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Archive for the ‘outside’ Category

I’m in augusta, and let me tell you that 200 year old houses are real cute most of the time, 10-15 foot ceilings can be impressive, but in the summertime, when you have a 20 year old air conditioner, it can get kind of hot. 

I went out with Travers and Cash and Lindsay last night – Paige came to meet us when she got off work.  It was fun and weird and interesting.  I was tired.  But before I went to sleep I reveled in being the recipient of  some late night dialing.  Love it. 

My parents woke me up this morning around 7:30 to see if I wanted to go to a 8 am spin class.  I didn’t.  Then my mom came back in my room around 10 and said (keep in mind this is father’s day weekend):

Mama:  "Daddy wants to know if you want to go out on the boat.  Otherwise he says he is just going to go to work."
Me:  " Geeze.   I’m dying of a heat stroke and the allergens are attacking me.  I’m one big histamine.  Leave me alone (I was kidding, but obviously didn’t communicate this well)."
Mama:  "I didn’t come in here for you to fuss at me."  (huffs out of room). 

I mean – obviously I had to go out on the boat.  I’m such a devoted child and I would hate to be the reason why my father worked on saturday.  Gah. 

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon on the Savannah river, directly below Clarks Hill dam, where the water comes out of the bottom of the lake and is icy and unreasonable cold for the air temperature.  So while the sun scorched my shoulders and warmed my hair, my feet tingled and burned in the frigid water.  Bella and Bo went out on the boat with us and I can honestly say I haven’t seen two such happy and contented dogs in a long time.  We drank a few coors lights, because my mom thinks it is sort of unnatural to be out on the boat on a saturday in the summertime and not drink a beer – and I agree. 

I got to see Jennifer for about five seconds on my way home from the river, and I was totally exhausted by the time I got back to the house.  So exhausted that after I watched Georgia lose in the college world series and watch the US hang on to a tie with Italy in the world cup that I had to take a big huge nap on the front porch swing.  It was great. 

I was a big loser and nerd tonight because I was too tired to do much more than eat a bunch of baked spaghetti and drink a glass of wine. 

My parents had to go to my dad’s 40th high school reunion tonight.  Isn’t that weird to think about?

Did I tell you about the new band I’m obsessed with?  They are called the Wreckers.  If you don’t like them then I don’t like you. 

I’m reading The Geographer’s Library currently, and I think it is awesome so far.  I wish I could write a novel.  I hear you need self motivation and organizational skills to complete such tasks.  I wonder if they sell those skills on ebay? I could probably still ask for that for a graduation present.

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Attack of the Killer Allergen

I feel like I need to sneeze.  Constantly.  My ears feel like I’m driving up the mountain.  I’ve got a bit of a cough. 

I didn’t feel like this earlier.  I took a claritin D this morning.  Then I went to run in the woods with Cristina.  It was REALLY pretty.  Totally worth it.  I just took some benadryl.  So if I pass out in the next five minutes, I’m sorry. 

Dang it.

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It’s raining, it’s pouring….

And I’m being worthless. 

I’m in a funk, I need to snap out of it.  I’m anticipating a particularly dark Thanksgiving, because so many of my friends either aren’t coming home or are going to be so busy with family they won’t have time to play with me.  I shouldn’t be focusing on who isn’t going to be there, because there are lots of awesome people who will be there, and I feel ungrateful for being such a brat.  This on top of the fact that my exams are swiftly approaching, creating an undercurrent of panic that takes all my energy to control. 

Also, I think I have been annoying lately.  Like, I’ve been annoying myself, and I’m pretty sure everyone else around me.  I’ve been particularly loud, negative, and pushy, which really needs to stop. 

How dare the weather channel, via weather.com  say that it is cloudy in athens when it is actually raining cats and dogs?  Come on. 

I’m a terribly indignant person these days.  Which is so not attractive. 

Maybe I’m sick. 

But, then again, maybe it is just the weather. 

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I agree.  Honestly, New Orleans is such an amazingly unique place, I’m quite distressed at the current state of affairs. 

I have been following this blog about the  storm

This update is the one that hit me the hardest. 

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Fall is calling!

It actually feels fallish today.  Which is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. 

It is so amazing outside, everyone should be outside.  I’m going outside as soon as I get finished typing this.  Although I have to go to class at 12:30 for three hours, which is going to hurt me immensely – because no one should be inside today. 

I want nothing more out of life than days like this when the seasons change and I can be refreshed by the weather and the world around me, except maybe some choice companionship and a good book, and an occasional beer.

