friends and shoes

And here's a screen shot of my first "thought to ponder." Hmmm... why do we have such different tastes? My answer: don't ask. Just enjoy the friendship. :)

Chickens and roads

Here's something I found on my "Things to Ponder" Page of this blog.

Things to Ponder
QUESTION: Why do chickens cross roads?

What are they? Stupid? I mean, seriously. My brother has a bunch of chickens at my parents' house. The chickens run wild and they escape from their roaming area. The other day, one of them crossed the road to the neighbors' property. What was it thinking? Why does it want to cross the icky pavement? Perhaps other people look at me and wonder, "why does Sharece keep going back to Dayton?" "Why doesn't she stay in one place for more than a year?" or "Why would she EVER move back in with her parents?" All I can say to this is it's what I do. It's "the thread" I follow. Not everyone can understand it or see it the same way, but it's the way I am. Maybe I should give the chickens a break. (August 29, 2010)

Dayton

It’s the place I grew up.
I called it my hometown.
My parent’s address
My BFF lives there.
It’s where I work.
I love its history.
Joel Palmer, the Block House
Blue Moon at Mike’s Place
Orange slices, chilled glasses
Writing about it
Learning about it
Wanting to leave
Pirates, friends, homework
It’s part of my history.
I like it a bit.
Not sure if I’ll stay
Am here now
Que Sera, Sera

Sister

She’s 30. I can’t believe it. My sister is 30. And I’m only a little over two years younger than her. That means I’ll be 28 in April. ACK!

My sister is fantastic. She’s been my friend for a long time. She’s been my sister for longer. We didn’t always get along. We had to share a room for 16 years of our lives. But it’s all ok, because we’re family and a good one at that.

And here’s an ODE to Shelli! Booyah!

Shelli May Bunn(-Petterson)
Sister.
Friend.
Lots of pink.
Cheesy music.
Madonna.
Musicals.
Glee.
Rainbows.
Flowers.
Books.
Vampires.
Movies.
Humor.
Kids.
More books.
Food.
Taco mountains ate lying down.
Pumpkin pie boycotts.
Sibling rivalries.
Pirate Power.
Hooch pageant.
Queen.
Loves the camera.
Mom.
Mother of two.
Spencer’s mom.
Pink pajamas for a girl.
Steen.
Lifeguard.
Run a mile.
Laugh with friends.
Writer.
English teacher.
Sheet hogger.
White Christmas.
Holiday Inn.
Strong Opinions.
Stubborn girls.
Bunns.
Dayton.
Oregon.
NNU 2005.
Words.
Precious words.
Sisters.
Friends.
Life.
Family.
Forever.

snow and holiday thoughts

Snow! It’s snowing here in Nampa, Idaho. We’re watching Robin Hood, the one with Russell Crowe. Shanna’s working on her computer, doing teacher’s homework. Ma Bunn is holding baby Jayden. Pa Bunn is staring at the movie television set, engrossed in the film. Spencer lies engulfed in his Spiderman comforter, watching the action in Nottingham.

And here I am: sitting at my computer, typing a blog post. At least I’m in front of the computer. That means it’s more likely that I will work my on my final project revisions. (Sigh. I wish I were already done. ☹)

Eh. Life is good. I had a delightful pancake this morning, with a few chocolate chips melted inside it with some of that delicious peanut butter and maple syrup on top. It really feels like the holidays. We’re not doing much of anything. If the tree and decorations were up, it would definitely feel like Christmas.

I’m going to miss the Christmas holidays with my family this year. It’s by choice of course. I want to visit my Peace Corps family in Ukraine, but still. I’ll miss out on the good old BBJ traditions.

Eh. I’ll survive. I always do. And I’ll still get to celebrate New Years in Portland. YEA!

Holiday stress

What is it about family and holidays? Why do we get so stressed out? Why do we have to cook so much food? Half of the stress comes from problems in the kitchen. There aren’t the right ingredients. She wants lemon zest in the apple pie. He doesn’t. It goes back and forth. And not until everybody sits down at the table together is the tension relaxed.

I’m not one for stress. I especially dislike stress at family get-togethers. I just wish it could be much easier.

Trucking through

It’s been a long journey through grad school. Today, I defended my final project. Now, I have revisions. My professor gave me a week. I just want to have it done. Oh man. So close. I’ll get there!

Obsession

I just started a new playlist on iTunes. I’m calling it “OBSESSION.” It’s for those songs I play over and over on repeat. Right now, it’s Bruno Mars’ song, “Somewhere in Brooklyn.” Two weeks ago it was, “The World Should Revolve Around Me.” In Ukraine it was, “These Words.” So I obsess about songs. Why not?

I had a crush on a guy who wrote a few letters to me when I was in Ukraine. We answered questions in our letters. One of the questions was, “what song would you listen to if you could only listen to one for the rest of your life?” He didn’t answer. He said it was a horrible question and he couldn’t imagine such a life. Well, it’s a good thing my crush ended before we ever took a roadtrip or even drove to the movies together. I’m just sayin…

I think after the twelfth time I play it, I’ll change the playlist. Good idea?

Thursday Night

NBC. Friends. The Office. 30 Rock.
Lots of laughs.
Tons of fun.
Procrastinating homework.
Staying up late.
Not caring.
Tomorrow’s Friday.
Hate Trump.
Drinking soda.
Had popcorn.
Love the weekend.
Need to study.
Back to typing.
Reach the end.

RAIN

It’s what I love about Oregon.
Wet leaves, covering the ground.
Water puddles perfect for jumping in.
Speckled glasses.
Drops catching on eyelashes, dripping mascara.
Angry clouds.
Semi-tipping wind.
Red. Yellow. Turning brown.
Need my raincoat.
Go inside.
Cuddle us.
Soak in the fire.
Just two more months until Christmas.

Dancing in Movies

My sister, Shelli, was always into dance movies. Anytime a dance film came out when we were in high school, she’d want to watch it and she would. She was grounded for most of her senior year of high school. Thus, the two of us had many a movie night. Shelli and I would go to Safeway, pick up a four-cheese pizza and our favorite ice cream and walk over to Blockbuster to rent the old eighties dance movies she loved. It was our thing. And when our parents were out of town and we were left alone, instead of having parties, this was what we would do. I’m sure my nerdiness rubbed off on her. She’d always been the cool one (which explains the dance movies). But it was a good time. Now every time I watch a dance movie, I think of Shelli. Why wouldn’t I? It was our thing. Shelli lives a state away these days. We don’t get to spend a lot of time together and when we do, we’re usually surrounded by all of our family members. I’m sure some day, we’ll be ditched by the family and only Shelli and I will be lounging around on the couch together. But for some reason, I doubt we’ll pop in a dance movie.

A little faith in Obama

I stopped believing in the tooth fairy in third grade. I learned about Santa Claus in fourth. I learned to do my own laundry in fifth grade and I realized prince charming wasn’t coming along at age twenty-five.

I also voted for Barack Obama. I loved what he stood for: bringing hope and change to America. Never once did I think he was God or that he had super powers. I thought he was a cool guy running for a really intense position, but he believed in the same sort of things I did. He had great ideas for change, the kind of ideas I couldn’t think up if I hung out with Harvard graduates everyday.

I still like Obama. Sure, not all the promises have been fulfilled, but people who believe in the Bible have been waiting for thousands of years for their promises to be fulfilled. Many wait till death to reach heaven. That’s a lot of faith in something or someone you can’t see in person. But we can see Obama. We read about or hear about the wars, economic failings, and health care policies he’s dealing with daily. Why can’t we put a little bit of faith in our own guy? He’s one of us, after all. He’s an American. He puts himself in the public eye and gets bashed by bloggers and commentators every day. Personally, I know I could never do it. I take it personally when people look at me with a blank expression. I assume they hate me. I like Obama and you know, I think if we were all a little more positive (including myself), maybe we could get along a little better. Because right now, it really sucks to be a voting American.

collecting the crapper

Today my brother is holding a toilet roundup/ BBQ. It’s strange. The fact that he knew he could invite our family to such an event is telling. We’re country dwellers. There are a few toilets in the backyard. My father is saving them for his shop and the pool house.

I pulled one out of the woods today. It’s on the front lawn, waiting for my sister to pick it up and take it to the BBQ. Gotta love Saturdays. ☺

Stress

In my health classes in high school, we learned about stress. We talked about lifestyles, heart attacks, heart disease, etc. One of the factors to an early death was having a lifestyle that is fueled by stressors.

My life has become a stress bucket. Everything I am working on stresses me out. Completing my master’s thesis is a huge stressor, trying to learn how to sew to make my Halloween costume while working on said thesis is stressful, and working in the special ed classroom is stressful.

