{ Week in seven }

 

// photos taken with LG Vortex phone and Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

{ Life in Seven }

Who watches the watchmen?

Reading Esquire made me feel like I was spying on the enemy, but not really, because none of the men I know actually read Esquire.
It's unfortunate, because maybe then they'd dress like this.

  

I ate one of these a day later and chipped my tooth. They look harmless enough here.

Spaghetti, popcorn chicken, mozzarella sticks and Wheat Thins. Best. Meal. Ever. (Not really, but it is really good)

Field trip!

"Fetchez la vache!"

Autumn is coming...

{ When it rains... }

Danielle Kroll

Okay, so in some ways this little print is a little insensitive, considering parts of my state are underwater right now. It's been raining like crazy this week. But since I don't live in a flood-prone area, it didn't occur to me what kind of damage this rain was causing. Historic Ellicott City, a place I love to visit, had a river instead of a main street at one point. Even a road I used to take to school flooded pretty bad. Mother Nature obviously isn't finished with us yet this hurricane season, but here's hoping it doesn't get any worse. 

Anyway, despite the widespread damage, I've actually been enjoying the rain this week. Things have been slow and mildly productive at work, which is always nice. On Tuesday, my day off, I particularly enjoyed the steady rain as it fell. I cracked open my window, bundled up in a sweater and listened to some tunes. I spent the day working on a brand new outline for Ghosts of Fallen Leaves, trying out a few different things to see how they improve the story. 

Football season has officially started. I never used to care about sports, but over the past two seasons, I've enjoyed sitting down on Sundays and watching the Ravens with my dad. Last year I even played a little fantasy football and I enjoyed it so much that we're doing it again this year. I can't wait to watch the Ravens play the Steelers on Sunday. GO RAVENS!!

{ Rumblings }

Mountain View by Native Vermont Studio

Well, as some of you may know, the East Coast experienced an earthquake today. I'm sure all of you living on the West Coast laughed at our panic. But then again, I'd love to see how the city of Los Angelas would handle a blizzard of four feet of snow.

Needless to say, it scared the crap out of me. I felt the ground rumble, heard the windowpanes rattle. I hid myself under the support beams in the basement until it ended. I didn't stop shaking for a few minutes after it ended.

Now to get back to my Doctor Who marathon...

{ My Burning House }

After seeing The Burning House project featured on a couple of blogs I follow, as well as on The Anthropologist, it got me thinking about making my own. Started by Foster Huntington, the photo project asks one simple question:

"If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question." 

At first I honestly couldn't think of too many things I'd be desperate to save. I own a lot of crap, but most of it is superficial and easily replaceable. As I searched and thought, however, I found myself making a pile of stuff that I'd be very sorry to lose--sentimental items that may seem insignificant to others, but are special to me. While picking through my things, I also took into account the things that would be difficult to replace (ie: expensive), as well as the essentials that I'd hate to be without even for one night.

I'm going to preface my list with three items that couldn't make it into the photo: my two cats, Morgan and Mason, and my computer. They are so far at the top of the list, they weren't even worth mentioning. Plus the cats really didn't feel like having their photos taken today. Pair of divas.

{ From top to bottom, left to right }

1. Keys: My red Toyota Echo may be a vehicular joke, but I love it. Plus that tape measure is a great nervous toy.
2. Pajama pants: cheap purchases from Target and I absolutely love them. I'd spend all day, everyday in them if I could.
3. Favorite CDs: Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Show Your Bones, a selection of Decemberists albums, The Head and the Heart, plus my Lord of the Rings soundtracks.
4. Favorite books: A British copy of Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones. Old copy of The Hobbit that used to belong to my mother.
5. Replica of the key to Independence Hall in Philadelphia purchased on one of my favorite field trips when I was in fifth grade. I love love love history.
6. Necklace from ShopRuche.com. I've worn it so much that the metal has started to wear off.
7. Pink blanket knitted by my Mom-Mom when I was an infant. This is probably the one irreplaceable thing on this list. It's at the top.
8. My Nook and Nook Color. All of my books can burn (except for a few) as long as I can read them on my e-readers.
9. Nero Wolfe DVD collection. I limited myself to one DVD for this, since they're easily replaceable. Coming in a close second: Simon Schama's A History of Britain.
10. Little replica container I got from the gift shop at the House of Seven Gables while on my favorite vacation of all time. It also holds my hair tie collection. God forbid my hair touches the back of my neck while my house is burning down.
11. My glasses, because I really hate squinting all the time.
12. My iPod, which holds some of my favorite albums that I don't own CD copies of: Basia Bulat's Heart of My Own and the Decemberists' The Crane Wife.
13. Box of bobby pins.
14. Soulless by Gail Carriger, another favorite book.
15. July 2008 Anthropologie catalog. This thing has a ridiculous amount of sentimental value for me.
16. Celtic knot ring bought at a Renaissance festival. My best friend has a matching one.
17. Yellow scarf that I knitted myself.
18. Anthropologie scarf. It's so 'me'.
19. Wallet--a gift from my best friend. She knows my taste so well.

{ The lights went out, but only for a little while }

So I suffered a terrible scare earlier this week. I accidentally dropped my computer tower. I'd been pushing my desk around while redecorating my room, when BOOM it fell onto the floor and started making a horrible sound. When I tried to turn it on...nothing. You know how when you boot up your computer, it makes a little beep sound? Well, it didn't do that. The fan turned on and the power light started blinking...and that was it.

Start major panicking, right? I mean, MY LIFE'S WORK WAS ON THERE. Plus a lot of other stuff I liked. And on top of that--what was I supposed to do with myself without a computer?!

Well, instead of panicking, I decided to be very cool about it (que sera, right?) but that only led to some serious anxiety and I lost a lot of sleep over it. Bummer.

I had to wait until today to take the computer in to be looked at and by that time I'd already decided that we needed a new computer and all I hoped for was that the hard drive wasn't broken. So we trundled off into the rain with our broken computer, expecting the worst. 

Those wonderful guys at Geek Squad popped the lid, made fun of the dusty state of things and plugged her in. Nothing. One of the guys appeared to be a trainee (he couldn't even find the on button) but eventually they gave her a closer inspection and identified the problem: My RAM cards had been knocked loose. They pulled them out and slid them back into place. She booted up without a hitch. (I don't know why my computer has turned into a female in this story...)

No joke, I hugged my computer right then and there in the middle of a Best Buy. 

Though they didn't charge us for this service, I felt like giving them something. Maybe a plate of cookies. 

Anyhoo, thank you, Geeks, for saving my precious computer. She may be a bitch sometimes, but I'd be severely bored without her.