The Mini Adventures of Me

Mini Adventure #1  (food!)

I've set myself a new challenge.  I'm going to prove to myself (and maybe some other people) that it's possible to eat well, have fun, and explore even when you're dirt-broke, reading 300 - 500 pages for class every week, and working two jobs.

You're right, I'm crazy.

But really, I'm going to do it.  The Mini Adventures of me will be things I eat, see, hear, and, well - experience.  It might be something I plan, it might be something cataclysmic going down, or it might be something small and interesting I notice.  If I focus on the beauty and adventure of the small things, maybe I'll learn to appreciate them more.

So.  We begin.  :)

My first Mini Adventure is something New Mexicans are known for - green chili.  As far as I was concerned, chili was something with beans that came in a can, and  you heated it up and ate it on Halloween.  But here, green chilies are amazingly tasty peppers that have been roasted, peeled, and put on something to jazz it up.

My first encounter with the stuff was at the Frontier restaurant, right next to campus.  I had something called a Fiesta Burger, which is essentially a delicious cheeseburger - with green chili on it.  Oh. My.  Goodness.  It is quite possibly one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life (shawarma is still a bit better IMO)!!  After that I had it on an enchilada, also from the Frontier (don't worry, it was a different day), and I decided I MUST have this green chili in my life.

I went to the grocery store and bought a jar of it (in mild, because I'm still acclimating).  Since then I have eaten it straight out of the jar, substituted it for pickle relish in my tuna fish, and slathered it onto grilled cheese sandwiches.  My housemate keeps laughing at me because if something is bland or boring, I just pull of the jar of chili.  The stuff is amazing.  I'm definitely bringing my parents some when I visit .  And chocolate from Trader Joe's.  But that's another adventure.  :)

Zero Hour

So this is it - I'm moving tomorrow morning.

Honestly...I don't feel like I am.  I feel like I'm going on an extended camping trip with lots of stuff.  I'll come back in a week or so and have to go back to work, remember to wash the towels, and feed the dogs at 6 every night.  In all actuality, in a couple of weeks I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to feel.

But in the meantime, I'm procrastinating.  There are still lots of songs I need to get off my dad's PC and onto the laptop if I ever want to use my iTunes again.  There is a basket full of clean laundry that needs to be folded up and put in a box.  There are several boxes that need to be take out to my car.  I should probably write down the address of the hotel, the apartment, the credit union, etc.  I should clean out Ophelia's cage again.  But honestly, I just want to take a nap.

This whole business has been incredibly draining and taxing.  I will be happy for it to be over, just so I can get back into a routine again and not be worried about what random thing is going to be needing taken care of next.  Of course, I'll have a whole new set of things to worry about, like finding a new job, getting a credit union account set up, feeding myself, etc.  But I look forward to a while after all that, when life develops a natural pattern again, and I can start finding out what normal is, because I'm pretty sure I've forgotten.

I am super excited though.  I'm excited to figure out a new city, and it be MY city - my parents won't automatically know more about it than me.  I'll have the quickest routes, the double turn lanes figured out.  I'll know where's cheap to eat, and where's good to eat.  I have new everything: new apartment, new bed, new car, new dresser, new school, new professors, new weather patterns, new church, new amusement park, new stores....It's a grand adventure, and I'm thrilled to get to do this by myself.  :)

Separate Ways

Sold the truck.  Sold my Gilgamesh.

It was necessary.  But oh man...I didn't want to.

So we'll play Sister's theme song for him.  :)  Journey – Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

Critical Directions

Seriously.  Who eats their Junior Mints in TWO sittings?

Nerd Crush #12

The Avengers is full of delicious looking men.  I mean, seriously, there should be a law against that much male attractiveness being in one film.  Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Loki...

But I digress.  As much as I adore those other beautiful men, I have developed quite a nerd crush on Agent Coulson.  :)  I thought you should know.

'The Day'

Today was 'the day.'  That day that everyone waits for their whole lives, when everything lines up perfectly.  It was the day I've been waiting for since I was 12; the culmination of dozens of things I've tried to do.
...But I'll try not to wax poetical.  :)

It was very simple: I didn't meet anyone, I didn't get married, I didn't have a child, or anything huge like that.

Today it was just me, my truck, my music, a great drive, a beautiful place, and my own (very small, but still!) archaeological survey.

I've been wanting to feel that kind of freedom, competence, ability, and independence for a lifetime.  It only lasted maybe four hours.  But it was there.  It was 'that day.'  It will probably be another 25 years before I get another day like that.  I'm very grateful though, that I was able to recognize it when it came.  And I'm pleased at how simple it was - nothing fancy or dramatic.  It was just for me.

The Pets

Meet the pets -

First to greet me when I get home in the evening is Samson, or sometimes Sammy, better known as Sambo, who drives a Lambo.  Part Boston Terrier, part Grayhound - pretty much the cutest dog ever, and he loves to snuggle!  He will also get little black hairs EVERYWHERE, and has terrible breath, but I forgive him, because he loves me unashamedly.

Samson is followed by Archie, also known as Sir Archibald Hetherington Nastyface, Laird of the West Loch and Kirby's Landing.  He'll jump at me a few times, then return to whatever mischief he's been up to.  I'm pretty sure he knows we hid his training stuff in that drawer and he wants to dispose of it quietly...

In my room, living in #21 B Baker Street is the fair Ophelia, who is adorable, loves climbing, digging, and eating treats.  Every time I clean her cage I give her an old sock.  She chews on this in such a way that she makes a little dome with multiple entrances, and then half buries it in wood chips.  She's very talented.  She is also camera shy, obviously.

This is the late and lamented Watson (RIP), the previous occupant of #21 B Baker Street.  He was a very calm dwarf hamster, and would run around on my bedspread and let me carry him around the house.  He also woke up every morning and chirped at me while I get ready for class.  I had no idea hamsters could chirp, but it made me happy.  :)