What happens when you have too much free time off of work

1. Name one person who made you smile today?
My grandpa

2. What were you doing at 8 this morning?
Dreaming about people adopting a bunch of orphans or something like that.

3. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
browsing the web

4. What is something that happened to you in 1995?
I took a van trip to a youth conference with a bunch of teenage boys I had never met before and their youth pastor and his wife.

5. What is the last thing you said aloud?
Probably talking to myself about something on the computer.

6. How many different things did you drink today?
So far just one, water, although I have a mind to get some black currant juice in a little while.

7. What color is your hairbrush?
Which one? I have 4.

8. What was the last thing you bought?
A picture frame.

9. What was the last gift you received for your birthday?
Going to see MI:iii, I guess.

10. What color is your front door?
Dark green.

11. Where do you keep your change?
In my purse.

12. What was the weather like today?
grey and windy

13. What is the best ice-cream flavor?
At the moment, I am quite fond of Cold Stone Creamery's cinnamon flavour.

14. What is something you are excited about?
The start of a new fantasy golf season. (I think that's my first public admission that I'm a fantasy golf nerd.)

15. When was the last rainbow you saw?
Well, I've probably seen one since June 2005, but I like thinking about Scotland so I'll go with that one.

16. What size shoe do you wear?
8-8.5

17. Do you have a sister?
Nope

18. Are you very random?
So random that at the moment my randomness merely feels like answering yes to this question.

19. Do you want to cut your hair?
Not yet.

20. Are you over the age of 25?
yup

21. Do you talk a lot?
Only to a very select few.

22. Do you watch The OC?
no

23. Does your screen name have an 'x' in it?
no

24. Do you know anyone called Steve?
yes, do you know anyone called John?

25. Do you make up your own words?
yep, my favorite being frabjosity, of course.

26. Are you ticklish?
yes

27. Are you typically a jealous person?
I don't think so.

28. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter 'A':
Alvina

29. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter k.
My childhood best friend was Kallie. (Well, her name is still Kallie, but I haven't seen her in years.)

30. Who is the first person on your missed call list?
Alvina

31. What did the last text message you received say?
"Finish the description...plz" Like I can reply with an adequate description via text messaging?!

32. Do you chew on your straws?
Yes, but not excessively.

33. Do you have curly frizzy hair?
no

34. What is the next concert you're going to?
i don't know..

35. Who is the coolest person in your life?
My brother's pretty cool.

36. What is something you say a lot?
the

37. What is the last thing you ate?
Lean Cuisine Chicken Pecan meal

38. Have you seen the movie 'Donnie Darko'?
no

39. Do you have work tomorrow?
no

40. Is marriage in your future?
well, the tarot cards said yes, but my star chart says no... (kidding, for anyone who doesn't know me well enough to know I don't subscribe to such nonsense) Seriously, I don't know yet, but a positive would be nice.

41. When was the last time you said 'I love you'?
Sometime in the last couple of weeks, I imagine.

42. What should you be doing right now?
house-cleaning

43. Do you have a nickname?
Sarah-5-who-used-to-have-a-blue-car-but-now-has-a-red-car-who's-26. You can just call me Sarah.

45. Are you a heavy sleeper?
Yes, no, I don't know.

46. When was the last time you used a skateboard?
Maybe 15 years ago.

47. What is the best movie you've seen in the past two weeks?
I think I've only seen three, so I'll have to go with Apocalypto.

48. What kind of mobile phone do you have?
candybar

49. When was the last time you did the dishes? Be honest!
yesterday

Name 3 things in your purse/wallet:
a coupon x 3

Name 3 things you do when you're really stressed:
get snippety, eat a donut, drink a room temp bottled Frappuchino

Name 3 favorite fruits:
lychee, black currants, tangelos

Three names you go by:
Sarah, Sarah-5-who-used-to-have-a-blue-car-but-now-has-a-red-car-who's-26, Sarah5

Three things you are wearing right now:
shirt, jeans, ankleless socks

Who did you last talk to on the phone?
my mom or Alvina

Whose birthday is next?
Tiger Woods... Okay, okay, of people I know: Molly

Where do you wish you were right now?
Scotland

Where do you live?
North America

Where do you sleep?
indoors

Where did you get the shirt you're wearing?
Lerner NY (NY&Co. these days)... Penn Square Mall... in OKC... in eighth or ninth grade... That's right... My shirt is over 10 years old... And I still remember where it came from.

