I like camping. I enjoy having one or two days out in the "wilderness," enjoying nature and just relaxing. The typical activities associated with camping, such as hiking and swimming, are enjoyable. When I was little, at least once per year my family and I would go tent-camping for four to five days at a state park. We would have a blast. I remember hiking at Mohican. I remember riding at Findley and having the pedals fall off my bike as I went down a hill. We would cook dinner by the fire each night, having pizza pies at least twice, if not three times during the course of the trip. As we got older, we traded tent camping for staying in cabins, which was a huge step up and made camping even more enjoyable for me (even if you want to argue that it's not REALLY camping anymore!)
Back in December, my sister came and visited during the week before Christmas. Any time you visit a friend or family member's new home for the first time, obviously you HAVE to tour the abode and proclaim your admiration of the dwelling. Even if it's contrived, there is always at least one compliment you can pay the proud owner. After taking the five minute tour (it's a 780 square foot, one-bedroom apartment, it doesn't take long.) Kacy proclaimed that the apartment was "cute" and she gave her approval. Then at the end of the week she cracked me up when she said, "Your apartment reminds me of a campground."
At the time, I never gave that statement any thought. It was just a statement. But over the last week I just couldn't help but think about how much my apartment complex really is like a campground, specifically a campground with cabins!
First, you have the setting. Any respectable campground is in a secluded area filled with mature trees. To get to my apartment, you drive down the incredibly busy highway, maneuver your way through the heavily congested retail area on the north end of town, head down the parkway, and turn on to the four-lane-and-a-median road filled with small shops of every variety. Trying to drive on this road during rush hour is terrible. It's so incredibly busy. But once you turn into Martins Creek, you immediately find yourself in a different world. A line of very tall pine trees creates a barrier between some shops and the property. Old oak trees provide graceful beauty and shade. Cleveland pears, magnolias, and maple trees are scattered around all 15 buildings on the property. Azalea bushes and some type of bush similar to a lilac are used for landscaping around all the buildings. Where I walk Cooper there is a fence that is covered with a vine that produces reddish-orange flowers. Each morning when I walk Cooper, the sun filters through the leaves creating an incredibly peaceful scene.
Seeing as how the campground is usually in a secluded setting, wildlife is abundant. There are quite a few squirrels around here at my place. I am VERY lucky that Cooper isn't overly excited by squirrels. He will let a squirrel walk within two or three feet of him without caring. He does however, mind the cats that run around. There is a black cat and a white cat that I usually see running in and out of dumpsters all around the complex and Cooper gets REALLY angry and tries to attack them. While him trying to maul cats is not funny, me nearly having my arm ripped off when I'm not paying attention is probably a funny sight. You know those birds that sit right next to your tent and wake you up in the morning? Yeah. We have those too, courtesy of the mockingbirds and crows that live nearby. There are some cute little lizards that crawl around, oh, and don't forget the "palmetto bugs." (Remember, palmetto bug is just a polite Southern term for cockroaches!!)
Half the fun of camping, for me anyways, is the people watching. You have the "lifers" who will set up camp and stay there all summer. You have your "enthusiasts" who enjoy camping but typically just spend a few days here and there throughout the summer. Even though they may only spend a little time camping, they have all the gear and enjoy showing it off. Then you have the rest of the people, who really only go camping because at one point they thought, "What should I do this weekend. Oh, this sounds like fun." These people usually don't have much other than the basics, and they rarely stay more than one night.
You have basically the same scenario here. You have the people who have lived here for years and plan to live here for many years more. Their apartments are decked out! They are the ones with piles of wood sitting on the patio, ready for use in the fireplace next year. Their patios are decorated for each season. The "enthusiasts" here are the people who are living in apartments basically because it's the most economical option at this point, i.e. college students, single people, young families. You know the enthusiasts because they put a little effort into making things look good, like a few chairs and maybe a plant or two on the patio. They make themselves comfortable, they have all the right gear, but they aren't trying to settle in forever. Last but not least you have the rest. They were probably looking for a place to stay anyways, but I feel that their thought process was probably "ooh, shiny." These are the people who are really excited about moving somewhere, but they don't have quite everything in place or have a place for everything they own. This includes my neighbor who left his recliner and car seat on his patio after move in. While not necessarily the best look, it was semi-amusing to think that to relax on his patio, his seat of choice wouldn't be your typical patio furniture.
One of the givens of a campground is the smell of smoke generated by hundreds of people cooking dinner over an open fire. Obviously there aren't any open pit fires here, but if you're really lucky, all the smoke stars will align here at my complex. How so? 1.) Someone is grilling at the pavilion. 2.) People nearby are smoking (and there's always someone nearby smoking) 3.) I walk in the door when the AC comes on and that nice of stale smoke enters in my apartment. Yep. My version of a campground!
If you go to the right campground, you will find a few attractions, usually a swimming pool, a canteen, and something odd like a mini-golf course. Apartments are really no different. Mine has a fairly nice pool, except for the ash trays which double as beer bottle collectors. The pool is deep too, which is nice, because it offers some distance from little kids! Every once in awhile, Cooper will run crazy circles in my house trying to burn some energy. There is a dog run here, but Cooper will literally walk in, make one very slow lap while smelling everything, then stand by the gate until I take him out. Way to go dog, way to go.
Well, my weekend is almost over and I still have a few chores left to do. Rather than yummy camping food, I have a few weeks worth of yummy regular-type food that needs to find it's way into my freezer. Then it's time for bed, which sounds REALLY nice right now. And the nice part? It's my comfy bed, not the ground with some tree root sticking in my back! Sleep tight!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The smells...
The other night I was out on my patio reading a book, enjoying the waning moments of daylight and the light breeze that was gently rustling the leaves of the bushes just behind me. In that perfect moment, I took a deep breath to fill my lungs with the sweet aroma of the fresh air and sigh in perfect contentment. Well, that last sentence is what I wanted to do, what actually happened was I went to take a deep breath and ended up choking on the odor.
I couldn't help it. Even having lived here for seven (SEVEN!!!!) months now, I still haven't gotten used to the smell of pluff mud. The best way to describe this smell is to think about smelling sulfur, but that's an imperfect description. You have to smell it to understand it! Once I quit gagging, I started laughing and my thoughts wandered to the sense of smell. Specifically, how certain scents can conjure up positive memories of seasons, happy times in my life, my home in Ohio, and new scents that I will forever associate with South Carolina.
