Potpourri is nice because it adds spice to a room. Today I am going to add spice to your day by giving you a potpourri of what’s been happening in my world recently. Hopefully you won’t find it too strangely scented…like the new potpourri they’ve put into the restrooms in my office building that smell out of season – like miniature flocked Christmas trees and cinnamon scented candles… But anyway, here we go.
On Sunday night my Aunt Karey and her two boys, my cousins Dallin and Ian, spent the night with us. They are moving from Michigan to Utah and Muncie turned out to be a good place to spend their first night on the road. Of course, it was pretty cramped in our tiny apartment, but they didn’t seem to mind the creative sleeping accommodations. It was good to see them…neither of us had seen them since my uncle’s funeral, a year and a half ago. The boys sure have gotten big.
Today – even right at this moment! – Blake is interviewing for a graduate assistantship. Hopefully all will go well – we really need him to have one. We’ve been keeping our eye all summer on one in the department where I work. So now we’re crossing our fingers and praying super hard that both the inside connection and his stellar bill of related experience will get him the job.
Because he wanted to look his best for his interview, Blake got a haircut yesterday. I got one, too, since we were at it. This was, I think, the first time I’ve ever heard Blake beg for a haircut. Usually he hates getting his hair cut, and I really can’t blame him. I have to say, though, that as much of an inconvenient pain it is to get a haircut, I do love the feeling of getting my hair cut…the tingle of someone else combing my hair, the scissors against the back of my neck, not to mention the razor job at the end. It feels nice.
Because I’m tired of being in charge of a Relief Society enrichment activity group that no one ever attends, I have decided that last night was my last as the gal in charge of the Writing Group. It’s becoming too much of a pain to prepare for something that no one shows up for. I haven’t yet, though, told the enrichment leader of my plan. She might be disappointed, seeing as I wanted to be through with the group months ago and she wanted it to continue, but I don’t think that backing out will be too much of a problem, seeing as I doubt anyone will even notice the group’s disappearance.
Today, in celebration of the birthdays of two co-workers, I went out to lunch with our little office. We ate at this wanna-be-California restaurant called Cheeseburger in Paradise. The surfer theme seemed a little out of place for Midwestern Muncie, but the food was decent enough, as far as cheeseburgers go. (I’ll probably never eat there again, though).
Last week I finished reading The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco, after spending all summer trying to get through it. Don’t get me wrong…I enjoyed the book. It was just kind of slow. I mean, it took me all the way to page 350 (of 500) to get into the heart of the story. But once I did, I didn’t regret the slow swimming through medieval religious debates that it took me to get there. As soon as Rose was wrapped up, I read The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau for a book group that’s meeting at the end of the month. I had my doubts at first on this one…the premise seemed too much like The Giver and I didn’t think I could stand for a great story like The Giver to be copycatted. But I was happily surprised at how good it was…I read it nearly all in one sitting. Now, on the recommendation of two people in two days (on two separate occasions), I’m reading I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. So far so good. Next on the list: Nothing to Do But Stay, Portuguese Irregular Verbs, and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Meanwhile, Blake has stayed up many late nights deeply involved with Atlas Shrugged.
The students are starting to come back to Ball State. Muncie’s getting awfully crowded. I’ve enjoyed summer here because of the emptiness. Provo used to get like that, when I was little and before BYU so heavily promoted summer school. I liked Provo more in the summers back then, too. Anyway, it’s nice, though, that the major construction on the north end of campus (right in front of my office) is finished so we can have our road back.
I would have to say that the weather has been pretty much perfect these last few days. Not too hot, not to cold, not too humid…last night was even cool and dry enough for us to keep our windows open instead of using the A/C. Usually in the summer months it’s too humid at night to even dream of having the windows open. But now it feels nice. Yesterday morning there was thick, thick fog which made it difficult to drive to work, but I didn’t mind. I like fog…its gray is strangely beautiful and very mysterious.
I read an article yesterday online that said that NASA misplaced 700 boxes worth of important historic data and recordings…including the recording of the first moon landing. How do you just misplace something like that? Why wasn’t it being kept safe in a museum vault somewhere? Just my thoughts.
Well, I think this is enough potpourri for one Wednesday. …Not that it was incredibly spicy…but it was random anyway.
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