What is the closest item near you that is blue?
my jeans

What is your favorite color?
Green

With who did you last see a movie?
My dad

What song are you currently hearing?
Forgiven... sung by the good folk of City Harvest Church in Singapore

When's your birthday?
May 8

When did you last go to the mall?
Wednesday

When/where was the last time you bought a pair of pants?
I think the last pair I actually bought came from Gordman's in the late summer.

When did you last burn a candle?
Christmas Eve

Do you like the person who took this quiz before you:
sure.

Friends, Meet Kiriath

I took advantage of some time off last week to get a little reading in. The Legends of the Guardian-King series by Karen Hancock is some of the best fiction I have read in a good long while.

The Light of Eidon introduces the reader to the land of Kiriath and its two predominant religions, the Mataians and the Terstans. Both religions claim to be the true followers of Eidon. Their approaches to their faith in Eidon are significantly different. Abramm Kalladorne, 5th son of the king of Kiriath, finds himself in a struggle to find Eidon while also struggling to survive a life of gladitorial slavery after his brothers and spiritual mentors betray him. There was only one thing I really did not like. The story seemed to rationalize and even condone an extra-marital sexual encounter that took place.

In The Shadow Within, I was rewarded with meatier spiritual truths and more relatability to Abramm as he learns how to walk the true believers life. The mystical fantasy adventure element of these books has given them a delightful twist on the traditional Christian allegory. I look forward to picking up book 3, Shadow over Kiriath, from the library on my next visit.

The Wild Side of Sarah5

So, last year I was wondering what I would do if all my friends jumped off of a bridge. I have an update to that answer. If the bridge was a maximum of 40 feet above the water and the water was deep enough, as demonstrated by others jumping safely first, I would do it in a heartbeat. Having now experienced the incredible thrill of jumping off of a 40-foot cliff, I can say this with certainty. And it would have to literally be in a heartbeat because I don't like the idea of spending much time standing on a little ledge high up in the air. The adrenaline rush of the free fall was such that I didn't even realize that my arms slapped the water pretty hard until generous bruises started showing up a few hours later.

I've been demoted!

In the past, I've had my share of being mistaken for a store employee, but I had an encounter today that takes the cake. At other times,I've no cart and no purse or only a small purse and I've been browsing the aisles. This time, I was walking out the door of Wal-Mart with my big straw purse over one shoulder, my keys out, and a shopping bag with a big roll of wrapping paper sticking out. Out of nowhere, a store employee holds out a couple of DVDs and says to me, "Can you hold these for a second?" Obliging person that I am, I start to reach out my hand to comply. Reality begins to dawn on her, and she asks, "You do work here, don't you?" When I give a negatory response, she turns to an actual employee and I am able to go on with my day.

Cottonwood Borer

I had a little run in with one of these fascinating creatures over the weekend. Innocently standing in front of IHOP visiting with Remnant friends before we headed to Weleetka, I suddenly felt a thud and something clinging to my shoulder. I reached back and tried to flick it off, even tugging gently on its antenna. The thing didn't budge, so I calmly turned around to ask what was on my back and immediately someone leapt to get it off. The creature was 1 & 1/2 inches long, just a little smaller than the image shown here.

Belated Birthday Blog

Well, I had a good birthday. Like a little kid, I woke up way too early. Everyone made sure I didn't feel ignored. Most of my coworkers crammed into my office around 10:15 for bagels and chips and a couple rounds of the "Happy Birthday" song. An hour later they took me to Bennigan's for lunch. After work I ran over to church to pay some bills before meeting up with Dad to check out a car I had found online. Another buyer beat us to the car*, so Dad took me to see M:I:III instead.

Interesting notes on my last few birthdays:

~ This birthday was the first since 1997 that I have had either work or school on my birthday.

~ 2005 - Shared the day with Mom for Mother's Day and a couple of family friends celebrating their high school and college graduations. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to the zoo.

~ 2004 - Visited Rooster Days while catching up on old times with Chadana.

~ 2003 - My family sang "Happy Birthday" as Old Faithful went off during our trip to Yellowstone.