Summer is probably my favorite season, and there are certain scents that have always made me think of summer, like the smell of the chlorine in the pool. To me, chlorine=pool, and pool=summer (or even mid-spring here in SC!!!!) One of my neighbors had their grill out the other night. Even just the smell of charcoal smells like summer to me.
I have flowers on my patio, with alyssum included among them. These dainty little flowers aren't flashy, and they attract a LOT of bees, which greatly displeases me. But every year that I have a flower bed, from now until the day I die, I will include alyssum. Why? The smell reminds me of my Grandma Henry. Outside what used to be the main entrance to her house there is a flower bed, with one short edge being lined with concrete blocks that were turned on their side. The holes were filled with dirt and she used to plant alyssum as a cute little edging. I can see myself, all of six years old, standing outside the door, inhaling that wonderful aroma. It took me probably another decade to realize that the flowers were actually the smell I remembered, but it still sticks in my head as the smell of my Grandma's house, which is and always has been one of my favorite places to visit.
Every time I talk with my mom on the phone we compare the weather. Lately I say, "Oh I don't miss that one bit" as she shares that it was yet again fifty degrees, cloudy, and raining. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy the sun and the warmth here. I do miss the flowers around my house in Ohio though. Someone had daffodils this year, but they were in a ditch along a busy road, so I never got to enjoy their scent this year. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers, and I can remember their scent wafting into my bedroom window at night in late May. I haven't seen any here, but the magnolia trees are starting to bloom, and you can smell their VERY strong scent from quite a distance. To me, they smell like a Southern version of peonies. Basically, instead of just enjoying the new flowers, I am comparing it to home!
Then, like pluff mud, there are scents that I will ALWAYS associate with South Carolina. For example, the other day I came home for lunch. It was a particularly warm day, and as I got out of the car, I couldn't help but notice the scent created by the sun beating down on the wood siding of my building. I know I've smelled that aroma before, but from now on it will be forever associated with my first apartment. (And me thinking, "It smells like something is about to spontaneously combust.")
Well, right now I smell my dinner, which means it's about two minutes from burning. So I will draw this post to an end by wishing my Grandpa Henry "alles Gute zum Geburtstag!" Also, I will be back on Ohio soil in 61 short days!
I couldn't help it. Even having lived here for seven (SEVEN!!!!) months now, I still haven't gotten used to the smell of pluff mud. The best way to describe this smell is to think about smelling sulfur, but that's an imperfect description. You have to smell it to understand it! Once I quit gagging, I started laughing and my thoughts wandered to the sense of smell. Specifically, how certain scents can conjure up positive memories of seasons, happy times in my life, my home in Ohio, and new scents that I will forever associate with South Carolina.
Summer is probably my favorite season, and there are certain scents that have always made me think of summer, like the smell of the chlorine in the pool. To me, chlorine=pool, and pool=summer (or even mid-spring here in SC!!!!) One of my neighbors had their grill out the other night. Even just the smell of charcoal smells like summer to me.
I have flowers on my patio, with alyssum included among them. These dainty little flowers aren't flashy, and they attract a LOT of bees, which greatly displeases me. But every year that I have a flower bed, from now until the day I die, I will include alyssum. Why? The smell reminds me of my Grandma Henry. Outside what used to be the main entrance to her house there is a flower bed, with one short edge being lined with concrete blocks that were turned on their side. The holes were filled with dirt and she used to plant alyssum as a cute little edging. I can see myself, all of six years old, standing outside the door, inhaling that wonderful aroma. It took me probably another decade to realize that the flowers were actually the smell I remembered, but it still sticks in my head as the smell of my Grandma's house, which is and always has been one of my favorite places to visit.
Every time I talk with my mom on the phone we compare the weather. Lately I say, "Oh I don't miss that one bit" as she shares that it was yet again fifty degrees, cloudy, and raining. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy the sun and the warmth here. I do miss the flowers around my house in Ohio though. Someone had daffodils this year, but they were in a ditch along a busy road, so I never got to enjoy their scent this year. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers, and I can remember their scent wafting into my bedroom window at night in late May. I haven't seen any here, but the magnolia trees are starting to bloom, and you can smell their VERY strong scent from quite a distance. To me, they smell like a Southern version of peonies. Basically, instead of just enjoying the new flowers, I am comparing it to home!
Then, like pluff mud, there are scents that I will ALWAYS associate with South Carolina. For example, the other day I came home for lunch. It was a particularly warm day, and as I got out of the car, I couldn't help but notice the scent created by the sun beating down on the wood siding of my building. I know I've smelled that aroma before, but from now on it will be forever associated with my first apartment. (And me thinking, "It smells like something is about to spontaneously combust.")
Well, right now I smell my dinner, which means it's about two minutes from burning. So I will draw this post to an end by wishing my Grandpa Henry "alles Gute zum Geburtstag!" Also, I will be back on Ohio soil in 61 short days!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Thank goodness for technology!
An evil idea crept into my mind. The event was supposed to start at 1:00 p.m. However, the guests were notorious for being late. Then of course, you had event set up, which always is hindered by the hostess and the guests jabbering for awhile. Don't forget to factor in the roadblocks: the pets looking for a treat and the men wandering into the kitchen to try and determine when the food would be available. There was also a special guest today, who of course would need to be properly greeted. My past experience with these events, coupled with intelligence I had obtained through text messages received within the previous half hour gave me a very small window to act. My mission? Sending my mom a text message that she would receive during the prayer for Easter dinner.
Why such a nefarious scheme? Why not?! Since this is my first holiday away from home I felt I had to make my presence known somehow, even if I was 681 miles away! Unfortunately for me, my timing was a little off and the text message was, and this is quoting my mom, "close though. You butt. Next time I see you I will kick you."
This is why I love technology. I mean, yes, letter writing is definitely a viable option for communication, and I do enjoy letter writing. I enjoy the thought and careful planning I have to put into a letter. Because of course, you have to make sure you don't run out of room and you have to make sure that you don't have too many mistakes! But, instant communication is SO MUCH FUN!!!
