Joyce Kilmer Was Right

So I made it to Salem, OR.  I'll be here for a week doing research for the American West Center, while my very sweet husband continues to keep things running back at the ranch.  

I have to admit that my hotel is absolutely unscenic.  The room is huge and comfy enough but it has a right off the freeway location with a charming view of the parking lot.    However, the drive down here from Portland, the one I was so nervous about, was beautiful.  There's still plenty of fall color here and that combined with the pine trees makes for some stunning scenery.  I forget how truly lovely it is out here.  I have to admit it's taking quite a bit of will power not to play hooky and make a break for the coast :)  There's a reason the photo above has been my blog banner for so long.

And if you're wondering what on earth the title of this post means see the link below:
http://www.bartleby.com/104/119.html

Nervous Making

So apparently at the moment they're dealing with some sort of bomb threat at the Salt Lake City airport.  Fabulous,  just what a girl wants to hear three days before flying out of that airport.  As if that isn't enough CNN brought us this article yesterday:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/27/virginia.plot.arrest/index.html?iref=allsearch

If I'm reading the article right, this happened while I was in DC and at metro stops I used every day.   Maybe there's a reason I have an anxiety problem.

Guilt Trips

I have always been one of those people with a weakness when people use guilt as a tool of manipulation.  My Mom, who is a miracle in most aspects, will admit that she was quite good at this when I was a kid and even gave me the magnet on my fridge that says "My Mother Is A Travel Agent for Guilt Trips."

By the time I reached early adulthood I was aware of how easily I could be manipulated this way and tried to start putting some distance between myself and anybody who used this to freely.  I think one of my favorite things about the man I married is that he doesn't do this - at all.  In fact, he goes out of his way to tell me I'm a good and kind person.

However, I still let guilt get to me sometimes.  On some level, I do think that there is a fine line between empathy/concern and guilt, which does make navigating the issue a bit harder, and I suppose there are times when we need to feel guilty.  Most of the time though, I'm feeling guilty over trivialities that are meaningless in the eternal scheme of things.

Someone who doesn't really know me that well, I won't say who, did their best to use guilt manipulation on me today.   I fended it off with some gentle rapier wit and felt triumphant and not one bit guilty.  I think this is a good thing.    I want my behavior to be motivated by enthusiasm and love, not worry and guilt.   Here's hoping I can remember that.

112 Pages!

Today was a really good day, one of those days when I don't think it was such a crazy idea to leave my job at the archives.  I was fairly disciplined, and spent the day working on research for the American West Center, preparing a travel funding proposal for my dissertation (can you believe I'm actually asking them to send me to New Jersey?), and doing a little work on the new novel, which I've continued working on tonight. 

When I finished Chapter Nine and added it to the manuscript file I discovered that I reached what I consider to be,  the momentous goal of a hundred continuous pages.  I have the weirdly ambitious goal to finish a draft of this thing by Christmas.  We'll see if I can make that. 

Crafty

I think I love Fall.  As long as I don't think of it as winter's prologue, Fall and I get along spectacularly.  When I was shopping for Tracy's birthday presents I saw some beautiful fall wreaths, which, even at 50% off were over my budget.   Dollar store to the rescue!  Eight dollars, four glue gun burns, and some existing supplies later I had this little guy. 

My other new, and entirely adorable, fall decoration was a gift from my friend Becky C.  Having never done glass etching myself, I found it mystifyingly impressive that she could do this. 

Park City

This weekend, Tracy and I made a quick trip to Park City.  We went up Parley's Canyon, stayed overnight in Park City and came back down Provo Canyon.  While in Park City we rode up the mountain on one of the ski lifts they have open.  The fall colors were beautiful, especially the aspen trees. 

Still Here...Just Boring

I realized today I'd gone a long time without posting a blog post.  No real reason.  Life has been good.  I left my job at the Archives on Thursday the 30th, and while I'm going to miss the people there I'm already enjoying having time to work on my dissertation more.   There just isn't much that I've felt compelled to share with the universe I guess, but all is well.