Smooth Move?

So, I just made a deal, hopefully not with the devil. Today in Church a girl mentioned that she was looking for a place to live until she got married and asked if any one had a room to rent. Well, I've kind of been stressing out with K. leaving and all, having to pay 650$ in rent plus about 150$ in utilities all by myself. So, I pipped up. She came and looked at it tonight and moved some stuff in. The deal is that she pays 250$ in rent plus half of utilities. It's not half and half but at this point anything is better then nothing. She isn't going to sign a contract or anything, she'll stay as long as she needs to and I hope that this is all going to work out. I'm not very smart about things, but I have a nice feeling about her as a person and she's going to pay a couple months rent up front. The nice thing about all of this is, I can afford to pay it all if I have to, ie: she flakes out, I can ask her to leave if I need to, she isn't staying forever and in the meantime I have a little bit of help with rent. So, we'll see. The only thing I feel kind of bad about is that J. said she might be interested in moving in. Also, M. wanted to move in. Oh, and Z. said she wanted to check it out. But I went with D. because she seemed to be in a tighter spot then everyone else. She was pretty much living in her car. Oh, me and my bleeding heart. I hope this all works out!

Belly FLOP!

I went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday with my friend J. to kayak/duckie/raft the Snake river. It was...theraputic. I put that dramatic pause in there because this was a trip with the Adventure Buddies. After the last 'adventure' we had together this last week, it was good for us to get together again and love each other and enjoy each other in an adventure that was not so dramatic as the last. It was nice to reassure ourselves that we aren't cursed but that we can have an adventure without it turning into an epic. J was there, as was of course Adv. M and J. and J flew in from NY and M was there and R and J and then a bunch of girls I didn't have much to do with. Oh, and J. brother-in-law was there as was his sister who is a sweetheart. Anyway, J and I drove up there together later on Friday and didn't get there till late. I pitched my new lovely, wonderful, beautiful tent in two minutes all by myself!! I was so happy and content to sleep in it. I just loved it! The next morning we had breakfast, took our time, enjoyed reuniting with old friends and then headed for the river. I hooked up with M., my wing man in a duckie. I took the steering position while M was the powerman. We had our own sign language for the rapids and everything. We enjoyed trying to ram the raft as well as watch out for J and J in the Pirate Kayaks. We spent about 4-5 hours on the river that day. Just long enough to dunk everyone once or twice. We headed back to camp after that to nurse our sunburns and cook up dinner. Around the campfire that night we did the whole marshmallow thing, set up a slack line (pictures to follow) and played Mafia and Murder in the Dark (literally!). Then I got to sleep in my wonderful, fabulous, marvelous tent again!!
The next day, J and R and P joined up with us and we got back on the river. I did the raft this time and that was great. We really rocked that sucker. As we got through the big rapids, the "Big Kahuna" and "the Lunch Counter" we came to this spot that was ideal for cliff jumping. Here's the part where on every 'adventure' Maija comes away with a bruise! I'm not a jumper at all. I'm not a diver, nor even a swimmer. I know this about myself. And yet, somehow, I got talked in to jumping. First off, J talked me into jumping from a 4 foot rock out. I did it, and I totally belly flopped! Well, I didn't want to hit the rocks. Then J. comes and takes my hand and says,"come on, lets do it higher (where everyone else was jumping, about 25-30 feet higher). I'll do it with you." Well, the boy has my hand so with legs shaking I climb up higher with him. I'm standing up there, shaking with pure adrenaline and a big raft full of people start drifting by, all set with there cameras to catch me in action. J. whispers in my ear, "now, jump. Live in infamy, you'll be famous." I grab my life jacket with one hand, plug my nose with the other, instruct the raft to count off for me, and then proceed to do the most spectacular side FLOP any of them had ever seen. As I come up from the water I can still hear everyone going, "eewwww" and see the grimace of pain on there face. I BIFFED it. I am covered in a big black bruise all down behind my arm, on my side, my hip, my thigh, everywhere. Oh well, I lived. And I will go down in infamy. We continued down the river, loaded up and headed home. After we dropped everyone off, J. asked me to drive home so he could sit in the back with his baby (she didn't come, we had just picked her up). I was okay with that except he drives a stick. I haven't done that in about 9 years. I did get about three miles down the road before he said never mind and switched me. I love that he makes me do things out of my comfort zone. He said he'd take me out and help me practice driving stick. Anyway, it was a great weekend, very therapeutic, very fun, and I love all those guys. Now off to bed for some much needed sleep. (Whaa! I want my tent...!)

