Blog One-dot-Oh

Oh, hey. You'd thought I had forgotten you all, I'm sure. Well, in the words of Horace Slughorn, "Oho!" You're so wrong. Rather, I have spent the past X number of days moving into my house, making a mess of my room, spending lots of money at Charlotte's finest shopping establishments (Target, Wal-Mart, Harris Teeter, etc.) ((P.S: "Harris Teeter" is the name of the grocery store--how awesome is that?)) What I have *not* been doing, of course, is blogging. And for that, I apologize. However, I have taken a break from hanging bulletin boards and vacuuming and the like to assemble a list of Curiosities--things that have been percolating in my mind while I've been settling into life here.

Without further ado:

1. The bug in my sink. Yes, this does sound like a book my fifth graders might be reading this year, but it is, in fact, NOT fiction. Every night around 10 pm, I walk into my bathroom and discover a very small, thin bug in my left-hand sink (why yes, I do have two sinks!) This has happened for 6 or 7 days now. I'm sorry to say that I usually flush him down the drain. Please don't tell PETA. I am curious if it is the same resilient bug every night (if so, he really needs to just drown already) or if there is a whole family residing somewhere in the bowels of our plumbing system. Will keep you posted.
2. 
   
3. Security Questions. Today I had to do some very important financial what-have-yous, and they involved creating an online account with a bank. This being a bank (ideally, very secure), I had to choose not one, not two, but three security questions. And oh my, what a range. This wasn't your standard "Mother's Maiden Name" level of security. This was First Child's Baby Nickname (N/A), Place You Met Your Spouse (Also N/A), Street Your Childhood Best Friend Lived On (Applicable, but for the sake of security, I won't reveal!) level of security.
   

1. The Way I Use Parentheses. I think I overuse them. Discuss. (Or don't) ((see??))

1. Blogger's Numbering Mechanism. It is actually impossible to do a double-spaced numbered list, so I'm stuck with this bass-ackwards system. Apologies.
2. 
   
3. "Course One-Dot-Oh." This is the online "class" we have to take for TFA right now. It's a bunch of readings and then a few exercises, and it's what we're all furiously working on this weekend (when we're not blogging and/or overusing parentheses, that is). In all our TFA literature, it's referred to as Course 1.0. There is a Course 2.0, in case you were wondering, but there is not a Course 1.5. Why not "Course 1" and "Course 2"? Why the .0? The other puzzling thing is how the entire staff says "Course One-dot-oh" instead of the more conventional "Course One-point-oh." Just something we've noticed*.

That's it. I should get back to One-dot-oh, I suppose. Or maybe finish unpacking. Either way, sorry about the lack of substantive updates. I'll placate you by saying that perhaps a video tour of my room will be in order soon? (Thanks, Carly for the idea!)

--amfm

*"we" here refers to a group of Corps members, and is not--in a rare occurrence--the "royal we."**

**I think a sort-of-good/sort-of-bad name for a band (sogsobnfab) would be "Royal Wii." Like Nintendo Wii™.

I want a pet puma...

I'm just going to jump right in. This post is going to cover a lot of ground (literally?) and so will be split into two parts.

Part the First: ROAD TRIP!
A thousand apologies for not doing the "Where in the World is Anna?" follow-along thing. I was going to make a little graphic, and even found an Electric Blue™ Volkswagen Jetta® to stick my head out of, but then I started looking for a good picture of myself. Wow. There were some truly horrific pictures of me taken this year, and they're all posted on Facebook™®©. So that derailed the project.

The drive was excellent. As you may know, I really, really enjoy driving (seriously--via the internet that may have come off as sarcastic...), so I was totes stoked at the prospect of 16+ hours in the car. I split the trip into four days. Day One was a piece of cake: KC to St. Louis. I coulda done it with my eyes closed! (No, I couldn't have) I spent the night just outside St. Louis at my awesome cousin Helen's and had peanuts on a salad for the first time in my life.

Day Two was the longest leg. So, maybe it was a piece of... pie? Is pie harder to make/eat than cake? I guess I don't really understand that expression. Regardless, Day Two was St. Louis to Chattanooga, TN. Let me tell you a little something about Kentucky: that state is underrated. I had a lovely time throughout, especially at the Taco Bell in Paducah.

Not only is Kentucky underrated, it is also magical. Maybe people don't know that, hence the underrating. But for a stretch of 3 miles or so, every bump I hit on the road was timed perfectly to "Knock Three Times," by Tony Orlando and Dawn, which is the song I happened to be listening to. I'm not kidding. "[BUMP] [BUMP] [BUMP] on the ceiling if you want me..." It was extraordinary.

I spent the night in Chattanooga, and then spent all day Monday doing two things: shopping at stores and shopping at my grandma's house. I did not get much in the stores. I did get a lot from my grandma's house. Thanks to my grandparents, I now have a gorgeous antique bed, a perhaps even more gorgeous fainting couch, and also an armchair. That was a conscious and conspicuous omission of "gorgeous," but what this armchair lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in comfort. Perhaps somebody will say that about me some day? (My apologies; that was weird)

So that was Day Three. Day Four was Cha-Cha (Chattanooga to Charlotte, if you need it spelled out). I started the day by having a fight with my GPS because it wanted to take me north via Knoxville and I had planned to go south around Atlanta. After hearing "Daniel" (the British voice) tell me he was "recalculating" about 700 times, I decided to just turn it off and find the way on my own. WHOA! Well, I called Dad to make sure. But yeah, I did some real, old school navigation. Hold your applause, please.

