Vertigo

Well, I've been at the beach on The Outer Banks of NC all week (pause to let you hate me). I haven't been able to go for the past three years or so, so I was exceedingly excited that I could this year. Chris came as well, but he had to leave this morning because he has to go be a big important guitar player in our friend's band for two performances at Floyd Fest.

I will post some pictures I've taken later... I haven't had the energy to pull them off my camera.

So, the week has been great. I'm on book #4 (yes, I like to spend vacation reading!). I've gotten a bit of sun (no rash yet!), but I've spent most of my time on the beach in the shade provided by this big tent/shade thing my dad has or in the water.

Yesterday, I got this horrible bout of Vertigo (dizzy, light-headed badness) for several hours, and I'm feeling it again today. This kind of shit's not supposed to happen on vacation! I've been trying to drink water, stay out of the sun, eat well, and basically take care of myself, and I'm not sure what else to do. I've gotten Vertigo before (and it has been popping up more often lately), but never for more than one day in a row. I'm not a big fan of getting the spins for no good reason.

Anyways, hopefully it will go away soon. Back to my wonderfully fat book.

Being Civil

Today, I went to a Civil War reenactment of The Batlle of Bull Run/Manassas. It was five zillion degrees, and I got a bit burnt, but it was really amazing to see the battle. Eight thousand people volunteered to take part as reenactors, and they all got really into it. There were real officers giving real commands to real regiments, and everyone's garb looked great. The coolest part was the end, because we got to see a cavalry skirmish. Horsies are nifty.

Because the reenactment took place in VA, there were a lot of Confederate-supporting types there, and I was afraid that people would be yelling obscenities at the Union side or something, but, everyone was civil (ha!).

Tomorrow morning I leave for vacation. At the beach. Hellz yeah. I am at the point where I don't care what the weather does, I don't care if I need to stay out of the sun a little more than years past, and I don't care if the waves aren't great. All I care about is relaxing. Sometimes I have to work really hard to be able to relax, but there's something about the beach that makes it a little easier on me.

I won't be writing too much, but I will surely post some pictures sometime during the week.

Have a great week all!

Search Terms and Keywords

So, I read a blog called A Delightful Affair, and the woman who writes it recently did a post about the search terms that have led people to her blog (Blogger provides you with a list of the recent and most-used searches that led people to your blog). So, I went and checked out mine. Mine are slightly disturbing, and plenty funny. So, I wanted to share them with you. I'd also like to point out (again), that my most popular post by far is "Today I Peed in the Woods." You sickos, you.

Here are the most popular:

ryanwithuterus
ryan the girl
peeing in the woods
how to pronounce kubb
ryanthegirl
"ryan the girl"
ryan the girl blogspot
good points about coed sports
had to pee outside
how do you pronounce kubb

Mmmmk, that's not too bad. But, here are the recent ones:

peeing in the woods
ryan the girl blogspot
peeing in woods being seen
a girl actually pees on a tree and this is her story
blogspot ryan the girl
christopher ottenweiler
i peed with my mother
is it illegal to pee in the woods by a boat landing with no bathroom
nicknames for girls named ryan
peeing woods
stress and dreams
"my new short hair"
...woods squat pee...
americana sail boat names
best songs to share with a girl
car game "my cows"
do you pee in the woods
crazy pee girls blogspot

I'm sure a lot of those people were disappointed when they got to my post about a lovely paddle in a lovely kayak on a lovely spring day. I'm hoping that writing that post does not make me a "crazy pee girl." Though, the more hits I get the better, right? Right? Could that thinking lead me down a dark, scary, bodily-function-laden road? Perhaps...

Also, "is it illegal to pee in the woods by a boat landing with no bathroom?" I have not a clue. But, now I kinda want to know. But, apparently if you search for the answer in google, you will be led to a random annoying girl's blog and not have your question answered. Sad, really.

Now I have to think of a topic to write about that will keep people coming back again and again. Ideas?

Maiden Voyage

So, we had this big plan to go sailing this past Sunday, but, since the metal-working guy didn't get us our rudder-assembly part when he said he would, we couldn't. But, Chris had a great idea, which was to try putting up the mast and boom and to hoist the sails to make sure everthing was working properly. We also sprayed the boat down with the hose to try to clean 'er up a little. And no, we haven't picked a name for the boat yet. I was thinking maybe Bluey. Bluey the boat.