E-Mail: I don't send a lot of e-mails, but it's a fantastic tool when I am at work and I need to send a message that's too long to text but not really worth waiting all day to recount by phone call when I'm done with work. Case in point: My co-workers are all intelligent, educated individuals....who lack the ability to properly operate our office's vending machines. That story was worth an e-mail!
Phone call: Obviously another great method of communication. Lately, my phone calls seem to take place while I am sitting poolside. Essentially, after I'm done relaxing in the pool, I sit in the lounge chair and share details about the outisde temperature, the color of the sky during sunset, the fact that it's only April and I was swimming. You know, not bragging or anything!
Skype: I love Skype. I love being able to talk to someone and see them from miles away. When Aaron was in Okinawa last year we were able to Skype on occasion. It never ceased to amaze me that I was talking to someone who was 13 hours ahead of us and x-thousand miles away. I talk to Grandpa Henry on Skype every once in awhile. I love it!
Text message: I don't really text as much as some people. For me it's a great means of communication while I'm at work. In the moments where I have nothing to do, I'll send messages of boredom- "Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!" Or I'll have random conversations about nothing. It's also a great way to share snarky comments with people. Particularly when I HAVE to share something about a crazy person at the store or something my weird neighbors are doing.
Facebook: Facebook is awesome for touching base. It's certainly not even close to a replacement for being face-to-face with someone, but seeing as how I can talk to my brother, who is again on the other side of the world, and my sister, who's at college, and all my friends and family back in Medina County, it's a semi-decent substitute! I always laugh when my brother, sister, and I start having back and forth conversations with each other. It's like being home again. I pick on my old co-workers, making sure they don't forget me. I share quotes from TV shows with the only other person I know who watches that particular show. I laugh as everyone on my news feed is complaining about the clouds and rain.
Well, I am about ready to draw this medium of communication to a close. It is 85 degrees, humid, and sunny outside. I'm going swimming (again). To my family: I really missed not being able to spend Easter with you, but never fear, 70 days from today I will be in Ohio with you all again! (Can we start planning our 4th of July party now?) Enjoy the rest of your holiday everyone!
Why such a nefarious scheme? Why not?! Since this is my first holiday away from home I felt I had to make my presence known somehow, even if I was 681 miles away! Unfortunately for me, my timing was a little off and the text message was, and this is quoting my mom, "close though. You butt. Next time I see you I will kick you."
This is why I love technology. I mean, yes, letter writing is definitely a viable option for communication, and I do enjoy letter writing. I enjoy the thought and careful planning I have to put into a letter. Because of course, you have to make sure you don't run out of room and you have to make sure that you don't have too many mistakes! But, instant communication is SO MUCH FUN!!!
E-Mail: I don't send a lot of e-mails, but it's a fantastic tool when I am at work and I need to send a message that's too long to text but not really worth waiting all day to recount by phone call when I'm done with work. Case in point: My co-workers are all intelligent, educated individuals....who lack the ability to properly operate our office's vending machines. That story was worth an e-mail!
Phone call: Obviously another great method of communication. Lately, my phone calls seem to take place while I am sitting poolside. Essentially, after I'm done relaxing in the pool, I sit in the lounge chair and share details about the outisde temperature, the color of the sky during sunset, the fact that it's only April and I was swimming. You know, not bragging or anything!
Skype: I love Skype. I love being able to talk to someone and see them from miles away. When Aaron was in Okinawa last year we were able to Skype on occasion. It never ceased to amaze me that I was talking to someone who was 13 hours ahead of us and x-thousand miles away. I talk to Grandpa Henry on Skype every once in awhile. I love it!
Text message: I don't really text as much as some people. For me it's a great means of communication while I'm at work. In the moments where I have nothing to do, I'll send messages of boredom- "Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!" Or I'll have random conversations about nothing. It's also a great way to share snarky comments with people. Particularly when I HAVE to share something about a crazy person at the store or something my weird neighbors are doing.
Facebook: Facebook is awesome for touching base. It's certainly not even close to a replacement for being face-to-face with someone, but seeing as how I can talk to my brother, who is again on the other side of the world, and my sister, who's at college, and all my friends and family back in Medina County, it's a semi-decent substitute! I always laugh when my brother, sister, and I start having back and forth conversations with each other. It's like being home again. I pick on my old co-workers, making sure they don't forget me. I share quotes from TV shows with the only other person I know who watches that particular show. I laugh as everyone on my news feed is complaining about the clouds and rain.
Well, I am about ready to draw this medium of communication to a close. It is 85 degrees, humid, and sunny outside. I'm going swimming (again). To my family: I really missed not being able to spend Easter with you, but never fear, 70 days from today I will be in Ohio with you all again! (Can we start planning our 4th of July party now?) Enjoy the rest of your holiday everyone!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
14 Days
About 6 weeks ago I got a text message from my aunt, "Only 14 days until Summerville!" I don't remember how far in advance we had made plans for my aunts and my cousins to visit, but in any case, on that particular day we were down to only 14 days left until the beginning of the visit. I was extremely excited, I mean, it had been roughly a month since I had seen anyone from Ohio, and about 4 months since I had seen my aunts and my cousins. At that point, 14 days sounded like a long time, but when I got home I decided that I was thankful for that "long" wait in between that day and the visit.
The reason for the thankfulness? As I got home that night and scanned my apartment, I noticed the mess. There were my shoes piled around the front door and NOT in the shoe holder I have, the three dog leashes I have were piled in front of the patio window, there were dishes left on the end table, and the kitchen had all my dish rags and newspaper ads left scattered on the kitchen counter. While not unsanitary, my apartment was definitely cluttered and in desperate need of a through cleaning before I had ANYONE in that apartment! I know I focus in on weird things like this, but I always thought that when I moved into my own apartment, I would keep my house immaculate. Ha.
Now, find my mom, my best friend, or anyone who I talk to on a regular basis and ask them what I am doing while I talk. Nine times out of ten I am cleaning when I talk to them on the phone, Skype, or by Facebook chat. It's not because I have obsessive compulsive disorder and have to clean my house 24/7, it's more like I am incredibly ineffective at actually finishing any cleaning task I set out to accomplish. But...I decided that since I had a goal, I would be more effective this time and I would keep my apartment clean for 14 days, complete with washing the walls, cleaning the carpet, and scrubbing every laminate floor. You can imagine how that turned out.
