Watching the news today, I remembered the time I learned the word obfuscate.

On a frustrating day many years ago, someone looking for a straight answer accused me of obfuscating. I had to look that word up. "To obfuscate something means to make it so that it isn't clear or transparent, much like dirty water makes it hard to see to the bottom of a pond." ~ Merriam Webster Dictionary. I spent some time thinking about whether I was truly obfuscating or (more innocently) my usual indecisive self. The end result was that day, I accepted the challenge to grow up a little bit. Obfuscating is something young children do, but responsible adults (and Kelly Anne Conway) should not.

So the old adage, 'Be careful for what you wish for,' has come true in my life lately. Over the summer I was without school, a job and/or a volunteer position in the medical field. My biggest responsibility everyday was to find a volunteer position (needed to enhance my school application next April) or a part-time job. I was getting worried that neither item was coming through for me. Yet it was a pretty rare and awesome time, and now it's over. Today things are different. As it turns out, my job seeking and volunteering work came through all at the same time that school began! Ah...now I'm busy again.

88 degrees earlier

...now a comfortable 84. Very nice.

Does anyone ever look at Kittieland anymore?

Well, it's been so long - too long. Is there such a thing as blogger's block? Not that I blogged that much to begin with, but I feel a little guilty because I've been reading your blogs, like a voyeur. A couple of months ago I thought about starting an entirely new blog. But, the name Kittieland is more appropriate than ever because now I live with three cats, and there is one more who will move home from across the street next year! That makes four cats. OMG.

Where to begin? How about with some highlights from the past, uh, year and half:

Jeff and I played in Kauai twice, and then also on the southern Oregon Coast, in Walla Walla and Mazama.
Won some and lost some in Las Vegas baby. Came home with a jazzy coffee mug that lights up.
For the first time in my life I snorkeled, rode a horse on the beach and played blackjack with real money.
I've been studying me some basic science and anatomy.
I cooked a lot of food and hosted family holiday gatherings.
Sold a house, stopped driving so much, rode my bike and walked more, and have been without a career or even a job for almost a full year.
I've spent a lot of time considering and investigating new careers, but mostly just considering them.
Reconnected, and disconnected.
Sorted and gave away a lot of stuff. Sometimes I look for things that I've actually given away, without remembering that I don't have them anymore. I hate that.
I went to a Republican Party caucus with a hood and sunglasses on (kind of a bizarre and "how did I get here" kind of experience), but it's Obama who has my heart. I think he may just be able to make everyone feel like breathing again.
I've witnessed someone close to me battle hard and now, very much like the super hero that he is, inch closer and closer to recovery.
Hands down, the most significant and lovely thing since my last post is that I got married to Jeffrey.

Soon to come: I will finally officially change my name. I plan to enjoy another summer and then work or more school full-time in the fall. We're going to grow as many vegetables as we can this summer, visit my sister in Utah and travel down to the canyon lands, hopefully visit my brother in northeastern california, build a fence so we can adopt a canine for Jeff (I expect that the poor kitties will be stunned, then pissed off, and then simply resigned to their lot in life. Maybe me too). I hope to host some more family gatherings. I will definately keep studying, and maybe blog more often?

And then I knew I'd never be the same

I received a box of things from my mom's house. Things like a high school prom dress, three tin piano shaped music boxes and college term papers. The highlight is this (and one other) story written when I was 10, 11 or 12 yrs old, in cursif, on wide-lined paper. Ruth suggested I blog it, so I will cuz I do kind of like it. It reminds me of a Buffy episode a little bit.

A Day In Sumney
As I was walking through the town of Sumney, I noticed something very peculiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then from out of the blue, a man approached me. He was mumbling something about a marshmallow. I couldn't understand what he was saying because he had something in his mouth. So I just forgot about it and kept walking. Then a child walked up to me and asked me my name. He knew I was a stranger in town and he wanted to help me out any way he could. I asked his name. It was Tony. Then I asked if there was something different about this town. He told me to come and sit down. So we went into a restaurant and sat down in a booth away from any other people. He had a solemn look on his face and talked quietly. "We have a terrible crisis in Sumney," he told me. "We have a marshmallow surplus." Right then I knew what was so peculiar about the town. Everywhere you look, there's a marshmallow. Like right now, the table legs are made of marshmallow. I asked him, "Are you trying to get rid of them by using them for things like table legs?" Tony said yes. "Are you also trying to eat them all?" I asked him. Tony said yes. We got up, left the restaurant and said goodbye. As I was leaving the town, I felt sorry for Sumney. I thought about the man that mumbled something to me, and I knew I'd never be the same.

Happy Halloween!

David Byrne's Blog

"Each side seems almost to have an interest in creating and maintaining the existence of their enemies — as if the enemy confirms one’s own existence; an enemy gives us a reason and incentive to struggle against. Without our enemies we are just pathetic groups eking out an existence — with enemies we have noble purpose."- http://journal.davidbyrne.com/ I suppose there are many places on the internet to gather knowledge and perspective on the middle east, but I happened upon David Byrne's blog yesterday. Taken out of context from the rest of his post, it may seem like an oversimplifcation and not so profound. I'm not sure. But, for me, it's one of many well-articulated and simple arguments against war and all of it's self-serving ways.

What Kind of Dog are You?

According to this peronality test: http://www.gone2thedogs.com/index.html?game, if I were a dog, I would be a whippet. Push play...