Losing Touch

Many times in my life, I have left the people closest to me. Usually it was for good reason, I was going to college, it was time to study abroad, or my Peace Corps service was starting. I've just always been the one who leaves. And those people who I was close to asked me to "keep in touch." I'm good at keeping in touch. I write letters, I blog, I even send out a Christmas letter.

But there have been a few times when my attempt to "keep in touch" has felt a little strange. After a year or two of not speaking to someone, I have in many cases whipped out my stationary and drafted an informative and friendly letter. The recipient receives the letter and wonders, "what is going on? I haven't heard from her in forever. Why is she writing now?" Was the request to keep in touch insincere? Is it bad to try to maintain old friendships?

I understand the priciple of losing touch. If I lived in the days of wagon trains and five pound bags of flour, I would have left my parents' house once and never have seen them again. I'm glad I never endured that kind of a parting.

I like to be the one with the wordy letters. Writing is fun. Why not send a letter to a person I grew up with? Isn't it better to send a note than to wonder what could have happened should I have kept in touch?

I like to write. This is how I keep acquainted with old friends.

Headaches and weakness

During my sophomore year at NNU, a guy I kinda knew died. My friend, Nicole, was really broken up about it. The two of them were in the outdoor club together and spent a lot of time talking and becoming good friends. His death was caused by a brain aneurism. I had never heard of such a thing before, but if he died because of it, I wanted to avoid such things happening in my head.

In the past three years, I have become somewhat obsessed with the show, Grey's Anatomy. I like the stories. The drama between doctors is much more interesting than my life. But the one thing that makes me cry and causes my hidden emotions to come out are the sad moments. The moments of death, the second things go wrong.

I try to shut off my emotions. My dad raised me to believe that tears are a sign of weakness. I've never liked to cry. I find it embarrasssing. Showing my empathetic side to people I don't know or don't care about makes me physically ill when I have ever cried in public. But enough about my emotions.

Hypochondria is something I could develop. I'm pretty sure I have a small case of it now. Every time I get a headache, I text my mom to inform her that my aneurism may cause my death. I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything, it's just that I know that pain in my head isn't natural. Shouldn't it be a good thing to inform someone of my pain.

I have such a headache today. It's not a big one. I'm sure it'll pass. Most likely it is a symptom of dehydration. I'll drink more water. Don't worry. I'm pretty sure I'll be okay. But if I don't post something tomorrow, you might need to check on me!

Weird is a weird word

"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."
--JOE ANCIS--

Unique. This is a word I use to describe myself. In every way, I strive to be more unique than other people I am around. Following the crowd frustrates me. I don't like to be clumped into big groups. Standing out is somewhat exhilarating to me.

Today, I watched a fabulous movie (Post Grad) in which the mom worries about her son being weird. After voicing her concerns, her mother-in-law (Carol Burnett) responds that, "Weird indicates a creative force." I believe it. It feels good to be weird.

Music writing

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture-it's really a stupid thing to want to do."
--ELVIS COSTELLO--

When I first watched the movie, Almost Famous, I was 21 years old and I lived in Oxford, England. There was only one more semester of college left and I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I thought about joining the Peace Corps. It seemed like a good idea. Living abroad suited me. But then I watched the movie. I thought it was awesome. I started to see visions of myself as "the enemy," writing for Rolling Stone magazine.

I didn't follow through with Rolling Stone. Joining the Peace Corps was a much easier path to take.

The thing about writing for something like Rolling Stone is that with that publication, writers are sure to get personal with the musicians. It's not like one of the other music magazines in which writers steal material to create new articles, completely bastardizing the words and theories of the musician.

And now about music. I like music. Going to concerts and listening to new bands has become one of my things in the past few years. Besides writing about that, I probably would feel like I was dancing about architecture.

Up late

"Whoever thinks of going to bed before twelve o'clock is a scoundrel."
--SAMUEL JOHNSON--

When I lived in Ukraine, I spent many a late night at the disco-tech. It was part of my weekly ritual. My friend, Yana, really liked to go and as I was a young person, it was pretty much expected for me to go. It was fun. I went just about every Friday night from December 2006 to March of 2007. That's when I grew out of it. My students went to the disco and I found it weird to be in that environment with them.

Here in Eugene, I've started to have a bit of a night life as well. I LOVE trivia night and am bummed every time I miss it. 80s night is also fun. I find the dancing rather hilarious. I dance like a nerdy teenager and don't usually stay too late.

This week, my allergies have kept me in my apartment. I have loved this staying in so much that I know I have become an old lady. I like my apartment too much. But that's okay. My friend and I are living up our twenties and will hopefully dancing to some Madonna tonight.

