I must have slept like a flamingo last night as I have not been able to turn my head to the right without feeling an odd tugging sensation by my shoulder. It is just unpleasant enough that I won't mind when it sorts itself out, but it is also not so unpleasant as to keep me from repeatedly trying to turn my head to the right and pretending I'm an old arthritic owl who can no longer enjoy 270° head rotation.
Mundane Fact #2: An air popper is as acceptable as a hairdryer.
In order to best prepare for movie nights on a semi-vacation, popcorn, seasonings, and [of course] a popcorn popper [which, in my fingers' current state (typing with the dexterity of squashed penguin sausages), I just typed as a "popcorn pooper" (which almost {not really} still makes sense)] were hauled cross-country amidst the rest of our not-entirely-necessary belongings. Happily, we have made good use of it all and have enjoyed a couple relaxing movie nights eating tastily seasoned popcorn. What we did not think of prior, however, was whether a popcorn popper [dangit, I just typed... Well. You know.] would be too noisy for a hotel room late at night. What with the whirring and blooshing and popping and, of course, the squeaks and squeals coming from me every time an unpopped kernel ricocheted out of the bowl, it is a decently noisy event. We decided to risk it, and lo and behold, we received zero angry phone calls. Whew. The conclusion that we came to was that, realistically, the popper was really only as noisy as the hotel-supplied hairdryer. And who can complain about drying hairs? So... Success!
Mundane Fact #3: Home is where the heart and laptop/internet are.
Working from home has its perks, prime among them being the ability to work from home [it makes sense]. Working from home also has its slight drawbacks: Work can go wherever there's an internet connection. During our 2 weeks of Wyoming math conferencing, pretending to be vacationing, and ice-cream-ing it up, I have had to work normal old work hours, get this, as if I were at home. It is nearly criminal, I tell you. I really cannot complain, though. The advantages far outweigh the hours of work. I had an immensely fun 26-hour car ride filled with so many different stories and sights [and we get to do it again in a couple of days!]. I had an absolutely terrific [and utterly exhausting] day of exploration at Laramie's Turtle Rock. And, most importantly, Jason and I get to continue our 1,873 day streak of never, ever having to be apart. I know it may be silly, but this is a big deal. I have such a good life. Anyway, so I have been working away while Jason has been mathing, and because Jesus loves me [or due to the change in time zone (Mountain Time isn't a real time zone) and, thus, the change in what hours I'm working] I have had pretty easy-going work weeks while here. Productivity for the win.
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| Home away from home. |
Mundane Fact #4: Life in a snow globe is incredibly humbling.
Wyoming isn't terribly flat as one might suppose. But at the same time, it has a really neat feeling of openness that often gives you a feeling of flat lands. You can see mountain ranges all across the horizon, the sun sets in [I'm fairly certain] all directions, and [at least in Laramie] the cities are all short enough to keep up the feeling of open lands everywhere you look. I find it a gorgeous change of scenery for 2 weeks. When I go outside and look around, I like to imagine I am a tiny little Korean in the middle of a gigantic and insanely detailed snow globe. You can see exactly where the sky meets the land no matter what direction you look. When you look up, you know you can see the arching glass of the globe way, way, way above you [the Maker of the snow globe tries to distract you from seeing it by putting perpetually changing clouds (tiny penguin! horse head! t-rex making a bed!) all around, and it works swimmingly, I tell you]. I am always waiting to feel someone shaking my little snow globe of a world. I just want to frolic in the snow! But sigh, it is now officially summer, so I suppose that is not realistic. That aside, however, I have found the environment of this part of the country exhilarating. Its snow-globe-ish feel is refreshing. I find myself constantly in awe of the most ordinary things. This trip has been a lovely reminder of the ridiculous amounts of beauty and awesome that we live in. [Just so your senses don't get overwhelmed by it all, Wyoming kindly puts in over-filled trailer parks to keep your feet grounded in reality.] I love snow globe life.
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| Waiting for the snow. |
In a couple of days, we will start our trip back to Delaware. While we have gone through the Books We Read Aloud a bit faster than I thought, I think we'll have just enough to get us the 26 hours home, plus the Books We Listen To have plenty of hours left. And for the sleepy times, I don't think we'll ever run out of the Music We Play Really Loud since we literally brought along our 200 Perfectly Alphabetized CD collection. We are such good travelers. :)
Until next time!
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| This is what it feels/looks like being Asian in Wyoming. |
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