Cicada Hum
I'm bored, lonely, and rather apathetic. It feels good to be empty-headed for once, even if some quarantined corners of my brain are still shrieking, "You should be working on your cover letters, preparing more job applications, and trying desperately to get your magazine reprinted!" But somehow, I'm not sure any of that matters. I don't think I'll succeed in getting my magazine reprinted-- I think that project was doomed from the start for poor timing and a lack of concrete motivation-- and I really don't feel like hurrying to get a job. Even if the position for which I've just applied falls through (*coughs dryly*) which, I daresay it may, I'm not likely to submit, follow through on, and interview for any other positions in the next month when the three weekends following next are taken up by Rachel and Micah's wedding and then our annual Glacier Trip.

I feel sinfully lazy. But really, financial stressors aside, I don't want to leap headfirst into an uncertain career even if society says I ought to. I want to start somewhere groovy and decide from there where to go. (But this is why I DO feel good about working for the mag for which I just applied.) I see nothing logistically wrong with going to Seattle FIRST and looking for a job SECOND, especially now that we've got our housing situation secured for the moment.

So, instead of doing anything productive, I've been laying in the sun and reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons (the "prequel" to The Davinci Code). A fun little book, but for something purportedly "high IQ," I was disappointed to notice that the author seems to maintain the conviction that cell phones have a dial tone. Dolt. I'm quite brown from sunning myself, happily risking skin cancer for this, the last summer of vacations.

My domain expires in less than 30 days, and I'm not sure whether I feel frantic or passively resigned to this. I don't know if I can and should part with it, or simply archive and move on. I think Schoolgirl Sophistry (formerly "My So-Called Life") has served me well the last four years and is no longer a noble or self-sustaining cause. Any suggestions?

I'm going to lounge around and do more of nothing, hoping that my notoriously inconsiderate hippie neighbors realize that no one actually WANTS to listen to them blast Cake and folk rock at 10PM.

stupid.
I am a complete moron. And I blame the Internet.

Not... enough
Beh. I feel like the biggest loser right now. I'd been keeping my fingers crossed that I'd receive the scholarship to the Journalism and Women Symposium for which I applied a few months ago. Got word today that... obviously... I didn't. While it's true that I don't know exactly what "qualifications" they were looking for, I'm having a hard time thinking of something, besides markedly NOT being a minority, that would make me anything but an ideal candidate. I guess I got too cocky.

Tomorrow, I'm going to call The Stranger about the position for which I applied. This rejection from JAWS is really not making me feel very shiny about the whole thing. I just need to get my foot in the door... that's all. Please, please, just give me an interview. Give me something, anything, and I'll be the best you've ever had.

*sighs*

Well, I walked all over town today (literally all over, from 11th and Jefferson to the 5th street market, up Skinner's Butte and back by REI) in the sweltering heat. The upshot of it is-- and this is seriously awesome-- that got TOFU FOR A DOLLAR!!111 I discovered the Suratra tofu and tempeh outlet (I HAD noticed that my tofu was made in Eugene) and happened upon them 15 minutes from closing on one of the two days a week they're open. They were out of "seconds" (misshapen bits, and ends) so they just gave me a regular package. For practically free. And I love tofu. So today wasn't a total loss. Just mostly.

>_< Stupid scholarship.

Backpacking Glacier Peak

( BACKPACKING PHOTOS )

Photos are up from out four-day, 40-mile, 7,900 ft. eleveation gain backpacking trip through the Glacier Peak Wilderness in North-Eastern Washington. And yes, that is a bear. In fact, it charged Justin. But it was cute, really. So cute we offered it out dirty dishes and ran away-- luckily, it wasn't interested. Many more adventures ensued, less of them with wildlife than with walking, and we all enjoyed ourselves (and relaxed!) quite thoroughly. My initial apprehension about carrying a 35 lb. backpack was assuaged with some proper load bearing adjustments and a lot of "just getting used to it." I'd do it again, in a heartbeat, any time I can get away.

BWARRRRF
Blorp.

Jackson Hole

JACKSON HOLE PHOTOS

The Four Seasons was fabulous-- a lot of expensive breakfasts and free pilates. There were about 30 members of the Speyer Dynasty there-- and yet it was somehow less stressful than 15 minutes in the car with five members of mine. We had a multitude of experiences from mountain climbing to river rafting, and yellowstone tours to catered dinners. I'm not feeling particularly verbose at the moment so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. (That time of my life when I felt the need to chronicle every word of a journey on paper is over, which may be forboding for my future career in travel journalism... though I suppose getting paid changes matters a bit.)

I'm not dead...
Just buried. Between coming back from backpacking, Oregon Country Fair, prepping for Rachel's bachelorette party, job hunting, and putting together a photo CD for the Speyer family of the Jackson Hole trip, I haven't had free time. I'll post galleries of the trips shortly.