The Year of 25, starting yesterday.

Remember when I was 24? Man, what a goof I was. Now I'm 25. I'm fancy. I'm wrinkly.

That birthday, I declared some stuff. It was the Year of the Lemons, the Year of Comfortable Shoes, the Year of Susan Boyle, etc. All good choices. I was wise for a 24-year-old.

It's time to move on to greater things, though.

The Year of 25:
-The Year of Fiscal Responsibility
-The Year of Nicki Minaj
-The Year of Late Morning Snuggles
-The Year of Public Transportation

I considered declaring The Year of Making Friends with People Who Own Boats, but I'll save that for 26. That would be too much pressure for my peer group in this tough economic time.

Happy Birthday to me!

A peeve

For an English teacher, I'm not persnickity about grammar. Honestly. If a person says "safe" when they should have "safely", I don't judge. When I read "gonna" in my students' papers, I don't freak out.

But for some reason, I struggle to respect those who consistently mix up "you're" and "your". If I send you "Thanks!" via text and you respond "Your welcome", I'll squint my eyes in anger and make a mental note to no longer express gratitude to you.

Overall, though, I love all words and the people who say them. Your all super!





I don't know if I have the strength to let that joke remain.

Dog Fever

Some people have Spring Fever. Others have Baby Fever. I have Dog Fever.

Ohmygodiwantadogsobadly.

I do have a wonderful roomdog (like a roommate, but a dog), Solomon. I freaking love Solomon. He is the sweetest, gentlest dog in North America. However, he's not mine. I want one of my own! To name and to cuddle!

And, ok, I have Abey Lincoln. He is a magnificent cat, and I already forgive him for trying to gnaw on my chin while I drank my tea. But could Abey hack it in the dog park? H no.

I am not in the life position for a dog... yet. Some day I will be. I'll have a few extra dollars, some spare backyard, and I'll be comfortable in the "got to go home and take care of Notorious D.O.G." routine.

For now, though, I get my canines fix by invading strangers' personal spaces and petting their dogs at farmers' markets, beaches, and coffee shops that somehow get around the health codes. Oh, and petfinder.com. Thank the internet for that wonderful petfinder.com.

Elephant Seals

When my pal Baum and I drove from Santa Barbara to Seattle, we hung out with baby elephant seals.


Look at this. A whole beach of baby elephant seal. Plus, there was one big daddy. I will post a picture of him... now!


Guess how enormous he is. No, bigger. He is nearly 16 feet long! My dad, Oats, is just over six feet tall, so imagine 2 2/3 of Oats. Whoa. Plus, when this elephant seal rears up to wobble his giant nose at another guy elephant seal, he stands about eight feet tall. Don't mess with him. He will get you.

According to Wikipedia, the largest elephant seal ever recorded was 11,000 pounds and over 22 feet long. Omg.

When it comes down to it, though, I am more impressed by the adorable babies than by the giganto males.


Stab me in the heart with a cute fork. I'm done.

This narrows me down to 1.5% of the population, I bet.

Things I Like That Most People Don't:

-Watching college fastpitch on TV. How do I watch TV if I don't have channels? The gym! It's perfect. The elliptical, UW TV, and the nation's champions. I enjoy fastpitch more than baseball, in fact, because it's faster and the girls cheer. Cheer! Like, cheers that rhyme!

-Doing dishes. It's soothing, and my hands are always dry anyway, so it doesn't have any negative side effects. Clean forks, relaxing minutes, and, when no one else is around, NPR on the radio. When I'm old and rich, I will get a kitchen with two giant sinks. (Dangit. Now the boyfriend knows I don't wash his dishes to be nice.)

-Eating plain, non-fat yogurt. To be fair, I prefer yogurt with flavors, but just examine the ingredients. The cheap, plan stuff has, like, three ingredients, while the others have a billion, several of which I can't pronounce. Unacceptable. Give me the basic, and I'll add my own flair... and by "flair", I mean blueberries and nothing else, because I am in a breakfast rut.

That's all I can think of. My tastes aren't unique. If I made a Stuff I Like That Most People Also Like, it'd be even longer than a detailed list of how many times Abe Lincoln tries to get my attention when I am busy. "Woweewow!" you say. I know. So this is it. Softball, dishes, and yogurt. I'm a teensy bit unique.

Get back in my life, speakers.

I didn't appreciate computer speakers while I had them.

In the olden days, I could put on a Nicki Minaj playlist and dance while cleaning my room.

In the olden days, I could snuggle up with the boyfriend and watch a documentary about the beer industry on streaming Netflix.

In the olden days, I could enjoy "Single Ladies" Youtube videos without getting flat hair from headphones.

My life is a lot harder now.