I had this grand scheme to take photos of Chris on the boat with the background all blurred out to try to fool you all into thinking we were actually on the water, only to post that one final picture of him on the boat on the trailer in the yard. Sigh, it would have been hilarious (to me!). Alas, once we hoisted up the main sail, a breeze kicked in, and Chris and I would have been in big trouble if we had left the sail up for any extended period of time (or, if life was a movie, the trailer would have started rolling and we would have land surfed on our sailboat, only to crash into the side of the house). There was also a moment where Chris walked too far towards the stern and the trailer started shifting backwards, boat and boy and all (it had been tipped all the way forward). It was terrifying. I sort of jumped on the bow to keep it from slamming down.

After we finished with Yet-to-be-Named-Sailboat, we headed to our neighborhood bar to watch the Women's World Cup Final. Don't even get me started on that; I almost cried in the bar.

And now I have one more work week before a lovely beach vacation... let's hope I survive.

I Heart Harry Potter

So, I don't know about you guys, but I freakin' love Harry Potter. The final movie is coming out in less than a week, and I count myself excited. Actually, "excited" may be an understatement. Chris and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 this past weekend, in order to feed fuel to our inner Harry Potter fires (Incendio!). Whoop whoop! Oh, and Chris re-read the second half of the 7th book as well. I'm also a bit sad that the end of Harry Potter madness is almost here. Today I realized that I've been experiencing HP Fever on an ongoing basis for about half of my life... and that's pretty significant.


I think I read the first book in middle school... I can't remember which grade I was in (6th? 7th?). In fact, I have no clue how the HP series first made it into our home. But, I do remember reading the first book in my bed in one evening when I was either mad or feeling sad/misunderstood (ah, middle school... I don't think you could pay me a million bucks to go back to middle school). Also, my little sister, who hated reading, got hooked on HP in fourth grade and forever became an avid reader thereafter. Thank you, JK Rowling.

I remember spending weeks of summers in avid anticipation of the books coming out, and I remember remarking at how the writing and stories grew in maturity each year as I did. And then I would spend one glorious day/night reading the entire new release, completely wrapped up in another world and another reality (and perhaps a blanket), and none of my real-world life and problems existed for those sweet 6-12 hours. And then, as I turned the last page and closed the back of the always-two-hued hardcover, I'd be ready for the next summer and the next (hopefully fatter) novel. My sister and I would discuss rumors about what would occur in the upcoming release, we'd argue about which characters were the best, and who was truly good and truly evil, and we'd always order two books (sharing=  no thank you).

I also remember being home for the summer from college when the 7th and final tome came out, and I specifically recall talking to Chris on the phone after he finished the book (because he was at his own home on break... weird to think of that now!). He was so heartbroken that it was all over. I mean, he just sounded so sad.

So, I think we've both read the series twice now, and it's so fun to have someone to see the movies with and to share the fever with.

The movies coming out over the years have been wonderful, mainly as a way to relive the glory and anticipation of when the books were coming out. Plus, despite what a lot of people say, I think they've done a pretty damn good job with most of the movies. All I'm asking is for the wonderful story to be told on the screen, and for it to be entertaining and mostly true to the book.

Now, here's the part where I get on my literary soapbox: For those of you who don't want to have anything to do with Harry Potter on the grounds that you don't like that so many people like it, that's like saying that the Beatles suck because they're too good. And for those of you who think it's "lowly" or "juvenile" somehow (I'm thinking of a lot of my fellow English majors in school), I feel sorry for you. You're missing out on something truly enjoyable (why does a book have to really be anything other than enjoyable? Especially if it doesn't claim to be more than that?). So, remove that novel-sized stick from your very tight butts. The first couple books may seem juvenile to you now if you're over 14 or so, but I seriously recommend powering through them to get to books 4-7. And if you're someone who thinks that books about magic are evil and should be taken off the shelves, well, then, you may be too far gone to save (get it? "Save?" Bahahahaha!).

Ok, now I will step down from my soapbox and leave you with this quote from NY Times Book Reviewer Michiko Kakutani from her July 19, 2007 review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

"The world of Harry Potter is a place where the mundane and the marvelous, the ordinary and the surreal coexist. It’s a place where cars can fly and owls can deliver the mail, a place where paintings talk and a mirror reflects people’s innermost desires. It’s also a place utterly recognizable to readers, a place where death and the catastrophes of daily life are inevitable, and people’s lives are defined by love and loss and hope — the same way they are in our own mortal world."



We make a pretty good Ron and Hermione, yes?

