penn

What to do with old jewelry?

For years now, I've had a ring from an old boyfriend. Received as a Christmas present, it looks suspiciously like an engagement ring (white gold, tiny diamond, quite sparkly), so I never wear it. I've always wanted to do something with it, but I think I'd feel dirty about selling it. Somehow, I want the ring to go to someone who needs it and will use it.

Therefore, I was really excited to learn about a Seattle group that takes donated jewelry and gives it away to women's shelters, as read about in the Seattle Times. Members of the Seattle Metals Guild clean and fix the jewelry before passing it along to women in need. Several of my pieces will probably find their way there, as I've got lots of jewelry I no longer wear.

However, the group does not take any engagement- or wedding-style bands; they take received bands and donate them to Goodwill. And I'd really like my ring to go to someone for free. I just have no idea how to do this. Any thoughts, readers? Surely, there must be some good use for my unneeded ring.

About Time

for a random post about my life.

This past weekend, my roommate and I went to the Minnesota Naturalists Association Annual Meeting. It was a lot of fun to meet people who work at other nature centers, and the talks were all really awesome. I honestly do miss going to random talks about cool biological stuff, and I wish I knew how to get that back into my life (other than going to grad school or getting my PhD, of course). The keynotes were about weather phenomena -- namely, tornadoes -- and catching snakes. I went to breakout sessions about writing children's books, the secret insides of fish, and osprey sex. In the fish one, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still remembered all the interior portions of fish, including the location of the gall bladder. Go vertebrate zoology!

The meeting was mildly depressing at times. Turns out that you have to do a lot of seasonal work (ie 2 years or so) before securing a permanent position. I'm not sure if that's something I want to do. I'm currently researching my options and considering where I want my career to head next.

In the intern house, there's a rule from last year written on the fridge: "music must be played while cooking." We mostly adhere to this rule, thanks to the stereo in the dining room and the excellent collection of CDs. I added a lot of my own to the mix due to the number of CDs I inherited when my grandfather passed on. Interestingly, one of my grandad's CDs has become a favorite around the house: the Chocolat soundtrack. I'm currently enjoying the strains of vaguely Spanish/Arabian/Moorish/French combined music as my roommate cooks stuffed peppers for us all (it's her week on the Tuesday "family dinner" rotation).

This weekend, I'll be headed to Orlando to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I doubt our festivities will involve turkey, but it will be nice to see my brothers. I haven't seen them since last Christmas, and I've only seen my parents one day (graduation) more.

I've been working out at the gym. Sometimes, it's hard to get myself motivated. I've got to work out at least 12 times a month in order to qualify for a discount through my health insurance, and I have to go tomorrow to get this month's discount. In December, I will only be in town until the 18th, so I'll have to be much more diligent regarding my attendance.

I do enjoy the gym. I've been running intervals on the treadmill for about 30 minutes or so as I get my fitness level back up. On Monday and Wednesday, I go to a deep water aerobics class that involves aqua jogging, kickboards, water weights, and some wicked ab workouts. I definitely feel that the next day. I'm looking forward to lifting weights again in December -- I slacked in November -- and I am considering lap swimming again. I'm not a fast swimmer, but does speed really matter?

That's all for now. But I'll be back again later with more randomness, so don't worry!

thanks!

Useful things I learned from my dad that have come in handy this week:

* it's better to be lucky than smart (referring to serendipity in packing)

* use pliers to hold a nut while loosening a tight bolt

* boxes can be had for free (yay dumpsters!). only pay money for buying reusable rubbermaid tubs.

* consistently being a nice person will eventually pay off (mostly in friends willing to do kind favors)

Little Bits

1. I fired my physical therapist this week. I'm going to a new office next week (one recommended by a number of my friends that play ultimate with me). The office I was going to only had walk-in times available, and I'd often end up being there for 1.5 or 2 hours to have a half hour appointment. I also saw different therapists each time, and they gave me conflicting information about what I needed to be doing outside of PT. So no more of that, and I'm hoping this new place will be better for me. On the bright side, my initial problem (wicked shin splints) are much better thanks to all the stretching I've been doing.

2. It's been a scorcher for the last few days in Ann Arbor. 90F or thereabouts with plenty of humidity. I don't mind it, but it was really hot on the boat trip we took yesterday. For my job, my coworkers and I take our campers on a three mile trip down the river in canoes/kayaks. Thanks to the hot weather, a lot of kids get worn out kind of fast. My boat ended up towing a boat full of 4 smaller guys because our boat was last back and was tired of waiting for them to paddle faster.

3. This is a slow month for me in terms of the 101 things. I've been working on it a bit, but I'm not making a lot of progress. I've got more mental energy occupied by decluttering and preparing for my big move. On the bright side, I'm a bit ahead on the monthly tally, so I really only need to finish one or two goals this month.

4. I recently re-discovered Back to the Future. I know I liked the movies, and I remembered some of the plot lines. I'd apparently forgotten how truly awesome they are. I'm so happy that the trilogy is -- thus far -- standing up to the test of time. I wonder if they'll be enjoyable to my eventual future children.

5. Speaking of children, one of my friends here is pregnant. I'm super excited for her and her husband! Yay for babies.

Things I wish I did better

* remember movie quotes

* ride a bicycle

* take the initiative when it comes to guys and relationships

* knitting

Voting

Unbeknownst to me, there was a vote today in Ann Arbor. Apparently, it was advertised this morning in the local paper, but I don't read that. I only happened to know there was a vote because I dropped by the library on my way home.

As a good citizen, I went by my local polling place to cast a vote. The votes were pretty much school levies and the school board, and almost every race was unopposed. As an extra good citizen, I didn't vote in the real races, as I don't want to be a random influence. I did vote in the unopposed races, as I'm unsure whether or not you need a minimum number of actual votes cast to validate an election.