Day 1: Entire apartment is cleaned, vacuumed, dusted and all the trash is out. It "only" took me from 6:30 to 11:30 to accomplish cleaning 680 square feet. There were a few episodes of Parks and Recreation in there somewhere.
Day 3: I don't do anything on Friday nights, this includes not putting my dishes away, leaving my mail on the table, leaving my clothes in a pile on the floor.
Day 4: I wake up late on Saturdays. I consider getting my laundry done my accomplishment for the day.
Day 5: Go Sunday! I have everything cleaned, vacuumed, and dusted. If it was in the living room.
Day 8: Somewhere in the next three days my apartment has gone from fairly cleaned and straightened to cluttered with coupon clippings on the table and receipts for online payment piled around the end table the printer sits under. I did manage to vacuum, but the dog took it upon himself to roll on his back and wiggle through the living room, which was cute, but left a trail of dog hair all over my freshly vacuumed carpet. This is of course right after I took the filter out and washed it, so now I can't vacuum again until it's dried.
Day 9: I get the great idea to rearrange my room. Which is fine, except I moved a whole bunch of random stuff from the other rooms in here. Now, as I try to maneuver my bed and my top heavy bookshelf around the room, I first have to move all the other stuff out of my way. Hey...I haven't read that book in a long time...four hours later it's time for bed.
Day 10: I discover my list from 10 days ago and remember that I wanted to keep my apartment completely cleaned for 14 days. I laugh and rededicate myself to the cause. I fall asleep on the floor while watching The Colbert Report on Hulu. When I wake up it's time for bed.
Day 11: I realize that I have just about no time left, complete with an incredibly busy work week that will probably keep me there after hours and require me making a dessert for the staff meeting day after I get home. In any case, I get the floors vacuumed.
Day 12: Today I make that dessert. I accidentally drop the sifter full of powdered sugar. Big mess. The kitchen gets cleaned, but before I reach the rest of the house I get a phone call. No worries, I will finish cleaning tomorrow.
Day 13: I watched Castle and fell asleep at 7:00 p.m.
Day 14: 5:00 p.m., I check my phone. They're in Columbia?! That's ok, it gives me another two hours. Then I realized that the fact that they have made it this far in a little under 10 hours indicates that they are moving a lot faster than I expected them to. Haha. Upon further texts, I realize they are 30 miles away, traveling at 70 mph. Anyone good at algebra? I decide that my apartment is cluttered, but not dirty, so it's all okay. Then I notice that my refrigerator is the one place that hasn't been cleaned out and is filled with all sorts of pretty, but unnatural colors. Quickly it is cleaned out. My laundry, which has been drying all over my apartment since yesterday afternoon, is quickly gathered into baskets and shoved in my closet. They arrive, and all is forgotten as we travel the tri-county area, picking up trinkets, meeting locals, revisiting history, and playing in the ocean.
Day 18: As I attempt to clean up now that everyone is gone, I find the original cleaning list. I laugh, throw it out, and sit back to watch the Amazing Race, since I now have network TV courtesy of my aunt. I'll clean tomorrow.
Today (Day 25): My apartment is back in it's usual state: Clean (sanitary), but my newspaper is scattered on the table, my library books are piled by the futon, where I have been reading all day, and I know the ironing board is still set up in my bedroom, where I left it this morning before church. I can't help but laugh at myself for my overly ambitious goal and my inability to meet that goal. I guess I can be thankful that I don't really have anything bigger to obsess about right now. There was a tornado that touched down and destroyed a few homes and a church about an hour north of my house last night. Everyone was okay, but it looks like a big mess!
Well, the only thing that remains to be done tonight is enjoying the weather. I have no idea what the temperature is, but it's perfect for spending time out on my patio, and that's just what I intend to do. I have my new citronella candles ready to repel those pesky mosquitoes, some nice iced tea, and a few more books to read. Ah....
The reason for the thankfulness? As I got home that night and scanned my apartment, I noticed the mess. There were my shoes piled around the front door and NOT in the shoe holder I have, the three dog leashes I have were piled in front of the patio window, there were dishes left on the end table, and the kitchen had all my dish rags and newspaper ads left scattered on the kitchen counter. While not unsanitary, my apartment was definitely cluttered and in desperate need of a through cleaning before I had ANYONE in that apartment! I know I focus in on weird things like this, but I always thought that when I moved into my own apartment, I would keep my house immaculate. Ha.
Now, find my mom, my best friend, or anyone who I talk to on a regular basis and ask them what I am doing while I talk. Nine times out of ten I am cleaning when I talk to them on the phone, Skype, or by Facebook chat. It's not because I have obsessive compulsive disorder and have to clean my house 24/7, it's more like I am incredibly ineffective at actually finishing any cleaning task I set out to accomplish. But...I decided that since I had a goal, I would be more effective this time and I would keep my apartment clean for 14 days, complete with washing the walls, cleaning the carpet, and scrubbing every laminate floor. You can imagine how that turned out.
Day 1: Entire apartment is cleaned, vacuumed, dusted and all the trash is out. It "only" took me from 6:30 to 11:30 to accomplish cleaning 680 square feet. There were a few episodes of Parks and Recreation in there somewhere.
Day 3: I don't do anything on Friday nights, this includes not putting my dishes away, leaving my mail on the table, leaving my clothes in a pile on the floor.
Day 4: I wake up late on Saturdays. I consider getting my laundry done my accomplishment for the day.
Day 5: Go Sunday! I have everything cleaned, vacuumed, and dusted. If it was in the living room.
Day 8: Somewhere in the next three days my apartment has gone from fairly cleaned and straightened to cluttered with coupon clippings on the table and receipts for online payment piled around the end table the printer sits under. I did manage to vacuum, but the dog took it upon himself to roll on his back and wiggle through the living room, which was cute, but left a trail of dog hair all over my freshly vacuumed carpet. This is of course right after I took the filter out and washed it, so now I can't vacuum again until it's dried.
