Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day! This is the first time in a long time where I have not gotten up to go to a parade. Instead, I stayed up really late last night watching movies and playing video games (the Tiger Woods 4th of July Real Time Event, of course!) and slept in until 10:30 a.m. Normally, I would have seen most of the parade by this time!

For the past three or four years, I have gone to the parade in Northville, MI, with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and their kids. My aunt is the ultimate parade co-attendee because she wakes up at 5 a.m. and goes downtown to reserve our seats with towels and blankets. We roll in, well-rested, at 9 a.m. and we have the prime parade-watching real estate. She also usually brings drinks to keep us cool, hands out flags for us to wave, and she makes sure that her family is all decked out in coordinating red, white, and blue. What an auntie! It's also fun to go with the little kids in our family and see what they get excited about each year.

This year, I'm alone for 4th of July, and I didn't feel like going to a parade by myself. I might try to figure out if there are any fireworks tonight (vs. all of them being done already). I haven't been to a 4th of July fireworks display since I was in college. In the Detroit area, the local towns always seemed to do their fireworks on days other than July 4th, so it seemed like a lot of work to figure out where to go when. There's always next year. I didn't go to parades for about six years in a row and I don't look back on those years now as "the dark days of depression" or anything. It's okay to take a break from traditional holiday activities.

Although I have never mentioned this aloud to anyone, I like to think of July 4 as my own personal independence day. I make an effort to do something that I'm kind of afraid to do, and so it's my own day of freedom from fear or nervousness. I usually pick things that other people would find very tame, and don't go in for bungee-jumping or sky diving, but I guess when you're kind of a wuss about a lot of stuff, it's easy to find something you need an excuse to try.

Today, I'm going to the pool in my apartment complex. Yep, it's pretty tame, isn't it? But I have not been to the pool yet this season (and it's been hot enough, let me tell you!) for a couple of reasons: (1) I like to imagine that when I'm wearing clothes, I look pretty thin, and people don't know how it's all really going with my body. When you're wearing a bathing suit, there's no hiding, and I guess I enjoy a little more mystery than that. (2) I can't figure out what you actually DO at the pool. I'm not going to swim laps. I'm not planning to start diving for pennies. I don't have a game of water polo planned. If you're a kid, you splash around with other kids and swim back and forth across the pool and practice swimming underwater, amazed at where you surface in the pool. If you're a grown-up with kids you pull them around in the water, you float so that they can swim under you, you catch them when they jump in, and you do a lot of "no running around the pool" yelling. What do grown-ups do at the pool if they don't have kids? I plan to do a little sunbathing, but ultimately, it seems like the point of the pool is to be in the water and not be hot. And what do you do once you're in there? All this is what I hope to find out today.

I'll report back on how it goes. And I'll definitely wait two hours after eating before going in the water. I don't think muscle-cramping takes a holiday.

Dub Sundays

At our house, we have something called "Dub Sundays." I'm not sure when it started (my guess is within the last three years), but it means that we start off the first couple of hours on Sunday mornings with dub music. If you don't know what dub music is, I'll let our friend the free encyclopedia wikipedia define it for you (click on the word "wikipedia" to see the whole dub page): Dub is a form of Jamaican music, which developed in the early 1970s. Dub is characterized as a "version" of an existing song, typically emphasizing the drums and bass for a sound popular in local Sound Systems (in the 1950s, in the ghettos of Kingston, a new type of public entertainment came about. DJs would load up a truck with a generator, turntables, and huge speakers and set up street parties). The instrumental tracks are typically drenched in sound processing effects, with most of the lead instruments and vocals dropping in and out of the mix. The music sometimes features processed sound effects and other noises, such as animal sounds, babies crying, and producers shouting instructions at the musicians.

Dub music is great waking-up music because it's pretty chilled out, pretty cheery, and pretty similar from song to song so you don't get jarred jumping from one genre to another, or from a slow song to a fast song. There aren't a lot of CDs that can boast that type of consistency.

As recently as a year ago, I really hated dub. I loved reggae (the original songs that dub strips down, reggae usually has a more typical song structure and many more lyrics. See Bob Marley.), but felt that dub songs all sounded exactly the same, especially since there weren't really lyrics to set the songs apart ("Oh, this song is about the evils of Babylon, this song is about slavery, and this song is about smoking ganja!"), and I felt like dub was basically just music created for stoners. Les has always really liked dub, but never had an excuse to play it at the house because I would always demand "that stupid dub music be turned off immediately," pointing out that you only had to add an "m" to make dub dumb (yes, I can be difficult at times!). So I think he started Dub Sundays as a way to listen to one of his favorite kinds of music for a few hours, at the same time reassuring me that I would only have to suffer through it for a short time.

I don't know what changed, but I like dub music now. I don't know if Les just wore me down over time and my resistance lessened, if it's familiar now and so I like it, if I understand the Rasta culture more and the methods behind making this music and don't just think they're a bunch of stoners, or if something changed in my lifestyle (you know, I have been wanting to slow down and chill out more...) that allows me to vibe more with the music. Whatever it is, it allows me to embrace Dub Sunday even when Les isn't home to put on the CDs. I'm alone at home and listening to dub right now!

