*POST YOUR DRAFTS* Movin' Along...

I found this old post in my drafts from December of 2011 when I was just fresh back in Minneapolis from my eight-month-trip-to-Central-and-South-America-then-two-months-with-my-parents-and-then-four-months-working-in-New-Orleans-and-Tucson-trip and I was trying to get my house rented out so I could work-all-summer-and-live-in-Larry-and-Chris'-basement-and-then-leave-for-my-two-months-in-Eastern-Europe-and-then-two-months-in-India-trip -- ANYWAY I regarded the draft as marginally interesting because it's about what life is like when you don't have anything but yet you have way too much, and I'm talking about stuff. Maybe you'll find it marginally interesting too -- thanks for your patience while I suffer from "severe writer's block" and "my life is a little boring right now".



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I'm living in Minneapolis again! It's so good to be "home", even if only temporarily.

I've been staying in the house that I own this month while I search and prepare for the next renters by doing little things like replacing furnace and fridge filters, adding lint traps to the washing machine drain pipe, replacing light bulbs, broken light switches and re-caulking the two bathtub/showers. The place is completely empty except for a borrowed air mattress that I've set up in my old bedroom with some bedding and a nightstand that I found in my little little storage corner in the basement:

This bed also serves as a couch, dining room table, and office desk.

I was so happy that I had saved this bedding.  Without it I would have been sleeping right on a plastic air mattress.  And with it I have a little bit of normalcy in this totally empty house.  

Other things I'm totally happy I saved:

• A couple bath towels and hand towels.
• A set of pots and pans.  
• An electric kettle.
• Four cereal bowls.
• Two tumbler style water glasses that are doing double duty as wine glasses.
• Two travel coffee mugs and a coffee cup.
• Miscellaneous mixing spoons, wooden utensils and a spatula.

I have enough to get by and a heck of a lot more.  

The little corner storage area is about four feet by six feet, and about eight feet high. I had filled it completely full and all the way to the ceiling with all of my worldly belongings that didn't fit in the backpack I brought with on my trip around the world. I called that really simplifying and downsizing. But when I got back, I was completely overwhelmed with the stuff in there. Looking at it made me feel claustrophobic and trapped. I thought, 'there's no way I could fit all of that into my car.' And I don't want to own more stuff than can fit in my car.  

It was pretty interesting to see what exactly I felt was worth saving in January 2010 when I last lived here. I found a laundry basket filled with hangers.  Dumb.

I found a roll of tin foil, boxes of zip lock bags, a pair of three-and-five pound weights. An office chair. Clearly some of the items in my storage area were only there because they didn't sell at the huge garage sale I had before I left. I spent the better part of a Saturday going through and getting rid of at least 40% of it. Seriously there was a lot of garbage in there. Garbage. It is so much easier parting with the ridiculous when returning to your "home" after two years of being completely "homeless". You just realize exactly what you do and do not need to live.

I took photos of the stuff I felt I could sell and put them on Craigslist. Within an hour I had sold an electric guitar I haven't played in ten years and three Rubbermaid tubs' worth of picture frames. I also sold my old compost bin. $355 went straight into my India savings account.

A Letter to Pete, Part Three

I used to write letters and sometimes even poems to my brother Pete when he first moved out of the house. He saved some and showed me this one last weekend. It seems I've always been destined for Mensa. Pay attention to my brilliant use of the word "worser" and the misspelling of the word "school". Also, I can see now that my whole life I've always written written written even when I don't have anything to say and even though nobody is writing back. I guess it makes sense I ended up writing a blog.

DO YOU LIKE THIS PAPER? ITS FREE FROM BOISE. DAD GETS IT LIKE TWO REAMS PER DAY. BLAH BLAH BLAH. IM RUNNING OUT OF THINGS TO SAY. WILL YOU PLEASE WRITE ME BACK? IVE WRITTEN YOU THREE TIMES NOW AND I HAVENT HEARD FROM YOU. I NEVER GET ANY MAIL. I WRITE TO MAIJA, TAWNY, YOU MAYBE TWO TIMESA MONTH AND NOBODY WRITES ME BACK. BOO HOO. SO WRITE BACK OK? OH GUESS WHAT? I GOT A 4.0 ON MY GRADE POINT AVERAGE. THATS SIX A'S AND AN A+. WHAT A NERD HUH? I CANT BELIEVE IT CUZ I WAS TRYING TO GET WORSER GRADES THAN I DID BEFORE (3.85) AND EVERY TIME I TRY TO GET BAD GRADES I GET BETTER THAN BEFORE. I DID THAT LAST YEAR. THE LAST QUARTER I DID THE WORST IN SCHOLL AND I GOT THE BEST GRADES. I DONT KNOW WHATS GOING ON. PETER THATS A 4.0!!! YOUR SISTER IS A NERD.

