So I haven't written in a while. I've been reading a bit about this challenge to "Blog every day in May." Sounds like a good idea, and something that I might like to try. But...I know myself and I know my laziness. I'm lucky if I brush my teeth everyday. Okay, so I actually do brush my teeth everyday, but sometimes that's about the only purposeful thing I get done. Okay, so that's not true either...I do lots of purposeful things, but too often those purposeful things don't have anything to do with being on or near a computer. And I'm okay with that. I feel that this day in age we are far too connected to our cyber selves...that maybe little by little we are losing touch with our real selves, and that scares me a little bit. When I think about movies like Idiocracy and Wall-E, I feel like there are times when we are not too far removed from venturing into those worlds. As an aside, I hope there is never such a thing as a toilet inside a recliner. Please, for the love of Pete, no one needs to be pooping in their living room whilst watching TV with their family.
Back to the blogging every day in May. I think I can do it...although I'm already 2 days behind. To my credit, I spent 15 hours in the car on May 1st, and 11 hours in the car on May 2nd. And then I had to shovel snow after the long second day in the car. 12+ inches of snow. Thankfully our neighbor brought his wonderful little lawn tractor over and blew out the majority of the driveway, and the berm that the snowplow left behind. So, I suppose the fact that I was in the car for 26 hours would have given me ample time to blog but I just didn't feel like it. And have you ever written a blog entry on a phone? Kill me now. I hate typing on that little thing. So here we are. Maybe I can mini-blog to make up for the last couple days.
I think part of the reason that I don't blog more often is that I realize how cynical I am...even snarky at times, and who wants to read that day after day? So one of my goals with this blogging every day bit is to try to include a bit of good cheer, some positivity, and a dash of thankfulness for all the good things I have going on in my life. And poop. Of course I will have to mention poop. And maybe if I blog every day, the entries will be shorter, so you don't have to spend so much time sitting to read them. I think I can make this work.
May 1st...or...why Simon wants to start waving a gun at drivers in the South.
So. There are a lot of things I love about the South. Sweet tea, fried chicken, sunshine, warmth, green grass, green trees, the Gulf of Mexico, Southern hospitality...I could go on and on. I feel like I left a little bit of my heart in North Carolina...I'm so in love with that state. However. Take a road trip through the South, and that former love rapidly declines to madness. For instance...we have noticed that some of the worst drivers in the country reside in the south of Mason Dixon Line. I don't know why, but it just seems to be the case. I think that maybe they sell cars in the South where blinkers are an option that you have to pay extra for...and no one is buying. That seems to be the explanation that makes the most sense. Or maybe they aren't taught how to use them in Driver's Ed. I really don't know. I think a lot of our driving disdain would be diminished if people would just use their blinkers. Really. Blinkers aside, there is one driving situation that occurred over and over again during our trip across the South that caused the aforementioned gun waving situation. People in the South like to tailgate...and then once you move over to let them pass, they like to sit in your blind spot. So when you finally catch up to that slow moving semi and go to pass, you about sideswipe the dipsh*t who has been sitting in your blind spot for the last 5 miles. The same dipsh*t who has been sitting there for so long that you've forgotten about him (or her). My favorite was the sitting in the blind spot whilst talking on the phone, completely unawares that they are in the blind spot, let alone that they almost got ran off the road by a disgruntled driver with out-of-state plates...and two surfboards strapped to the top of the car. It's not like we're an inconspicuous vehicle cruising down the road. I don't know why this happens. But once we crossed into Illinois, it never happened again. Which leads me to believe that it happens more frequently in the South.
So that was the bulk of our May 1st. We ended the day with a jog on the treadmill (to purge any residual road rage), Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Jimmy John's. I love me some Jimmy John's.
Things I am thankful for on May 1st:
Simon as my copilot...there is no one else in this world with whom I could spend so many hours in the car.