~ 2002 - Ropes course week for my New York missions trip, so for my birthday I was forced to stand on the top of a very tall pole. That made the pregnant tarantula I nearly sat on seem quite friendly.

~ 1998 - Senior prom was the same day as my birthday.

~ And since I'm talking about memorable birthday's, I can't leave out 1988. That was the first time my birthday was on Mother's Day when I mistakenly put both orange juice and milk on my Life cereal.


*No problem. I got a great deal on a bright red Kia Rio at the end of the week. On that note, I think I probably have the longest, most dynamic nickname this side of the Mississippi. What started out as "Sarah-5-with-the-blue-car-who's-24" is now "Sarah-5-with-the-red-car-who's-26." With the timing of my car purchase, it changed twice in one week.

Lightening the mood

A survey. Because I can't resist this kind of thing.

1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
"administration noun" (Roget's Thesaurus)

2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?:
A manila file folder

3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?:
CSI:NY

4: A good drink is…:
One that no one else is drinking and doesn't make me gag.

5: Grooming product you don't want to be without:
Colored chapstick

6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?:
People conversing downstairs.

7: When did you last step outside? what were you doing?:
This morning when I walked from the car to the office.

8: What are you currently reading?
I'm in between books right now. I have a book from the library sitting in my kitchen, but I don't remember the title.

9: What are you wearing?:
A white tank under a beige blouse with a brown skirt and my tall brown boots.

10: Did you dream last night? What about?:
Of course I dreamed. It was sort of a retelling of Peter Pan - no clue where that one came from.

11: What did you last eat?
Shepherd's pie (Mmm, mmm, mmm) and whole grain club crackers.

12: What is on the walls of the room you are in?:
My old dance shoes, a print of a living room, a caricature of me in my office, a calendar, a print of ships in harbor, and a Serenity cross.

13: Seen anything weird lately?:
My dance friends being themselves.

14: What do you think of this quiz?:
Good time waster.

15: What is the last film you saw?:
Serenity

16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?:
A house on Swan Lake.

17: Tell me something about you that I don't know:
I can sing "This Old Man" in anagram.

18: If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?:
I'm starting to over-analyze this question, so I'm skipping it.

19: Do you like to dance?:
If you don't know the answer to that, you certainly don't know me.

20: Would you ever consider living abroad?:
Yes, I think it would be neat to retire to the Isle of Arran, but of course moving to Scotland can be tricky.

21: Will you pass on this survey?:
Here it is.

Relevant Dreams and Other Opinions

Apparently I do my deepest thinking on current events when I'm asleep. I had quite an interesting dream the other night:

My family were legal Bulgarian immigrants in Russia. In this alternate universe, the Russians relied on Bulgarian oil but treated the Bulgarians like dirt. We considered closing down our oil refineries and leaving the Russians to their own devices but decided to stay when we really thought about the negative impact such a decision would have on innocent people. Meanwhile, a couple of cute little Mexican girls without immigration papers showed up at our factory right before an immigration inspector showed up at our factory. We lucked out and got an inspector that was friendly to the Bulgarians and gave us little grief. He firmly but kindly took the Mexican girls with him, and then I woke up.

Make of it what you will. I'm not thinking too hard about it myself. The dream was just interesting with both oil and immigration in it.
_________________________

While I'm talking about current events, I have a stronger opinion about something else I heard on the news this morning. The ACLU is taking on another Ten Commandments case in nearby Stigler. The thing that really caught my attention was that the ACLU is saying that such a monument supports Christianity and no other faith. Am I missing something here? When did the Jews cut the Ten Commandments out of the Pentateuch? And the Mormons aren't really Christians either, but I'm guessing that the Ten Commandments are still in their version of the Bible as well. Also, while the Ten Commandments are not directly in the Quran, they do correspond pretty closely to the teachings of Islam. All other arguments about the Ten Commandments aside, this idea the ACLU is putting forth is simply ignorant propaganda.

For the World

Dear God, Who makes all light on earth,
I want to be a sunshine.
I want to show the world some love
To show them what it's like above.

Dear God, Who makes all color here,
I want to be a rainbow.
I want to show the world some joy
For every little girl and boy.

Dear God, Who makes all silence 'round,
I want to be a whisper.
I want to show the world some peace
Not known to earthly man or beast.

