This weekend I hit up the Iowa State Fair and I enjoyed myself and all, but I'm sad to say I didn't have nearly as much fun as I had last year. Of course, last year everything was new and terribly exciting and I wanted to do it all and see it all and take pictures of EVERYTHING.
Notsomuch this year. I got to the fairgrounds around 8:30 and by 2 I was pretty much done. I don't know if it was the weather (kind of a steamy, overcast sort of day that tricks you into thinking it might be cool outside) or the crowds, but I just felt fair-ed out.
I couldn't go home, though because I was volunteering for Drake from 4-6 (which is a lot of fun) so I had to kill two hours. I sat and watched the talent show where I swear I heard about 30 10-15 year-olds singing Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" (oddly the younger ones seemed better).
I hit all the fair highlights like the 4-H building (I love what those 4-H kids do), the VI building, the Ag building, and the barns with all the animals. Last year I spent two or three hours in the barns alone, but this year it just seemed like there were so many people there. Maybe my excitement blinded me to the crowds last year, but this year I just couldn't deal with it. And don't even get me started on strollers! Oy! I swear, I'm not taking my kids anywhere until they're 10.
It's hard to deal with so many people EVERYWHERE you go. I tried going 100 different places to take a break from the crowd, but there's NO reprieve. Anywhere.
It's not that I didn't enjoy being at the fair. After all, after a summer of living in solitary confinement, it was good to be out in public and feel part of a group again... but it was kind of a lot of public to deal with at once.
I went to the fair again on Sunday, this time to volunteer at the DNR building (for 6 hours!!!) and I found that much more enjoyable, somehow. I was running the cash register at the DNR store and talked to SO many people. It was nice to actually interact with people and talk to them instead of simply being with crazy crowds out on the grounds. I met a lot of really nice people who had some really cool stories and a lot of them told me how much they love the DNR magazine, which has inspired them to go out and do or see something. It was really cool to hear about it.
I suppose it's a good thing I liked my 6-hour DNR shift so much... I have two more next weekend. Yay, I think.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Iowa Outdoors
This summer I have an internship at Iowa Outdoors Magazine, which is a publication from the Department of Natural Resources. It's a great magazine with cool stories and amazing photos. And readership is 150,000. It's really cool.
It earned some cool points this past issue because it featured the journalistic stylings of, well, me! I had four different articles in the new Sept/Oct issue and I'm really REALLY excited about it. I've never been published in a magazine before. Not a print one, anyway. And being published in print is just a waaaaayyyy cooler feeling. Online is good, but there's nothing like looking at a stack of magazines you know you're in.
And they aren't groundbreaking works of staggering genius or anything, but they're a start and, even better, they're mine :)
It earned some cool points this past issue because it featured the journalistic stylings of, well, me! I had four different articles in the new Sept/Oct issue and I'm really REALLY excited about it. I've never been published in a magazine before. Not a print one, anyway. And being published in print is just a waaaaayyyy cooler feeling. Online is good, but there's nothing like looking at a stack of magazines you know you're in.
And they aren't groundbreaking works of staggering genius or anything, but they're a start and, even better, they're mine :)
Monday, August 10, 2009
The storm
I've probably mentioned once or twice that I am not a fan of storms. Last summer there were some insane thunderstorms that I spent a lot of sleepless nights panicking about. This summer seemed much less active as far as severe weather goes. I don't know if it's a slow year for storms, or this is more average for a typical Iowa summer... I only have one summer to compare it to and that's when half the state was under water.
Anyway, we had a killer storm yesterday evening that shook me to the core pretty badly. It was weird because I looked out the window at the ominous clouds and I was like "oh, gosh, looks like it might storm." And as soon as I finished the thought, all hell broke loose.
My big thing is that I can't handle these huge storms alone. I just seriously can't. Last summer there was a tornado or a funnel cloud that missed the city by what felt like inches, but I didn't panick nearly as much because I was an RA and had to take control of an emergency situation. It's weird how that happens. Ordinarily I would be curled up in my bathtub with a picture of my family conviced I was going to die. But my brain kind of skipped that step and went into "take control" mode. I didn't mind it, of course.