A Letter to Pete, Part Two

I used to write letters and sometimes even poems to my brother Pete when he first moved out of the house. He saved some and showed me this one last weekend and it had my crying laughing. I hope the hilarity translates. Just try to put yourself in the shoes of a 14-year-old girl at a wedding dance where the only prospective dance partners happen to be two old men in their 70's:

"WHY DONT YOU COME AND VISIT ME SOMETIME SOON I REALLY MISS YOU AND I WAS SAD THAT YOU DIDN'T COME TO LORIS WEDDING. I HAD TO DANCE WITH DAVE A AND BOB F [name is too unique] TWICE. IT WAS SO FUNNY PETE WE WERE DANCING TO A SLOW SONG AND TALKING ABOUT VOYAGERS NATL PARK AND ALL THE SUDDEN IT TURNED INTO A FAST SONG AND WE KEPT DANCING ONLY HE STARTED BOUNCING CUZ IT WAS A FAST SONG AND I HAD TO DO IT TOO. I WAS SO EMBARRASSED. BOB [edited again sorry] NOW. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS? HES THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU ALL THOSE AWESOME SUITCOATS AND TIES THAT DAVE A GAVE TO HIM. HES REALLY NICE. KNOW WHAT? CHARLI TAYLOR WAS AT THE WEDDING AND BOB ASKED HER TO DANCE, AND IT WAS A FAST SONG. I WOULD HAVE SAVED HER BUT I WAS DANCING WITH DAVE A AT THE TIME."

Hahahahahahahahahahaaaahaahah!!! I would have saved her but I was dancing with Dave A at the time."

A Letter to Pete, Part One

I used to write letters and sometimes even poems to my brother Pete when he first moved out of the house. He showed me this one last weekend and I have to say, not a lot has changed in my life in the past 21 years (aside from having given up both caps lock and the word 'caughten'). I think you'll see what I mean:

PETE,

HI HOW ARE YOU DOING? IT'S ME KADY. WE DONT HAVE SCHOOL FOR AWHILE BECAUSE OF THE TEACHERS STRIKE AND RIGHT NOW IM AT HOME. I SLEPT IN UNTIL 11:00 TODAY AND I HAVENT TAKEN MY PJS OFF FOR THREE DAYS. THIS IS GREAT. ON SATURDAY I SLEPT UNTIL 2:00 IVE CAUGHTEN UP ON SO MUCH SLEEP SINCE FRIDAY ITS PITIFUL IVE ALSO WATCHED ABOUT TEN MOVIES. THE ONLY TIME I HAVE LEFT THIS HOUSE IS TO GO TO MR. MOVIES. (IWAS WEARING MY PJS THEN TOO). "HOOK" FINALLY GOT HERE SO IM GONNA GO TO THAT SOON, BUT NOT TONIGHT BECAUSE FRESH PRINCE IS ON. ON THURSDAY A BUNCHA KIDS WALKED OUT OF SCHOOL TO PROTEST THE TEACHERS STRIKE. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? ABOUT A HUNDRED PEOPLE WERE WALKING AROUND TOWN SCREAMIN AND YELLING. I THINK THAT WAS SO STUPID BECAUSE I WANT THE TEACHERS TO STRIKE FOR AS LONG AS THEY WANT TO. BUT THE SCHOOL BOARD WANTS ALL THE KIDS BACK IN SCHOOL BY TOMORRO, ONLY THING IS, THEY HAVENT REACHED A NEGOTIATION YET SO YAY WE WONT HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL FOR A LONG TIME. OH, GUESS WHAT THE NORTHSITE BURNED DOWN. IM DEAD SERIOUS. THEY CLOSED OFF THE HIGHWAY AND EVERYTHING. THE FLAMES WERE SHOOTING FORTY FEET IN THE SKY. I MIGHT GET TO GO TO NEW YORK WITH TANYA IN JUNE. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? MY IS ACTUALLY CONSIDERING IT! BUT I HAVE TO PAY FOR IT ALL...

This letter was written in 1992 based on three clues: the International Falls teachers' strike, Northsite burning down, and...(Haahaahaahahahahaha!!!)  "but not tonight because Fresh Prince is on".

Pure Poetry.

My brother sent me this text tonight -- a photo of a poem I wrote to him when I was younger:

If you can't read it, here's a transcript:

ODE TO PETE

My love for you Pete

stretches from here to Crete

it will outlast time

and unlike a mime

it proclaims loud and clear

that I hold you so dear

your picture I hold close to my heart

even though in the past in my face you would fart

hold me down on the floor

from your butt the juice would pour

I could not withstand

the force of your hands

holding me down

in your stench I would drown

the air would turn grey

but...I love you anyway

BONUS JOKE:

How do we know Jeffrey Dahmer was a careless smoker?

He left BUTTS behind the couch.*

*#1: The Jeffrey Dahmer reference dates this poem to approximately 1992, or me at 15. #2: I'm so sorry. That joke is terribly insensitive and I would slap my 15-year-old self up if I had a time machine. Who am I kidding? If I had a time machine I would slap my 15-year-old self up for perming my short hair:

My apologies to the victims' families.

Old Journal Entries

February 24, 1989  

*6th Grade Journal, 11 years old.  Spelling and grammar errors included.

Broncos Won!!!!

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Last night our home hockey team, the Broncos go to state with a score of 7-1 that brought them there.  Grand Rapids is in the dust!

Jena and I were supposed to fight on Saturday and I think she chickened out she said I was chicken and that I never showed up.  I was there for 40 minutes!

My mom finished my new dress.  It's white with torquoise polka-dots there are buttons down the front and there are three ruffles.  The top one and bottom are solid torquoise and the middle one is polka-dots.  I'm wearing it to Shawna's wedding.

Keri moved last month.

Q.  Why did the buger cross the road? 

A.  He was being picked on

A man from Fort Francis, Canada drove all the way down to Omaha, Texas.  When he got there, there was a sign that said Omaha Left  *arrow pointing left*.  So he turned around and went back to Canada.

HA!HA!