Life Is Like a Gay Gordons

So somewhere in all of the random words and phrases that spill out of my mouth when no one else is around, I found myself saying "dancing with God" last night as I went to bed. This led my mind down a trail to what Scottish dance would be a good analogy for life, and Gay Gordons seems quite appropriate. A quick run through of the dance for all you Scottish dance innocents: Promenade (walk with your partner) forward 4 steps; Promenade backward 4 steps; Repeat both promenades; Lady twirls under her partners hand; Waltz (ed: polka actually); and Repeat all. (Sorry, guys but this analogy only works right if you let God take the "man's" role in the dance.)

Joining the dance at God's invitation to dance with Him, you have times when life is pretty normal and straightforward, nothing complicated. Then there are times when everything seems backwards, so it's a good thing God's right there by your side. When life gets crazy hectic, you could spin out of control if you don't put our hand in His to keep you centered on track. And then there are the times when you just follow God's lead as He guides you through life (at least that's what you're supposed to do for things to go smoothly).

2006 has definitely been a twirling season for me. Keep that hand up, Sarah.

Pretty

The Remnant

Hey! A serious post. Imagine that!

A couple of weeks ago, Mom found a magazine article about an adult Christian singles community service volunteer organization called The Remnant. I attended my first meeting Tuesday night, and it sounds like this will be a nice group to be a part of. According to the e-mail list, a couple of old friends are involved, so it will be nice to see them again. My first volunteer activity will be helping to clean and paint the activity hall of a private children's group home.

A variety of social events are listed as available for Remnant members. One of these is West Coast Swing classes on Thursday nights. Obviously, my Thursday nights are committed elsewhere, but this week Scottish dance was canceled due to the weather. I had my heart set on getting out and being active last night, so I decided to give West Coast Swing a try. I almost talked myself out of it since it's something I won't be able to commit to, but getting to meet some more Remnant members talked me into it. Any Scottish dancers reading this don't need to worry about losing me to West Coast Swing. I'm too mechanical and bad at following. Scottish dance works for me because there's a nice formula to how each dance is done. I've just got to be methodically artistic and that's that. Not to say the class last night wasn't fun; I'm just not suited to that type of dancing.

Another Music Quiz

The rules on this quiz say to put your playlist on shuffle and fill in the questions in order with the songs. Since I tend to stay a step or two behind popular technology, I altered the rules to use radio songs as they come. Specifically I used CMRadio.net's Celtic station.

How does the world see you?
The Castle of Dromore (Joanna Mell)
Googling reveals the song sounds Scottish, but the actual castle is Irish.
Will I have a happy life?
Paddy Glackin (Shanachie)
He sounds like a happy fellow.
What do my friends really think of me?
Your Love and Your Mercy (Sammy Horner)
That makes me sound super nice!
How can I make myself happy?
Around This Table (Debbie Zepick)
Eat dinner with family/friends, perhaps?
What should I do with my life?
Forty Days and Forty Nights (Moira Kerr)
Uh-oh... I hope I'm not the next Noah.
Will I ever have children?
Come Lord Jesus (Prairie Bible College)
I'm going to take that to mean Christ will return before I get the chance.
What is some good advice for me?
My Shepherd (Caroline Bowles)
Good reminder.
How will I be remembered?
Show Me (Moya Brennan)
In a painting?
What is my signature song?
Lift the Wings (Bill Whelan)
I'm free as a bird!
What do I think my current theme song is?
Smoke Goes Up (Raymond McCullough)
Well, it may not all be going up in flames, but it is getting a little smoky.
What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
An Toll Dubh (Runrig)
Wow! Everyone else knows Gaelic? Erm, translation: "All the miles"
What song will play at my funeral?
Writing on the Wall (Karnataka)
Just so Dad can tell how I took a crayon to the walls when Chris was born.
What type of men/women do I like?
Creator of Creation (Eden's Bridge)
Well, of course I like God. I don't think that's what the question was looking for silly song list.
What is my day going to be like?
The Banshee Song (Ballydowse)
Shrieking ghosts!! Oh dear, that'll never do. I'll just have to sic my pet kelpie on them.

