Chuck is getting fat!

Seriously, he waddles. He's gotten quite hippy, but he's sensitive about it, promising to take it off after the holidays.

While I have been keeping track of the damage day-to-day, it was not quite enough to warrant a post each day. This morning I took a picture of the cumulative damage. How can one little squirrel eat so much?!



Not a lot planned for this eve of Hallows. The city is swarming with police (and I am sure quite a few Secret Service members and snipers) in preparation of both tonight's festivities and the large rally planned for Election Night. I think I will just avoid it all!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Love!

~g

Now it is just funny

Chuck was at it again today! Upon seeing the damage as I came up to the door tonight, I decided I am going to track the amount of damage Chuck does to my pumpkin everyday. I hope that squirrel is enjoying his fresh squash!



Internet connection is back tonight. It seems to be a real crap shoot lately on whether or not I will have a connection. Dumb AT&T Internet.

Class out an hour early tonight! Woot!

Love!

~g

Halloween tidings and other goings-on

(Note: This was supposed to be posted last night but my Internet connection went out... again... just mine... totally dumb.)

Our power went out today. For no apparent reason. What does one do when the power goes out in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday? Carve pumpkins, of course! It was a bit chilly outside, but I have the perfect pumpkin this year and I was not going to let a little Arctic wind keep me from carving that bad boy.

The entire time I was outside, Chuck was yelling at me from the various balconies that surround our courtyard. He started on the highest possible balcony, but as the smell of pumpkin reached him he began to work his way down toward me, finishing about 3 feet away and studiously watching me work. I kept throwing him pieces of the pumpkin as I cut them away and figured that would be good enough for him. Wrong! Not 15 minutes after I finished carving and went inside, Chuck gnawed off one of the teeth from the Jock-O-Lantern's mouth and ate it! I caught him in the act and yelled at him good as he scampered away. Honestly, it's more funny than anything, I just wish he would have waited until I was able to take a picture!

I decided there was no point in trying to protect the pumpkin. Inside the apartment it would just rot quickly, and outside it's at Chuck's mercy. I guess I already did pretty much everything one does with a pumpkin at Halloween, so Chuck can have access to it and get some fresh veggies in his system. I'm thinking being a city squirrel and all Chuck does not get too many fresh veggies and I kind of feel sorry for the guy.



I did save all of the seeds and plan on roasting them later this week. They have been washed and laid out on paper bags to dry (inside the apartment away from hungry squirrels!). I have Wednesday night off and figure the seeds will be dry enough by then to roast. I think I will put the Chex Mix spices on them this year.

Last Sunday we had the first ever CUPPA Cup kickball game -an intracollege game between Public Administration and Urban Planning and Policy. PA won the cup in an uncontested game as only 3 UPP students showed. We split into teams and played anyway because kickball is too much fun to pass up, but the CUPPA Cup stays in the PA department.

The Cup is a real thing. Lauren and I made it from a plastic wine glass, spray paint, fake jewels, and hot glue. It is glorious!



School has been pretty laid back for the last few weeks but is picking back up this week and will be demanding through Thanksgiving. The downtime was nice but I know I have to get back in it.

And the heat just came on for the first time this season! We have been studiously avoiding turning on the heat with gas prices as high as they are, but it is COLD tonight! Feels-like low projected to be around 25 degrees F. We will be able to turn the heat off by Tuesday morning as the temperatures are projected to be near 70 by the end of the week, but for now we need it so we don't shiver all night!

The neighbors had a get-together at their place last night. Angela could not go as she was up in the Canookia with her boy, and Ryan was still hung over from Friday night and not up to socializing. I took a plate of cookies and had fun! We grilled, we ate, we talked, we laughed, we wrapped up the night by 10:00 pm. What a bunch of adults!

Life continues. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas, mainly because I miss my family and look forward to seeing and spending time with them. I have resisted the urge to decorate my Christmas tree but it is getting more and more tough to leave it in storage. Soon!

Of the three, which is better: 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, or Snickers?

Love!

~g

Frustration!

I could use a lot of hugs and love right now.

Life is trying at the moment. I know I will be better in the long run for surviving my current work and school frustrations, but right now all I really want to do is say to heck with it all and pack up my room.

