Goal #38

Goal #38: continue with the cleanup project.

Mom is coming in town this week, and my place is a wreck.  She's my mom, so she'll love me anyway, but it's pretty bad.  And it's starting to get on my nerves!

Recap of goal #37: it took me a little while to get going with the blogging, but at least I started again.  Can I get half credit?

What I Read -- Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

Back before Christmas, K had the brilliant idea to start a postal book club.  Here's how it works: K, E, and I all pick our own book.  We read it, write a few notes, and send it on.  Our books travel around the country in a triangle and then come back to us.

Or at least that is the plan.  It has taken me since February to find sufficient time to read E's book of choice: Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion.  It's not because it's a bad book or a slow read.  It's just because I've been a delinquent book club member.  But I went on vacation and, as with my contribution to this endeavor: The Amateurs, I finished the book!

And then I did a stupid thing: I wrote my notes about it, and before I wrote this blog post, I passed my notes off to K.  Perhaps not my best move!

My general feeling about the story she tells is that she's right: the fashion industry has become a race to the bottom for both cost and quality.  The only way to stop it is for us consumers to demand better, and be willing to pay more for it.

I can get on board with that idea.

What I'm Reading Now -- Kids These Days

I finally finished my last book club book, and it's time to move on to the next one!  (Actually, I did already, but from the very little progress I've made, you'd be hard pressed to tell that I've had it for more than 20 minutes or so.)

The book is Kids These Days. Per K's explanation, it's a bit of a beach read.  I'm at the end of summer, so maybe this is just what I need to savor those last few warm days.

What I've read so far has been amusing!

Goal #37

Goal #37: blog!

I bet you guys have been wondering what I've been up to.  I've been quite busy indeed, and not spending a lot of time at home, but that means I don't have a lot of time in front of my computer.  This week, I'll try to get you up to date!

Recap of goal #36: the cleaning started, but I have a ways to go.  I got through my kitchen and bathroom, half my utility room, and cleared out a bunch of stuff on my storage shelves.  I also pulled a bag's worth of clothes out of my closet and took them to Goodwill, along with a bunch of other stuff.

Goal #36

Goal #36: deep cleaning.

Perhaps you noticed that I have been absent for a while.  That's a fact.  However, it's not because I haven't been busy.  I have been climbing, riding, rowing, seeing LOTS of friends (with more to come), and now I am undertaking the massive task of deep cleaning my apartment.

By the time I am finished, the only time it will not have been cleaner was the day I moved in.  And maybe not even then, because while I did do a super clean before moving, there were a zillion people and boxes and stuff in and out for two or three days, so that probably ruined it.

Goal #34: see above - lots of friends!

Sorry, #35.  I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.  As compensation, here are some cool things you may not have known about yourself.

Goal #34

Goal #34: friends.

I have a busy week planned this week, but it's good stuff.  Movies, drinks, and food with friends every night.  So rather than stress about not accomplishing enough stuff, I'm just going to enjoy it.

Recap of goal #33: my new bike has not arrived yet, so I got a pass last week.  Whew!

Skydiving!

Earlier this summer, our climbing group decided we needed to get a little higher.  We went skydiving!

A few things:
1. You have to sign a million papers (thanks to those damn lawyers).
2. We had to wait around FOREVER for our turn (regular, non-tandem jumpers have priority), and we all had to go up on different planes.
3. There was never any doubt in my mind that I would do it.  I knew I would.
4. It was awesome!

Me and S, pre-jump

Practicing the "falling out of the plane" position with my instructor

 Our trusty (?) aircraft

It is hard to describe the sensation that I had when I got to the door of the plane (except that, given the quality of the plane, I may have been safer outside of it than inside).  My instructor gave me the signal.  The air rushed by and filled the plane and my ears.  The ground and the clouds were below me.  We rock forward, backward, and then I'm falling.  We're barreling towards the ground.  I checked the altimeter on my wrist, and my instructor gave me the next signal.  I grabbed at the rip cord, and the parachute was out.  We jerked to a near-stop, and everything went completely quiet.  The rushing air disappeared.  The image smoothed out, no longer jerking around as we rushed downwards.  We twisted and spun and fell through the clouds.

And all too soon, it was over.

Goal #33

Goal #33: my new bike!

I acquired a new bike while in Durango.  Now...where to keep it?

Recap of goal #32: not all the recipes got recycled, but a lot of them did.  I picked out a few that E recommended or that I just really have to try (chai ice cream!), but the rest are on their way to becoming pulp.

Goal #32

Goal #32: recycle.

Since I can seem to get around to organizing, I'm going to handle it a different way: recycling.  Seems like the greenest alternative.

Recap of goal #31: see above.

Summer Shakespeare

I have had a theater-heavy summer this year, mostly compliments of P and her Muny tickets.  But just because I haven't written about it, don't think that I didn't have my usual Shakespeare Festival outing with Grandpa and the crew.  E was even in town for it this year!

I packed up a picnic dinner in my little rolling cooler, including some delicious beers which E picked out while we were at The Wine Merchant.

The show was decent.  Not the best they've had in recent years, but a worthy way to spend three hours.  And I think it was the first time I had ever seen Antony and Cleopatra performed, so that's a win for sure!