Band Quiz Meme

Choose a band/artist and answer ONLY in titles of their songs:

My Artist Is... Ceili Rain

1. Are you male or female?
Queen For a Day

2. Describe yourself:
Jigorous

3. How do some people feel about you:
Forty Shades of Green (edit: green as in Ireland not envy)

4. How do you feel about yourself:
I Wanna Be Different

5. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend:
You Just So Never Know

6. Describe your current significant other:
I've Never Been to Ireland

7. Describe where you want to be:
House Not Made with Hands

8. Describe how you live:
'Tween the Jigs & the Reels

9. Describe how you love:
A Hundred Smiles an Hour

10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish:
Peace Has Broken Out

11. Share a few words of wisdom:
These Things Have a Way of Workin' Out

12. Now say goodbye:
Call Home

Oh, and a side note on the previous post... If I ever get a galapagos, it's name will most likely be Darby.

A G-A-L-A-P-A-G-O-S-agos

Lately we've started doing "Flying Scotsman" questions again. In "The Flying Scotsman," everyone has a turn to lead the "train," so sometimes each person answers a question as they lead off. A couple of weeks ago was cool because everyone called out their favorite dances, and then we spent the rest of the evening dancing our favorites. My favorite is "Cuckoo Clock" because it has such a good variety of figures. It is also David's favorite dance, so Beth had us dance as lead couple. It was rather weird because I so rarely dance it as a woman. China and I are nearly always partners on that particular dance with me on the man's side. Some dances you don't really notice a change when you switch sexes, but "Cuckoo Clock" is not one of them. I even stuck David on the girl's side once!

Last night's "Flying Scotsman" question was what we think would make the best pet. There were some pretty interesting answers from sea cucumber to naked mole rat. My answer was rather boring as I just said turtle. After giving that answer further thought in order to remedy the mundaneness of it, I have decided more specifically a galapagos would be nice. If I ever have kids, they could ride the family pet. Also, with a galapagos I should be able to plop down next to it, rest my arm on his shell, and ramble on without worrying about boring him. He would be slow enough, I wouldn't have to worry about him running away; and with a turtle's life span, I should never have to deal with a dead pet.

St. Thomas: Episode 5: Last Full Day

Sunday morning we picked a church out of the yellow pages, called them up for directions, and gave it a whirl. They sang all the old familiar Maranatha songs we sang back when I was a kid in West Virginia. My favorite part was the greeting time when everyone walked around the church giving quick hugs and blessings to everyone else while the choir sang a song that fit perfectly. I wish I could remember the song. I think TCF should do that kind of mingle time mid-service and save the visiting for after church. I enjoyed the worship so much that I was surprised to find how late it was. We ducked out before the sermon started so we could get a little sightseeing into our day.

When we got to downtown Charlotte Amalie, we found out it was a 3-cruise-ship day. That meant that traffic was crazy with taxi drivers inching along trying to offer any pedestrian a ride back to the ship. We finally realized we would just have to park and walk. After lunch in a nice cafe supposedly world famous for its hot sauce (Gladys' Hot Sauce, anyone?), we started walking in the general direction of Seven Arches Museum in hopes that we would get lucky and actually find it. We not only found it, but it was open! The proprietor who lives there with her husband gave us a nice, albeit slightly rushed, tour of the 18th century Danish home. With the heat what it was, we were rather disappointed not to get the free tropical drinks that are advertised.

Not knowing what else to do, we headed back to the guesthouse for another evening of relaxation and family time. With all that free time, it was a good thing I had brought Dutch Blitz and playing cards.

The next morning, we saw Chris off in his seaplane to St. Croix. When we went downtown to do a little more shopping before we left, a police officer told us the car's tags were expired so Dad dropped me and Mom off to grab a couple of quick souvenirs before heading back to the airport early. It's crazy that we went the entire trip without being pulled over until two hours before we planned to head to the airport, but, hey, that's life. It was a good vacation.

St. Thomas: Episode 4: Bay Day

Our plans for Saturday were to visit the St. Peter Greathouse in the morning and Magen's Bay in the afternoon. This worked out well because the morning was hazy and not ideal beach weather but by noon everything was bright and sunny.

St. Peter Greathouse is a beautiful tropical estate near the highest point in St. Thomas. We just wandered around enjoying the views and the flowers then relaxed under a gazebo while drinking tropical punch. We did have a little drama to begin the visit when I suddenly said, "Turn here!" so Dad did and wound up with one wheel stuck over the curb. Fortunately, he was able to get unstuck fairly easily once the rest of us got out of the car. Anyways, on with the day... As we headed towards Magen's Bay, we took the opportunity to stop at Drake's Seat where Sir Francis Drake supposedly watched his ship's travel through "Drake's Passage."

