Lars and the Real Girl

This is a must-see movie. Definitely one of my favorites. Oh, what the world could be like if we embraced peoples differences and cared about each other unconditionally. I think it would be pretty amazing the things that would happen.

Prop 19 did not pass. No legal marijuana. There are good and bad things that go along with that. Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino will maintain their economies and not turn into ghost towns, but no money from taxing pot and no hemp :(

Today was Día de los Muertos. We had una fiesta en mi clase de español and everybody brought delicious home-made Tres Leches y Pan de Muerto. I was lame and brought store-bought cookies. I want to try and learn how to make Tres Leches cake because it was so delicious! I thought a lot about my cousin, who just had her 9 lbs 4 oz baby boy Beck, and her mom, my aunt Carolyn, who died almost 5 and a half years ago from pancreatic cancer. For her "funeral" everybody wore bright colors and leis made out of plumerias, her favorite flowers and the flower that my tattoo is based off of, drank lots of alcohol, and tried to remember her the best we could. That is what Día de los Muertos is all about it remembering the dead and rejoicing in the fact that we got to know and love the person. I love the idea of embracing death and just realizing that it is a part of life that has to be accepted and even cherished, because without death, new life would not be able to start.

I had a good Halloween. Evan and I dressed as convicts. I was also kinda Lindsay Lohan lol. Evan and Garrett got in lots of climbing-the-William-McKinley-statue-time in the plaza.

Today is Halloween!

I don't really have a costume. I'm just going to wear my wig and go out to the plaza and do some bar hopping! Maybe I will actually get some pictures on my computer that are not mushrooms. Before that I am going to the plaza to see my friend Richelle take little baby Emily out for her first Halloween! I'm not sure if she is dressing her up but that's ok because she is adorable and Evan hasn't even met her yet.

There is a biology art show that the biology department is putting on at the end of November and I am thinking about drawing something to enter into it. It would probably be a drawing of one of my pictures of mushrooms. I just need to figure out which one to do. Now that I only have school 2 days a week, I have a lot more time to do fun stuff like this. Here are some potential pictures:





The spring semester schedule came out and it looks like I am going to be bogged down 5 days a week with: Genetics, Bacteriology, Lichens and Bryophytes, and Intro to Analysis of Hispanic Literature. Why do all the classes I take have to be four units and full of labs???

My mom, dad, and brother are coming to visit next weekend because the Shasta College mens soccer team if playing against College of the Redwoods, which is the local junior college over here in Humboldt. Alex said that they have played them before and lost so hopefully this time it will go better!

The rains are starting here, which is ok by me! It's about time it started raining. Now that I take the bus to school I don't have to do that much walking outside, thus I will be less wet! And that means that more mushrooms will be popping up all over the place in the forests!

Evan's construction job is winding down now that the rainy season is started and I am so excited to see him more and move into our new apartment on November 23th! Unfortunately this is the day after we get back from DC and we are going to be super tired but that is ok. He is hoping to start up his web design business up here in Humboldt so if anybody needs a website let me know!

El fin de Microfungi!

I just finished the 8th week of school and thus have finished my Microfungi class! Now I only have class 2 days a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I am in Laytonville this weekend for Evan's 25th birthday, which was on 14th. I brought him a delicious cheesecake from Ramone's bakery in Arcata, his favorite seasonal chocolate truffles, and a bottle of mead that is made locally in Arcata and is delicious!




Then last night, Friday, we went to one of Evan's friend's party in Redwood Valley, which is an hour and fifteen minutes away. It wasn't very fun because I was the DD and we didn't leave until 1:45 in the morning because Evan wanted to stay and we drove Waldon, who wanted to play another game of beer pong. So basically I stayed up wayyy too late and did absolutely nothing today, which was amazing.

Evan and I officially got a one bedroom, brand new apartment in McKinleyville for $620 a month. I went to see it on Thursday and it is really nice but super tiny. Luckily the downstairs apartments have a bigger patio area so we are going to get one of those. It backs up to a storage unit business so there isn't much of a view from the upstairs unit anyways. Hopefully we can squeeze in there comfortably! The move in date is the 19th of November, which is right in the middle of our DC trip, but they are still under construction so it might turn out to be later or earlier depending on how the construction goes.

The cats got 2 birds today. We looked over and Matey had a bird and we threw him outside and then, not 2 minutes later, Muffin comes in with a bird. There were feathers everywhere. Oh the joys of cats. I cut up probably 200 cherry tomatoes today to be dried in the dehydrator because Evan's mom planted a ton of tomato plants this year. The concord grapes are ripe too and delicious!

I am considering getting an IUD. They sound really scary because they actually insert them into your uterus, but the reason why they have been associated with infertility is because the first type they came out with in the 70's/80's did that. The ones they have no are perfectly safe. I feel like I don't want to have kids now, but who knows what I will feel like in 10 years. They sound really awesome because they last 10 years, you can get non-hormonal ones, and they are a lot more effective than condoms and even the pill. I am definitely down to not deal with condoms but still have a sex drive! The crappy part, is that they hurt to put in and causes cramping for a week or two after insertion. I think it would be worth it, I just need to do some more research and talk to my doctor some more. Now that I only have class 2 days a week I will have more time to think about this.

