Everyone Deserves Community

Today at (unpaid) work, I was charged with looking up associations and organizations in Minnesota that would be suitable contacts for my project-- fire/police associations, EMS associations, volunteer organizations perhaps. So, I turned to The Google, everyone's favorite "I don't know where to start this" work tool. Oh. My. God. There is so weird stuff out there. Enjoy my hard, but unfruitful work!

Associations that make sense:

• Minnesota Dental Association:
• Minnesota Broadcasters Association
• Association of Minnesota Counties
• Minnesota Association of Bankers
• Minnesota Golf Association

Associations that may not make sense in other regions, but make sense here:

• Minnesota Corn Growers Association
• Minnesota Canoe Association
• Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association
• Iron Mining Association of Minnesota

Associations that are totally totally bizarre:

• Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermy: The epitome of bizarre. Totally weird, I cannot even describe. The pictures (which I would NOT show to small children unless you want pee-stained everything) show taxidermied animals in which more than one species are combined, things have extra eyes or legs, features are 'artistically' enhanced. I don't know how to describe it. Check it out: http://www.roguetaxidermy.com/
• Minnesota Association for Pupil Transportation: Also known as "Bus Driver's Poker Club." Just saying.
• Minnesota Association of Cemeteries: The issue here is the wording. Cemeteries to do not associate, in fact the whole point if cemeteries is that they are full of people who no longer have the capacity to associate. They should change the name to Minnesota Association of Cemetery Workers, Curators, or whatever you call someone who is important enough in the cemetery business to professionally associate with others.
• Minnesota Companion Bird Association: Bah! If that bird was such a good companion, you wouldn't need to associate with other bird owners. This sounds like a "I bought a broken pet" club.
• Minnesota Killie Keepers Association: For the people who keep killifish-- of which there are over 320 species! A) this grosses me out 'cause they are little fish. The little ones bug me the most. Meh, so do the big ones. Heebie Jeebies! B) 320 species?! That makes me feel like membership requirements for the club are: "I have a pretty smallish fish in a bowl/tank/aquarium." Some specialization maybe wouldn't kill the club?

Other associations of cuteness and/or interest:

• Minnesota Bed and Breakfast Association: I bet they have The. Best. Food. Ever. at their meetings.
• Minnesota Association of Weapons Collectors: Wow, there's a meeting where you want to get along with everyone. Everyone. My favorite is that it really doesn't distinguish what kind of weapons. Does someone just walk in with a bazooka while someone like me would be snapping people's arms with a rubberband?
• Minnesota Organization of Numismatists: I just like to say the word numismatist.
• Minnesota Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators: Probably the most fun meetings ever, and I bet they rarely use words that someone doesn't know (or at least couldn't sound out).

Mugwump Mathematics

If you visit between the time I errantly posted only the title of this post and the time I actually post it-- sorry. Sometimes keyboard shortcuts are our best friends. Sometimes they are our worst enemy.

Before I get to my actual post, which I have spent much time thinking of, there are some other goodies to share. Consider this like the Breaking News that interrupts your favorite TV show (god, I hate that).

Goody #1: I cleaned my bathroom today. It smells like dead germs. I love that.

Goody #2: When I got to (unpaid) work today, there was a raspberry brownie on my desk with a note from The Bosses that says: "To Katie (aka Our Rockstar Intern), Thanks for Everything You Do!"

Goody #3/Baddy #1: The good-- yesterday was Taco Tuesday, and this morning I had tacos for breakfast. It was love. The bad-- I used a non-meat meat substitute (I should have known-- it's called 'veggie protien'). Flavor-wise, not terrible. Texture-wise- meh. I will go back to the ground turkey, thanks.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled blog: Mugwump Mathematics

adequate breakfast > 1 piece of PB toast + 1 cup of gross coffee

2 people + 1 personal bubble = 1 Mugwump thinking "FREEDOM!" when the bus doors open

3 roommates + 2 hours of good TV + homemade pizza > finishing a paper that isn't due until next week

2 hours + 1 monotone speaker who loves the sound of his own voice + 7 Facebook updates = What slide are we on? What are we talking about?

1 Mugwump + 3 cups of coffee = Let's just call bathroom stall 1 my new office

17 minutes/2 miles > my lung capacity. I wheezed for like an hour straight after I stopped moving. Out. Of. Shape.