We got to Magen's Bay, reportedly one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world, just in time for lunch but nothing exotic. After lunch, I rented some snorkel gear and Chris took me snorkeling. I had such a difficult time getting started I couldn't do anything but laugh. I finally gave up trying to put the goggles over my glasses and that worked much better. I was close enough to the marine life too see most stuff pretty well, and I held my glasses as I swam around to get an occasional better view. The wierdest thing was swimming through a giant school of 2-inch translucent white fish. I saw just a few colorful fish, several white fish the size of sandwich plates, sea fans, spiny urchins and I even managed to spot a sea cucumber!

Family time

St. Thomas: Episode 3: Drive Me Crazy

We had seen all there was to see at Coral World by lunch time and were stuck saying, "Um, what now?" Mom's friend from work used to live on St. Thomas and said there was a nice view of St. John from Red Hook, so we decided to head that way. We came across Red Hook shortly, but didn't really see a good place to stop and before we knew it we were out of town and headed back towards Charlotte Amalie. We turned around and drove around and around trying to find a good spot to stop until we gave up and decided to head back to the center of Red Hook for lunch. Trying to stay in the island theme I had a jerk chicken wrap.

Did I mention I was sort of the designated tour guide? Therefore, everyone turned to me to figure out something to do for the afternoon. We all agreed upon Blackbeard's Castle and headed back towards Charlotte Amalie to find it. We got to where the magazine I was referring to said it should be and it wasn't there, so I switched magazines found a new point of reference for where it should be and we kept on driving. We finally found Bluebeard's Castle and wound up the hill to check it out. Bluebeard's Castle turned out to have been built up into a hotel, so after some fancy driving on Dad's part we got out of there and went looking for a tourist information center. Since Chris needed to stop at a bank and it was near a tourist shopping area, we set out looking for someone who might know something, but all we could find was this dude running a pirate shop who gave us vague directions but didn't know the street names. Heading back into Charlotte Amalie, we got lost in neighborhoods a couple more times before finally locating the castle around 3:10 pm. We headed in and started looking around, but were soon informed that they closed at 3:00 pm. After all that driving, we had figured out where a couple other sites were so we headed back downtown to climb the historic 99 steps and visit the garden of the First Ladies of the Virgin Islands.

Pirate queen fountain below Blackbeard's Castle and above the 99 Steps.

After all that driving around, we were ready to just head back to the guesthouse to relax. For dinner, we headed to Tickle's Dockside Pub which was a little bit pricey but then all Virgin Islands food seems to cost more. The fresh ocean air and the location mere yards from a submarine and fancy-schmancy yachts gave it a nice atmosphere and it gets mega-bonus points for not being next to impossible to find. The fish & chips don't compare to Scotland, but I blame that in part to my preference for haddock over grouper.

Dude!

St. Thomas: Episode 2: Coral World

We got going Friday morning and found Coral World, St. Thomas' aquarium attraction, without too much trouble.

We arrived just in time to catch the tail end of feeding time at the "Caribbean Reef Encounter" and admire the varied fish, especially the sting rays. Wandering on outdoors we found sharks, sea turtles, and stingrays in individual pools and an iguana nearly ran over my foot before leaping a story to the rocks below. For a more natural encounter with the reefs, we descended into the undersea observatory where we could admire the marine wildlife in their natural habitat. The coolest thing was spotting a sea spider, just because it was something you've got to be sharp eyed to notice.

We headed back to the shark pool to watch the sharks be fed and to pet a baby shark.

We continued to wander about the grounds enjoying the unique fish and sea creatures in the "Marine Gardens" aquariums; exploring the little nature trail; and feeling starfish, sea cucumbers, and the like at the touch pool. All in all it was a very enjoyable and interesting morning.