Thanksgiving can't come soon enough.

Love!

~g

Weekend Goings-On

What a busy weekend!!! I has an appointment with Jason, my massage therapist, Friday morning and then came home to relax and clean. The apartment was nice for a whole day or two! Woohoo!

Yesterday up relatively early (for a weekend) and out to an apple/pumpkin/raspberry orchard. Sure, it was an one and a half hours away, but oh-so worth it! Horizon broken only by colorful foliage, dry cornstalks, and fresh breezes. We picked Yellow and Red Delicious apples, ate some apple pie washed down with cold cider, and purchased fresh doughnuts and apple butter at the store. Consumer-driven and country-stereotypical? Sure! Do I care? NO!

I found the perfect pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. I will take pictures and show future generations the perfect pumpkin I found in my 24th year on this earth. It did not grow on its side but rather its bottom, making it perfectly round. I left a large stem when I pulled it off the vine. The stem even curves to make a just-right handle (minus those stupid little prickers pumpkins come with). I almost do not want to carve it, but I want its seeds so it has to be cut sometime. I decided I am going to roast pumpkin seeds this year. I remember doing this when I was younger but haven't had them in years. I know they are very healthy and it should be fun!



We arrived home from the orchard later than we planned, and last night was pretty low-key. I knew I had to be up VERY early this morning, so I tried to get to bed at a decent time. Tried is the operative word in that sentence. I got busy and did not go down until about 11:30, meaning the 5:00 am wake up call came way too soon!

The Chicago Marathon was today and I volunteered at an aid location, mile 16 rather than the 13 I had previously thought. Arrived around 6:15 to check in and get my instructions. The group I was with helped in the Gatorade block, while the water was another block down. Let it be said that if I had not already previously despised Gatorade I would have developed a loathing in the 7 hours I was out today.

Keeping in mind last year's fiasco of a marathon in which the day was unexpectedly warm and the aid stations terribly short-supplied, the officials this year added five more aid stations; all told, 100,000 gallons of Gatorade and water. It was my our job to stack the tables of Gatorade 5-tiers high and we spent the first few hours this morning doing just that. Favorite quote of the morning had to come from the Gatorade Coordinator at our station who, while instructing us on the parts of Gatorade to parts of water ratio, said, "The Gatorade is highly concentrated and cannot be drunk straight from the container. Doing so will kill you." It's lethal, but watered down it's a great, electrolyte-boosting sports drink! Woohoo!

Once the runners really started coming through my job turned to standing course-side, passing cups to runners and yelling my voice raw. Between spilling Gatorade all over me while filling the cups in the morning, having it splashed on me as runners snatched the cups out of my hand and the hands of those in front of me, and having not-empty cups tossed at me I came away pretty well soaked and sticky from the race. Straight home and into the shower and clothes straight into the washer.

I had a ton of fun, though! It was totally awesome to see the elite runners, and the rest of the pack was, for the most part, very polite and thankful. It was hot again today, about 80 degrees by noon (it's never a good sign when it is 65 degrees and humid before the sun is even up) and the race starts a bit later than most. Because of last year, race officials instituted a color-coded system to inform racers and volunteers of course conditions. It is a basic triage system, green being good to go and black being deadly. Last year was definitely a black. This year started at yellow because of the heat and humidity, and was upgraded to red by 11:00 am.

Despite the heat, we still had cups stacked three and four high when it was time to start breaking down our station. We had been told to keep mixing and filling, and therefore had been. Tear-down comes and we have tables full of Gatorade. Of course, in the spirit of conservation and environmentalism, the first step of clean-up was to up-end the tables in the street, spilling Gatorade and cups everywhere, and then just using shovels to put the whole mess in large plastic bags. It made me cringe every time a table went over.

It was a great experience overall, and I got a nifty jacket and official badge out of the deal. Go me with my volunteering self!



Post-marathon meant shower and nap. Then some laundry and reading for the upcoming week of classes. What a domestic life I lead!

This coming week is shaping up to be pretty quiet and will give me a nice break. I have class and work on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I take the train home to Iowa. Thursday is for whatever I want! Friday some shopping and a dentist appointment, then back to the city. Saturday is Wicked with Mom!

