Sunshine State Determinism

I  have lived in Florida for too long.

Seriously.  I know this because I simply cannot handle the cold anymore.

It’s not that I don’t want it to be cold.  Quite the opposite in fact.  I’m loving that we’re getting actual autumn weather.  I am thrilled that I finally have a reason, even a need, to pull out my long lost scarves and mittens and toboggans.  I even get excited when I walk outside and the chilled air confronts me and my nose gets all tingly.  I couldn’t be happier that Tallahassee is offering me the gift of fall.

Or at least, that’s what my brain thinks.  My body, however, feels differently.

This morning, like almost every morning, Potter and I got up for our early walk with my friend Lucy and her dog Reece.  Knowing it was supposed to be cold this morning, I did the Florida version of bundling up: lined exercise pants and a fleece.  At the last minute I decided to grab an earmuff-headband, just in case, because I hate having cold ears.  The only thing worse that having cold ears is having a cold nose and if there was any way to cover my nose up without looking like a serial killer, I’d do it (Is there such a thing as ski-mask chic?).

And honestly, during the walk, I was fine.  I regret not having worn gloves, but that would have taken more effort as I have no idea where my gloves are.  But a few minutes into the walk, everything but my fingers were fine, and I kept those warm by alternating which hand had the leash and which was in my pocket.

The problem actually starts when I get home. You see, it has become virtually impossible for me to warm up once I get back inside. Despite being huddled under a blanket with a hot cup of coffee and a book for the past half hour, I’m still shivering.  My nose remains cold to the touch and even my fuzzy socks can’t keep my feet sufficiently insulated. The only thing stopping me from turning on the heat in my apartment is the promise of a super-cheap utility bill and the fact that, really, my apartment’s not cold enough that the heat would kick on anyway.  We’re sitting pretty at 70 degrees in here, but I can’t get warm.

Perhaps my problem is physiological; maybe my blood circulation is lower than normal and can’t keep up with my desire for warmer temperatures.  It’s possible I suppose.

But I blame Florida.  This daggum state where girls wear sweaters and scarves and fuzzy boots and complain of the cold weather as soon as it dips below 70 has infiltrated my skin. The state is trying to program me to think that warmer is always better in an attempt to keep my tax dollars for its-self.

It ain’t happenin’ Florida.  I don’t care how cold my nose stays.  I will continue to love cooler weather and as soon as I have three extra letters after my name (that’s PhD if you’re counting), I’m outta’ here.

So take that Sunshine State.

Fuzzy Socks

 

 

That guy right there is, of course, the inimitable Potter Rotter.  Handsome and suspicious, just my style.

But do you see those things at the end of my legs? Those dark pink things?  Those are my fuzzy socks.  That’s right, folks, I had to pull out the uber-warm and comfy fuzzy socks because it is, I kid you not, cold, in Florida.

With lows in the mid-30s, Potter and I were surrounded by fully-frosted grass on our walk this morning, not to mention the eery mist rising from the pond.  Though I refuse to turn on the heat yet, I know plenty of people who have (and probably rightly so).  Because of my stubbornness, I’m spending my day wrapped in the warmth of a fleece and curling my toes in the most wonderful warm fuzzy socks (thanks, Carrie!).

It’s almost too good to be true.  Might we actually get something resembling winter in Florida? Despite weather forecasts for the remainder of the week, my finders are crossed because there is nothing better than spending a cold day under a blanket, reading a book, and curling your toes in fuzzy socks.

Good Weather; Bad Hosts

This weekend Dave and I have been reminded of a number of the things we actually enjoy about being in Tallahassee, primarily: the weather.  While it’s much too warm for us during the summer months, we actually really enjoy the weather in Tallahassee during the other 8 months or so of the year.  And this weekend the weather has been exceedingly pleasant.  

Yesterday Dave ran a race at a park that we had never been to, and we returned to that park in the afternoon to walk with Potter through a trail.  Potter loved the myriad sights and smells, and we liked being able to be in the outdoors without sweating uncomfortably. I’ve been reading on the porch for the past two days in utter contentment.  So for this weekend at least, Tallahassee ain’t so bad.

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At the recommendation of a fellow blogger, I just bought Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred. The mere idea of it is kind of scaring the crap out of me because Jillian, she don’t take no crap.  But I am unwilling to use the gas and don’t have the time to drive 30 minutes one way to my gym as often as I need/would like to.  Instead, I’m going to let Jillian insult me into shape as long as I can take it.  I’ll let you know.

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In school news, I am falling in love with reading again.  I haven’t had this much choice in what I read for the past eight years. So instead of reading what professors find interesting but doesn’t interest me at all, I get to read amazing novels and think whatever I want to about them.

I am also finally taking a class that is what I always envisioned grad classes would be like.  Okay, technically I’m not “taking” the class; I’m just sitting in, off the record.  But it’s fantastic.  There are only nine students, all of whom actually do the reading (gasp!) and speak up in class, with a professor who has no agenda and genuinely wants to hear what we have to say.  Last week, during a discussion of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, he barely said ten minutes worth of words while my classmates and I continued our (slightly heated) discussion throughout the break.  I love this kind of learning and hope that one day I can lead similar grad classes.

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Unfortunately all of this excitement about reading and the class that I’m not taking has lessened my enthusiasm for teaching.  Those students don’t keep up with the reading; they don’t come to class excited to participate.  So my teacherly-duties keep being relegated to the back of my plate.  Sorry, students.

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I’ll leave you with this: I’m currently watching the Emmy’s.  Worst. Hosts. Ever. And oh Josh Groban, how low you have stooped.