Good driving weather
Jimmy John's Club Lulu (#16, no cheese)
A King-sized bed
Ebay
Sweatpants
May 2nd...or...why I'm glad I don't live in Illinois...but at least they don't have snow in May
11 hours in the car had us starting out in Paducah, KY and ending in Eyota, MN. We left Paducah under partly cloudy skies, the day was starting to warm up, and the drive was good. Upon crossing the Mississippi into Minnesota, it started to snow. And it didn't stop. And I almost ran us off the road while passing a semi (thankfully no one was hiding out in my blind spot...they probably would have died...or gone in the ditch, at the very least). In all my years of living in Minnesota, I've never seen this much snow in May. Ever. This is insane. But it's also very pretty. It would have been prettier in December, but it still looks nice. Supposedly the temperatures are supposed to climb into the 60's on Saturday, so it'll all go away and we'll be left with mud. And hopefully no water in the basement. That's a common problem around here, and the reason all my belongings in my room are currently piled up on folding tables...just in case. When I build a house someday (because I will have to build, I have far too many stipulations at this point to buy an existing house) there will be no basement. I'm with Simon's mom in my opinion that if a tornado rips my house away, it can take me along with it. Sounds kind of silly to choose possible death over water in the basement, but I guess it all comes down to personal preference. I don't judge anyone for choosing a basement over death...that actually sounds like the more reasonable choice...but this is me we're talking about, and reasonable isn't typically a word most would use to describe me.
Anyway, back to the snow (or back on the ranch, as one of my former coworkers was fond of saying when the conversation had gone awry), Simon and I shoveled a bit when we got back to Eyota yesterday afternoon (I found myself laughing at the irony of leaving 80+ degree weather in Florida for 12+ inches of now in Minnesota). Then our lovely neighbor came over and threw us a bone with his tractor. So I made him some cookies last night. Despite everyone being disgruntled about snow in May, everyone I came across yesterday afternoon was in surprisingly good spirits. People were helping dig out their neighbor's cars, people in the grocery store were cheerful and joking around about shoveling...there was an upbeat feeling to the day that you don't typically have. I think there's something whimsical about snow, even in May. And knowing that this particular snow is (hopefully) the end of it and that spring is right there...right around the corner, keeps those winter blues away. With snow this late we're bound to go right from winter to summer. I think spring is on hiatus this year.
Things I am thankful for on May 2nd:
Simon as my co-shoveler...he kept me motivated and didn't even have to nag at me to help.
Snackies for dinner with my mom and dad
Seeing my little dogs after being away from them for a month
Oxford commas
Pristine, white snow
Coupon for free underpants in the mail
A snuggly fleece robe and slippers
May 3rd...or...bills bills bills
Anxiously awaiting me this morning were $600+ in bills. Hooray! They just never end, do they? I suppose I should be grateful that I have the money to pay them. And I should be grateful for the nice things that they allow me to have. I guess. Yesterday as I was sitting passenger in the car as the miles of cropland in Illinois went flying by (well, somewhat...between the 65 mph speed limit and the construction we actually creeped through Illinois at times), I was thinking about what causes people to be happy, and what causes them to be miserable. And I came to the conclusion that money causes a lot of misery. Paying taxes, paying bills, having too little money for one thing and settling on the cheaper thing that just isn't quite as good. Wondering if this paycheck will carry you over to the next one. Trying not to think about the credit card balance. Wanting to buy a new house when you know the one you're currently in will never sell for what you think it should. And I found myself thinking that if we could just find a way to be happy doing more with less, maybe things wouldn't seem so bad. I've been trying to do that. It's difficult. Especially considering that some of my happiness is tied up in buying things. Doesn't matter what it is. Pants, shoes, cottage cheese, building supplies, bird seed. I think what drives me to buy so many things is the thought of possibility. The new dimension those pants and shoes might bring to what I already have in my wardrobe, what a new coat of paint might do to a room, what kinds of birds that new seed might bring to the feeder, what kinds of new recipes I might make with those wacky ingredients I bought from that random store where no one speaks coherent English. I'm always searching for the next thing to spark my interest. Either I haven't found it yet, or I haven't learned how to be content with what I already have in front of me. I'm working on the latter, because searching for the former can be a fruitless task, and it can also keep me from seeing all the good things that are already present in my life. So instead of opening my wallet, I'm trying to just open my eyes. And it's working...sort of. I spent an entire month in Florida and only bought two articles of clothing...and together they were only $50. That's huge for me, especially considering that I spent the majority of the month in the company of my friend Ellen. The two of us can throw down some serious cash when we're together, but this time was different...in a good way. We didn't socialize by shopping; we socialized while hanging out by the pool, or at the beach, or on the paddle boards. It was good. And I was content. So here I sit...in my fleece robe watching the birds on the feeder in our snowy backyard. Life is good.
Things I am thankful for on May 3rd:
Waking up next to Simon (and Brie) in a nice snuggly bed
Pug snores
Woodpeckers
Socializing with my family
Warm winter boots
Mittens
So. Here is my Blog Every Day entry from May 1-3. The rest of the month is yet to be determined. I'll do my best. :)
I realized I forgot to talk about poop. Nothing too exciting to report at this time.
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