Stress sucks

Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!! I thought my quiz for my online class had to be completed TODAY by midnight so I had decided to wait until today because I had a field trip all day yesterday and before that Evan was up here visiting. But no, I was wrong and the quiz was, in fact, due yesterday at midnight so I failed to complete the quiz. This sucks I feel stressed. Not to mention that i have to study for 2 microfungi finals this coming week and a spanish test/essay. I can't wait until microfungi is over!!

Also, Evan and I applied for a 1 bedroom apartment and hopefully we will find out this week if we got it!

Harvest!

I adore tomatoes! And cucumbers! And apples and blackberries and strawberries oh my!

I am excited to watch Dexter and Glee tonight!

Also I am very happy that I can take my Forest Pathology class credit/no credit without it negatively affecting my chances of getting into grad school...not that I even know if I want to go to grad school or not. I changed my background to picture that Evan took from up on Spyrock. Muy bonita!

I got a job as a scribe/ exam reader at the Student Disabilities Resource Center but I'm not sure how much I'm actually going to work considering that there is only one student currently who is in need of these kinds of services and there are three other students who are doing the exact same job as me...oh well.

My futsal team is on a winning streak so far! No goals for me in the last game but I had a really awesome assist off a corner kick.

I am having a lot of fun living with my friends Jordan and Garrett. It is fun to live with another girl again and talk about girly things all the time. Poor Garrett lol.

GOING TO DC!!!!

I just bought plane tickets last night to go visit Harmony in Washington, DC! Evan and I, and my friends Jordan and Garrett are going too and it is going to be so much fun! We are flying out on November 17th and staying until the 23rd, which is the during the week of Thanksgiving break and Evan and I's 3rd year anniversary! I am going to miss on day of school (Thursday) because I only have class 2 days a week, but it is totally worth it. I just found out yesterday that I am getting financial aid ($7900 to be exact) so now I can afford to do something fun! It is totally awesome because all the sights in DC like the Smithsonian are all free! So it is going to be a pretty cheap trip besides the plane ticket.

I am sick right now and it sucks. Runny nose, cough, stuffy head...totally not fun.

So far I have had no luck in my job search. I have an interview on Wednesday for a scribe/exam reader postion, which hopefully will go well because it would be really nice to work at the school and have breaks off. I am also applying for a laboratory aide position at Redwood Sciences Lab, where I worked doing data entry. I would be analyzing water samples, pretty basic, but still I like being able to work in a science-y environment.

So pretty much I am loving playing soccer right now in my soccer class and on my futsal team. I didn't know how much I missed soccer until I started playing. I think it was good for me to take a break from my high school mindset of devoting my life to soccer.

I wish I had some pictures to post on here but all the pictures I have taken recently are all of mushrooms for school lol.

The next thing we need to figure out is if it is going to work out to go to Costa Rica this winter!

Escuela

I think I have finally settled back into the school routine. I don't feel like 2 years is a lifetime anymore. I am DEFINITELY ready to be done with general ed though. Learning about the scientific method, natural selection, and evolution for the millionth time in dumbed down terms is not my idea of a good time.

So last weekend my parents and Alex came up for my Dad's 61st birthday and Evan's parents came up for Blues by the Bay. We all went out to dinner at the Waterfront in Eureka (a very expensive restaurant but for some reason it was the only open on we could find in Old Town Eureka) and I was so nervous before, but of course it turned out perfectly fine. The conversation went smoothly and everybody got along quite well. And I had some delicious sushi. My dad even paid for the bill without flinching (visibly). We went on a hike and went to the beach a couple times, which was quite nice and the weather was very beautiful. I am glad that the first meeting is out of the way. There might be another potential meeting in November when Shasta College mens soccer team plays College of the Redwoods over here. It would be nice if our parents were able to get used to seeing each other a couple times a year or something.

Speaking of November, Evan and I's 3 year anniversary is coming up around Thanksgiving. It's so crazy to think that we have been together that long but at the same time it feels like I have always been with him. I can't even fathom life without him. I just can't believe that I found someone this perfect for me who is also my best friend.

Enough with the mushy stuff. I joined a futsal league yesterday and I totally love it! Futsal is a Portuguese version of indoor soccer. The main difference is that the ball is smaller and heavier and you don't play off the walls. It took a little getting used to, but when I got the hang of it I totally kicked some ass! I love how fast paced it is! I scored like 4-5 goals last night, which felt really good. I was even pulling some moves and some truly sweet passes. I am really excited for games to start next week. I bought some new indoor shoes today (yay for having small feet so I can buy kids shoes and pay less). Unfortunately my shinguards are in Redding so I need to have my dad send me them.

I love blackberries. It is blackberry season up in Humboldt right now I need to stock up on the most delicious free, local, and organic food available. If I do it right I can usually be eating frozen blackberries well into the spring.