I’m No Pioneer

Did you ever see the PBS show Frontier House? It’s a reality show for which families try to live realistically as they would were they a pioneer family on the frontier.  Okay, turns out, I could never have made it on the frontier.

How do I know?  Because I was going mildly crazy yesterday during our 18-hour power outage, courtesy of Tropical Storm Fay.

After already dealing with 27 straight hours of substantial rain, our power went out around noon yesterday.  At first it was no big deal.  It was even a good excuse to get Dave to play board games with me because, if you didn’t know, protocol for power outages is to play board games, specifically Monopoly, by candlelight.  See:

In case you’re wondering, I decidedly dominated our Monopoly match.  Oh, I also owned the Settlers of Catan game we played later.

However, board games and reading only stays interesting for so long, especially as our apartment darkened as the day went on and heated up since we had no air conditioning and we couldn’t turn open the windows because the rain continued outside. Finally around 8:30, sick of the still air and close to going stir crazy, Dave and I headed out to eat to find some warm food, air conditioning, and lights. Both of us were silently hoping that, like a watched pot refusing to boil, our power would come on while we weren’t looking.

But we weren’t that lucky. So we played one more board game and then tried to go to bed, but the stifling heat and noise (which is usually drowned out by fans) kept both of us up.  I finally gave up around 2am, when I headed to the living room to read.  After falling asleep around 3, I was woken up three hours later when the power finally came back on.

Life quickly got back to normal, but I feel almost jet lagged from the continual waiting and sleeplessness of the past day. Not exactly the way I hoped for my last weekend before classes resume to go. But I keep trying to feel focused and treat the torrential rains as a rejuvenating wash, splashing me in the face and waking me up before I start teaching again on Tuesday.

But who am I kidding?  I’m tired, and I’m not looking forward to starting the semester. But my faith lies in the hope that, once again, my students will encourage me and excite me.  At this point, though, I’m really just hoping they’re not obnoxious brats.

Pros and Cons

Pro: All of the cards, emails, general well-wishes, and a certain Cheesecake Factory gift certificate we received for our anniversary.  Thank you all for thinking so much of us.

Con: Ants.  Stupid. Little. Ants.  For those of you that don’t know, Tallahassee has huge ant hills all over it during the summer.  And for some reason the little buggers always seek out my feet and take out a big chunk.  Last year I started to be afraid to wear flip-flops to take Potter out.  The torture has already begun this summer; I have a dime-sized welt on my foot to attest to it.

Pro: There’s about to be an IHOP less than a quarter mile from my apartment! Woot!  Now, I know that IHOP is greasy and very much bad for me, but it’s oh so good.  And I’ve never lived in the same town as an IHOP, so it has always been a traveling/vacation bonus.  And now there’s one right next door!

Con: Fantasy baseball.  Or, specifically, Dave’s participation in and obsession with his fantasy baseball league.  It’s constant.  First thing in the morning? Check the fantasy team. First thing when we get home? Check the fantasy team. Right before bed? Check the fantasy team.  I think I’m about to have to form an intervention and take him to Fantasy Baseball-a-holics.

Pro: Yesterday I picked up some stargazer lilies on sale to put in our bedroom (I’ve gotten in the habit of having some fresh flowers in the house most of the time). Now our bedroom smells awesome and I’m reminded of our wedding every time I walk in there (stargazer lilies made up the majority of my bouquet).

Con: Kilz paint. Today we helped a friend primer the interior of his new home (and were happy to do so).  Because the previous owners were heavy inside smokers (you could see the outline of the bed in their master bedroom because of the smoke stain), he used Kilz paint primer to neutralize the smell.  Now Kilz absolutely did its job and they will be much more comfortable in their new house because of it.  But the fumes were absolutely toxic.  I’ve had a headache and slight dizziness the rest of the day because of it.  If you need to use the paint, go for it.  But be sure to have great ventilation and maybe only work on one room at a time rather than the whole house.

Pro: We have been having a ton of rain here this week.  We’ve gotten at least an hour or two of good, hard rain every day since Thursday. So the weather (when it’s not raining) has been incredibly comfortable lately: perfect for walks with my dog.

Con: Potter is very, very gassy today.

Truck Nutz and Blogs

Since I was so busy alternately procrastinating and writing papers/finals this week, I didn’t get the chance to mention to the three of you that read this a couple of the interesting things I have noticed. First of all, I heard on the radio the other day that the state of Florida has put a lot of time and energy into ridding our roads of something truly menacing: Truck Nutz, what this article describes as “the novelty item on vehicle trailer hitches that resemble the dangling southern end of a northbound bull.” That’s right, folks. Global warming? You don’t scare us. Terrorism? We laugh at you. Your kids don’t have insurance? Not our problem. But Truck Nutz, by God we will not let you run our roads and ruin the morality of the great state of Florida.

On the other end of the spectrum, perhaps, is a new blog that I’ve started lurking on. I actually found out about it from another blog that I lurk on (noticing a trend?).  It’s written by a state-at-home mom who lives in Utah and, I’m almost positive, is a practicing Mormon.  I can’t tell you why I love her blog so much. It’s not life changing; it doesn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know. But it’s honest. Most blogs I read (including my own, by the way) prattle on about nothing, make the writer’s life seem either absolutely perfect or a complete train-wreck (usually the former), and seem to be writing what they think some annoying lurker (that’s me) who they’ve never met wants to hear.  This blog, though, just tells it how it is.  And she’s hilarious (note that she was an English major and a FYC teacher, bless her). And she’s not at all what it seems the world expects a stay-at-home Mormon mom to be. And I like that, too. So while Florida is ridding the state of a simple nuisance, Kacy in Utah is tellin’ it how it is. And I’m just lurking.