I shouldn’t complain. I chose to do all the things I’m doing. I don’t want to give up on any of the three projects. I should just shut up, right? I’m probably not going to. I’m a talker. I like to talk about things to deal with them. It usually comes across that I’m just a big whiny baby but that’s okay. It’ll all get better soon. ☺

Crowded Coffee Shop

Right now, I’m in my favorite coffee shop in the world. No, it is not the coffee shop I used to work in. It’s the place I frequented in high school. Back during the days when my mom and dad used to pay for my gas, I came here with my friends. I’m not sure why exactly or what we were thinking, driving all the way to Newberg through the crazy Dundee traffic. But we did it anyway.

I’m supposed to be working on my thesis right now, but I’m a bit distracted. In front of me, a seventy-year-old man is eating a muffin. Ahead and to the left of me, three high school years are gossiping about their friends. And behind me to the right, there are a couple of girls talking about Jesus and all that good stuff.

So maybe my idea of coming to the coffee cottage to write was a bad idea. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the library. Right now, I’m going to try to focus. Wish me luck…

crackin' open a bottle

I just opened up a bottle of Seufert Winery’s Woven White. I bought it when I was chillin’ with my father and sister at the Dayton Harvest Festival a few weeks ago. Although I wanted to open it the day I bought it, I held out. I wanted to wait for a special occasion. Well, tonight was just that sort of night. What, you may ask, was the special occasion? The fact that I KNOW I can finish my thesis/project in the next eight weeks. It’s gonna happen. All I need to do now is chill in a coffee shop and write.

So there you go.



And in case you’re wondering about the photo, it’s a wine glass. Okay, so it’s actually a plastic Tupperware container, but it’s Rece’s special wine holder. I like it cuz it’s fun. And it’s not as pretentious as the usual wine glass. ☺ Eh, my dad thinks I’m crazy when I drink from it, but when DOESN’T he think I’m crazy. (Please note that the wine "glass" isn't that big. It's really a kids' cup I used to use when I was a little girl. I just really know how to take a crazy picture.)

Hasta.

Beaver Country

When I turned in my keys, filled my storage unit, and took a small sampling of my possessions with me to my parent’s house for the year, I didn’t put together all the pieces. I had forgotten that my parents were now in their sixties and went to bed at eight-thirty, nine on a special evening. I started to remember small details like “bedtime” within the first week. It took longer for others.

A few weeks of driving reminded me of the “red-nature” of Yamhill County. Tons of people here sport Chris Dudley stickers on their cars. Hmm. I’m sure I can find some democrats to befriend here in Dayton. ☺

But the biggest shock (and probably the most disappointing) is the amount of Beaver fans in the area. In my own classroom, two of the adults support the Beavers. I’m lucky one of the other sides with me. GO DUCKS!

I think after another year in Yamhill County, I’m gonna head to a new place. Yeah. I definitely need to get out of this Beaver country.

Good Will and whatnot

There was only one thing I wanted for my sixteen birthday: a ticket to the movies. Good Will Hunting was in theaters. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were starring in the movie they wrote together. I read all about it in Seventeen or whatever other teen girl magazine had the two of them on the cover. I thought they were hot. My friends knew this and supported my obsession. Lena bought me a Ben Affleck poster for my room, a poster that right now sits in my storage unit.

So I didn’t get to go to the movie on my birthday. It was already out of most theaters. But with my mother’s help, I searched every newspaper until I found where it was still playing. It was in Wilsonville and we went to see the film. My mom freaked out a bit. The curse words bothered her. I found it exhilarating. If I wasn’t allowed to say things like that, but I sure appreciated watching a film where they could say things I’d never dream of saying. Not only that, but they lived in a culture vastly different from my sheltered world in Dayton.

I’ve always appreciated that about movies. They give a chance to see and experience a world unlike our own. I’ve traveled a lot of places. I’ve lived in other countries and different sizes of cities. But I still appreciate movies. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to see all the places I want to see and also hang out with my friends and family as much as I like to. So I watch movies.

Good Will Hunting is on Encore right now. I missed the beginning, but it made me realize why this became one of my favorite movies when I was 16. Not only are their hot guys. I love the story. And I adore Matt Damon’s monologues. But best of all are the lessons they guys teach each other. As cheesy as that sounds, it’s perfect. Each day I end up learning something new. I have to face my own stubbornness and bias daily. I make new discoveries, learn new words, and read things I’ve never read before. And it keeps going. And so I believe that movies do bring good to us. They can, in fact, be educational.

The Slow Digression of My Vocabulary

When Abby took a trip down to Eugene in February, she told me I talked too smart. I had mentioned a “dialogue” I had with a friend and she said, “Rece, you’ve been in academia too long.” It had only been half a year, but I sounded smart. I was happy. It made me feel better. My GRE scores had been abominable. (The fact that I had been accepted to the UO’s JSchool shows that they wanted me for my winning personality and great resume, not my test scores.)

Well, all the greatness that was becoming my vocabulary began to dwindle upon returning to Dayton. These days, I spend at least seven hours a day at my local grade school, working with kids who may have severe communication disabilities. It wouldn’t be far off to say our classroom specializes in autism and all that entails. So basically, all my verbose tendencies and ability to brighten a room with intelligent conversation mean nothing at school.

Here are a few of the new things I’ve learned to say in the past month.

“OK, teacher.” This is the proper response to say when a child tells you “no” and refuses to do what you ask. I learned this the hard way, after allowing a student to shout “no” several times to me. I’d been hesitant to force the child to go to the next station as was over-cautious and unsure of the amount of power I was really supposed to have in a special classroom such as mine. (Basically, I was walking on eggshells around the kids as it was my first experience in a Special Ed setting.)

“Hands down.” I used this my second day in the classroom when was brutally attacked by a student. OK. The truth is that the student was having a bit of “a moment” and that student’s hands were just a part of it, flying about and flapping at and hitting everything in front. These two words come in handy whenever I want to avoid the aggression of an “outburst” and not get new bruises.

“Safe hands.” This goes along with the previous pair of words. It’s what we call a teaching phrase. We want the kids to learn that flapping arms and hands that make contact with others might be unsafe. Safe hands are much gentler and don’t give Teacher Sharece any bruises.

“Evacuation.” This is a new one from today. It came up on our daily reporting sheets for the parents. One of our co-workers at the school translated the form to Spanish for us and she said used, “evacuacion” for “BM.” Yep, I’m talking about poop. From now on, whenever I smell a poopy diaper, I’m going to say, “Ladies, I think it’s time to evacuate” or something equally cheesy or lame.

I’m sure that eventually, Abby and I will get back to our book club and I will start having intellectual conversations again, but for now, I’m all set. I mean hey, it seems that every day brings me something new. How could I complain about that? I can always dialogue with people about my day.

Garlic

I never remember consuming garlic in my early age. I just wasn’t into it. But I do remember learning about using garlic as a weapon against evil creatures. I think I was in third grade when I learned that garlic would ward off vampires and zombies and such. I’m not quite sure when I started eating garlic or cooking garlic, but I do know that I enjoy eating garlic now and that I find vampires and zombies somewhat interesting. If they were real, it might be fun to be friends with them, as long as they weren’t planning to drain the blood out of me or eat my brains.

For the last few days, I’ve been fighting a cold with an incredibly stuffy nose. But at about 6:00 each night, I’ve felt a ray of hope. My dad had fixed dinner with a plethora of garlic. My nostrils were cleared! Hooray!

I believe garlic has a place in this world. Sure, some people might use it to fend off scary beasts, and some of us might just like that it gives our food a little flavor.

Ellen and Gaga

I'm a huge fan of Ellen. I think she has a way of making people feel good and enjoy life. Here's a good one.

September

It’s the month of apples, school, fall colors, and rain. It’s the time to eat applesauce, apple pie, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and drink mini cartons of chocolate milk. Ah. Gotta love it.

My favorite thing about September used to be the new school clothes and school picture day. I don’t know WHY I liked picture day. I mean… most of my school pictures look pretty nasty. But I still looked forward to the day when I’d wear my hair in some tight pig-tails and don my most favorite T-shirt. Yep. I was that girl. One year, the shirt had teddy bears on it. The next, it was tie-dyed with jewels.

I’m back at school this year. But I don’t have any special plans for what I’m wearing for picture day. Better figure it out quickly.

How to Repair Damaged Hair | eHow.com

How to Repair Damaged Hair | eHow.com

So Yeah. Here's an online How to article I discovered today. Pretty interesting, no?

gimme sum gumbo!

I'm a fan of gumbo. I discovered gumbo in Disneyland over Spring Break and now it is one of my most favorite foods. A little over a week ago, my friend Sarah and I had a farewell to Eugene sort of evening. For dinner, we went for some of that delicious Papa Soul Food Gumbo. I almost cried I was so happy.

