Recipe for a Cranky Rachel

1. When she goes to bed early, make her bedroom a brisk 45 degrees.
2. Force her body to refuse to listen to reason, and therefore, her toes remain frozen all night.
3. Rattle her window all night, in alternating frequencies and decibles, so to be certain to wake her up every time.
4. Call the police, and have them circle the neighborhood in a heliocopter periodically. Flashing lights are in no way discouraged.
5. Take the neighbor dogs for a walk. The little, yippy ones. Annoy them so they yip. A lot.
6. Add Trash-Day (optional).
7. Add snow (recommended), she hates scraping her car.

Combine all ingredients before 8a.m. and shake vigorously. Better yet, shake her vigorously. Then stand back and watch the clouds gather overhead.

things you DON'T expect to hear at the office

"No, that's a toe-ring."

From the mouth of the associate director.

another day at the office

Jarrod tried to change his junkmail folder to read "junk in the trunk" but it wouldn't let him. He expressed this with much disappointment and mumbled something about changing outlook to reflect a more urban feel.

Three minutes later he yelled, "I want some more root beer!"

Typical (B-lego-juh-vich)

This is what Jarrod and I worked on this afternoon.




Photos from: here and here.

The birth of a mountain

"[And from] everlasting stillness, except for the wind that turns the rocks and caverns into a roaring organ for the young archangels that are studying how to let out the pent-up praises of their hearts..."

           George MacDonald

So that's what it was like...!

journeying

Thanks to the inspiration of Sean Berger and Bethany Boatwright, I revisited my old Xanga to re-read some posts. I’m glad I xanga’d. It’s like a chronology of my college life, minus a lot of details that I can only remember. According to Xanga, June 13, 2005 is the first time my heart warmed to Kansas City. It was a year later before I really came to love it. And a full year after that that I would come to feel drawn here. And nearly a year later before I would live here. I suppose this isn’t all that significant. Most people move when they graduate from college. But this move was such a journey, and being here has been such a journey. One that obviously started three years ago, and will end only God-knows where. But I’m so grateful: grateful to be here, to be loved here, to find community here, to (begin to) heal here.

I can smell the Alaskan air. I wish I could describe it to you accurately. There’s beauty on the air there.

Typical.

With the election over, there's substanially less to talk about at the office.

Me: You know what I think we need? One of those mini-bake ovens. Then I could have cake whenever I wanted.
Co-worker: Noooooo. What we need is an open bar.
Me: Because we don't have enough fun at work already?
Co-worker: Because it's fun anytime, even when you're alone.
Me: Hmmm... I don't know about that. I generally try not to drink alone.
Co-worker: Well I try not to have a drink alone, either. That is, one drink by itself. So, I operate on the buddy-system.