Projectmania

I have a few projects in mind to work through before the summer is over, so I thought I would share them with you all. That way, I can keep myself accountable to finishing them! Plus, you, dear readers, may have some ideas to help me get these done and/or to stay on task.

Cut My Wardrobe Down to Size:
Somehow, over time, I've amassed way too many clothes. So, I decided that I will attempt to cut my wardrobe in half and donate the clothes to our local SPCA Rummage Sale. This is partially because I don't have room to store my clothes, partially because my sense of style has changed a bit, and partially because I still have a bunch of clothes from when I was 30 lbs heavier than I am now. I may keep one pair of "fat" pants... just in case. Anyways, I want to have room for the clothes I will actually wear, and I want to be able to find them! Plus, summer ususally inspires me to buy a few new things, and right now I have zero room for them.

This is what happens when you have too many clothes!

Decorate the Walls in the Bedroom:
We have not put one thing on the walls of our bedroom. And our lease renews for another year soon, and I simply cannot stand the idea of having empty walls for another year. Chris doesn't want to have anything to do with it, so I think that gives me free reign (though, I wouldn't be mean and make the room too girly or anything!). My idea is to fill the walls with prints of maps (which will be interesting to both of us, and, I think, look pretty cool). I really like the way old maps look, so I'm just going to get some cheap prints somewhere online and then frame them with cheap frames (as you can tell, I'm on a budget and still financially traumatized from when I got two things custom-framed last year... never again).

Keep a Food Diary:
I asked my friend Caitlin over at Ola Fitness what to do about my problem with stress eating, and one of her suggestions was to start keeping a food diary. This is not just about listing what you eat, but also about how you feel when you eat things. I'm not trying to lose weight right now or anything, but I am trying to be healthier and exercise regularly. Stressful days are always tough, and weekends tend to be my downfall. I think it's because I'm an emotional eater/drinker. So, I think if I simply start writing things down, I'll feel more accountable to myself. Also, since I play in a band and hang out with musicians all the time, there tends to be a bit of a drinking culture that I'm always surrounded with. So, I've promised myself an alcohol-free week this week... which I think my food diary will help me with.

So, now I've gotten those down on paper (um, or screen?), and now I have to do them. Does anyone have any tips or comments for me? Like, is it totally stupid to get rid of my clothes that fit me when I was heavier? Or do you know of any good places for me to find cheap prints of old maps? Do you have any experience trying to keep a food diary?

Hope you all have a lovely week!

It's Pretty Easy Being Green

Happy Friday!!!! Yes, this particular Friday warrants four exclamation points, as it's been a bit of a rough, tiresome week.

I wanted to share this video from a news clip with you all, as it features the company I work for (which is a biofuels company; we make fuel out of waste vegetable oil from restaurants!). It's nice to know that being green can be as easy as ordering french fries from the right establishment (yum)!

http://www.newsplex.com/video?clipID=6029656&autoStart=true&contentID=125178109

If you want to check out my company's website to learn a little more about the "fryer-to-fuel" cycle, check out http://www.glbiofuels.com/.

It's pretty cool that I get to work in a place I enjoy while simultaneously making a difference, one hush puppy at a time. Or one french fry at a time. Or one chicken finger. Oh  man, or one mozzarella stick. Good lord, I'm hungry.

Anyways, enjoy your weekends!

Kindred Spirits

Chris inadvertantly (this time!) scared the living Ba-Jeezus out of me the other day. We were cleaning the house and I was scrubbing the half-bath (which has one of those light switches that automatically turns on the fan when you turn on the light... hate hate hate, by the way), and I didn't hear him coming around the corner into the hallway. So, I turned and he was right there, and I jumped about sixty-five feet and gasped! and almost died of a heart attack on the spot. My heart was literally racing for an hour afterwards. I felt truly frightened.

That's when it hit me: I'm like Coltrane.

I'm always on edge. I'm never quite completely comfortable; it's like my body is always ready for the fight or flight reaction. Even when I'm lying down or doing something "relaxing" I'm ready to get the hell out of there if necessary. I'm aware of where the exits are, and I'm quite uncomfortable and claustrophobic if I detect that there is no exit or way to safety.

Conclusion: I am a prey animal.

Bunnies like Coltrane are wired to bolt when something unexpected occurs, and that's because their survival instinct kicks in.

Oh yes, they broke the mold when they made me: Me, the 5-ft 3-in tall, incisor-owning, upright-walking, 120-pound RABBIT.

Happy 4th Everyone!