I got to Charlotte in the afternoon on Tuesday, and after swinging by the TFA office to pick up some paperwork, I arrived at 1924. OMG, it's better than I remember. I love this house more than I love almost all of my blockmates. Combined. Sorry, guys. (MColl, you're the exception)

This brings us to...

Part the Second: LOAD FLIP! (no, it doesn't make sense; it just happened to rhyme)
Umm... Charlotte is pretty much the best. I have spent many hours just lounging about my room and wandering around our house. It's in a definite state of transition (a state of definite transition? Definitely a state of transition?) right now, but that's OK because let's be real: my room is never going to be clean, so why bother?

Thanks to my extremely awesome grandparents (gnfab?), my furniture came on Wednesday, and I even made my bed in gratitude. Wednesday was also the day I was processed by the school district, having missed that part of Induction due to Graduation. I heard all about my benefits (I get dental!), got my ID badge (which looks surprisingly fake), and was drug tested (always a delightful experience), so I'm all set to go. Oh, and I'm teaching fifth grade. I actually found that out in Kansas, but just forgot to tell you all.

I'm still unpacking and spending lots of time/money at Target and Bed, Bath, & Beyond (thank you Bob & Sharon for the gift certificate!!!), and perhaps one day I will actually be fully moved in with all the required furniture, etc. I may even decorate the walls--whoa--but that day is not today. Oh, well. At least I can "borrow" wireless from someone else on this Pleasantville-y street, so not a bit of Hollywood gossip will escape me (congrats, Brad and Angie! Can't wait to meet the twins).

I guess that's about it. Now for some of our most beloved (?) blog segments:

Daily Bit of Meta (DBoM): I have been waiting for this experience for months: having my cell phone ring while listening to "Sweetest Thing." For those not in the know, "Sweetest Thing" is my cell phone ring. You might have been able to figure that out on your own, but I don't trust you. Anyway, it finally happened. It was awesome. Maybe more 'coincidental' than 'meta,' but I don't have a Daily Bit of Coincidence segment on this blog, now, do I??

Daily Non Sequitor (DNS): Have you ever stopped to consider just how many times you hit the "delete" key every day? I've probably hit it three or four times in the span of these two sentences. Oh, and there was another five times because I tried to spell "sentences" with a c at the beginning. If you consciously think about the delete key as you type, it will freak you out, but probably only if you're strange like me. Also, do you alternate thumbs that hit the space bar, like a good typist, or do you only use one of them? Me, I only space with my right thumb, and I only shift with my left pinkie. Doing anything else feels weird. Sorry, Mavis Beacon.

More updates on the house, et al as I remember funny things to say. I leave now with two requests:

Request the First:
If I haven't spoken to you in a while, I apologize, but do drop me a line and say "hi," or let me know how you're doing. If you're in Tanzania, please tell me how Tanzany it is. If you're in New York, how New Yorky. You get the drift. I miss you, and I'm terrible at communicating. You can try to phone me, but only if you're willing to suffer the consequences (I am *terrible* at speaking on the phone. It's a real hazard).

Request the Second:
Please throw up a prayer or some good thoughts where prayer and good thoughts are needed. These are strange and crazy times for many of us, and I'm sure good thoughts would be much appreciated by many.

OK, that's it for real. I'm off to go unpack... OH! Actually, I forgot one more thing. If you're wondering about the title of this post, I said that because I've been watching "Planet Earth," the BBC documentary. OH. EM. GEE. It is just amazing. If you haven't seen it, go buy or rent it. Like, right now. And get the one narrated by David Attenborough, because he blows Sigourney Weaver out of the water.

That's it for real for real.
--amfm

Great success

What a fantastic weekend. I got to escape Institute and go back to Charlotte, Spain won the Euro, and... oh yeah, my awesome roommates and I signed an awesome lease with the most awesome landlords for the most awesome house ever, and it's totally awesome.

Proof:
Yeah. That's ours. All 3 Bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms of it. Did I mention it's awesome?

Here are some pictures I surreptitiously took of the inside. Click on the pictures to get a bigger version:

Our gorgeous Kitchen

Our cozy Breakfast Nook

Our spacious Dining Area

Our excellent Living Room

What the pictures don't really show are the following things:

• Fireplace (surely to be used during the bitter Charlotte winters?)
  
• Balcony (hopefully with a to-be-installed porch swing)
• Bedrooms with vaulted ceilings.
  
• HUGE bathrooms and closets. Seriously. If anyone comes to visit, you might get a better sleep in the Master Bathtub than on a couch or air mattress.
  

Every mile we drove on the way back to Atlanta was more painful than the last. We just can't wait to get back to Charlotte. The good news is that it's just about three weeks away. Book your tickets now--the Hotel 1924 is filling up fast!

Semi-related note: Why is it just a breakfast nook? Why can't it be a lunch or dinner nook? Or coffee nook? This is a question I have never asked myself until now. Think about it and get back to me.

Char-What?

Char-lotte!

I'm off to Charlotte to find a place to live. Wish me luck!