But this summer I have no residents and I find that when it's just me alone in my top-of-the-building apartment, I really tend to freak out. Oddly, as far as I know, there were no threats of tornadoes with this storm, but it was still one of the scaries thunderstorms I've ever seen. I looked out the window and at one point I couldn't see anything at all because the rain was so hard, visibility was zero. And when I could see, it didn't look like rain was falling at all, rather being blown around in massive, horizontal sheets. I could see it blow off the roofs of other buildings and fall half way to the ground before it shot straight back up into the air again. All the debris in the tri-state area seemed like it landed in the pool. Branches were falling left and right, lightning was right on top of us. I stood at my bedroom window and put my hands on the glass and could feel the window flex in the wind.
There's always one man I can turn to during times like these. Channel 8's John McLaughlin. He's the best and I love him. Except that my cable tends to freeze or something during really terrible storms. It doesn't go out, exactly. Either the picture freezes or I get a black screen saying "this channel will be available momentarily" for a couple of hours. I have yet to determine if this affects my internet because my computer can pick up wireless signals from my neighbors... so if someone has functioning internet that isn't password-protected, I can still be online. But the problem is the signal is usually fairly weak so weather sites with a lot of interactive, moving maps take much too long to load.
So... yeah... it was all rather traumatic. But, as with most storms, it left as quickly as it came and an hour later there was hardly any evidence that it was there... oh, except for the damage to my apartment which includes a roof that leaks in four places (opposed to only two earlier this summer), a chunk of ceiling that fell onto my living room floor, my bedroom window that was cracked from a stray piece of hail and another window that clearly leaks (hence the puddle of water on the sill and carpet under it).
Yay.
Anyway, we had a killer storm yesterday evening that shook me to the core pretty badly. It was weird because I looked out the window at the ominous clouds and I was like "oh, gosh, looks like it might storm." And as soon as I finished the thought, all hell broke loose.
My big thing is that I can't handle these huge storms alone. I just seriously can't. Last summer there was a tornado or a funnel cloud that missed the city by what felt like inches, but I didn't panick nearly as much because I was an RA and had to take control of an emergency situation. It's weird how that happens. Ordinarily I would be curled up in my bathtub with a picture of my family conviced I was going to die. But my brain kind of skipped that step and went into "take control" mode. I didn't mind it, of course.
But this summer I have no residents and I find that when it's just me alone in my top-of-the-building apartment, I really tend to freak out. Oddly, as far as I know, there were no threats of tornadoes with this storm, but it was still one of the scaries thunderstorms I've ever seen. I looked out the window and at one point I couldn't see anything at all because the rain was so hard, visibility was zero. And when I could see, it didn't look like rain was falling at all, rather being blown around in massive, horizontal sheets. I could see it blow off the roofs of other buildings and fall half way to the ground before it shot straight back up into the air again. All the debris in the tri-state area seemed like it landed in the pool. Branches were falling left and right, lightning was right on top of us. I stood at my bedroom window and put my hands on the glass and could feel the window flex in the wind.
There's always one man I can turn to during times like these. Channel 8's John McLaughlin. He's the best and I love him. Except that my cable tends to freeze or something during really terrible storms. It doesn't go out, exactly. Either the picture freezes or I get a black screen saying "this channel will be available momentarily" for a couple of hours. I have yet to determine if this affects my internet because my computer can pick up wireless signals from my neighbors... so if someone has functioning internet that isn't password-protected, I can still be online. But the problem is the signal is usually fairly weak so weather sites with a lot of interactive, moving maps take much too long to load.
So... yeah... it was all rather traumatic. But, as with most storms, it left as quickly as it came and an hour later there was hardly any evidence that it was there... oh, except for the damage to my apartment which includes a roof that leaks in four places (opposed to only two earlier this summer), a chunk of ceiling that fell onto my living room floor, my bedroom window that was cracked from a stray piece of hail and another window that clearly leaks (hence the puddle of water on the sill and carpet under it).
Yay.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Things that cannot kill you
I have some extremely good news. Today ends my very last pointless, boring, isolated weekend that ultimately amounts to little besides a trip to Walmart and church. The next two weekends will be eaten up by excessive volunteer hours at the Iowa State Fair and then I'll be thrown head-first into senior year. Oh, yes. Two glorious weeks from tomorrow I start my second-to-last semester at school and it will be so, SO welcome. I'll find myself busy and distracted with homework and APO and, OMG, the job hunt.
As I'm sure I've made clear several times, this summer was not a good one. Wow, it feels really good to talk about it in the past tense. But, as with most things that suck, I learned quite a lot.
For example, here's a list of things that cannot actually kill you (though sometimes you almost wish they did).