Ah.....

Getting back to blogging

How does one call oneself a blogger if she never blogs? I don’t know. Thus, I am blogging to show that in fact I do blog and write on occasion. This month (August) has been crazier than crazy. I was in Portland for a few Monday/Tuesdays early on while volunteering at the fabulous OPB. The commuting business turned me into a major stress case. So I decided to make mochas and lattes for the remainder of my August in Eugene instead. Then my thirty days at the apartment in Eugene were up and it was time to move back to Dayton. That’s where I am now. I live in my brothers’ old bedroom and am working at my old grade school. My new job started just two days after I moved here. But instead of chillin’ at that grade school in Dayton where I’m going to work, I headed to Albany for some training about teaching kids with autism. I am excited for it and scared for it at the same time. I’ve never worked with children with autism before. I suppose there’s a reason I’ve become fascinated with the most popular disability in the U.S. Who knows… I’m sure it’ll be an interesting experience to add to my life adventures.

Yesterday, I chatted briefly on Facebook with one of my favorite people in Eugene. He asked me how things in Dayton were. I didn’t have much to say. Much of my activities lately have revolved around organizing my room, cleaning the dishes, and watching Gilmore Girls. But I also get to hang out with Madelyn, my four-year-old niece. She likes to follow me around. Her baby sister is only about six months old. She doesn’t know her Tia Rece very well these days. Anyway, Madelyn was my buddy yesterday. She brought me a tiara to wear to my second cousin, Mia’s princess birthday party. It was… well… it was a princess party. It was sweet. I haven’t actually been to a princess party in a while, but it was good. I told my sister-in-law that if it’d been ten years ago, I would have been ALL decked out as a princess and majorly into the cheesy dancing or something.

Other than the occasional princess party and “trip to town,” I haven’t been up to a whole bunch. So folks, that’s it for now.

Book Geeks

I work with a bunch of book geeks… or maybe we’re book nerds. I’m not sure. Whatever we are, we are AWESOME. Together, we do one of the most important jobs at the University of Oregon. We process and repair books. Yep. It’s THE most important. Without the books, how would we learn? This whole digital thing is just a fad. It’ll be gone in no time.

Anyway, tonight we had a library crew garden party. It was quite wonderful. We made mini books, looked at Marilyn’s (one of the boss’s) chickens, and ate a fabulous feast.

Here’s a taste…

Craft time was the best. Jonny didn't bring his supplies but most of the girls did. It was great. Seriously, our work at the library feels a little like this fun craft time.


I'm not gonna lie. When the girls started talking about the types of chickens they have and what color eggs they lay and basically anything chicken, I realized I was way out of my league. I totally ignored everything chicken when I was a kid. I didn't like the meat, I hated feeding them and basically disliked all the farm work I had to do. Ironic that now I want that kind of life here in Eugene.



Please note: I don't know the name of the above chicken. But I believe it's the one they pet and talk to a lot. Will I ever get over my fear of being pecked to death by a hungry chicken? Not sure...

Packing city!

Not only has it been ages since I've blogged... it's also been ages since I've taken a picture with my rad camera. This is a problem because I love my camera. It's one of the things I feel like I need in life. :)

But anyway, here's a picture for ya.



It represents my life right now... a huge pile of boxes, some empty, some falling into other boxes, and some half full. I wish my life could be more organized during this "transitional phase," but that seems to never be the case.

Eh, things will settle down and then I'll be able to blog about WHY I have a pile of boxes in my apartment and why I haven't used my camera recently.

Until then, enjoy this unphotoshopped image.

Trusting a toy

This morning, I got to sit at a new desk. I was at my non-internship volunteer workplace. It was amazing to have my own cubicle. I didn’t have to sit in the studio everybody needed to use and I didn’t have to sit in the table in the middle of the room and read the newspaper twice.

But instead of jumping into the online news when I entered the cubicle, I did what every smart person would do. I picked up the Magic 8 ball. I asked it the ultimate question, the question every woman over 26 who’s moving back in with her parents must ask: Will I ever get married? I shook it up, closed my eyes for a second, willed a positive response, turned it upside down, and looked down.

DEFINITELY NOT.

What? This can’t be. I was shocked. How could this happen? I took a walk, got a drink of water, and went to the toilet to catch my breath. Then I realized. The Magic 8 Ball didn’t understand the question. It was made in China. It doesn’t know English.

I texted a few of my friends to get their responses. I got a few “hahas” and a “Rece, you’re so funny.” Abby said I shouldn’t put much stock into a piece of plastic with blue water in it.

I tried again. Negative. Third time’s a charm, I thought. I got the answer I wanted. Not a yes. Not, “sure.” But it was a positive one for sure. I took a deep breath. I texted my friend Lena to let her know the good news. Rece was not going to turn into an old hag with crazy cats.

I think I’ve learned my lesson. Magic 8 Balls are not toys. And if you want to ask them a question, you must finesse it out of them. And ask the question slowly. Enunciate. Then maybe you won’t have to try three times for the right answer.

My Little Butterscotch!

I’ve adopted a bunny. It’s true. I came home to “the farm” AKA BBJ Ranch and encountered the cutest bunny I have seen in years. It used to run wild and free, but it ate my sister’s and her neighbors’ berries. My dad caught it and it’s been in a cage ☹ in my parents’ “woods” for the past few months.

It’s mine now. And sure, it’s going to live in the cage for right now and all, but I’m going to treat it like the princess or prince that it is.



That's Butterscotch. Isn't he/she cute? Don't worry. I'm going to figure out what "it" is.

Here’s what I know about my new baby right now.

1. It’s a rabbit.
2. Its name is Butterscotch. (I named it today.)
3. It’s sweet and cute.
4. It has light brown fur, like a butterscotch brownie.
5. It’s sweeter than the other one, the one I call, Lumpy.

So yeah, I’ve found a new pal, a new project. And we’re going to figure out how to build him or her a cute and sweet little home. ☺

Summer Catch-Up!

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. It’s actually been a bit since I’ve done things I truly loved to do. There haven’t been many early bird movie specials, puzzles in the kitchen or days of nothing but writing. Instead, I’ve been having a crazy summer.

The end of school started out with a bang. Me and my gals from DHS went on a road-trip to Spokane to catch up with one of our other girls. It was amazing. We hadn’t all hung out for quite a while. I’ve been fortunate enough and persistent enough to see all of them several times in the past nine years (plus one of them is the Ethel to my Lucy or the Lucy to my Ethel – I’m not sure which). While there, three of the five of us got tattoos. It was great. Now I have three, a good number.



After that, I headed back to Eugene to continue work as a barista and book repairperson at the University library. That’s what I did for the second half of June. I worked… a lot. Ask my friends. I wasn’t around for much playtime.

Now that it’s July, my volunteer hours at OPB have started. I’m pretty stoked. Let’s just say, I love volunteering somewhere and I’m uber-excited for new adventures at a radio station.

In TV news, I’ve discovered the show, Samantha Who? I love it! Christina Applegate is so funny. And Barry Watson is so cute. I totally forgot he was from 7th Heaven until I wikipediaed him. Also, he looks a lot like Timothy Olyphant, Mr. Funk from The Boss episode. It’s crazy. I feel as if the two of them could be brothers or something. And Andrea is a new character to add to my list of favorite television characters. ☺

So besides filling random parts of my days by watching television, I have spent some time with the fam. That’s always a thrill. ☺

I suppose that is all for now. More later.

All the best.
XOXO

Today is June 30th.

It’s already the end of June. That means I have six more months until the New Year. I suppose that could mean it’s time to reevaluate what I’ve been up too. Have I been blogging enough? Obviously not. Have I been devoting time to volunteer for charities in my local area? Um, it would appear that is also in the red. I guess it’s time to get going.

Happy Half New Year, folks!

Lady Gaga and the Muffin Top

This is by far one of my favorite YouTube videos to date. I just showed it to Ma Bunn and she did the five-minute laugh. Um, yeah. It's awesome!

SCHOOL'S OUT

When I graduated from high school NINE years ago, our class had a theme song. It wasn’t all that original. I’m sure many high school graduating classes have celebrated their new beginnings with this song.

Well, school is officially out for yours truly. It’s been a rigorous year and in actuality, I have yet to complete my master’s thesis (or project, in my case), but all the same, classes are done. This is exciting, mainly because I have been so fed up with classes. It’s been a rough, stressful, even emotional year. But I’ve learned a bunch and now, it’s time for some celebrating!

My best friends from DHS and I are headed off to Spokane, WA to visit the fifth chica in our clique. It is sure to be a fabulous trip. We’re gonna hike, make soap, talk, and get tattoos. I’m sure we’ll do more than that, but those are the highlights. I’ve been looking forward to this trip ever since Sarah first suggested the idea on Facebook in the fall. And at long last, the trip is finally here. It’ll be grand.