Day 9: I get the great idea to rearrange my room. Which is fine, except I moved a whole bunch of random stuff from the other rooms in here. Now, as I try to maneuver my bed and my top heavy bookshelf around the room, I first have to move all the other stuff out of my way. Hey...I haven't read that book in a long time...four hours later it's time for bed.
Day 10: I discover my list from 10 days ago and remember that I wanted to keep my apartment completely cleaned for 14 days. I laugh and rededicate myself to the cause. I fall asleep on the floor while watching The Colbert Report on Hulu. When I wake up it's time for bed.
Day 11: I realize that I have just about no time left, complete with an incredibly busy work week that will probably keep me there after hours and require me making a dessert for the staff meeting day after I get home. In any case, I get the floors vacuumed.
Day 12: Today I make that dessert. I accidentally drop the sifter full of powdered sugar. Big mess. The kitchen gets cleaned, but before I reach the rest of the house I get a phone call. No worries, I will finish cleaning tomorrow.
Day 13: I watched Castle and fell asleep at 7:00 p.m.
Day 14: 5:00 p.m., I check my phone. They're in Columbia?! That's ok, it gives me another two hours. Then I realized that the fact that they have made it this far in a little under 10 hours indicates that they are moving a lot faster than I expected them to. Haha. Upon further texts, I realize they are 30 miles away, traveling at 70 mph. Anyone good at algebra? I decide that my apartment is cluttered, but not dirty, so it's all okay. Then I notice that my refrigerator is the one place that hasn't been cleaned out and is filled with all sorts of pretty, but unnatural colors. Quickly it is cleaned out. My laundry, which has been drying all over my apartment since yesterday afternoon, is quickly gathered into baskets and shoved in my closet. They arrive, and all is forgotten as we travel the tri-county area, picking up trinkets, meeting locals, revisiting history, and playing in the ocean.
Day 18: As I attempt to clean up now that everyone is gone, I find the original cleaning list. I laugh, throw it out, and sit back to watch the Amazing Race, since I now have network TV courtesy of my aunt. I'll clean tomorrow.
Today (Day 25): My apartment is back in it's usual state: Clean (sanitary), but my newspaper is scattered on the table, my library books are piled by the futon, where I have been reading all day, and I know the ironing board is still set up in my bedroom, where I left it this morning before church. I can't help but laugh at myself for my overly ambitious goal and my inability to meet that goal. I guess I can be thankful that I don't really have anything bigger to obsess about right now. There was a tornado that touched down and destroyed a few homes and a church about an hour north of my house last night. Everyone was okay, but it looks like a big mess!
Well, the only thing that remains to be done tonight is enjoying the weather. I have no idea what the temperature is, but it's perfect for spending time out on my patio, and that's just what I intend to do. I have my new citronella candles ready to repel those pesky mosquitoes, some nice iced tea, and a few more books to read. Ah....
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Tourist in my own town...
This week I had two of my aunts and two of my cousins visiting from Ohio. We drove so many places. We walked so far! I think we gave a huge boost to the city's economy. We toured two beaches. We had great Uno Attack games. We kind of sort of visited three plantation homes. We rode a boat to a historic battle site. We met a lot of very nice, friendly people. Some of us did not eat eggs for breakfast on Saturday! Overall we had a great time!
More than once during this weekend I had to say, "I honestly don't know. I've never been here before." It was great! There is so much to see and do in Charleston. Friday we set out to Fort Sumter, then the Charleston City Market, then Sullivan's Island. A lot of back and forth driving and walking (almost 6 miles when it was all said and done) culminating in a trip to the only Fazoli's in the area! Even with all the walking and touring we did, there are so many more places I need to visit. (That is why I need more house guests! I need more people to take out and about so I have more reasons to visit these places!)
Saturday was a little more of the same. We drove down Ashley River Road, which is one of the prettiest drives there is. We wanted to visit some of the plantation homes, but they were kind of expensive. So we just drove in the driveway and then turned around and left! After that we drove to Folly Beach, a trip that took us through James Island. I usually have no real reason to drive an hour south of my house, but there seemed to be so many cool shops to visit. I need to visit there more often!
I started thinking about this in relation to Ohio. I never really had any out of town guests visit my family when I was home. Almost all of my family lives within an hour of my house. All of my friends lived within Medina County, and the few who moved away had lived here for so long before they left that when they came home they never needed to "tour" the area. This is probably a good thing though, because there is just about nothing to do in Ohio. I remember making fun of tourism guides for places other than Cleveland, Columbus, or Cincinnati.
Essentially, the "must see" destinations in Ohio are Cedar Point, Amish Country, The Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Rock Museum, maybe the Science museum, and if you really want to go to Akron...um...maybe go there during the Firestone tournament?
It's not really a fair comparison. I mean, Charleston has a much longer and richer history. Being situated where it is also gives it a much broader range of ethnic, cultural, and regional influences. Ohio is like every other state in the Midwest: Maybe 150-200 years of statehood, a large portion of their citizens are descended from immigrants of maybe three or four European countries, and really obnoxious weather that changes whenever it feels like it. (And honestly, Ohio does have it's perks. I just feel like picking on Ohio. Always a fun and easy target!)
I can't wait for my upcoming weekends. I have about a million more places I want to visit, in addition to just chilling on the beach. Come and visit me some time. We'll have a ball!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Eat, drink, run, and be merry.
A flower. A match. A bowl of heated grains. An ear of corn. A bridge. Moth larvae. On their own, all fairly inane objects that are just "background" items in our day to day lives. Seemingly almost unrelated to one another, right? However, believe it or not, these items all do have something in common: They are all the basis for large festivals!
For weeks now people at work and church have been talking about the events of this last weekend here in Charleston, especially Saturday. You see, in the morning there was the Cooper River Bridge Run, a 10k race on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge (If you watch Darius Rucker's "Comeback Song," you'll see the bridge in the background.) Then, in Summerville, there was the Flowertown Festival. It was a huge deal, almost 200,000 people were expected to attend. As I listened to co-workers and church-goers I really couldn't believe just how big these events were supposed to be. It just didn't seem right that a town of 40,000 people would draw 200,000 to an arts festival held in and around a small park named after a fairly common flower. I was wrong.