Blinding Detail

Blinding Detail
Originally uploaded by Amelia Bedelia.

I know, I know, I had the flash on to strong, but my batteries died and I couldn't redo it... So, the reason for this pic... First of, I'm going to talk to you tonight about my Friend With No Initial. Now, the reason he has no Initial is because I don't believe it's very nice to write about someone on the internet if they don't know it, so I always refere to people by just there initial as a way of showing my respect for them. Well, the Friend with No Initial is so amazing that I just want to show him even more respect. Heres the story. If you can see through the white light of my flash, my hair, you may see that I have it in two braids that are pulled over the top of my head and secured. I then have a long crimson scarf woven and twisted around the braids and then hung down. I realize it's not a hair style that you will see walking down the street, but today it perfectly fit my mood of gypsy spirit, court princess, long braids, and I want to do something different. While most people said nice things or nothing, of course there are a few hecklers. Well, I stopped by the Q. tonight and the Friend With No Initails was there. I was just picking up my paycheck and was on my way out when my Friend With No Initial stopped me and in all scincerity said, Hey Maija, I like your hair that way... Dear, sweet Boy! Dear, kind Friend. He has forever won a place in my heart!

I am a ship upon the waters

So, I just wanted to get this thought out tonight. I've been ruminating over it all evening. As most of you know, I am particularly fond of analogies, so lets see if you can wrap your mind around this one...
I am a ship upon the waters. I am a big Viking ship that is constantly batteling tsunami waves and sharks and whales and a particularly bad case of scurvy. The people in my life, my friends, are my crew. I have all of my friends in a category, or a job. I have Adventure Buddies, and Game night Buddies, and Climbing Buddies, and Movie Buddies, and it works for me. The reason for this is because I know what kind of relationship it is, I know how to best utilize it to make my ship sail more smoothly. I know the best way to use each friend on my ship. So, I have one particular friend who refuses to be compartmentalized. While, I have to appreciate his wiley ways and his carefree spirit, he is worse then a pirate who stole on my boat. He is a loose cannon. Now the thing about cannons are two fold. A cannon can be my best friend in a fight against pirates and marauders (who I am constantly running into, people who seem to suck a part of your soul without your consent), or they can be the big lug of metal you have to haul around and with each tiny toss of the ship worry that they are going to knock a hole in your keel and take you down under. So, this friend is a loose cannon. He isn't quite the big gun I need, and he isn't quite the hole knocker he could be, but I'm not willing to take the chance. A cannon loose on a ship is a cannon loose on a ship. So, while he may refuse to allow me to give him a job in my life, I'm doing it anyway. I'm stuffing him full of perservatives, putting him in a fancy cake box, tying it double knotted with sailors string and putting him in the galley to be taken out and looked at on special occasions when I feel like cheating on my diet. So there.
Anyway, got to love those story problems, huh? They sure are fun to work out in my mind. And they do seem to make work go so much quicker. Good night y'all!!

Curiouser and Curiouser

It's an interesting thing, this is. I went to lunch today with three friends who know me fairly well. On the way out to the car, one called me a flower girl, as in flower child, and just a bit earlier another had been teasing me about my "happy, hippy, horse -shmit." At lunch, all three of them teased me about hugging trees, recycling, and consumer consumption. The interesting part of this, is having people pick out something in you that you saw as a noble strength and deride it. I don't see being environmental as being "hippy," I see it as being responsible. I'm ashamed of those who waste resources so frivolously as though there were an endless supply. It's not hard to be a little more conscientious, to not create so much useless paper waste. Why not reuse instead of cut down a tree. It's just so irresponsible. And if I choose to reuse my plastic lunch bags, at least I'm still shaving my legs and using toothpaste instead of birch bark. Although, I hear that's really good for your gums. Hmm...