You may still be thinking that you've never heard dub music before. I assure you that you have. But just to make sure, if you come 'round to the house, we would be happy to play some for you. Even if it's not Sunday.

My poor, neglected blog...

Just a quick post to say I'm alive and well. Actually, I'm alive and sleepy. There are two guys living at my house who like to stay up late, and like me to stay up late with them, so I feel like I'm not quite up to my usual liveliness. My brain doesn't feel like it's connecting properly and my eyes feel glazed over.

The latest news is all good: my husband is now permanently here in Nashville so our days of the long-distance relationship are over, and it appears that the house we were living in in Michigan has sold, so a chapter of our lives is officially closed and another chapter begins. Although it's a bittersweet transition, we're both excited about what's coming up next!

I should have a few free moments to update the blog this coming long weekend so I'll try to put out a few posts then.

Nashville to Howell: Stage 3 Complete!

I know that many of you have probably been waiting for news of the completion of the final step (Of a mere three stages! Moving is easy, I tell you! Yes, I'm joking!) in our move from Howell, Michigan, to Nashville, Tennessee. Well, the good news is that, as of yesterday evening we are 100% moved down here!

Les and our nephew Justin did a two-day garage sale during the weekend of June 24-26, packed up two carloads of stuff, and drove down to Nashville on yesterday, arriving here at "the new home" around 11:30 p.m. After about a week of living in an increasingly unfurnished house and having a garage sale during some of the hottest days of Michigan summer (it was even hotter in Michigan than it was in Nashville, if that gives you a hint as to how hot it was), they were happy to be done, be in air conditioning, and be sleeping in real beds.

I personally had to do some heroic organization to convert our spare bedroom, a.k.a. "catch all room," into a traversable guest room, complete with bed and space to walk to the bed! Boxes were stacked high, things were squirrelled away in closets, and every available space was filled. The good news is that we now have a lovely and fairly comfortable guest room if anyone wants to come and visit.The bad news is that you can't hang your clothes in the closet while you're here because it is stacked with boxes.

Tonight I spent some time updating our website, where you can see photos of some of the fun we've had in the month of June. There are no photos of the apartment itself yet, really. But those are soon to come. The digital camera (and Les) is currently down in Florida for a few days on the beach near Tampa for a Rollins/Boller family vacation. I've used up most of my vacation time (I have five days of sick/personal time left to last me until March 30 -- Gulp!) with the move, so I'm up here working. It's not so bad . . . long weekend, short week, quiet house, etc. I'm doing just fine as a working woman!

The other good news is that the house in Howell appears to be sold. It happened very quickly (and we did price it to sell), and we are all thankful that it happened that way. We had quite a few family members helping us clean it up and get it ready, and we say Thank You to everyone!

We are having fun in Nashville (and it's really not THAT hot, y'all!).

Stop Smoking Tracker

I am not a smoker myself, but can understand the desire to quit doing something bad for yourself, and how hard it can be to do it long-term. For instance, I have been trying to not eat junk food for a very long time, with no success. One of the barriers seems to be that junk food doesn't seem that much more expensive than fresh, good food (like fruits and veggies), and it's so convenient -- open and eat. I could do some detailed cost analysis of the damage it is doing to my health and the insurance co-payments I'll be paying in the future, or the amount of money I have to spend buying new clothes when I gain weight, but with these kinds of variables, I just can't build a convincing argument for myself.

I was on someone else's blog today, and they had a ticker (the Stop Smoking Quitmeter)at the bottom of their screen that showed how long it has been since they've smoked and how much money they've saved in the process. I thought this provided a pretty clear picture of at least the financial reasons to give up smoking. Since I find calculations of all sorts fascinating, I thought I would post the link here in case anyone else would find it interesting or motivational.

Now I'm off to determine my "real age." Let's see how motivating that is!

Howell to Nashville: Stage 2 Complete!

Just wanted to take a moment to update all of you on the completion of Stage II of the LR2 "Moving to Nashville" project. Les arrived in Florida ("Florida?! What about Nashville?!" some of you may be wondering. Keep reading and I promise that it will all become clear...) today, and that about does it for Stage II.

Stage II can be summed up as a "U-Haul Extravaganza" since this is when we physically loaded up a 24-footer with the contents of our house in Michigan, drove it to Nashville, unloaded it, and then loaded a smaller U-Haul with stuff for Les's sister and mom in Florida (since we lived in Les's childhood home in Michigan, the house had a few things in it which belonged to other family members, and Les delivers!). Les did all the driving (I rode along and "entertained" during the Michigan to Nashville leg -- think "BJ and the Bear" and you'll get the idea!) and touched six different states over three days (he made the drive to Florida over two days). If that's not an "extravaganza," I don't know what is!

For those of you who have moved recently, I can officially sympathize. I don't think I have ever done quite so much lifting and carrying in my life. Les, who has helped open a couple of Borders stores over the past few years, has done similar heroic moving feats before but with an army of people by his side, as he enjoyed pointing out as we were huffing to get yet another overloaded dolly up a loading ramp which seemed to be as high as the Swiss Alps.

