights on finally visiting the wizarding world of hp.  that, and looking out for my hogwarts letter come november.  i hear 25 is the year adult wizards get their letters.  keep your fingers crossed and watch for my owl!

beware of the sewing saw

five facts that are necessary for you to read before i begin:

1. i'm learning to sew! (in case you didn't know that already).

2. to date i've sewn a skirt (for me) and a quilt (for mom).

3. i'm currently working on another (more intricate) quilt (for me ... what can i say? i'm selfish).

4. sewing tools are SHARP.

5. typing with 9 fingers is no easy task.

so here's the quick and dirty summary of those five facts.  i was working on cutting more of my quilting squares this afternoon because i was gloriously given the afternoon off work and i decided to use the time semi-productively.  in hindsight, studying for the praxis would have been more productive and less painful, but you live and learn, right?

anyways, i was patiently lining up my squares on my cutting board with my clear sewing ruler and using the sewing saw to trim the pieces down to size.  what a mouthful!  but for real, that's what i was doing.

(side note: yes, the tools have official sewing names.  no, i don't know what they are so i refer to them as cutting board, clear ruler, and saw.  glad we cleared that up.)

i was getting a pretty good system down and i was messing up my squares less and less, but if the blog ended here that'd be a lame post, right?  don't worry.  here's where it gets good.

karma quickly realized it made a wrong turn into my life this morning and did a super speedy u-turn way out of here.  and i mean way.  if we're being honest, i knew the good karma wouldn't last all day, but i had no idea it would be so bloody.

so what did karma's u-turn involve?

beware of the sewing saw

oh you know, just sawing the tip of my right pointer finger off.  just gushing blood all over my cutting board and the kitchen (once i ran in there).  just making me scream and howl on the phone to my mother for what felt like years (i'm sure it felt even longer to her).  no big deal, right?

but you know what i've learned from this little adventure into the land of gushing blood?

-i really should wear thimbles on all of my fingers regardless of the activities.
-my mother is not only a teacher, counselor, money manager, clothing maker, etc. etc. etc. (she wears a lot of hats in our family!), she's also one heck of a phone nurse.
-sewing saws are SHARP and they should probably only be used by professionals or people with robot hands.  if your fingers are flesh, good luck.

always clean your apartment before you leave for the weekend

it has been no secret (unless you don't know me that well) that i've been kind of a mess since i was a small child.  i mean, i don't mean to be and i actually really enjoy things being clean, but there's something about starting a bazillion projects at once and going 100 mph at all times that sometimes leads to small hurricanes of crap everywhere in my apartment.  of course i clean them all up and don't stop until everything's beautiful again, but then the crap builds up and out of no where i'm living in a pile of mess once more.  how does that always happen?!

last week, in my excitement to finish up a busy week at work and head up the mountain to work a weekend at cheerio, i pretty much left the apartment a disaster zone.  i rushed through laundry late thursday night and scurried around friday morning throwing random outfits in a suitcase before i dashed off to work (without so much as a short sleeve shirt in that suitcase ... epic packing fail).  anyways, upon my return this evening i was greeted be exactly what i had left behind: a hot mess.

laundry was EVERYWHERE (and still is because naturally i decided to blog about it instead of pick it up), a makeup store apparently exploded all over my sink and bathroom floor, and my latest sewing projects are strewn throughout the living room and kitchen.  because obviously that's where they belong.

and that's not even the worst of it.  the plants are wilting as they die from thirst/neglect, my praxis study materials lay scattered in the foyer (apparently that's where i last studied?), and there's a mysterious looking blueish bead-like item in the sink ... which may or may not be what happens to a blueberry if it's left sitting in the sink for quite a few days.  ew, right?

anyways, of course i'm too tired after my weekend away to do anything but blog and dive right into my bed (which luckily is made or i'd have to make it first ... it goes against all that's natural in the world to get in a bed that's unmade, right graham?)

so i've learned a very valuable lesson (arguably one i should have already known): always clean your apartment before you leave for the weekend.  your sunday night self will thank you.


also: 4 days until harry potter. YES!

i am such a wedding website hypocrite.

before i explain my wedding website hypocrisy, let's get three things out of the way:

1.  it's JULY!  holy cow how did that happen?  a lot of important things happen in july so don't worry, i'll be posting more regularly than i did during the second half of june.  the world didn't want me to learn much for the past week and a half-ish, but i'm pretty confident i'll learn a lot in july.  if i don't, i'll lie.

2.  the fourth of july is in TWO DAYS!  super pumped!

3.  when i originally said i had three things to get out of the way, i know there was a third ... but it's gone.  it flew right out of my brain and instead of changing my original sentence, i'm just leaving it to say three things and giving you guys a glimpse into the chaos that is my life.  it's all about transparency, people.

so now that our business is taken care of, let's move on to the beast that is the wedding website.

i've recently (or maybe not so recently ... but i'm just now admitting it) realized that i'm the poster child for wedding website hypocrisy.  now don't get me wrong, i've never actually made one due to my lack of boyfriend/fiancé/husband, but roughly a million people that i know have gotten engaged or married in the past two to three years.  you think i'm lying, but people are marriage happy these days and everyone and their mother is getting hitched.  

most of those people make wedding websites ... you know the type, right?  maybe they used the knot or wedding wire or even e-weddings, but somehow they put all their information into some kind of cutesy website so friends and family can read all about the event.  until just recently, i vehemently stood by my opinion that these were probably unnecessary considering that most everything you find on them is already news to everyone via the invitation or word of mouth.  and if it's not already known, it's probably not that important anyways.

i mean, come on ... if you don't know where someone is registered, you just buy whatever you want because they should really just be happy that you're spending the day celebrating their vows, but whatever.  when i get married in 1,000 years i'm going to ask that everyone take their money and buy themselves a gift and come ready to run crazy throughout the magic kingdom (talk about a baller reception venue).

anyways, as much as i hate to admit it, i've decided to change my tune about those pesky little websites.  i realized as i searched for the details regarding a friend's recent engagement that the only thing more annoying than a wedding website is not having a wedding website.  this revelation shocked me since i was so anti-website, but seriously.  i might not give two craps about where you're registered or how you met (both things i either already know or won't need to know ever), but i do care who's in the wedding party, where your event is, and maybe even where you're honeymooning.  because let's be honest, that's the cool part (unless of course you're receiving the gifts...then that part is cool for you) and people survive off of cool gossip.

so in conclusion, can all the newly engaged people do the world (or maybe just me?) a favor and make wedding websites?  i promise to stop thinking they're silly if you promise to give the world/megan what it wants: DETAILS.