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Bells and Whistles

I slept the clock round last night.  And basically the night before.  My friends in Colorado wore me out.  But now I want to move to Denver.  I’ve been playing with the idea of moving to Manhattan, but I feel that Denver will be a much better fit for me.  I love making plans for the near distant future. 

One casualty of Colorado was my hair dryer.  Wouldn’t you know it, I haven’t dried my hair in four months, and my hairdryer breaks while I’m out of town staying with a bunch of boys,  two days after I get it cut short enough to where I HAVE to dry it (Emily made me promise her years ago that if I was going to have short hair that I would commit to drying it, otherwise she refused to support the short hair).

Me:  "Ummm, I know this is a stupid question, but…..Do any of y’all have a hairdryer?"

SOOO – When I got back here I bought a Rad new hairdryer – and this is what it looks like:

Everythinghome_1856_252101548

Isn’t it pretty?  Supposedly it does all kinds of nifty things based on whacked science, but all I’m really concerned with is that it is RED.  Go Dawgs. 

I was going to finish cleaning my room, but Christy just called and said that she and Allison were going to start trying to make a dent on all the beer that Christy commandeered from her friend’s wedding.  So the room is going to have to wait.  Love y’all. 

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Summer Camp

My friend Michael sent me this months ago, and I found it while cleaning out my mailbox, and I thought it was appropriate for the summer time.  Michael and I have fond memories of AYC, my dad spent almost 20 summers there, until he graduated from law school, and my mom was the camp nurse for five years when I was younger – it is my favorite place on the planet.  Michael was a camper and leader in Tallulah Falls.  This email is a gross exaggeration, but it makes me think of camp, and it makes me laugh real hard.  I hope y’all have as many happy memories of camp as I do. 

Dear Mom and Dad,

Our Leader told us to write to our parents in case you
  saw the flood on TV and are worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2
  sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were
  all up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened.  Oh yes, please
  call Adam’s mother and tell her he is okay. He can’t write because of the
  cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We
  never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn’t been for the
  lightning.  Our Leader, Keith, got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone
  without telling anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire
  so he probably didn’t hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on
  a fire, the gas will blow up? The wet wood didn’t burn,
  but one of the tents did and also some of our clothes. Mathew is going to look
  weird until his hair grows back. 

We will be home on Saturday if our
  Supervisor, Keith, gets the bus fixed.  It wasn’t his fault about the
  wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left.  Coach Clary said that with a
  bus that old you have to expect something to break down; that’s probably why
  he can’t get insurance. We think it’s a neat bus. He doesn’t care if we get it
  dirty, and if it’s hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the fenders. It gets
  pretty hot with 45 people in a bus. He let us take turns riding in the trailer
  until the highway patrol man stopped and talked to us.  Keith is a neat
  guy. Don’t worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Jessie how to
  drive on the mountain roads where there isn’t any traffic.  All we ever
  see up there are logging trucks.  This morning all of the guys were
  diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Keith wouldn’t let me
  because I can’t swim, and Adam was afraid he would sink because of his cast,
  so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see
  some of the trees under the water from the flood.

Keith isn’t crabby
  like some leaders. He didn’t even get mad about there not being any life
  jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the bus so we are trying not
  to cause him any trouble.  Guess what? We have all passed our first aid
  merit badges. When Andrew dived into the lake and cut his arm, we got to see
  how a tourniquet works. Steven and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Keith said it
  probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken. He said they got
  sick that way with food they ate in prison. I’m so glad he got out and became
  our leader. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he
  was doing his time. By the way, what is a pedal-file?  I have to go now.
  We are going to town to mail our letters and buy some more beer. Don’t worry
  about anything.

 

We are fine.

 

Love,

Chris

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The AJC has an article today on the state of the Timber Industry in Georgia.

Georgia’s forestry industry
lost a third of its economic might in three years, falling from $30.5
billion in 2001 to $20.2 billion in 2003.

In many parts of Georgia, trees are now less valuable than the land on which they stand.

Researchers at the
University of Georgia and the U.S. Forest Service conservatively
predict that one-quarter of the state’s timberland will be converted to
subdivisions, shopping malls, office parks and roads in the next five
years.

That’s a total of 5.6 million acres — about 16 percent of the
state’s land and an area the size of New Jersey. Look for more
clear-cutting along the coast and I-85 through North Georgia, the
researchers say.
 

What does this mean?  Where is this going to stop?  I’m serious about this, pine trees are a big deal.  I find the timber industry terribly interesting.  I LOVE TREES (although, white pine trees are my favorite – they smell really good, especially after it rains, and most of the timber trees are long leaf, or Georgia Pines).  I hate it when trees are cut down – unless they are replanted.  We don’t need anymore walmarts. 