The trip and the tattoo are rewards of sorts. I’ve made it through four quarters of grad school relatively unscarred. I did all my work, turned it in on time, and got above average grades (which for grad school means I’m just getting by). But I did it. I deserve this.

Poka for now.

Crap show of Sex and the City

I never understood why in the first movie, they put Stanford and Anthony together. It made no sense. And to have their wedding open the second movie was just ridiculous.

Let me start at the beginning. I’m not a first-timer. I’ve watched Sex and the City since early 2003. It had been almost over by then, I believe, but two girls from my English Lit classes at NNU thought I needed an education in HBO television. They loaned me their VHS tapes and rather than preparing for finals, I spent time watching Sex and the City. It was alright, I still had good grades, but more importantly, I met the likes of Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York, Miranda, and of course, crazy Samantha.

It was a good investment of my time. The show was all over the news, often referenced in People and forever on the lips of my English major friends.

Basically, I like the show. I REALLY like the show. And I’ll always be sad that Carrie ruined things with Aiden and also be glad that she ended up with Big, as Chris Noth is very attractive.

That said, Sex and the City 2 was a simply awful movie. It started out slow. I liked the wedding. It was cute and sweet and so over the top that I loved it, but it really had NOTHING to do with the rest of the movie. What was going on? Okay, so the two (very fun and sweet – at least Stanford was) gay guys were getting married. This is special. But then the movie moved on. We didn’t hear from either of the B-Rooms again. What? Why not?

And then Carrie starts getting mad at Big because of the TV. Really? The TV? So I know that people in relationships, girls especially, get mad about stupid things and mess things up by being ridiculous, but really? Getting up set about the TV? Come on, Carrie. Carrie had always been my favorite until she started complaining about the TV and trying to force Big to go out all the time.

And then the trip to Abu Dhabi. That was cool. That was the main story. Why were there so many mini stories before? For real: why? Aiden’s role was really minor, but the previews made it look much more prominent. And would I really want it to be prominent? Probably not. That might mean that Carrie would be cheating on Big or something. Not a good move! And then she kisses him. At least that’s all. For real.

I’m not trying to spoil the show or disagree with people who liked the movie, but really? It was awful. I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for my ticket. I would have been really upset about it.

All in all, I’d give this 2.75 stars out of five. It’s not quite to the three stars bit (meaning I like it) but I don’t dislike it either.

End of School

The school year is coming to an end. I like it. But really, I’m starting to get a little nervous. I still have two papers to finish. One is a rewrite that needs some serious work. The other is a summary of my final project. The final project is what I’m going to work on this summer and in the fall. Yep. It’s the big project that will earn me my master’s degree. It’s pretty exciting, working on my master’s. But then what? The real world?

This is how I view the real world:

Responsibility – I’ll be forced to find a real job that will support me and help me pay off my undergraduate and graduate loans.

Grownup – I will finally have to be a real grownup to face the responsibilities.

Budget – Creating and sticking to a budget will be crucial to pay the rent, buy shampoo, and pay the other bills.

I’m not sure that I’m ready for the real world. This is mainly because I don’t know where I’m headed. Why is this? Wouldn’t it have been a good idea to have an idea? But I’m a millennial. We millennials have no real direction!

The truth is that I still have a while before I’ve got to worry about the real world. I have to finish my papers, then move out of my apartment, then work on my project, then…

There is plenty to do. Why rush it?

The thing about the real world is that I suppose I am living in the real world now. It’s just my real world. It’s a very specific sort of world. It’s focused and unable to shift from place to place. I’m in Oregon. I’m in school. I’m at work. It’s my world.

But that world is changing very soon. THAT is what scares me.

Not so deep but surely interesting thoughts on this May evening

I get why my Granddad is confused. Facebook and Twitter are all over the news. Sometimes they’re in articles about the new privacy policies or fads that are causing a ruckus. Most of the time they are mentioned at the end of stories. “You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook,” the reporter says. If I didn’t know what either of those were I’d probably Google it or check out Wikipedia. But what about Granddad? I’m sure he’s not the only old guy who watches the news. What about the other folks who don’t know what this new media is?

It’s been about a year since I started studying journalism here at the U of O. I’m still baffled by the changes in media. Sure, there are still jobs in journalism. But things are changing so fast and sometimes so slow that it’s hard to know exactly where to look.

On the other hand, it’s pretty rad that new media is taking over the world. I love that social media is becoming so strong. People are more aware of what things are happening in the world. They engage in the conversations. What could be wrong with that?

I’m not quite sure what the future of journalism is gonna look like. I’m not positive what my future will look like and even if I’m going to be working in journalism. We’ll see. There’s no sense in getting ahead of ourselves.

that dang language barrier

Japanese. Korean. Chinese. Indonesian. German. They’re all foreign to me. I barely know a word of any of the languages. Perhaps I could understand one word in a typical conversation. This would be only because the word is a cognate. I just don’t know enough foreign languages.

Today, I took the bus from the U of O to downtown Eugene. During that short seven to ten minute trip, I sat next to two people from Asia. Unfortunately, because of my ignorance about Asian cultures, I couldn’t even tell you where they were from or what language they were speaking. It made me sad.

While I was sitting there, I was writing in my journal. I stopped when I heard a word I thought I understood. I honestly believe they may have been talking about how no one understood them when they spoke on the bus. I heard, “they learn English in grade school, English in middle school, and English in high school.” And then there was laughter. Okay, so I’m not sure they were saying this, but as I’ve said before, I’m a tid-bit narcissistic and suffer from a slight case of Truman Syndrome and thus believe everyone is always talking or thinking about me.

As I sat there in ignorance, I was transported back to Ukraine. My friends and I used to visit Kyiv every few months. When we got together on the Metro, we were always loud. I tried to shut us up; I hated to be an obnoxious American, but it didn’t matter. We were loud. We dressed funny. And we always stuck out on the Metro.

One of the reasons I learned Ukrainian so well was to abolish the isolation I felt for being a foreigner. I think it’s important to learn and see other cultures. Learning the language of the other culture is an essential part of this.

Here’s the summer goal: No matter where I am this summer, I’m going to work on my Spanish. It’s important. A good chunk of our population in the Pacific Northwest grew up with Spanish as its primary language. It’s about time I step up to the plate and communicate effectively with my friends and neighbors. ☺

HEROES

“I already have a family.” And she jumps out of the window. Talk about great television. I’m hooked.

Heroes is just about the greatest show I could be watching.

Hiro Nakamura – by far the coolest hero ever.

Some kid from my grad school classes doesn’t like the show. He says it’s a knock-off of X-Men. Even if it were, it wouldn’t matter. I love it.

Sylar – Evil Man. What power allows him to move things and stop bullets mid-air?

Peter Petrelli – My hero.

“Turns out you’re the villain, Peter. I’m the Hero.” – Sylar

The bomb. AHH!!!

“Save the cheerleader; save the world.” Hmm. What is going on? I doubt Nathan really just died. And there is a big explosion in the air. So Nathan did turn out to be a good guy? What? So confused and yet the music is supposed to help me feel much better, happy and good, you know.

Good line: “Home is anywhere our family is together.” – Mr. Bennett

Is Ando going to be gone from Volume 3? I really liked him. He was funny and cute.

I finally finished watching Heroes Season 1. My sister loaned it to me when I visited her for New Years. It’s now the middle of May. Oops.

I always wanted to be Supergirl when I was little. She could fly. She had blonde hair and she saved people. I never thought superheroes could have all the super powers they have in Heroes. I mean, Claire can’t die. She just regenerates. How groovy is that?

Superpowers… What power would you have if you were a superhero?

cell phone terror

There’s a reason I try not to have cell phone conversations in front of others. People listen in. I do it. My ear stretches out to catch the private words people are sharing in public. Why wouldn’t I listen in when the person is shouting so loud into the phone that even my grandfather with horrible hearing could catch every word?

The other day, I took a bus to campus. When I got on, a girl was talking to her friend about school stuff. When she got off, she was still talking to the same friend. We both walked across the street and took the same sidewalk up 13^th on campus. She was still talking to her friend. At first, I’d been listening. Then, I realized I was annoyed and started to tune her out. By the time I got to the path to the J-School, she still hadn’t stopped her conversation.

Seriously? Does she like to be noisy and obnoxious with her telephone conversations?

Yesterday, I got news that I was one of the people OPB was looking at for a summer internship. I was pretty stoked. I tried to e-mail my mom about it, but she didn’t read them right away. I ended up calling her when I was walking four blocks from my house. Sure, I was chatting loudly on my phone, but I made sure there weren’t any people walking behind me. Plus, the convo only lasted about two minutes.