St. Thomas: Episode 1: The Journey

The trip down to St. Thomas was uneventful on the surface, just your typical air travel - delays and all. However, there were a few interesting factors in the delays:

* Right before we were to board the plane in Dallas, a flight attendant fell and apparently cut his head pretty bad, so he had to be taken care of and a replacement attendant called in before boarding could begin of course.
* Once everyone was settled on the plane, it was determined that a fuel gauge or some other such mechanical device had to be replaced before we could take off. Fortunately, that took less time than they estimated.
* We finally arrived in San Juan where it eventually turned out that 3(!) airplanes had to be grounded due to mechanical troubles so our flight had to be combined with a later flight to St. Thomas.
* Boarding in San Juan was a little crazy because the shuttle got the passengers out to the airplane before the flight crew. The bus was so packed that people started pushing out even though they weren't supposed to and there we were just hanging out on the tarmac.

We finally made it to St. Thomas where Chris was waiting for us at the airport. The adventure was about to begin. After finding our rental car in an unlit parking lot, finding our way to the other side of Charlotte Amalie was a piece of cake. It was once we pulled into our guesthouse's neighborhood that things started to get interesting. Narrow, steep, crumbly streets were to become our norm for the next few days. In the dark, the first time it seemed like we wound through that neighborhood forever before finding Ramsey's Guesthouse, but we made it and it wasn't long before we all settled in for the night.

To be continued...

Happy Magnuson Day!

It's been a while since I've posted anything, but a St. Thomas trip report is pending, and meanwhile:

I just encountered a very odd coincidence. I was writing the "s" in Magnuson when for completely unrelated reasons the name Magnuson was mentioned in BBC Scotland's Reel Blend trivia segment. According to OneLook, Magnuson is a rare surname occurring in 1 out of every 33,333 families with a popularity rank of 4,553 in the U.S.

In honor of this newly declared holiday, here is a picture of St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirwall, Orkney, Scotland:

Gullibility

This week's Scottish dance group question brought to mind an evening in front of the Towers dorms at ORU back in April of 2000. A group of friends was hanging out, and I had just announced that I had gotten my first (and only to this day) car that afternoon. Not to miss out on the announcements, one of my friends then said she was going to Japan. Between the two of us, we were able to fabricate a story in which she was going to be teaching German to deaf children in Japan. Somehow, we were believed even though absolutely none of it was true. We still laugh about it when we see each other.

Adventures in Beverage Land

I like drinking interesting things. Oftimes, that means delving into different cultures; sometimes, it means concocting my own drink.

• ~ I decided the weirdest thing I have had is a chocolate, peach passion, Mountain Dew shake. Mixing chocolate soft serve ice cream with Mountain Dew is a pretty incredible experience. If you ever have the chance, I strongly urge you give it a try.
• ~ I love heading to the mall for a bubble tea. The Taiwanese, I believe, came up with the idea of soaking giant tapioca pearls in tea and drinking/chewing them with flavoured tea.
• ~ My dad introduced me to honeyed chrysanthemum "tea" after his first trip to Singapore.
• ~ Lychee juice was a drink I discovered on my own in Singapore.
• ~ I discovered black currant juice in Scotland.
• ~ Most recently, I tried some ginger beer (non-alcoholic) my brother brought back from St. Croix. That's a real kick.

I know I'm leaving stuff out. That is such a small sampling, but it's all I can think of at the moment.

Oddest Job

For the sake of completeness only, I'll post the oddest job I've had as it was submitted to the Scottish dance group:

Working in a Mediterranean restaurant run by a couple of Middle Eastern men who would sit out front smoking their hookah. One night I even had to wear a fez.

Brow wrinkler

The lead in line for the health segment of the morning news went "Research shows the sun's dangers outweigh its benefits." Okay, hold up. When I hear that something's risks or dangers outweigh the benefits, I normally assume that the people who have determined such are proposing that the item in question no longer be used. So are these people proposing we send a nuclear warhead into the sun so we don't have to worry about it any more? Okay, okay, so I listened to the story and the researchers were actually saying that people shouldn't sit out in the sun to soak up rays to get Vitamin D. These researchers say that all the health benefits from the sun can be found much more safely by popping pills. I suppose these people want us to build a bunch of sci-fi domes equipped with happy lights (for SAD). I'll avoid going into the subject of sunlight and plants because that would be taking the issue out of context. I could go on a bit longer to fill out my arguments, but it's about time for me to step out and get what little sun I can on a work day in February.

Super Bowl Thoughts

~I don't see how you can play football with hair like Troy Polamalu's. It's as long as mine and thicker. That just seems to be asking for trouble.