Life is just continuing at its unrelenting pace, and I'm along for the ride.

Love to everyone!

~g

Blogs and Thoughts

Marshall and I were having a Facebook conversation tonight about our blogs and life and such. Below is a snippet of that conversation. The reference Marsh makes about love was in response to my status on Facebook, which reads, "Grace wonders, of the following, which is the greatest: Peace, Joy, Faith, Hope, or Love?"

Grace

:)

i don't say nearly as many profound things in my entries - nothing like you. mine are more for just keeping people up to date on my life and random thoughts

Marshall

ha

i just ramble like a son of a b

not profound at all.

Grace

your thoughts and rambling are usually pretty profound. God gave you quite the mind big brother.

Marshall

well, He gave me something.

i just hope i put it to good use.

Grace

i think you are

Marshall

also, the bible would say love.

just fyi.

Grace

i know the verse, but when you throw faith in the mix....

Marshall

but then comes the debate of whether faith is even possible without love.

OH SHIT NO HE DINTTTTT

Grace

or is the love the result of the faith?

Marshall

can you have faith in something you dont believe in? or that you dont trust?

and arent believe and trust at the core of love?

Grace

yes - that's what faith is sometimes... trusting and believing despite all evidence to the contrary. faith isn't necessarily easy, and arguably stronger when it involves adversary

Marshall

right.

so then it could be argued than none is actually greater than the others, but that all are equally important when considered to be inextricably tied to the rest.

Grace

which gets to the root of my initial question... perhaps i didn't post looking for an answer but instead knew it would be rhetorical and instead wanted to start a conversation

Grace

or perhaps the question stems from current life events of me

Marshall

im sure it does.

Grace

totally terrible sentence structure there

Marshall

come on, grad school

Grace

still better than a lot of people

11:48pmMarshall

yea.

The conversation was heading in a route I liked and was saddened when Marshall informed me it was time for him to sign off. I considered writing him an email to continue with my thought process, then decided to post it here instead. I know Marshall is not the only person who will be interested in what I have to say next.

I know something has been missing in my life. And I know that I have been restless and unhappy. And I have known, deep down, for a very long time that what is missing is a belief in something bigger, in God.

Having been raised Christian it is very easy for me to turn to the Christian faith. Honestly, I don't think I ever left it behind. It has always been there, but many questions and doubts of my own have stood in the way. Church and religion have long been sources of pain and confusion for me. The hypocrisy I witnessed and experienced for myself growing up were enough to push me away and keep me away. It is very difficult to look beyond the fallacy of the mortal followers to the perfection of the immortal God. The tangible is always more easily accepted than the intangible.

Several years ago five words wrote themselves on my heart. I did not pay them much mind then, but I am paying them lots of mind now. Peace. Joy. Faith. Hope. Love.

I am still struggling, wanting desperately to believe and yet feeling chained to all my history and doubt.

About two weeks ago I made a decision. I decided, rather than work it all out for myself and then approach God, that I would ask for His help instead. So I sat down by myself and closed my eyes and began to let my heart speak.

I couldn't begin to tell you all of the words. I truly can't remember most. I was not thinking of what to say to God; I was just saying it. I do know I asked Him into my heart and soul. I asked for His love and partnership. I asked for His help in healing the injuries caused in His house as I grew up. I asked for His guidance and patience as I come to know Him as I am now, instead of who I used to be. I told Him I made the choice to have faith in Him and His plan for my life even though questions still plague me. I told Him the faith is my part of the deal, and part of that is the belief He will heal me and come into my life in the timing He sees fit. I told Him I needed and wanted Him and His love.

There was no blinding insight; no instantaneous belief or joy. Mostly there was exhaustion and tears. Really, day-to-day life seems unchanged. The only difference is I feel more calm, more at peace. I laugh more and smile more. I have been more giving of my time, attention, and resources than before and finding great joy in it. And I have become very focused on Christmas. Yes, that is random, but then again, is it?

I am sure there will be tough times ahead. I am sure there will be days when I struggle at maintaining faith. Pray for me. Pray God continues his work. Pray for the day my healing is complete and the Lord enters my life as my partner and savior.