Cell phones... Be careful where you use them.

job skills

When I was in high school, I took a skills test. It asked about my interests, where I wanted to live, and how much money I wanted to make a year. I wasn’t sure how much money was normal, so I shot high. I was a smart girl, I thought. Why NOT make a bunch of money?

Well, that skills test hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I know the same things I did back then. I love to write and I love photography. But neither of those has made me any money yet.

Tonight, my cousin called me about a possible move to Portland. She’s going to need a new roommate and wants to know if I can move up north. I would love to, but I’m not quite sure what the heck is going on these days. I need a job. I need to finish school. And I need a vacation. That’s all I know.

I started to browse online for jobs in Portland. I had no luck so I moved on to Seattle, the place I really want to move to. I stumbled upon the job title, “funeral director.” That’s what the skills test told me. I was going to be a funeral director. There was no other way to use my smart skills and make that amount of money. Hmm… is this my calling?

homework stuff

Whenever I work on homework, I surround myself with distractions. I don’t know that it’s the smartest idea.

Look at today.
I got home at four. I decided to take a short break and watch something on Hulu. It was the latest episode of Glee. Then, I started to download songs from iTunes. It’s my latest addiction. iTunes can be dangerous to the poor girl’s budget. After iTunes, it was Friday Night Lights (FNL) on Netflix. I’m loving this new show. I have to read the book for a project. The show is great too. The goal is to connect with small town life and be motivated to search for the thing that holds Dayton (Oregon) together. I’m so enthralled with the show that I have a hard time thinking of anything but football. And sure football used to keep Dayton together, but I’m not sure that it still does today. After FNL, I decided to work on homework. I pulled up my word document and typed a little bit. Then, I checked my blog. A friend had left a comment. I went to her website… for half an hour. Then, I had to move on. More homework. First, a little music. Rating songs on iTunes. Working on my laptop in bed. Watching and listening to 30 Rock. Talking to a friend on the phone. Writing this blog post.

So yeah, I’m having a little trouble focusing on my homework.

Introvert vs. Extrovert

I was reading something in Mental Floss, the best magazine in the world, and I stumbled across a bit about personality type. I decided to figure out what kind of person I am and I asked my brother his opinion. Am I an introvert or an extrovert? Without thinking for a second he said, “introvert.”

“Really,” I asked.

“Well, you were when you were younger,” he said.

Hmm… that got me thinking.

A little while later, I asked my sister. “Shanna, am I an introvert or an extrovert?”

“Extrovert,” she said. “But sometimes you can be a little introverted.”

What a strange thing this personality thing is. I suppose I’m a miffle. Yes, this is a Sharece word. It means the same thing as “enigma.” Yep. I’m a mystery. At times, especially when I’m in strange and unfamiliar places, I get quiet. I may not be “shy” but I am most definitely quiet. The wheels are turning at record speed but I’m not sure what exactly is going on.

I’m not sure what to really call myself. All I really know is that I’m Rece. I love to talk. I can also listen. And people watching can be a whole lot of fun.

Fairy tale rebeliever

I don’t believe in fairy tales. Sure, I like to read the occasional story to my niece. And the Disney princess movies will always hold a special place in my heart, but for the most part, fairy tales cease to be real to me.

There is a story, however, that has recently filled an empty hole in my heart. The Princess and the Frog is by far the BEST Disney princess story of all time. Mulan doesn’t count as she isn’t a real princess, is she?

I used to love Sleeping Beauty best. Then I grew up and realized that Princess Aurora basically gets hurt and can only get made better when a prince comes to save her. Come on now, how realistic is that? Princes just don’t ride up on their white horses anymore, despite what Julia Roberts and Richard Gere pretend in Pretty Woman.

Okay, so I know I probably sound like a bitter old woman, but that’s not what I intend at all. This new frog movie has revitalized my faith in the whole love biz. Yep. Love stories may not always turn out the way we expect, kiss a frog and you find your prince, but they may turn out eventually, down by the Bayou. ☺

Journalist Bunn

I got a rather fabulous card last night. It was addressed to "Journalist Bunn." It made me incredibly happy. I'm grateful to have people backing me up.

The card itself is pretty hilarious. Two dogs are looking at each other. One says, "I had my own blog for a while, but I decided to go back to just pointless, incessant, barking."

Love it!

Letter Writing

A blue metal box holds my hopes and dreams. They stay there until a man wearing navy blue slacks, a light blue button up and a blue baseball cap comes to carry them away. My dreams are thrown into a plastic box and taken to the factory of correspondence where they are sorted by two letters and five numbers.

Within two to three days, my dreams will be sitting in another metal box. Sometimes, the box will be tall and skinny among a sea of similar boxes. And sometimes the box will be big and fat where it sits on the side of the road all alone.

When my friend opens the box and pulls out the envelope, everything is as it should be.

Ah, the Little Mermaid song

I’m listening to Part of Your World on my computer. I recently downloaded most all of my CDs to my hard drive so as to rid myself of all extraneous items in my apartment. A bunch of CDs sitting in a box aren’t doing me any good, right?

Part of Your World is from the Disney Princess Collection CD. It has special memories for me. Many are from my childhood, when I’d hang out with my cousins and we’d sing our hearts out. I’m pretty sure we could have started a band if our parents would have put a little money in it. ☺

I think my favorite, most recent memory of this song happened in 2007. I was still living in Ukraine. I’d gone to Bar (a town in Vinnytska Oblast) to visit my friend, Sheryl. She looked through my iPod and found this song. She blasted it and sang to the whole thing. It was AMAZING. The best part was that she got down on the ground and acted like she was Ariel on the rock. She even pushed out her hands as if they were the waves shooting out from behind her. I laughed harder than I had in months.

I love memories like this. They really help make crummy days like today just a little more happy.

realization

For the last year, I’ve been dedicated to studying journalism. After spending time in the Peace Corps, it seemed the thing to do. I want to write. Why not become a journalist?

This morning, I realized that besides writing, doing radio, and working for the Peace Corps, I have one other passion. I am fascinated by ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder. I took a class about the disorder at Willamette ESD when I worked at Dayton Grade School. It was amazing. We learned about ways to help kids with autism and Asperger’s. My friend Chris and I were in the class together. We both said that when we learned a little about the syndrome, we both thought we had a little bit of autism in ourselves. There are times when I am socially awkward. On occasion, I ask inappropriate questions without thinking. But luckily, I have been able to pick up on the awkwardness and avoid doing similar things again. People with autism can’t always do this.

I hate that I’m always changing my mind about what I want to do, but I would love to figure out ways to help people with ASD. Maybe I can do it by volunteering somewhere. Maybe it means I’ll have to change paths in some way.

At least for now I recognized this interest of mine. Next step: do something about it.

Bday ReCap

Please note:

BIRTHDAY WAS FANTASTIC!

Went to Sam Bonds, by far the best bar/music venue in Eugene and listened to SambaDa, a GREAT band that I have now fallen in love with!

Have a Happy WEEKEND folks!

Perfect birthday, uh huh, RIGHT!

Breaking out the puzzle. That’s right. I purchased a puzzle for myself just in case my birthday plans didn’t work out. And that’s what I’m gonna have to do.

Happy birthday, Rece. I know… I’m ridiculous.

April 15th rocks

This morning, I woke up at 6:18. My dad was on the phone, ready to wish me a happy birthday. He asked me when I was planning on getting up and eating my good breakfast. I said I didn’t know.

I woke up again at 7:24. I figured my mom was calling me. I was partially right. My Ukrainian host mother, Alya, was calling me from overseas. I got the same question I always get, when are you coming back? I hate this question. If I could, I would go back tomorrow. But things are in the way. School. Dentist bills. The usual. But let me tell you, this phone call woke me up. Nothing makes your day better than a call from old friends in another country.

This birthday is bound to be an interesting one. And if it isn’t, I always have a puzzle to work on at home. ☺

Birthday Goodness

Today, I went shopping for my birthday present. Initially, I had planned to buy myself a record table. That idea was shot down when I decided to buy a new computer for school. Thus, my birthday present was put on hold for the THIRD year in a row.

I entered Fred Meyer not planning to buy myself a gift. I had intended to buy some cookie dough to make some cookies during my long homework session tonight. I ended up in the card and gift bag aisle and the rest is history.

The yellow gift bag has five items in it.
1. Princess and the Frog coloring book – During my senior year at DHS, I was a bench warmer on the volleyball team. Because of my bench time, I didn’t take much of the season seriously. I took coloring books to all games and my friends and I would color.
2. 750 piece puzzle – I like puzzles. Who doesn’t? As I’m turning 27, it’s about time I settle down into the seriousness of life and put together another puzzle.
3. Chocolate – I didn’t go with dove. Hershey’s now has PURPLE wrapping on their milk chocolate. Yum!
4. Purple pen pack – Um, I like to write and I love purple.
5. Adam – The Blockbuster is closing. I got a movie for $4 to watch on my birthday.