16 emails/6 hours = still didn't get the one I need. Guh.

1 Mugwump + 2 Minneapolis paintings + 2 offers to buy = making a "living*" doing what you love

1 dark room + 1 boring class = two extremely heavy eyelids

Well, I am not very math-minded, so I think that's all I got for tonight. Someday I may post pictures again. In fact, I probably will. And despite the mega-breaks between posting of the pictures, it won't make future photos any less trivial. Happy Middle of the Week! It's all gravy from here!

* Aaaaahahaha, hahaha, haaah, whew. A living?! Right . . . let's face it though. Makin' mochas didn't make me a living or make me happy. At least painting is 1 for 2.

Monday Thoughts

1. Oh, apparently it is "hot man" day at the grocery store. I clearly misinterpreted the memo, as I showed up as a "hot mess" in two mismatched shirts and a hat that could not contain whatever possessed my hair this morning. Oh matchmaker, matchmaker. . . you've got your work cut out for you, friend.

2. SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!! Where have you been?! Can you take off your shoes and stay a while? I missed you.

3. I would rather clean than do homework. (What?! WHAT?!! Since when?)

4. Rainbow now sells taco seasoning in bulk. It was love in the Ethnic Food Aisle.

5. Okay, I do love my cube. It is the first time I have had "my space" at a job. However, who decided "Hey, not only am I going to sit you in this cute little lidless box for hours, but I am going to make it the absolutely most flat color of grey I can think of. And then all the furniture will be grey too. Except your chair is red, but it's under your butt so you will never appreciate it.

6. The spider plant is reproducing again. Again. He's such a slut.

Happy Monday, lovelies! The sun and coffee has done wonders for my mood! My (unpaid) job is still excellent, my school is pretty cool, my family is simultaneously my friends. . . it doesn't get better than this.

You Can Stand Under My Umbrella

Rain brings a lot of things out of people: melancholy moods, goofy wet-dog hair dos, road rage.

And their umbrellas. Which umbrella are you?

The Golf (or other Ultra Large) Umbrella

Because that doesn't scream high maintenance.

You feel entitled to your very own dry planet and you do not care how many eyes you poke or shoes you soak, with those stupid drops that fall off the points of the umbrella arms, to get it. Your spatial reasoning skills are terrible, as you do not recognize that your umbrella is wider than the entire sidewalk and now no one can pass alongside you, forcing them to slop through mud puddles. Of course, you don't notice because you can't see from underneath the convertible top you wield to repel all traces of weather.

The Windestructible*

Oh goodness, no, you don't look this stupid. His umbrella is really irrelevant to his appearance of stupidity.

Luckily for you, rain always falls straight down and weather systems that contain rain produce no other meteorological symptoms. Like wind. The funny thing is your umbrella is so fickle that a sneeze in the Himalayas sends your umbrella topsy-turvy inside out, faster than Republicans pick up pennies off the floor. You spend the majority of your time outside the umbrella, wrestling with each little prong, getting soaked. Also luckily for you, umbrellas were designed flawlessly and you won't at all look awkward or ridiculous fighting with yours on the sidewalk. Honest, you scream "graceful" over there.

The Too Small Two-fer

Invest in this, snookie bum cakes. Look at all that free space.

You just wuv your wickle snookie bottoms peach cake of a boyfriend/girlfriend and cannot stand the thought of being a WHOLE UMBRELLA'S WIDTH away from schnookums. But, you don't have any money to buy a big umbrella because you spend all your extra money (and time!) on nice things for boo boo baby cakes. And let's face it, you don't want to be the huge umbrella asshole, pokin' out eyes. The screams of pain would distract you from staring into your schmoopsy's soul through her big beautiful eyes. So instead, you (gladly) melt yourself to your significant other while you try to cram under one tiny umbrella. Congrats, only half of you is COMPLETELY soaked. Heh, now you truly do have a better half-- the half that doesn't smell like wet sneaker.

The I'm-a-Total-Idiot Umbrella

Aaaaaahahaha. . . hahaha, haaa, heh. Whew. You look dumb.

I am just going to let the picture tell this story.

*An awesome play on words, if I do say so myself. I hope you got it. Wind. Indestructible. Destructible. Shut up, it's funny.

The Perfect Gentle Nudge/Kick in the Butt

I usually refuse to allow myself to cry over things that are trivial or that I have done to myself (the latter being most of the things that bring me to tears). And of course, it all builds up.