Summerville is known far and wide for two things: Pine trees and azalea flowers. They even combined it into a motto, "Flowertown in the Pines." To me these seem like the key aspects of general Southern landscape, but I guess Summerville just has a higher concentration or just likes them more. In any case, I signed up to help face paint in my church's booth. I parked over a mile away from the event just so I could avoid the traffic. Even at a mile away I was still too close :) So I began my trek to the booth. It wasn't long before I ended up in the middle of a throng of other people walking towards the festival. It was one of those times where once a group started walking they didn't stop, and the police ended up stopping the crowd just so that cars could go through the intersection. Once I finally got into the festival I looked forward at the next mile of road. It was a wavy ribbon of wall-to-wall people. Now I could see how 200,000 people could fit here. Vendors lined both sides of the road and were set up in Azalea park. It was easy to see all of them in just one pass merely for how slowly we had to walk. Plenty of time for observation! Next year I need to take a friend and spend more time looking through the vendors...
So once I got home from Flowertown yesterday, I started thinking about how big the event was, given the nature of the event and the population of the host town. To me, it seemed like some of these area festivals were so much larger than any events that I had been to in Ohio. I did some reaseach...
The Flowertown Festival draws 200,000 visitors from about 14 different states. Vendors come from as far away as Alaska (Can't say I blame them. Seventy versus ten below? Yeah.) It's a three day event held in an area of about three square miles. Busy busy. Entertainment? Art vendors, a "Taste of Summerville", and various amateurs singers.
I tried to compare this to the Medina County Fair. They have about 100,000 people over seven days
spread out over 60 acres. The slightly larger Wayne County Fair draws 133,000 over five days. Entertainment? Famous country music acts, amusement rides, a bajillion (real word) animals, and various other domestic competitions. The base populations of the host towns are 27,000 and 26,000 respectively.
St. George, South Carolina has a population of 2,500. Each year they host the "World Grits Festival," a three-day event honoring the fact that they have the highest grit consumption per capita in THE WORLD. Average crowd? 50,000. Entertainment? Grit eating contest, roll in the grit contest, and a 5k grit race. Oh yeah, and lots of vendors.
There is the Blue Tip Festival- Wadsworth's pride and joy. In the two days prior to the kick-off parade, chairs and blankets are set out along the parade route, staking claim to the best seats. The parade goes on for almost two hours, featuring local politicians, bands, every fire truck and ambulance in the three county area, and lots and lots of candy. The festival itself, spanning five days, features amusement rides, carnival games, and vendor booths from local area businesses and organizations. It draws about 30,000 people each year.
Lodi is home to the yearly Sweet Corn Festival each year. Following a parade (which features the pro-marijuana crowd!) there is a three day festival that includes amusement rides, food, and a tug-of-war competition. Attendees? Based on research, anywhere from 10,000-20,000 people.
Back to that Bridge Run, it's a 10k spanning the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. This year they stopped taking entires once the first 40,000 people entered. All but about 2,000 people ran. There was an estimated crowd of 20,000 people. For three hours they have a festival with food booths, vendors, and other entertainment. But 40,000 running over a bridge? Though different races with different qualification criteria, for comparison purposes the Boston Marathon has 20,000 participants, and the NYC marathon draws about 43,000 runners.
So, just as I thought, relatively speaking South Carolina draws incredibly large crowds to festivals that feature fairly inane objects and have minimal carnival entertainment. Ohio on the other hand has festivals with lots of amusement (and way more parades) but relatively smaller crowds. Why is this? I have no idea. This is a blog, not a research article! In the words of my boss, "We just like big parties here in the South!" Big parties they are, and fun parties at that!
Oh, just to highlight the one VERY large festival that Ohio throws, there is always Dick Goddard's Wooly Bear Festival. This is a one day event that draws almost 100,000 people to a small town to watch a parade with 2,000 entries that worships a worm. Congrats Ohio, you win the crazy festival award!
On that note, my good friend Benadryl is calling my name, and I must heed it's call or else I won't be able to breathe tonight. I love pollen. Have a wonderful evening and plan on attending next year's local festivals with me! (Except for the Grits Festival. Can't say that I'll ever go to an event celebrating ground up corn!)
P.S.- Happy 22nd Birthday to my favorite brother!
For weeks now people at work and church have been talking about the events of this last weekend here in Charleston, especially Saturday. You see, in the morning there was the Cooper River Bridge Run, a 10k race on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge (If you watch Darius Rucker's "Comeback Song," you'll see the bridge in the background.) Then, in Summerville, there was the Flowertown Festival. It was a huge deal, almost 200,000 people were expected to attend. As I listened to co-workers and church-goers I really couldn't believe just how big these events were supposed to be. It just didn't seem right that a town of 40,000 people would draw 200,000 to an arts festival held in and around a small park named after a fairly common flower. I was wrong.
Summerville is known far and wide for two things: Pine trees and azalea flowers. They even combined it into a motto, "Flowertown in the Pines." To me these seem like the key aspects of general Southern landscape, but I guess Summerville just has a higher concentration or just likes them more. In any case, I signed up to help face paint in my church's booth. I parked over a mile away from the event just so I could avoid the traffic. Even at a mile away I was still too close :) So I began my trek to the booth. It wasn't long before I ended up in the middle of a throng of other people walking towards the festival. It was one of those times where once a group started walking they didn't stop, and the police ended up stopping the crowd just so that cars could go through the intersection. Once I finally got into the festival I looked forward at the next mile of road. It was a wavy ribbon of wall-to-wall people. Now I could see how 200,000 people could fit here. Vendors lined both sides of the road and were set up in Azalea park. It was easy to see all of them in just one pass merely for how slowly we had to walk. Plenty of time for observation! Next year I need to take a friend and spend more time looking through the vendors...
So once I got home from Flowertown yesterday, I started thinking about how big the event was, given the nature of the event and the population of the host town. To me, it seemed like some of these area festivals were so much larger than any events that I had been to in Ohio. I did some reaseach...
The Flowertown Festival draws 200,000 visitors from about 14 different states. Vendors come from as far away as Alaska (Can't say I blame them. Seventy versus ten below? Yeah.) It's a three day event held in an area of about three square miles. Busy busy. Entertainment? Art vendors, a "Taste of Summerville", and various amateurs singers.