That’s it. Now I just have to wrap it and wait to open it on Thursday.

Ten Things

When I got home from work tonight, I wanted to escape. It seems like I do this a lot. I get tired of all the homework and stress induced by my minimum-wage jobs so I try to escape from them when I get home. I watch TV, read my books or surf the web.

I tried to watch an episode of Lost. It was too intense. I didn’t want to add to my stress level. I needed to lessen the stress. So I went to Hulu where I discovered, Ten Things I Hate About You, the TV show based on that awesome movie I watched in high school. The show is about two sisters who are completely opposite yet they have to figure out how to deal with their new lives in California. It’s great.

And so... not to be negative or anything, but I’m gonna make a “Ten Things I Hate List.” It is negative, isn’t it? Well, we’ll just have to see what I come up with.

Ten Things I Hate About the Current Climate in Oregon:
1. The weather is so temperamental. It never stays the same.
2. The economy is bad. We have a pay freeze at the Duck Store so I don’t even get regular barista wages, just minimum wage, YUCK!
3. The sun is starting to shine a bunch; it shines way too brightly in my eyes and my glasses just add to the misery.
4. The news climate is down. All the good stuff is happening in DC or West Virginia.
5. Putting on one jacket in the morning may end up being the wrong choice for any other hour of the day.
6. Mud. The rain gets the dirt wet and we get mud.
7. Crazy things are flying away from the U of O. Example: Mike Bellotti’s bailout.
8. Tax people in this state are slow. Still waiting on my return.
9. It’s nice. Streets are more crowded. It’s not as easy to wander around when the streets are full.
10. No barbecue. I left it at my parent’s house.

Okay, so I was reaching a bit. I actually really love Oregon, rain and all. I had to think really hard to come up with 4 through 10.

Cooking on a Hot Plate

A few months ago, my brother and his partner bought me a hotplate. They thought it was horrible that I lived with only a microwave and a hand-me-down toaster oven. It was, but I made it work.

The hotplate was from Freddies. It has one burner. (I didn’t want the double burner one, not enough counter space.)

Tonight, the hotplate got a workout.

I wanted to make dinner for my friend. She has made me food so many times. It was about time I returned the favor. I also invited my other friend, her roommate. Dinner was set for eight o’clock.

I got to cooking the meat at about 7:30. The pan was small, good enough to cook two eggs in. I had to cook the meat in shifts. After that, it was time for the pasta. I boiled the pasta in a soup pot. It’s a small soup pot. The family size can of Campbells would overfill it. The pasta got cooked in shifts as well.

Then it was time for the corn. The corn was cooked on the top of the pasta remnants stuck to the bottom of the pan. (Oops. Smokehouse flavor, anyone?)

Then, I took some pasta, a little meat, and sauce and heated it in that same mini pot to heat it up because at this point, all the ingredients were becoming cold.

It was quite a project.

The girls ate my sister’s Oreo cookies while they waited for the food.

Cooking dinner was an experience. I’ve proven that, okay, maybe I CAN cook, at least a little bit. And a hotplate is in fact useful.

Dodgeball

One of my favorite Friends episodes is the one when they throw the ball back and forth to one another. For hours, Ross and Joey throw the ball back and forth. Then Monica gets involved and it's serious business.

Some guys in New York did something kinda similar this week. A 31-hour dodgeball game in Albany made the Guinness World Record books yesterday.

Sounds like fun, but do these guys have jobs?

LOST

I decided to watch LOST tonight. I’ve watched the first four seasons of the show. I haven’t caught up with season five. My dad lent it to me, but I’ve been incredibly busy. Why is Charles Whitmore trying to kill Desmond with a bunch of power stuff? It doesn’t make any sense. WHAT IS GOING ON?

The time now is 9:06.

The flashbacks are still working. This is good.

So, they’re playing the “if the crash hadn’t happened, this would be happening” game. Nice!

Charlie is back! I love how six years into the show, we’re still beginning to learn things about what’s going on.

Whatever happened to Penny? Did Desmond leave her because of Charles Whitmore?

When he’s getting the cat scan, he’s starting to look like Hannibal the Cannibal.

9:29

Did he somehow lose his memory?

How is this show ever gonna end?

Confused, I am so confused. Obviously, this is one of those shows you MUST tune into every week. I knew this before. It’s just hard to keep up.

Note: Samsung has a 3D TV out. Does it give people headaches?

OMG!!! Mrs. Whitmore is that woman on the streets from before. I can’t remember the details of what she was doing.

Daniel. Now there’s a character I remember and recognize. I’m starting to question what J.J. Abrams is thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a genius. But I’m really confused. I wish I could be more of a geek so I could understand some of this nuclear bomb business.

I think I must have gotten lost on an island. I’m SURE there was some other life out there for me. I’m just in this one because of a repeating record and an electromagnetic thing on an island in the Pacific.

When did LOST become all about love? It never was before? Did J.J. Abrams get a girlfriend and now he has to set everybody in his show up?

Note: My favorite characters from my show were always Desmond and Charlie (through season three). I liked Anna Lucia when she was on it-- before she went crazy and Mr. Echo--before he died. Daniel was my favorite from season four. My favorite relationship to follow is Penny and Desmond.

9:53… Still watching. Still confused. Desmond has always gone between time periods. How is he able to do this? I’m usually a girl who will read spoilers about things. For some reason, I don’t want to do this for LOST. I feel like I need to figure it out all by myself… or at least phone a friend about it!

LOST! That’s it. Only FIVE episodes until the series finale. BAH! I need to catch up.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post. If you’re reading it, it’s almost like you watched it with me. This is what I do when I watch TV or movies. I ask questions and make comments about what’s going on. It’s just that I usually speak them rather than type them out.

POKA!
HASTA!

busy life

Does life ever slow down enough that it feels relaxing? Should it? Is it good to be busy all the time? Should we all slow down to make life a little less crazy?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I would love it if my life were a little more relaxed and regular. Or would I? I like having things to do.

Grad school is busy. I always find myself rushing to finish things.

When I get home to my studio apartment, I relax. That means I don’t always get to all my homework right away and I don’t stress about the work I didn’t finish at either of my two jobs.

I’m wondering…will this change?

Will I become one of those 9 to 5 workers who still brings home a briefcase with work to finish at home? Will I sit on the couch with my husband and work on my laptop instead of watching great sitcoms on NBC?

Not sure. Time, that will tell.

Spring Break Wrap-up: Six Days in Disneyland

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Oops. I have several excuses.

First, I was on vacation.
Second, I had no internet while I was on vacation.
Third, my grandpa passed away while I was on vacation.
Fourth, school started and I was thrown into a full-time schedule as a grad student.

I suppose I ought to inform ya’ll about what went on during vacation, the good stuff, the fun stuff.

On the Friday before spring break, I boarded a train headed south. During the 28-hour ride, I ate trail mix, fruit snacks, rice crispy treats and drank a can of flat Diet Pepsi I bought on the train.

We had to get off the train in LA. It was my first time there. The train station was pretty nice. It was enormous, a lot like the train stations I traveled through when I was in Europe. The bathrooms were sketch, though. I think people in LA are a little crazy. Some girl actually tore out a part of the bathroom stall wall. What? Who does that?

From LA, we took another train to Anaheim. It had been five years since my last trip there. My parents took me to Disneyland the month before I left to Ukraine. It had been our goodbye to childhood kind of trip. (None of us knew that two years in the Peace Corps still wouldn’t force me to grow up.)

Disneyland was a hoot. I had forgotten how great people are when they’re traveling to the happiest place on earth. I loved being treated like a person, treated nicely. People in the “real world” just aren’t as nice as people in Disneyland. I would change this if I could.

We spent six days in Disneyland. I don’t want to bore you with too many details so instead, I will give you a few short lists to tell the story.