I'm sure that when I'm young, I'm supposed to enjoy staying up late, but I really just like to sleep. I mean seriously, sleep is awesome!

death of a Kennedy

When I checked my e-mail this morning, I stumbled upon the Yahoo! headline. Senator Ted Kennedy was dead. It's sad. I like the Kennedys. I still think that I would have voted for JFK or Bobby Kennedy had I been alive when they ran for office.

In the afternoon, I listened to an NPR interview with Senator Kennedy from 2006. He spoke about being a father figure to his kids after his brothers were assassinated. How tough of a job would that be? Could you even imagine dealing with your siblings' extremely public murders and keep a clear head to help care for their kids?

I'm sure Ted Kennedy will be remembered in a variety of different ways. Some might see him as a fun hero. Others see him as an American optimist. I see him as one of the great Kennedys.

Poka, Ted.

Cow Tales

"To control your cow, give it a bigger pasture."
Roshi Suzuki

My dad has cows. He first invested in cows while I was living in Ukraine. I found out when one day my mom called to say that my brother convinced my dad to buy two cows at an auction for a total of $3,000. I was shocked. Immediately, I started to visualize all the things I could buy with that kind of money. My monthy stipend from Peace Corps was about $300. Spending ten times that on cows didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

By the time I moved home, my father had expanded his herd. I never got into the farm work while I lived with them so I never got the total count. But before anyone starts to assume that I just ignored the beasts, let me remind you of a day I spent in Dayton, Oregon. It was a sunny day. I was getting ready to drive to my mom's office to take her the car when I noticed about six cows standing in the front lawn. I freaked out and called her. While on the phone, I noticed that none of the cows had tags "so they must not be Daddy's," I told her. She suggested calling him anyway to see where the cows came from.

After stepping outside to take some photos, I called my dad. "There are cows on the lawn, but they can't be yours because there aren't any ear tags." The shouting on the other end could have made me cry had I not already been incredibly irritated.

Since my dad had driven to Salem, I was the only person around to get the cows back. As I got some feed and lured them back through the gate, I muttered obscenities under my breath.

When I finally thought I was done, a neighbor walked onto the road to say that a cow was in his lawn. As I had already closed the cows' gate, I locked the remaining cow in the shop area. I prayed for it to poop on my dad's tools as a sort of retribution for his leaving TWO fences open.

Cows aren't usually my gig. I still want to try milking one, but other than that, I suppose cows oughta stay out of my way.

Dreams in ill health

"Sleep is te only source of invention."
--Marcel Proust--

I often have very vivid dreams. I either wake up in the middle of the night during a scary dream or wake up in the morning feeling as if I just had the best time catching up with an old friend. Sometimes I feel as if I may be experiencing deja vu because I had lived the experience in my dreams before.

Tonight, I have a runny nose. My head feels stuffy and I'm semi-exhausted. I'm curious to see if when I feel like this my dreams become more or less exciting.

$$$Money$$$

"Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on without it any more than we can without potatoes."
--Louisa May Alcott--

When I was in first grade, my older brother, Shane, was starting to look at colleges. I remember how he and my mother would slave over brochures and try to figure out what he could do to pay for his education.

At age 6, I tended to worry a bit more than was healthy for a 40-pound-girl and started to cry, claiming that I was never going to be able to afford college.

In junior high, I started to raise animals in the FFA. It was so exciting to have shopping money. But instead of saving the money for college or even towards a car, I spent it buying Christian CDs and Jesus fan-fiction at Touch of Heaven, the local Christian book supplier.

Sure enough, when I went to college, my savings were down to nothing and I was forced to student-loan myself through college.

During my 26 years on earth, I have struggled with money. I have spent too much of it, had too little of it, and loathed the very thought of it. It would be nicer if we could go back to the old days when people traded their goods for other goods. But I wouldn't do well in a prairie skirt and there is no way I'd be a good woman in those days.

Instead, I will have to fight against the money that disgusts me. I'll keep to my budget and try not to become as careless with my money as politicians can be with their power.

Luckily, my future will be in writing and not in managing one's purse or working at the bank.

Word for word

I love California: I practically grew up in Phoenix.
--Dan Quayle--

We, in America, like to make fun of our leaders. Shows like Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock thrive on the mockery of the people we in America voted for. As a member of the future press, I am learning about the reality we live in. To be famous, to be a celebrity figure, one must get used to the daily spotlight. Jennifer Aniston has become a sort of icon for bad relationships. Barack Obama is depicted as both a Jesus-type figure, coming to save us all and as a non-American. The press has the ability to shape the minds of Americans. We print what we want to print and even if we try not to, we often put our own slant in our work.