I am sure some of you are going to want to speak to me after reading this. I look forward to hearing from you as I continue this scary and exciting journey.

Much love.

~g

Singin' In the Rain

So I came out of my test tonight to discover it was pouring down rain and the wind was whipping pretty hard. Problem. I did not take an umbrella to campus today. Only way to get home was to walk, so I walked in the rain. After splashing my way through an unavoidable puddle, visions of Gene Kelly popped into my head and the next thing you know I am skipping and singing. Definitely got some crazy looks, but also got some smiles and one gentleman even nodded and wished me a good evening. Was I ever soaked when I got home! And smiling. Everyone should skip and sing in the rain.

Midterm went alright. Not too great, not terribly bad. Just alright. Yes, I should have studied more, but there's nothing I can do now.

I took the day off of work today and enjoyed sleeping in a bit. Things are going to slow down for the next few weeks which is very good for me. I can use the slower pace. And I really need to get back to the gym! Between illness, injury, and hiatus for work, my gym time has really seen a drastic decline. I am trying to keep up with the healthier eating and am attempting to do things such as sit ups and push ups at home, but I am finding I actually miss the gym. Crazy!

I miss the pool as well. I don't get in as often as I would like. Lauren and I have a deal, though. She hates the pool and I hate the lack of variety, so once a week she gives in and gets in the pool and the rest of the time I don't complain. It's a friendship that works because we communicate and compromise!

Now I just need the guy I can have the communication and compromise and mutual pleasing with.

That sentence made sense in my head.

I'm trying to figure out what I am going to be for Halloween. I think we are going to have a community party here at the building with all of the neighbors. Angela wants to be a Smurfette. I will be costume hunting while at home next week. I would like suggestions for costumes and need them no later than one week from now. You have been charged with your task.

My Christmas spirit has started remarkably early this year. What does that mean?

I will spend most of Friday cleaning the apartment. It is atrocious. At least by my standards. I would be ashamed to bring anyone into this house right now even though none of the mess is mine. At this point I do not care who created the mess - I simply want it gone.

Life continues. 212 days until I graduate from my program and go on to the next phase.

I figured that out today while avoiding studying. At least I can count!

Love!

~g

Long and Short

I am busy. Very busy. But less busy after Tuesday.

I am becoming more at peace. Broad statement, I know. And somewhat hard to explain. I do not yet know if I am more at peace with myself, my surroundings, my perceived path (or lack thereof), or what. All I know is I feel more settled and calm. I am not questioning but rather thanking God and asking for the peace to continue.

Next weekend I am going apple picking. While I look forward to the apples, I really look forward to the raspberries, pumpkins, and fresh doughnuts. That will be on Saturday. On Sunday I am getting up entirely too early and helping man (or in my case, woman) a Gatorade station for the Chicago Marathon. The station is right around the 13 mile mark and should consequently be incredibly fun.

One of my favorite websites is back up and running. Take a moment to check out Komar.org and his controllable lights. I do not know why I find this sight so much fun, but I do. The Christmas version is even better than the Halloween version!

Tonight will be a somewhat late night as I work on studying for tomorrow's midterm and advancing laundry that I should have done yesterday. I took tomorrow off from work (I am owed quite a few hours) and will sleep in a bit then cram hard. I am fine with the overview of the topics for tomorrow's exam, but need work on the nuances.

I am, in my spare time -ok, let me be frank, in class when I am bored - putting together a list of things to do with my father and stepmother when they come visit me at Thanksgiving. Suggestions are appreciated.

Scavengers in the alley! Wow, they are early tonight. Usually they don't come around until around 11:30. I can hear them as my window overlooks the alley, but being on the second floor I am not very concerned. Our scavengers and us have a mutual understanding - we put the items we know they want (cardboard, recyclables, etc) on top and they collect and leave quickly. Minimally bothersome to us, helpful to them.

The things you learn when living in a city...

I am off to compare Stone's theory of public policy with the rational models. Input is much desired.

Love!

~g

BTW - In my supreme September business I completely spaced off and forgot the birthday's (should that be possessive?) of two good friends. To my Iowa State mother: Remember, you are now officially one year closer to retirement! And to my Dubuque buddy: You will get your card when I get stamps.