My favorite rides/attractions at the park were…
1. Peter Pan’s flight- this is always a treat. You get to fly over London, fight evil Pirates listen to a groovy tune.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean- I was a Dayton Pirate. Of course, I love all things Pirates. The additions to the ride are awesome, especially all the places Captain Jack Sparrow shows up.
3. Indiana Jones’ adventure- by far the most thrilling. The ride made me want to jump in a time machine and go back ten years so I could watch all the movies with my oldest brother at my parents’ house.
4. It’s A Small World- probably the only ride I remember from when I was one-and-a-half –years-old (if those are in fact REAL memories). It’s so fun and friendly and I LOVE the parts with England and Ireland.
5. Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland- I had never been on this road before. It was amazing. I am especially attached to the story now, since the new movie came out and all.
6. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride- I rode through hell claiming, “Hi, friends. It’s nice to see you again.” My travel buddies made me ride it alone, I HAD to entertain myself.
7. The Carousel- always a safe bet with Rece. I have ridden on just about every carousel I’ve seen and had money to ride.
8. Dumbo- my mom and I rode it together to replay the picture from when I was a baby girl and we rode together.
9. Toy Story- this attraction at California Adventure was FABULOUS! I had SO much fun. It didn’t matter that I was the fifth wheel and had to go alone. I was so impressed. It almost made me want to start playing video games full-time!
10. Buzz Lightyear’s Ride- I had to ride this one alone at least three times. I learned how to use both guns to score a bunch of points. It was entertaining.
11. Splash Mountain- water, fun, friends, cute music. LOVE IT!

Here are a few crazy highlights from the magical kingdom…
1. Ma Bunn fell asleep when we rode Pirates of the Caribbean on Thursday night. HOW can anyone fall asleep on a ride? SERIOUSLY?
2. Spencer had “an accident” when riding WITH TIA RECE on the Matterhorn. I am Tia Rece. Yep. We had to go get him new shorts. It was funny, strange, and uncomfortable.
3. My dad added to his pin collection. I bet the money he spent on the pins could have covered a whole month’s rent down here in Eugene.
4. Spencer bought a dinosaur with his spending money. I learned what dinosaurs sounded like for the rest of the week.
5. I got to meet Peter Pan and Wendy. Wahoo!

Well, there are a few highlights. Oh, did I mention WHO was with me on the trip? It was Ma Bunn, Pa Bunn, Sister Shanna and Spencer (Shelli’s son). None of the rest of the “BBJ clan” showed up. It was a little sad, but okay. We had a lot of fun anyway.

Well, tootle-oo, folks. By the way, if anyone knows the proper way to spell, tootle-oo, please leave me a comment. It’d sure be nice!

XOXO

Note: The pictures aren't necessarily in the greatest order or design on this page. My sincere apologies. I'll work on this in my design class SOON!
The pix are of the crew in Disneyland (without me, though), my parents with Spencer, me with the Neverland folks, and Spence all by himself. Spence was quite a character. Remind me to take better notes next time I go on vaca with an eight year old!

RIDIN' ON AMTRAK

My mom just asked my dad, “did you see all the cows on the hills?” Followed by, “there were a couple of wild turkeys.”

Something is seriously wrong here.

You see, my mom was never into the cows and things before. I think it’s been a recent thing, since I went to college or so that she’s decided to take an interest in the farm things in life.

Well, the above conversation is the sort of thing that is talked about as we travel the rough tracks from the Willamette Valley to Anaheim. Thus far, we’ve been on the train for a total of 18.5 hours. Well, I should say I’VE been on the train for that long. The other folks got on the train an hour and a half before me up in Salem.

There are five of us: me, my mom, my dad, my sister Shanna, and my nephew Spencer. This is Spencer’s first train. When the four of them first hopped on the train in Salem, my dad asked Spence if he’d been on a train before. Spencer responded, “Never in my whole entire life.” He’s eight!

At this point, we’re in Salinas, California. We’ll be here for a few minutes. My dad’s eating all his train goodies, the bag of nuts, fruit snacks, and whatever else he can get his hands on. My mom is about to get him the egg salad sandwiches I made with my brother’s eggs I’ve had in my fridge for a week or two.

Note: The Coastal Starlight has a food car. You can either dine for about $12-$19 a plate or buy packaged sandwiches or chips for $2-$3 MORE than you’d pay in a store. I bought a can of Diet Pepsi this morning for $1.75. First, a CAN of PEPSI should NEVER cost that much. Second, the can of soda was FLAT! It was FLAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Well, I’m about to much on some delicious egg salad sandwich with spicy brown mustard. Tootle-oo!

WRITTEN 11:39 AM on March 20, 2010 while on the Amtrak train

SPRING BREAK STARTS NOW

Classes are REALLY over for the quarter. It's thrilling. I even survived portfolio presentations (with neither scars or awards).

Thoughts on PhotoJ

This quarter, I took a class in photojournalism. After a stressful fall quarter, I wanted to invest some time in something I feel passionate about, photography. It has been a tough class. I've had to learn new things such as how to use a flash and heavy duty lighting equipment. I've had to reinvest time in composition, as my lines and eye-level things are often an issue. But in general, it's been a great class.

I decided to show this picture for your viewing pleasure. It's of my friend Sarah. She was the subject of basically ALL of my flash photos. She's a gem. She lent her time to me and let me take stupid photos of her eating a muffin, working on her computer, or acting out things like this (hear no evil,speak no evil, see no evil... only in a different order.

I love photography. I'm excited for the prospect of taking pictures for fun again, no pressure to meet a deadline or get a certain shot. I think photography will always be a passionate HOBBY for me...

Weekend at Home

I went home to chill with my parents this weekend. The original plan was to check out the fabulous wineries in the area. That didn't last very long. I ended up going home to a sick mother, an overworked farmer-of-a-father and a bed with the same wrinkly sheets I stayed in a month ago. My poor parents have been working so hard that one of them got sick and the other has had to put aside some of his house duties to help out my other siblings.

Although we ditched the plan to go wine tasting, we still went out for a bit. We spent Saturday night at the movies. We saw Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton's newest hit film.

Weekends at home are an odd thing. I'm always so tired that I end up sleeping a bunch. And I end up helping out with the dishes, taking pictures of my gnomes on the front lawn, and watching DVDS of old TV shows or movies I haven't seen in a while.

Home on the farm is relaxing. My life in Eugene isn't always the same.

It's good though. I like a change in scenery every now and again.

ALMOST DONE!!! ALMOST DONE!!!

If you can't tell from my title, I'm almost done with winter quarter. It's been a fun, long, interesting, and challenging ten weeks.

It's still going... I still have two projects for my photojournalism class. But by Wednesday of next week, I'll be set and ready to roll.

The cool bit is that things are still progressing for me. I'm still at KLCC, the public radio station here in Eugene. Tomorrow, I get to go to the courts to cover the UO football players who have been getting in trouble. LaMichael James is changing his plea. I have to do a little checking up before heading in.

I should be going to see my fam and bff this weekend. It should be cool. I like spending time with those amazing peeps.

But to get things rolling... I really should go to bed. There's always more to do tomorrow. We might as well sleep today!

Oscar night

I really had intended to do some serious homework tonight. But then I realized that the Oscars were on TV. I’m watching them now.

It’s been years since I’ve been able to watch the Oscars on TV. The last time I saw them was probably back in high school. In college, I was always working Sunday nights. And in Ukraine, well, Ukers just don’t watch the Oscars. And then the rents didn’t have TV.

The tribute to horror movies made me realize how little I know about the genre. Sure, I finally watched Saw. And I’ve seen all versions of Scream and I know What You Did Last Summer. I still haven’t seen Psycho. Oh man, I’ve gotta get going! So many movies to see, so much other work to do in the meantime.

Quentin Tarantino looked pretty happy with the horror bit.

My eyes were glued to the screen when it came to the sound effects. How cool would it be to do that? I work in sound... at the radio station. Could I have a future at the Oscars? Um… it might be a long shot, but it’s still a pretty awesome idea.

Here are some of the things I have learned thus far during this night at home with the Oscars:
1. I need to finish school so I can have more time to go to the movies.
2. It would be beneficial for me to watch a bunch of John Hughes films.

Here are some of the movies I added to my “to see” mini journal I take with me everywhere:
1. Crazy Heart
2. The Hurt Locker
3. A Serious Man
4. Avatar
5. The Young Victoria
6. An Education’
7. Precious
8. Imaginarium by Doctor Parnassus

I agree about the ingenuity of Inglorious Basterds. I’ve been talking about it since I first went to see it. Oh man, I hope it gets its due.

Commercials during the Oscars can be pretty rockin’ too. There’s a new show coming to ABC. Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. Hmm… sounds pretty great.

Note: Movies are powerful. There have been at least five times in the past hour and forty minutes watching this awards ceremony when I’ve started to cry or tear up. What can I say? I’m passionate about movies.

The dancing to the movie scores is pretty amazing. I’m really glad we humans are such fabulous and innovative people. I’m definitely a fan!

Happy Oscar watching to all!

A 26-Hour “weekend” in the “big” city

I’m riding back from a fabulous weekend in Portland. I love that city. I was there for little more than 26 hours, but I had a great time.

There were several reasons for my trip.

1. I wanted to visit Shane and Jim, two of my favorite people, where they lived in Beaverton.
2. My friend David Horton was having a musical/dance performance in the city.
3. I like to get away from my crazy grad school life.