Dan Quayle was vice president from 1989 to 1993. During those four years, I was in the first to fourth grades. I didn't know about his politics. All I knew was that my parents liked him a lot and my dad read his book. Quayle is a fine example of someone who shouldn't talk to the press. His reputation for saying the wrong thing earned him the reputation of a nitwit of sorts. I mean, look at the quote above. Taken word for word, it makes him look like an ignoramus.

I'm glad I never chose to go into politics. If I had, all the old letters I have written would resurface and I would surely be written about in an unfortunate light. It's good to be me. I can say what I want and nobody writes it down for others to see.

Tarantino and his Inglourious Basterds

Dulce bellum inexpertis.
War is delightful to those who have no experience of it.
**Erasmus**

At 12:30 this afternoon, I experienced my first Quentin Tarantino film. The Kill Bill movies were hits when I was in college, but I was too busy reading or watching TV on DVD to pay much attention. My blindness was put to an end thanks to Facebook. About a month ago, I saw a post on BJ Novak's fan page about Inglourious Basterds. The Office's Ryan had finally made it into the movies. After watching the trailer, I decided I had to see this off-kilter depiction of World War II.

The movie was truly fabulous. Not only was Brad Pitt's acting superb, but I believe Tarantino was able to get at least 4 of the 7 emotions out of me in the 153 minutes I sat in the theater.

I have no doubt that I will soon be sitting in the theater yet again, picking out the interesting details and different stories in the film.

Today, I might have become a Quentin Tarantino fan. My queue on Netflix has been consulted on the matter. I will be watching his previous films early this fall.

Bugs are taking over my life!

Just under five minutes ago, I saw a black creature crawling across my ceiling. Being the unsimpathetic spider-killer I am, I reached for my flip-flop to end its life. The spider wouldn't take my abuse and jumped from the ceiling to an unseen place behind my bookshelf. I don't like bugs. I never have.

For the past few weeks, I have been encountering ants throughout my apartment. First, I found the small army that had overtaken my box of cheerios. Next, I found the spot in the carpet where the ants were hiding. And this morning, a rogue ant was spinning in circles on my kitchen floor

I can't get rid of bugs. Perhaps I can lure them out of my house by having a picnic in the courtyard of my apartment complex. If I fall asleep among the sandwiches and fruit perhaps the ants would carry me away.

Tonight, I'll just try to fall asleep, hopefully without any dreams of crazy bugs trying to take over my world.

I ain't no Julie or Julia

My father is a chef. He doesn't do it for money. In fact, after a tough day in the kitchen, the most he usually gets are a few words of praise and a satisfied stomach. If he had the money, I am sure he would enroll in Western Culinary Institute's Le Cordon Bleu program.

I have not been graced with my father's love of food, either the preparation or the consumption of certain delicacies. As a child, I ate hamburgers without the bun. I felt that since my last name was Bunn it was inappropriate to ingest an item with the same name. And although I have been known to snitch food on occasion, it hasn't made me any more adventurous when perusing a menu. Instead, I am a few pounds heavier and have cavities to prove that chocolate and sweets aren't necessarily beneficial to one's health.

For about a week in high school, I considered becoming a chef. I had been watching Friends non-stop and had decided that it wouldn't be so bad to be like Monica, so long as I was married to my own Chandler in the end.

Tonight, I was almost inspired to come home and cook myself an Italian feast. I say almost because in the end it didn't happen. Not only do I not have a stove or an oven, but I still can't figure out how to use my George Foreman grill to cook my chicken. The chicken has been defrosting in my fridge for three days. I'm thinking that it is going to go bad before I get the guts to grill it up right.

As to my inspiration, that was due to the fabulous movie, Julie & Julia. I went mid-afternoon and was surprised at how many people went to watch the movie. The amount of 60 and 70-somethings reminded me a little too much of my Grandma's funeral. I imagine Wednesday might be date night for the sexagenarians or maybe they get an "old-foggie" discount.

The movie made me laugh and it made me cry. One young gentleman leaving the theater claimed, "I can't believe they never met!" to which I say, that's life. Life is messy. It can get ugly. We can be doing what we love and become so narcissistic that we completely forget about the people around us who support us through it all.

Julie & Julia gives us a glimpse of two regular, yet extraordinary women. It shows that no one can never truly know what lies ahead. Each day we much face the world and challenge ourselves to become our own version of greatness.

I might not be like either Julie or Julia. I'm not planning on becoming a great cook. I don't know that I'll ever get married. But I can do what I like. I will continue to blog and prove to myself that I am, in fact, a fabulous writer.