1. Being alone. Apparently things like breathing and heartbeats aren't dependent on the presence of other people. It's just that both of those things are infinitely more worthwhile when there ARE other people. Just to ask a friend how their day at work was and hear stories about the crazies they had to deal with. Or someone to tell a really dumb joke to. Or someone to say "It's ok, tomorrow will be better" and mean it. I mean, that stuff probably happens to you so frequently and you don't even think about it. But once that's gone, it's all you can think about. Alas, as horrible as that feeling is, you can't actually die from it.
2. Boredom. I quote Pam: "From time to time, Jim dies from boredom." If you watch The Office, you know that Jim is, in fact, not dead at all. He's still alive and kicking and being adorable with Pam. And while I am being much less adorable, and with nobody in particular, I am at least doing the alive and kicking part. Actually, I think boredom causes the opposite of death. When you're bored, time seems to drag on forever... so... maybe being bored makes you immortal. If that's the case, I have an eternity to fill...
3. Social rejection. I should probably come up with a different name for it, but that's the best I could do. My social situation was a dismal one this summer simply because I was excessively bored and everybody else was excessively busy. That meant that every time I extended an invitation, I was shot down time and time again. And sometimes it was hard not to take it personally... chalk that up to loss of perspective or becoming desperate to be with another human being for more than thirty seconds at a time and being horribly disappointed when I couldn't. I don't know, but it was rough. I guess I'm still here, though.
4. A broken heart. Dramatic, I know. But don't be fooled, it's not just the stupid boy in English class that doesn't know you exist that's capable of breaking hearts. Just remember that even though someone dear to you caused you pain, doesn't mean you should stop caring about people. You just have to continue to love in all capacities. That being said, you should also be confident enough to tell them, tactfully, they hurt you or let you down. All I know is that my headstone won't read "died from broken heart."
5. Horrible noises coming from the reverberating plink of raindrops falling loudly into bowls and jars and any other container with a fair amount of depth to catch ridiculous amounts of rain. Yeah, you can't die from that. Yes, sleepless nights lying awake with bloodshot eyes listening to the irritating yet consistent stream of water dropping into your apartment. But not death.
I know they say what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. If that's the case, you may call me Hercules.
As I'm sure I've made clear several times, this summer was not a good one. Wow, it feels really good to talk about it in the past tense. But, as with most things that suck, I learned quite a lot.
For example, here's a list of things that cannot actually kill you (though sometimes you almost wish they did).
1. Being alone. Apparently things like breathing and heartbeats aren't dependent on the presence of other people. It's just that both of those things are infinitely more worthwhile when there ARE other people. Just to ask a friend how their day at work was and hear stories about the crazies they had to deal with. Or someone to tell a really dumb joke to. Or someone to say "It's ok, tomorrow will be better" and mean it. I mean, that stuff probably happens to you so frequently and you don't even think about it. But once that's gone, it's all you can think about. Alas, as horrible as that feeling is, you can't actually die from it.
2. Boredom. I quote Pam: "From time to time, Jim dies from boredom." If you watch The Office, you know that Jim is, in fact, not dead at all. He's still alive and kicking and being adorable with Pam. And while I am being much less adorable, and with nobody in particular, I am at least doing the alive and kicking part. Actually, I think boredom causes the opposite of death. When you're bored, time seems to drag on forever... so... maybe being bored makes you immortal. If that's the case, I have an eternity to fill...
3. Social rejection. I should probably come up with a different name for it, but that's the best I could do. My social situation was a dismal one this summer simply because I was excessively bored and everybody else was excessively busy. That meant that every time I extended an invitation, I was shot down time and time again. And sometimes it was hard not to take it personally... chalk that up to loss of perspective or becoming desperate to be with another human being for more than thirty seconds at a time and being horribly disappointed when I couldn't. I don't know, but it was rough. I guess I'm still here, though.
4. A broken heart. Dramatic, I know. But don't be fooled, it's not just the stupid boy in English class that doesn't know you exist that's capable of breaking hearts. Just remember that even though someone dear to you caused you pain, doesn't mean you should stop caring about people. You just have to continue to love in all capacities. That being said, you should also be confident enough to tell them, tactfully, they hurt you or let you down. All I know is that my headstone won't read "died from broken heart."
5. Horrible noises coming from the reverberating plink of raindrops falling loudly into bowls and jars and any other container with a fair amount of depth to catch ridiculous amounts of rain. Yeah, you can't die from that. Yes, sleepless nights lying awake with bloodshot eyes listening to the irritating yet consistent stream of water dropping into your apartment. But not death.
I know they say what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. If that's the case, you may call me Hercules.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