Today I got this email, and it definitely brought me to tears, but at the same time was a great "There's nothing to cry about here" reminder. And I got over myself and got to work.

To: Katie

From: [Removed]

Subject: first notice

The Caribou Mafia wants you to know it expects you to be working on your thesis.

Make a group of opinionated ol' men lattes for months, and they will return the favor by leaving decent tips. And by looking out for you. Thanks guys.

Epic Exam > Updating Photos

This is a super quick time-waster because I am in over my head in infectious disease modeling, biut don't have time to take/edit/update photos. Tomorrow I will, I promise. But, I do have to share this news*: THE NIKES ARE HERE AND THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL. You could see my feet coming a mile away. And I love it. And I love them. And I have been wearing them all over the house. And I plan on running tomorrow just so I can run in them.

Alas, the compulsive package tracking can cease and desist. Mission accomplished.

*This is, of course, only news if you do not follow me on any combination of Facebook/Twitter/chat/interpersonal communication.

65/365

Day 65: Monday, October 12, 2009

WHOA! Only 300 more to go. . . seeing as how the last 65 went sooooo smoothly and seamless, the next 300 should be cake.

The Sky Was So Busy Making Snow Fall, It Forgot to Make the Sun Rise

Monday, October 12, 2oo9

The best thing about this photo: the snow has a way of making everything seem uniform, and peaceful. Regardless of what it going on in the natural world, the snowfall blankets everything in a stark white sameness.

High maintenance house cats do not fall within any sort of natural order. So while all this peaceful calm was going on in my camera lens, near my feet was one peeved kitty, moving her paws about a thousand miles an hour in and out of the shallow, but damp snow cover, trying to figure out how she could reach her puma-esque goals of living the outdoor house cat life without getting her "pwecious pwetty toesies wet and cowd." Hilarious. Although, she later showed me who would get the last laugh as she covered the entire heat register in the room I was in with her body, in which case the furnace pumps heat directly into the belly of the beast (quite literally) but not anywhere near my own pwecious pwetty toesies.

Continued. . .

The Tree's Knees

I Love Low F-Stops

Stay Warm, Little Buddy

Artist at Work

Make a Wish

It's not the full 19, but it at least gives you something to chew on for a bit.

Love love.

19 Photos = Up-to-date

Honestly, not all from each respective day that I have missed, but I will try to give you 19 new photos (including what was meant to be Moose Week*). This project has given me a whole new respect for people who can do something everyday**.

Moose Week

The Last Days of The Chaco

It Rains Every Day

Bills and Paperwork. Paperwork and Bills.

Leaky Pillow

You're Not In Fargo Anymore

"I'm Not Available Right Now"

Thomas: Toe Hunter

Green Acres At Twilight

Sunday Afternoon Spirituals

* You know, like Discovery Channel's Shark Week? Which is the most awesome week of television ever. Ever. And don't even pretend Space Week comes close.

** Except the basics. You do not wow or impress me if you brush your teeth everyday.

Two Glasses of Wine, A Bubble Bath and a Blinking Cursor? This Could Be Dangerous.

Impossible Things I Have Thought This Week:

1. I wonder if I could just stay up all night, not to study, but to get some time to just chill?

2. I think I will run the lake twice this morning.

3. It is easy to turn down an invite to Chipotle with a super great friend.

4. It won't take that long to clean my room.

5. A bowl full of Tootsie Rolls isn't really tempting.

6. I could live in Seattle.*

7. If I eat a HUGE meal in the morning, it will last me all day and I won't have to pack a lunch.**

8. If I just drink two (or so) glasses of wine and take an hour long bubble bath, I will come out rejuvenated and motivated to get things accomplished in the rest of my evening.

*Five straight days of rain and no sunlight has made me a very gloomy person. At first I was going to blame the bad mood on a whole host of other things (school is busy, work stinks, I am disorganized. . . yada yada yada). But as soon as the sun came out today, and all else held true, I felt better. Which is actually good. I would rather know that I wasn't going to be stuck in a bad mood on a beautiful day.

** Eating a huge morning meal accomplishes one thing, and only one thing: and uncomfortable tummy on the bus ride to school, a sleepy first class, and insatiable hunger around 11 am. Epic fail in digestive management on my part.