Interestingly, I was voter #9 in my local polling place today. And I went by at 7 pm. Wow!

Total side note: I just saw an ad for visiting Puerto Rico, and it ended with "no passport needed for US citizens." Um, yes, of course. It's part of the US. I can't believe there is still a sizable population of people who don't realize that.

Happy earth day! and other random notes

So, apparently today is the day where we celebrate earth day. Yay for planet earth! I've given out lots of green tips in the recent past, so I'll spare you guys today, but know that you can always read up on past posts in my saving the world archives.

Today, I was sort of green. I took the bus to school in the morning. I'm at school now proctoring a test, and I'll be here later than the buses run, so I drove my car to my apartment and walked in to school for the evening. So, I did less driving than I could have done, but I did drive. I also noticed that the price of gas in town went from $3.59 in the morning to $3.69 by the afternoon! This is craziness. I'm glad I only fill up about once a month. My last fill up was actually at the very beginning of April as I was returning from Pittsburgh. I'm at a half tank left, so we'll see if I make it through the end of the month or not.

In a completely unrelated point, my roommate is actually moving out over this weekend, and I never really realized quite how much she had brought to our apartment. Once she's gone, we won't have a TV or a microwave (tho I bet I will save some on electric bills). There are also lots of little decor items that will no longer be here, and I never quite realized that.

In terms of Ann Arbor, spring has definitely sprung, and it's practically launched into summer already. Today was a hot and steamy day, and I worked up a sweat with lots of walking (went to and from school twice, and I also took the dogs for a half hour walk).

Not much more to report from here. My students took a test tonight, so I'll be a bit busy with grading for the next few days. I'll try and post something, but it might just be a few more pictures. I'm finally catching up on the backlog of things I've been meaning to post.

In a tall world

I'm housesitting for my friends Alex and Sus. They've got two great dogs and two crazy cats and a nice little house about two miles from campus. I enjoy staying here, as it gives me some peace and quiet, and the dogs give me an excuse to go for two or more walks a day. But the thing you must know is that Alex and Sus are definitely taller than me. I don't normally notice it day to day (it's not like they're giants or anything), but it is abundantly clear in their house.

As proof, I give you a picture I took in their bathroom. I'm standing at the counter, and my nose just barely peaks over the edge of the medicine cabinet. And, yes, that is a towel rack dead even with my head:

It seems like a pretty nice setup. I figure tall people often have to do annoying things like lean way over in order to use the bathroom sink; in fact, I even think some bathroom sinks are too short. And it must be nice to look in the mirror and not have to see the majority of your upper body. Oh, and the shower head is up high too, so there would never be a need to duck underneath a shower head to be in the spray (although that is slightly annoying, as I feel like I get a really broad spray from being a bit further away). And even the towels racks aren't that bad; I can definitely reach them. Really, I just find it mildly humorous each time I use their bathroom and notice that the bathroom was definitely not made for someone my height.

Time IV: Little Things

People often complain about not having enough time to get everything done. Certainly, I've seen this through years of living with various roommates. In my mind, it's not always about not having enough time; getting things done is more about how you schedule your time. I like to get things done in big chunks, so I find that I will put off doing something because I don't have an hour or more to allot to the task. However, by splitting up small tasks, or by realizing the true time value something takes, I've found that I can often get a lot more done. My favorite thing is to split cleaning tasks up into 5 minutes or less allotments. Then, I do this little allotments during the commercials for a show I'd already planned to watch. By the end of a one hour show, I can get the entire kitchen or living room cleaned up.

Below, I've compiled a list of 25 things you can do in 5 minutes or less. A lot of them are cleaning oriented, but there are also other small tasks that can easily fill up a 5 minute gap when you might otherwise be saying "okay, I'm ready to leave the house early, but I don't really need to leave quite yet." And these items are definitely better than checking your email every 10 minutes because you're bored. I've intentionally tried to include items that can make a difference in either your surroundings, your attitude, or both.

25 things you can do in 5 minutes or less:
1. vacuum the floor
2. wipe down the bathroom mirrors
3. load the dishwasher
4. unload the dish drainer
5. a set of crunches or pushups
6. take a series of photographs of something lovely
7. take a walk around the block
8. water your plants
9. dust one room
10. frame and hang a photograph
11. write a postcard to a friend
12. write a haiku
13. pick a new recipe to cook this week
14. take a moment to breathe
15. write a list of positive things that have happened in the last day/week/month
16. pick up all the dirty laundry in your room
17. take out the trash
18. plant a seed
19. make a donation to charity
20. do a little fix-it task, like re-nailing a falling apart drawer
21. change a lightbulb (especially to a compact fluorescent)
22. put reusable bags in your for the next trip to the grocery store (even if they’re just reusing the paper or plastic bags you got last time)
23. a set of bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, or other light weight exercises
24. make your bed
25. wipe down the top of your stove, refrigerator, or some other appliance that doesn’t get a lot of love

Time I

I always forget about daylight savings stuff. Always.

I woke up this morning at 9.30, and I thought it was strange that I slept all the way until my alarm went off. Most mornings, I wake up at 8, so I typically wake up at 8 on the weekends even though I set my alarm for later. I should note that my cell phone is my alarm clock, so they did the time switch for me.

I still didn't realize it was daylight savings until I was catching up on one of my topic blogs, and they had a strange post about how they RIAA was going to steal an hour of sleep from anyone who had ever illegally downloaded music. Uh, what? Oh, right! Daylight savings time.

I guess now I have one less hour to grade student essays today. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, since I will probably end up grading student essays all week long anyway.