It ended up being quite successful.

When Shane and Jim picked me up from the train station, they drove me out to Cup and Saucer, a cute café on Hawthorne. It was sweet. Their veggie omelet was delicious, but the vanilla scone was by far the best. We chatted as we consumed our food things and then walked on over to Powells which had just opened. I’d never been to the Powells on Hawthorne, but it was nice. It was much less busy than the City of Books in the Pearl District. I liked it.

The whole area down by Cup and Saucer was pretty groovy. The buildings were so colorful and sweet looking. The metal bit with the shiny windows didn’t do anything for me, but I guess modern development will always be on the stainless steel side of things anyway.

When we left there, we went to the casa de mis Shane and Jim. I tried to write a bit of my story for class, but I just couldn’t. Doing homework and hanging out with people has never worked for me. I ended up giving up on the creative craft all together and settling in for a little TV on DVD action.

First, we watched Better Off Ted. After two episodes of that, Shane and Jim went upstairs for a bit. I put in the beginning of Glee. Shane joined me for that while Jim went out for a bit. He came back with series one of Clatterford, the latest addition to their BBC television series collection. It was spectacular. We pretty much watched the whole set of six or so episodes. I think Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French have to be two of the funniest people in all of Britain.

Shane and I took the Max into Portland for David’s dance and music performance. It was pretty grand. I have never seen modern dancing before. I was definitely in an unfamiliar world, but I enjoyed watching the dance and the music, as always, was spectacular.

This morning was typical. Get up, go eat breakfast, and chill until I was to leave. They drove me to the train station and went home to get ready for USA vs. Canada hockey.

I’m writing this on the bus.

My weekend was pretty awesome. I love taking time to spend with my family and people close to me. I’ve realized that if this is our only life we get, we’d better take advantage of every opportunity and make every minute count. And although a majority of my Saturday was spent in front of the TV, I was with some pretty cool people. I wasn’t alone. And that means everything in the world.

Zoot Suit Riot

I never thought I’d be one to blog about a song. Oh, but I am. I’m on a train to Portland, working on a story for class, but I had to take a break to jot this down.

Music has a way of dictating so much of our lives. Songs can inspire us, depress us, make us happy, help us fall in love; they do so many things. And somehow, songs teach us a thing or two about memory. You can listen to a song and you are sent back ten or fifteen years, to a certain moment in time, with a certain person, in a particular place. Even if you haven’t thought of the event, person or place in years, the song can send you back. It’s crazy.

I’m listening to the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies album. The song, Zoot Suit Riot sends me back nine years, back to my senior year of high school. We were at the prom. Chris Whitehead and Rachel Brown had been taking swing dance lessons together. The song came on and they were center stage, dancing for the rest of us.

I’d always wanted to learn to swing dance. My sister, Shelli, and I had learned some of the cheesy western swing dances when we both lived at home. But when she left to college, all attempts at swing dancing went away.

Zoot Suit Riot will always remind me of my senior prom. It will also remind me of Eugene and finding the album at the library.

Music is a funny thing. I can’t imagine life without it; I depend on it so much. Is it bad to let it dictate so much of my life- my emotions, my memories?

I guess it doesn’t matter. Even if it does, I’m still listening…and I’m gonna love it!

eyewear and such

Since starting grad school, I have converted to wearing glasses every day. It's not to look smarter or to get ready for eye surgery (don't I wish!). It's really about the economy of it all. I can't afford to buy contacts any more.

With glasses, I feel like a completely different person. It takes more effort to look behind me when I'm walking. My sight gets smudgy as the glasses get dirtier and I have way less motivation to wear eye make-up.

With all that in mind... here's a quote:

"The eyes are the spoons of speech." (AN ARABIC PROVERB)

If my eyes are covered by these dirty glasses, does this mean I have a speech deficiency? I mean, I can't make eye contact when my glasses fog up or when I can't see through them and have to clean them off with my t-shirt. What's the deal?

I wanna get glasses again. I think it'd be a pretty rad thing to do. We'll see if that happens.

Ten Reasons I'm up past 11:27 PM

It's the year 20-10.

This must mean it is appropriate to make lots of lists of ten.

I like it. I LOVE lists. They keep me organized.

Here's a list for this fabulous February late-night...

Ten Reasons I am still up and not in bed where I want to be:

1. I wanted to blog. I have missed many days of blogging this month. It's about time to fix that problem.
2. I ate a snack when I got home and had to stay up to "work it off" a bit.
3. I was planning to finish my state taxes.
4. I was named a semifinalist for the Snowden internship and needed to write an e-mail about my interview time.
5. Thought I would get to the dishes even though I didn't.
6. Had to go through my bookshelf to think of suggestions for my friend to read.
7. Got home late. Had to finish my design page at school before coming home.
8. We had a three hour class tonight.
9. I like to stay up late.
10. Decided to do online banking this evening.

That's about it. Isn't it grand to take a look at the life of Rece?

Should be!

Brew Fest 2010

I went to my first brew fest on Saturday. It was amazing. I took my parents. We had a lot of fun together.

Unfortunately, two of the beers didn’t taste so hot. One was my favorite beer, Blue Moon. Instead of the sweet, delightful taste of beer, it tasted flat, like a pile of rocks. NO GOOD!



The second beer was one of the Bridgeport brews. Bridgeport is from Portland. I figured the beer had to be tasty if it was from Oregon. It wasn’t tasty at all. In fact, it tasted like crap, literally. My mother referred to it as “Banson’s Beer.” The Bansons are the people who own the cow farm next to my parents’ house. Get the picture?

All in all, the brew fest was an absolute smash. I had a blast!

going native

I’m being taught that one of the cardinal rules of journalism is to not “go native.” I don’t know how I feel about this. I feel that as a journalist (one who journals), I have the responsibility to live and truly understand the people I write about.

When I was in Ukraine, Peace Corps encouraged us to join in the culture, to join in the fun, if you will. Hanging out with the Ukrainians, picking up their lingo and eating their food is part of what made the experience so awesome.

Actually, I never was able to go truly native. Sure I drank some of their vodka and swam in their waters, but parts of the culture I could never really embrace. For one, I couldn’t get into their clothing styles. Tight jeans and shiny silver belts didn’t exactly look good on me. My friend, Sheryl, could pull it off. She’d wear her shuba (fur coat), winter boots, and shiny belt to the disco every Friday and Saturday. She basically became a true Ukrainian. And then she married one.

I’m not really sure where I’m going to end up after I finish my masters in journalism. I’m okay with this, though. I do know that I fully plan to experience life and “go native” in some respects. I will travel. And I’ll get to know what the cultures are like. Maybe that’s not truly going native, but you know… there are just too many rules in journalism.

Photo day

I had to learn how to edit photos and change them to black and white today. I've done this before. Today I had to do it for class. I got a little help. However, I think my friend that helped me was a little annoyed by my stubbornness.

This photo is of KLCC Morning Edition Host Rachael McDonald. She's rad!

Wedding Whistles

Okay, so I'm not engaged. I'm not even seeing anybody. I did, however, attend my first ever wedding show today. My friend, Brenda, is a wedding coordinator. She let me have a pass to the show to take pictures for her website. I had fun with it. It was actually pretty rad.

The show aside, I got to thinking. Weddings are fun. The party itself is awesome. I can hardly wait for it. The thing is, I'm not so sure about the marriage part. That's not good. If I'm more excited about a party and a diamond ring, that's proof that I haven't met the right person, correct?

Here's a quick list of things I've said recently regarding marriage...

"If I could marry a restaurant, I'd marry the Glenwood."

"If I were to spend the rest of my life with only one food, it'd be cheese."

"If I were to fall for a coffee drink, it'd be an 8 ounce mocha."

You see, my ideas of marriage and love don't extend far enough to really get to the heart of the wedding phenomenon.

Post Grad Trip

I've decided to take a trip when I'm all done with grad school. I'm talking like... a REAL trip! To start the brainstorming... I'm listing some ideas here... Comment if like... I love outside help.

1. Mexico - roadtrip in crappy car I have yet to purchase... even better would be on a Vespa... that might be a long trip.
2. Mexico - via airplane and then take a bus around to crazy little towns.
3. British Columbia - never been before. Hear it's gorgeous.
4. Africa - such a huge continent... but there are so many places to go here... could volunteer at an orphanage... would be good to help others after being so selfish in grad school
5. Ukraine - need to go back to visit
6. London - miss this gorgeous city
7. Ireland - I'm 1/16th Irish. Gotta love the heritage.
8. New Orleans - need to see it some day.
9. Russia - close to Ukraine... could try to see both.
10. New York City - only visited once before.

Ideas???