I tried to compare this to the Medina County Fair. They have about 100,000 people over seven days
spread out over 60 acres. The slightly larger Wayne County Fair draws 133,000 over five days. Entertainment? Famous country music acts, amusement rides, a bajillion (real word) animals, and various other domestic competitions. The base populations of the host towns are 27,000 and 26,000 respectively.
St. George, South Carolina has a population of 2,500. Each year they host the "World Grits Festival," a three-day event honoring the fact that they have the highest grit consumption per capita in THE WORLD. Average crowd? 50,000. Entertainment? Grit eating contest, roll in the grit contest, and a 5k grit race. Oh yeah, and lots of vendors.
There is the Blue Tip Festival- Wadsworth's pride and joy. In the two days prior to the kick-off parade, chairs and blankets are set out along the parade route, staking claim to the best seats. The parade goes on for almost two hours, featuring local politicians, bands, every fire truck and ambulance in the three county area, and lots and lots of candy. The festival itself, spanning five days, features amusement rides, carnival games, and vendor booths from local area businesses and organizations. It draws about 30,000 people each year.
Lodi is home to the yearly Sweet Corn Festival each year. Following a parade (which features the pro-marijuana crowd!) there is a three day festival that includes amusement rides, food, and a tug-of-war competition. Attendees? Based on research, anywhere from 10,000-20,000 people.
Back to that Bridge Run, it's a 10k spanning the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. This year they stopped taking entires once the first 40,000 people entered. All but about 2,000 people ran. There was an estimated crowd of 20,000 people. For three hours they have a festival with food booths, vendors, and other entertainment. But 40,000 running over a bridge? Though different races with different qualification criteria, for comparison purposes the Boston Marathon has 20,000 participants, and the NYC marathon draws about 43,000 runners.
So, just as I thought, relatively speaking South Carolina draws incredibly large crowds to festivals that feature fairly inane objects and have minimal carnival entertainment. Ohio on the other hand has festivals with lots of amusement (and way more parades) but relatively smaller crowds. Why is this? I have no idea. This is a blog, not a research article! In the words of my boss, "We just like big parties here in the South!" Big parties they are, and fun parties at that!
Oh, just to highlight the one VERY large festival that Ohio throws, there is always Dick Goddard's Wooly Bear Festival. This is a one day event that draws almost 100,000 people to a small town to watch a parade with 2,000 entries that worships a worm. Congrats Ohio, you win the crazy festival award!
On that note, my good friend Benadryl is calling my name, and I must heed it's call or else I won't be able to breathe tonight. I love pollen. Have a wonderful evening and plan on attending next year's local festivals with me! (Except for the Grits Festival. Can't say that I'll ever go to an event celebrating ground up corn!)
P.S.- Happy 22nd Birthday to my favorite brother!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The daily grind.
I remember a day about three years ago shortly after whatever the latest depressing economic news happened to be had been announced. My boss, Ted, and I were walking toward the back of the store to go pick up some supplies for the bakery. As we walked he said, "I pity your generation Kate, you won't have the opportunities my generation did. It'll be hard to find a job and hard to support yourself. I'm not trying to depress you, I just feel bad for you." He wasn't the first to make those statements, and he wasn't the last. In fact, people still repeat those words to me today! But being a true teenager/young adult, in a moment of true rebellion/naivete, I politely smiled and nodded and made up my mind to get a job and not listen to him in regards to this anymore. Ah, to be young!
In any case, God blessed me with a job that supports me and amuses me. I normally don't like to even think about work on the weekends, much less write about it. I am definitely one of those people who likes to forget they have a job on the weekends! However, for some reason I decided I wanted to write about my job for today's blog.
For those of you who don't know, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, Children (WIC) is a federally-funded venture meant to provide nutritious foods and nutrition education to those demographics that traditionally are more at risk to fall through the cracks, specifically women and their children.
At 8:30 a.m. I walk through the doors of the health department and head to my office. Our first clients walk in the door at the same time, so while they're filling out all sorts of paper work and proving things like identity, income, and residency to our admin team, I set up for the day. Each morning I put my purse away, change my Hoops and Yoyo calendar, start up my computer, print off my client roster, grab the roster, fill up my water bottle, and then talk with whoever is in the hallway, in that order. If things are going smoothly, I will see my first client around 9:15.
Each of the client's fills out a questionnaire when they come in. The form has about 20 questions meant to give me an idea of how to guide my nutrition assessment. This, in addition to the lab results of height, weight, and Hemoglobin, dictate what we talk about. We cover everything from encouraging people to make sure they eat a variety of foods from all the food groups to eating iron rich foods to help prevent anemia, from making sure they're not mixing formula incorrectly to helping trouble shoot breastfeeding problems. For kids it seems like we spend a lot of time encouraging the parents to be parents and not let their kids be dictators. I think I talk to every mom about limiting juice so their kid doesn't get cavities...or weigh 50lbs when they're three. Once we're all done talking, I print up their food package. Clients get a pretty decent package these days- things like eggs, whole grain bread, cereal, fruit and vegetables, in addition to milk and cheese. On a typical day I see between 15-20 clients, with each session taking anywhere from 20-30 minutes.
That's the magic that happens four times per week. On Wednesdays I teach class. This is about eight 20 minute sessions spread out over the course of the day that are directed at prenatal women, children 1-5, and infants of different age ranges. It's quite fun, I get to sit in a room and discuss nutrition topics with 10-20 moms. Sometimes it's quiet and I just basically talk to myself. Other times it gets rowdy, especially when people start throwing misinformation around and you have to tactfully tell people the correct information. It sounds easy, but if you saw all the background work and dealt with all the nonsense that goes one with hosting a class, you'd know why I am exhausted and have a headache when I leave work on Wednesday. I go to church about an hour after I get off work, and there have been a few Wednesday night prayer sessions at church where my first prayer is "Dear God, please help me stay awake for the next hour and a half!"