The last time Les and I moved, we were able to move all our belongings in two carloads. Not so, now. In fact, Les is hoping that he will be able to fit the few remaining items in the house (toaster, coffee maker,vacuum, etc.) in his car for the final drive down -- and I would guess that those items represent a mere 3% of our personal belongings. It is amazing what six years of staying put will do, and we are committed now to getting rid of a "few" things before our next move. a

After our final night of unloading the big truck in Nashville, Les fell into bed muttering something about "I just want five shirts, five pairs of pants, and a laptop." I pointed out (as a very practical person, of course) that he should at least have seven of each item of clothing so that he doesn't need to do laundry more than once a week, but I seconded his desires for simplification. De-acquiring will be our focus over the next year and we'll see how it goes. We are already making plans to buy a washer and dryer and thinner computer monitor, but I don't think this is the start of a trend. Just picking up a few things we really, really need. I swear!

Les returns to Michigan on June 16 for the "final yard sale and house-officially-on-the market" stage, and will permanently move to Nashville by the last week in June. We've lived apart for five months now and are looking forward to the reunion soon to come. In preparation, I have entered the "where do I put this stuff?!!" stage. I guess I'll send an update when that stage is complete about six months from now! It's harder than I thought, so don't hold your breath!

Half Back

Apologies to those of you who thought I was going to be writing about football... As if!

As you know, I took a brief hiatus over the last two weeks as I moved from one apartment to the next and as my husband and I moved a big truck of stuff from Michigan to Nashville. I'm now noting here that, even though I am now back in Nashville, I'll be taking another brief hiatus from blogging as my laptop makes a trek around the US with Les. I have a computer at home, but it's sans monitor (couldn't fit it in the truck!) and I just don't trust myself to blindly type the right keys and make the right clicks (but wouldn't it be amazing if I could!).

I would love to blog about the whole interstate moving experience before my latest hiatus, but I think the bruises on my arms and legs and the physical exhaustion I am currently experiencing are still too fresh in my mind. Rather than representing the move as an exciting and awesome experience, I think my post would be pretty whiney. Y'all don't need to read that kind of stuff. So, I'll rest, organize our new apartment, and blog later!

I will say that right now every room is filled with boxes at about a chest-high level, with a few small pathways in between. Considering that the truck was much smaller than our apartment, I am wondering how a half-truck of boxes turned into an apartment full of boxes. I suspect some sort of foul play!

Enjoy the break. I'll type atcha later!

Too high-tech for my own good

With the weather getting warmer here in Nashville, I decided that it was time to go out and buy one of those window sunshades (those cardboard or shiny bubble-wrap accordion things you see in people's front windshields) for my car. I wasn't really worried about my dashboard cracking (one of the big reasons advertised on sunshade packaging), but I was worried about getting third degree burns on my hands from the black steering wheel of my car, which seems to have the ability to heat up to temperatures upwards of 100 degrees.

The problem was I couldn't remember where I had ever seen one of those things for sale. Quite a few people seemed to have them, but where did they get them? I decided that, instead of driving around to 10 different stores, trying to find a place that sells them, I would just go to amazon.com and buy one there.

Amazon had about 500 different sun shades, most of which were customized for different types of cars. I spent half an hour narrowing down the search to find the generic and cheap sunshades, before finally just sorting the amazon.com results "least to most expensive" (duh!).

After finding a few that were under $10, I suddenly got cold feet and spent another 30 minutes researching sunshades, just to make sure that they're not a big scam and a waste of money. I found a research project done by an MIT student involving a box, a piece of glass, a light bulb, and different sunshade materials, which proved that using a sunshade can keep the interior of your car up to 30 degrees cooler. The research project also found that the silver bubble-wrap material was one of the most effective sunshades, though even cardboard did accomplish some cooling.

An hour's worth of web-browsing later, I was ready to commit and bought a silver sunshade for $6.99 (+ $5.00 S&H) and had it shipped to me at work. To make the shipping more worth while, I bought an additional sunshade for my husband's car. I couldn't wait for them to arrive!

Two days later, my sunshades were delivered to work. My co-workers gathered around, interested to see what would come in such a long box. Someone guessed long-stemmed roses. There was universal disappointment when I pulled out two silver sunshades.

"Where did you buy those from?" a co-worker asked.
"I bought them online," I responded, proudly.
My co-workers looked at me incredulously.
"Online?" a few of them said.
"I didn't know where to buy them," I said, quietly.
"Why didn't you ask us?"
"I didn't think of it," I said, more quietly still.
"Well, you should have at least tried an Auto Zone," they said.
"I didn't know where one was."
My co-workers looked at each other and then looked back at me sadly.
"There's an Auto Zone just up the street from here. Look out the window. You can see it from your desk!" one of them said, starting to laugh.
I had nothing to say at that point, and they all went back to their desks, giggling.

Word spread through the company. "That's the girl who actually paid for shipping to buy two sunshades! She didn't even know there was an Auto Zone within eyesight of her office!" I got a lot of questions like, "How are your imported sunshades working out for you?!"

Ironically, the sunshades were shipped from a company in Tennessee.

Yep, I'm sometimes too high-tech for my own good.