Stand By Me Adventure in Brownsville!

I first watched the movie Stand By Me when I was in eleven or twelve. I remember developing a crush on Gordy. He also played Wesley in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I think I liked the movie because it spoke so much of friendship. I love that true friends stick with us through all the crap we go through in life.

Throughout my life, I've had different groups of friends, all of whom I have depended on from time to time. I know that as we move and discover new places, so our friendships change. I'm lucky to be developing new friendships in Eugene. Hopefully, when I get stressed out from classes or other things, these friends will support me.

Yesterday, my friend Courtney and I took a little trip to Brownsville, Oregon, where we participated in the Stand By Me Festival. It was great. We checked out different spots from the movie, witnessed the pie-eating contest, and drank lemonade from a real roadside lemonade stand. It was a great day. I love small towns. They're at least fun to visit, for sure!

Before we left, I kept singing the song...Click here to check out a rad video of this song.

Weekend at Home in Dayton (8/7-8/9)

Last weekend, I went home to Dayton. The bus ride was nice and then I spent some time in the Amtrak station contemplating future excursions while I waited to be picked up. I love the drive from Salem to Dayton. If we take Wallace Road into Dayton, we pass a lot of farms of people I used to know. It's fun to chat with my mom and ponder about what my former classmates are up to and if they are still in town.

The weekend was a hit. I swam each day. I got to eat cake for my brother's birthday party, and I got to see a very dear friend.


My mom and I met my friend, Chris, up at Stoller Vineyards for As You Like It with Willamette Shakespeare. It was truly fabulous. The vineyard was the perfect spot. The trees framed the stage in such a way that I really felt like we were in the forest of the play.
I've come to love Shakespeare even more than when I studied his works in college. The comedies bring such a light-heartedness to life. I wish that I could live in a play, if only for a day. My life has become so busy. I know that I have filled it with fun and friends, but I relish the times when I get to sit back and escape into a play production. And wandering around the streets of Eugene sooths my soul in a way.

Reporters' Life for Me

I'm liking this reporting thing. Basically, I will be able to write and talk for a living. What better was is there to live?

Anti-bacterials are bad!

I've been getting on my family for the past few years about anti-bacterial lotion and gels. I had read an article about their ineffectiveness and wanted to share my inspiring knowledge. Unfortunately, my family didn't listen. To see why antibacterials and a few other chemicals are evil for yourself and the world around you, click here.

Go Ems!!!

Tonight, I got to spend time with some really great people. The fabulous duo of Mr. Pennington and Senora Guthrie brought down a couple of family members and we all went out to pizza and went to see the Emeralds play a ball game. I had SO much fun. It was great to just chill out with Leona during the game and chat it up and dance. Should anyone from up north choose to visit me, please feel free to do it when there is a baseball game going on. It's cheap and EXTREMELY fun!

Movies and movie stars

Movies are amazing. I'm sure my love for movies could be seen in a bad light, but I don't care. I love movies. I always will love movies.

When it comes to favorite movies, it's tough. There are so many. But I do know my favorites of the past. As a kid, I had a crush on Macaulay Culkin. I loved every movie he was in, including the tragic My Girl.

I just found out what happened to Anna Chlumsky. It's interesting to know where our old favorites have gone, isn't it?

Nerdy Me, I edit as I walk

Last week, I finished my first class of graduate school. It was a course in news editing. I've always been a bit of a nerd. I go crazy when people make errors like the one in the picture here. This past year, I tried to teach my students the difference between "your" and "you're" as well as the three theres (there, their, they're). I wasn't quite as successful as I had hoped but perhaps in a few years, they'll have a new teacher who teaches them the difference and they'll remember, hey, Miss Bunn tried to teach us this!

Beatles and other stuff

I've never been one for Video games. I just haven't. But yesterday, as I walked to Fred Meyer, I discovered this sign. BEATLES ROCKBAND! Ah! I love the Beatles and I really want to play this game. Seriously, the perfect Christmas present would be for someone to rent the equipment for a day and let me play.

In other news...

The weather in Eugene is down to 92 degrees which is totally awesome! I couldn't take all the crappy hundred degree weather. So now I know I could never live in California or Arizona.

Two of my three summer classes are over. I only have one class left. But in two weeks, that class will be over.

My job at the library is going well. I like sewing books. I like sewing in general. I'm thinking of sewing my own clothes in the next year or so.

My spider plant is growing really well. I'm excited that it's getting better. It was sick when my sister brought it to me. My dad has been taking care of it for about 4 years and now I'm finally taking it back!

Welp, that's about it for now. Wishing you all a fabulous Sunday.