I am very thankful for my job. It's steady, it pays well for entry-level, and it's a way to use my degree. I enjoy getting to talk with a lot of my clients and provide them with just a little support to help them through the month. It's also a source of frustration. (Ask my mom, she bears the brunt of my frustration!) For every person who is on the program because they just need a little help for the month there are people who are the third generation of their family to be on WIC merely because they feel it's their right to get free food from the government (That is truly what people have told me). It's a source of sadness too. For every family who is just in for a supplement to help them through the month, there is a girl who has little or no family support and no support from her child's father- she is the one who checks yes to box number 7: Do you skip meals or have limited food because of a lack of funds?
People who work in WIC are typically cocky about "knowing" that their jobs will be around forever. Since we serve such a limited demographic we don't come close to running out of funding money. A lot of clients are unlikely to see a change in their income or nutrition status for a variety of reasons, so we'll always have a client base, and funding follows the clients. Honestly, I wish we could see people in the community give just enough to help these families get by for the month or take these young single mothers "under their wing" and mentor them to their own success and see the WIC program shrink! (Shhh...don't tell my boss!!) But that's a dream for further on down the road when I have more resources and more knowledge about how to start something like this...I think!
So minus the last two paragraphs, that's my job in a nutshell. There are more intricacies to the job, but they are very boring and only worth explaining if you need to know them! This is what I do five days a week, 7.5 hours per day (if I'm lucky!) Like I said, it's a great job and I'm getting to learn a lot even as I am sharing information with clients. I hope to get a few more good years out of it before I move on...not that I am planning on getting fired, I just have a feeling that this is only a temporary stop in this part of my life.
I hope I haven't bored anyone with my post today. I know it's a departure from how and what I usually write, but like I said, it's what I felt I should write today. And now, as always, it's late enough on Sunday night that I need to be thinking about getting ready for work tomorrow! It should be a peaceful night..the rain and mild temperatures will provide a peaceful background for sleeping! Have a great night everyone and have a fantastic week!
In any case, God blessed me with a job that supports me and amuses me. I normally don't like to even think about work on the weekends, much less write about it. I am definitely one of those people who likes to forget they have a job on the weekends! However, for some reason I decided I wanted to write about my job for today's blog.
For those of you who don't know, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, Children (WIC) is a federally-funded venture meant to provide nutritious foods and nutrition education to those demographics that traditionally are more at risk to fall through the cracks, specifically women and their children.
At 8:30 a.m. I walk through the doors of the health department and head to my office. Our first clients walk in the door at the same time, so while they're filling out all sorts of paper work and proving things like identity, income, and residency to our admin team, I set up for the day. Each morning I put my purse away, change my Hoops and Yoyo calendar, start up my computer, print off my client roster, grab the roster, fill up my water bottle, and then talk with whoever is in the hallway, in that order. If things are going smoothly, I will see my first client around 9:15.
Each of the client's fills out a questionnaire when they come in. The form has about 20 questions meant to give me an idea of how to guide my nutrition assessment. This, in addition to the lab results of height, weight, and Hemoglobin, dictate what we talk about. We cover everything from encouraging people to make sure they eat a variety of foods from all the food groups to eating iron rich foods to help prevent anemia, from making sure they're not mixing formula incorrectly to helping trouble shoot breastfeeding problems. For kids it seems like we spend a lot of time encouraging the parents to be parents and not let their kids be dictators. I think I talk to every mom about limiting juice so their kid doesn't get cavities...or weigh 50lbs when they're three. Once we're all done talking, I print up their food package. Clients get a pretty decent package these days- things like eggs, whole grain bread, cereal, fruit and vegetables, in addition to milk and cheese. On a typical day I see between 15-20 clients, with each session taking anywhere from 20-30 minutes.
That's the magic that happens four times per week. On Wednesdays I teach class. This is about eight 20 minute sessions spread out over the course of the day that are directed at prenatal women, children 1-5, and infants of different age ranges. It's quite fun, I get to sit in a room and discuss nutrition topics with 10-20 moms. Sometimes it's quiet and I just basically talk to myself. Other times it gets rowdy, especially when people start throwing misinformation around and you have to tactfully tell people the correct information. It sounds easy, but if you saw all the background work and dealt with all the nonsense that goes one with hosting a class, you'd know why I am exhausted and have a headache when I leave work on Wednesday. I go to church about an hour after I get off work, and there have been a few Wednesday night prayer sessions at church where my first prayer is "Dear God, please help me stay awake for the next hour and a half!"
I am very thankful for my job. It's steady, it pays well for entry-level, and it's a way to use my degree. I enjoy getting to talk with a lot of my clients and provide them with just a little support to help them through the month. It's also a source of frustration. (Ask my mom, she bears the brunt of my frustration!) For every person who is on the program because they just need a little help for the month there are people who are the third generation of their family to be on WIC merely because they feel it's their right to get free food from the government (That is truly what people have told me). It's a source of sadness too. For every family who is just in for a supplement to help them through the month, there is a girl who has little or no family support and no support from her child's father- she is the one who checks yes to box number 7: Do you skip meals or have limited food because of a lack of funds?
People who work in WIC are typically cocky about "knowing" that their jobs will be around forever. Since we serve such a limited demographic we don't come close to running out of funding money. A lot of clients are unlikely to see a change in their income or nutrition status for a variety of reasons, so we'll always have a client base, and funding follows the clients. Honestly, I wish we could see people in the community give just enough to help these families get by for the month or take these young single mothers "under their wing" and mentor them to their own success and see the WIC program shrink! (Shhh...don't tell my boss!!) But that's a dream for further on down the road when I have more resources and more knowledge about how to start something like this...I think!
So minus the last two paragraphs, that's my job in a nutshell. There are more intricacies to the job, but they are very boring and only worth explaining if you need to know them! This is what I do five days a week, 7.5 hours per day (if I'm lucky!) Like I said, it's a great job and I'm getting to learn a lot even as I am sharing information with clients. I hope to get a few more good years out of it before I move on...not that I am planning on getting fired, I just have a feeling that this is only a temporary stop in this part of my life.
I hope I haven't bored anyone with my post today. I know it's a departure from how and what I usually write, but like I said, it's what I felt I should write today. And now, as always, it's late enough on Sunday night that I need to be thinking about getting ready for work tomorrow! It should be a peaceful night..the rain and mild temperatures will provide a peaceful background for sleeping! Have a great night everyone and have a fantastic week!
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