~John Madden kept insisting Seattle needed to "up the tempo like they started the game." After about the 10th time I was plenty ready to get some duct tape to silence his useless advice. It wasn't like him saying it anymore was going to solve Seattle's problem. Although it would have been amusing to see him go down to their bench and lead the Seahawks in a little cheer. "T-E-M-P-O! Up, up the tempo!"

~It's easier to watch a golf tournament and appreciate good golf no matter who it is. It's a little harder in a two-team event like football where you cheer a good play for what it is then think, Wait, no, I didn't like that. That's the wrong team.

~He may not have put on the greatest performance, but at least now I can think of Ben Roethlisberger as the quarterback of a Super Bowl Championship team instead of Natalie Gulbis' ex.

~Is ABC just throwing in the towel on broadcast sports altogether? They've exiled Monday Night Football to their ESPN partners. They're dropping golf next year. What's next?

~And a final thought on the Super Bowl... Spending so much time watching golf, I do have to appreciate the teamwork involved in football.

Ladybugs

I can't post my weirdest job yet because we didn't have dance last night. (Beth has been ill.) Nonetheless, I don't want this poor blog to start suffering from abandonment issues.

I seem to be running a ladybug retirement home. I would call it an inn or a farm, but they keep showing up and then dying. It's not a hospital because I'm certainly no insect nurse. Today, one of these adorable beetles plopped down on my desk. I'm easily entertained, so it's been rather distracting. The poor thing doesn't seem to know what to do. It's crawled around a little, but millimeter for millimeter I think a turtle would have gotten farther. He managed to flip upside down, so I had to go to his rescue then. I don't know why I've decided it's a "he" instead of a "lady"bug "she."

Next week, I'll share my oddest job and some of the weird things I like to drink.

Who me? Weird?

The Scottish dancers are doing a fun game to learn stuff about each other, so I figure I'll post my answers on here each week after they've been revealed. This week's question was, "What is the weirdest thing you have ever done?" After scouring my college yearbooks I recalled the following:

I have taken a bite of a Cheeto being held between someone's toes. At an APA retreat, we were divided into teams and competed in various ways. The winning team got to mete out "punishments" to the losing teams. Not only did we have the fewest points we were the most annoying team because one of the contests was to come up with a cheer, and we kept doing our cheer at random times. If the points had been awarded based on which team had the most fun, we would most certainly have won. Here's the annoying cheer we made up to go with our team name, "Dirty Dozen":

Bang! Bang! Choo choo train!

Come on Dozen, do your thing!

Dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty!

Dozen, dozen, dozen, dozen!

Huh! And let it roll!

(repeat until other teams tackle to silence you)

Happy Birthday, Robert Burns!

Here's a lovely poem Burns wrote on his 34th birthday:

Sonnet Written On The Author's Birthday

On hearing a Thrush sing in his Morning Walk

Sing on, sweet thrush, upon the leafless bough;
Sing on, sweet bird, I listen to thy strain,
See aged Winter, 'mid his surly reign,
At thy blythe carol, clears his furrowed brow.

So in lone Poverty's dominion drear,
Sits meek Content with light, unanxious heart;
Welcomes the rapid moments, bids them part,
Nor asks if they bring ought to hope or fear.

I thank thee, Author of this opening day!
Thou whose bright sun now gilds yon orient skies!
Riches denied, thy boon was purer joys --
What wealth could never give nor take away!

Yet come, thou child of poverty and care,
The mite high heav'n bestow'd, that mite with thee I'll share.

Never

Never drink caffeinated soda on the same day you're running low on your regular prescription medication and a stressful work deadline is going to make you tense and give you adrenaline since you've got to rush to not be horribly late for an already nerve-wracking first date.

Never.

It's the little things...

I encountered the following tidbits in my ordinary course of work today:

~ 34567 was an actual end figure I wound up with in a regular monthly worksheet.

~ There is a road in Oklahoma called Flowery Mound Road.

Happy 2006!

This year my main New Year's resolution is to learn to embroider. I like to make my resolutions fun. Of course, that doesn't always work. I sure didn't learn to knit last year. For bettering myself in more boring ways, my resolutions include taking better care of my teeth and skin before bed and tracking my budget more carefully. People seem to think fitness is a mandatory resolution, but my fitness plans aren't really a resolution because they're mainly just to do water aerobics and I started that in November.