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Lightning Bugs

I had a whole interesting post about lightning bugs and all the fun things I learned about lightning bugs tonight and all the lightning bugs I saw tonight, but I deleted it by accident and can’t get it back.  It was much more intelligent that this post.  But I guess it is summer time, and who wants intelligent?

The only intelligent quote I want to use is this one from the MSU entomology website

Lightning bugs are true wonders of nature. The light they emit is a cold light.
  Put your hand close to an incandescent light bulb and feel the large amount
  of heat it emits. Light bulbs convert electrical energy into light and heat.
  Only about 10% of the electrical energy is converted to light energy. The rest
  is heat energy. By contrast, the lightning bug combines a chemical called luciferin
  with oxygen and an enzyme to produce light in specially adapted cells in the
  tail section of their abdomen. Over 95% of the chemical energy is converted
  to light.

(95%!!!!  That is crazy!  Can you imagine if we could get 25% of electrical energy converted to light energy?  Wouldn’t that be awesome!!  Lightning bugs are so resourceful!  I think I am about 15% efficient with about 85% of my energy being released as heat – and this is on a good day.  But then again, I’m so hot.  I can’t turn it off.  Maybe efficiency isn’t everything – otherwise I’m in trouble). 

Okay, back to the unintelligent stuff that is actually interesting, most of which I picked up in childhood and didn’t read on the internet –

Lightning bugs are easy to catch; they aren’t too quick and they light up in the darkness so you can find them. 

Once you catch them – if you smash them on your arm, or your shirt, or whatever, where ever you smash them will glow for a short period of time (this is really fun).   

Don’t start feeling bad for the lightning bug, lightning bugs feed on earthworms , snails and slugs, and sometimes a group of them will attack a prey together.  ALSO – some lightning bug females will lure lightning bug males of other species, and eat them.  According to the MSU website

Females of some species mimic the codes of other
  lightning bugs to lure a hormone-primed male to his death.      
(men are so stupid!)

But I guess you could feel kind of bad, because apparently the female lightning bugs don’t fly around really, they hang out on plants and on the ground, and the ones that you catch are probably all male.  But think about it this way – they were probably going to be eaten anyway. 

So, go outside, catch a lightning bug, and smash him on your friend and watch your friend glow. 

We really used to do this as children, which I guess is kind of gross.

Other Fun Gross, Stupid, Mean Things we used to do to  Bugs as children in the summertime:

1.    We also used to catch bumble bees and flies in plastic bags and put them in the freezer – after about 15 minutes the bug would be half way dead – and you could tie a piece of dental floss to the bug’s leg, and then the bug would come back to life, and you would have a bumble bee  or fly on a leash.

Or, if you were really hateful and mean, you could also snip part of one of the wings of the bee or fly, and then you would have a bee or fly on a string that flew around in circles.  This was always good for a laugh. 

You have to be patient enough to catch the little suckers in the first place, but after that it is hilarious.   Susan says this is really hateful – that too much thought and preparation go into this mean practice for it to be acceptable – that it sounds like something you would do in middle school when everyone is really mean.  I pretty sure middle school was about the time we did this sort of thing. 

2.  You all know what happens when you put salt on a slug.  I was never very into the whole slug thing.  It always kind of grossed me out.  This doesn’t mean I was above it, I always participated, but I never really liked it.   I mean, who wants an exploding slug on the driveway?

3.  But  I did kind of like to try to catch ants and things on fire with a  magnifying glass.  This is harder than it sounds, but also a lot more fun than it sounds.   

Yawn.  I’ll update this tomorrow if I can think of any more fun bug activities.  I really hate moths  – so I refuse to talk about caterpillars and stuff like that, but I’ll think.  I really don’t like bugs in general, but I do like lightning bugs and carpenter bees.

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Yawn

I am sleepy.  The rainy weather makes me tired

I had a great weekend, and I am sunburned and covered in bug bites (I’m just so sweet), but it was worth it. I think everyone had a good time, I had a blast. I love everyone who came a great deal, Gina, Jessica, Sarah, Jamie, Scott, and Christian. I got to see my adorable grandmother, and some other family members, which was really great. Gina and Jessica went to lunch with my grandmother with me, which was really sweet.

I have some thoughts about life, I’m just not sure I can articulate them right now.

I like my job a lot right now, I am starting to enjoy the thinking and stuff. I am learning to be more productive. I have accepted the fact that taking my adderall really helps me a lot and that I have to stop being the crazy person who won’t take their medicine because they think they don’t need it (even though they do). Like my grandfather would say, this is fixable, somethings aren’t.

I still need to go see star wars.  I also need to take a benadryl and go to sleep so my bug bites will stop itching.

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