Cough Syrup of Awful

There is a terrible invention called Fruit Punch Vodka. It's pink and cheap. And you think "oho! Ten bucks! AND I won't need to worry too much about a mixer, because it has the juice stirred right in!" And this is a good thought. Until. Until you realize that it tastes...exactly...like generic flavor cough syrup.

And then you rationalize it by thinking of how you've been cough-y for a few weeks anyway and you power through an inch or so each week. And you drink it slowly, because it's gross. And then, to be funny, you tape a post-it note to the front claiming that it's your cough syrup. This doesn't change the taste. It's still gross.

After a month (or two or so), you realize that there is only a wee little bit left in the big bottle. And you put on your big-girl pants, toss some taquitos in the toaster oven, and drink some of your "cough syrup" while typing up a proposal for a final class project. It's still gross.

And now, I'm staring at the bottle because there is just one more awfully terrible shot left. It's gross. My taquitos are nearly done cooking. And I think...I'm almost ready to just finish this awful pink mess and just let it be gone forever. Until then, I look and wait for my taquitos to finish.

An Erinku:
so many
computer wires
FINALLY
the one to my camera!


picture from early January...after the enthusiasm for drinking cough syrup had long faded.

Pirates, ahoy!

Last week, somewhere on the great internet, I was reading an article about cool things bodies can do. Among things like wiggling ears and whatnot was the reason that pirates wore eyepatches. I always figured it was because they lived in close quarters and had a bunch of sharp objects around and that they were the reason folks say things like, "It's all fun and swords until someone loses an eyeball!"

But no. It turns out that old-timey ships were dark inside and that running back and forth from bright sunshine to dark inside results in a bunch of bonked knee-caps...until you figure out that by closing an eye before it adjusts to brightness, you can keep your night vision action going in that eye. Hence, eye patches.

I was astounded and really wanted to try this out. Since I'm not a pirate (yet), my only similar adventures are when it's the middle of the night and I want a glass of water or have to pee or something. So. I tried this experiment of using one eyeball in the bright and the other in the dark...and it totally worked! Creepy! Awesome! No bonked kneecaps!

I am so fond of this little factoid that I keep thinking about it and even my dreams last night were pirate-tinged. Except, in my dream, my friend was explaining how pirate romance novels are different than other romance novels: the authors put "your" into pirate cliches. As in, "Arrrr, I'll swab your deck," "Arrr, I'll shiver your timbers," and Arrr, "I'll scurvy your scallawag!" My dream-laughing at the last one is how I woke up today. And that, my friends, is how to romance a pirate and how not to bonk your kneecaps in the dark. The end.

An Erinku:
box of
soy nuts
so empty
so good

Yearly Check-Up

Woo-hoo, 2011 is done! As I’m going through and moving all my past blogs to one happy home: http://celloerin.blogspot.com/, I looked through this past year to remember what my adventures have been like. January started off with me still recovering from being epic-ill all December, while working my way through my cult class (with much whining on early morning Saturdays) and grumpily shopping for a spaghetti pot. February brought out-of-town visitors, using Colin Firth as measurement (as in, I walk 40 Colin Firths to work), and losing hairbrushes in mighty battles with my long, tangled locks.

March brought finals and the end of the cult class, my being stuck in an elevator, a trip to China (with my first experience of ass-less chaps, sadly, not in a sexy way), and the brilliant realization that my accent sleeps like a bear, only to pop up unexpectedly. April featured my new Bollywood-loving neighbor (who I miss), me alternately being pissy with whiny people and then being whiny myself, being a stress-ball with school and running off for a weekend to Glenwood Springs, getting contacts, losing an ex-boyfriend encounter, and ending the month with the infamous "Evil Stinky Dolphin Bowl."

May was about observations on "Choose Your Own Adventure" (and how I didn't get the happy endings, but mostly often fall into pits of angry kangaroos, instead), how hard McGuyver's everyday life must be, and why I can never remember what I'm shopping for when I go into a store. June started off with year-end finals, my trip to Costa Rica, a trip to Saint Louis, a grim anniversary of 18 months after being diagnosed with PTSD, my interpretation of football rules, and another jaunt into summer-school-land.

July had a wedding of two of my old Niwot Orchestra crowd (yipee!). The rest of the month involvd more crankiness with more classes and homework, being saddened working events with students at my day job (one type of intolerance displayed while professing a different type of tolerance), and the resurgance of my addiction to Nutella. Classes finished in August, I ran off to Portland to help record on my friend's cd, and my day job picked up steam with massive amounts of hours. However, through all this, I learned my body's instinct to all dangers encountered while sleeping: bouncing on the bed.

September started off with the typical chaos of working at one school, attending another, with both beginning the new year on the same day. I went to baby shower, played a few gigs, named a new medical condition "Riker's Syndrome" (where Riker from Star Trek: Next Generation, gained weight through the series by eating for himself and for his beard...which is why I try to shave my legs routinely to prevent Riker's Syndrome) and started up with another quarter of way too many classes and rehearsals.

October, I mostly kept my nose to the cello and performed an incredible amount (focusing more on the performance aspect of my degree and less on the musical side, it seemed). November was more of the same, but with finals thrown into the mix. Then away for Thanksgiving week, with shopping trips to Trader Joe's (and many cookies from Trader Joe's, too), and many restful days before heading home again to gear up for my recital boards.

December had me passing my boards, in spite of cutting my finger in a ridiculous way (as opposed to cutting myself with on a knife), more boring self-reflections, a general slowing down of life, being lazy and wishing everyone a "Happy Merry," ending the month with an out-of-town trip to Glenwood Springs (again), and ringing in the new year at an awesome concert back down in Denver.

I find doing a big overview helps me see past the end of my nose once in a while, since I'm usually camped out in a small room with a cello for company. It's nice to remember that I do run around and adventure sometimes. Overall, 2011 was more of a "meh" year for me. I learned:

1. I have a lot in common wth the Little Engine that Could. In spite of thinking about dropping out of school most days, I've been a plodding ass and now only have two classes, one recital, and one final written project left. Dropping out now would be pretty lame after all the work I've already done.

2. I'm getting better at cooking. Finally. I can even, sometimes, make a real meal without fire and smoke alarms and whatnot.

3. I'm not looking forward to the quarter starting in a few days.

Not all the things I've learned are deep. It's been funny to read over all my old blogs as I move them all to their new home. I used to have more free time and was angsty about completely different topics. But life moves forward, you have new adventurings, meet new folks (and drop old acquaintences), and the kaleidoscope of life rotates forward with new prettiness and purple sparkles to be. Welcome to 2012!

An Erinku:
sunlight
sneaking through blinds
yellow stripes
on the floor