Emily Bloss

For the first time ever, a book made me cry… I was blubbering like a baby at the end of The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I even got misty-eyed just now, watching a video about the book:

I highly recommend this book if you would like a deeply moving story told from a very unique viewpoint. I started reading it one morning and could hardly stop until I finished it the next evening. So, so good!!

I just HAVE to get some of my Opera tabs closed, so here’s a collection of pages I think are interesting and would like to comment or act on, but I don’t really have time just now…

• Is Google Making Us Stupid? Article by Nicholas Carr, about modern literacy.
• Make a Solar Oven out of a cardboard box and tin foil! Plus some other stuff.
• 14 Tips to Avoid Nagging by Gretchen of happiness-project.com. These are good tips and I’m very, very lucky to have most of these things going already.
• How to Save Your Own Life from Reader’s Digest. Hopefully you’ll never need to know these things but it’s great if you do!!

4 tabs down, only 38 to go!!

It’s pretty sad these days to go, “Oooo! ONLY $3.81 per gallon!” when driving by a gas station. The good news is, you can alter your driving habits and get as much as 35% better mileage. Woo!

SixWise - Hypermiling: How to Save Big on Gas

As you may be able to tell from my last few posts, I’m trying to clear out my Opera tabs (48 at this moment). I notice I post lots of these little tidbits with links when I’m doing that. Hope you enjoy them!!

I secretly like to do housework… I love looking around and seeing a clean, orderly environment. And if I ever needed a different business for some reason, I would try doing a cleaning service, I think. It just gives me a thrill to see things all shiny and clean. ooo SHINY!

I was thinking about all this stuff from an article I read the other day, which says doing chores can boost your mood…

RealAge - Does Sweeping the Floor Make You Smile?

Anybody else out there who gets a kick out of scrubbing?

In my internet wanderings this morning, I came across this very long and interesting article about what’s happening over in China. They’re building a huge database of their citizens and capturing pretty much anything they can about people… phone conversations, emails, and even taking their pictures as they move about the city. I can see why they are doing it (to keep social order) but damn it’s scary because once it’s perfected over there, you can be sure it will spread around the world, in the name of “security”.

China’s All-Seeing Eye

I suppose if you’re a law-abiding citizen, you have nothing to worry about. But I’m a law-abiding citizen and I feel like a criminal going through airport and cruise line security, so I can’t imagine what it must be like to be under constant surveillance. What will it be like in 20 years?

We went up for Tia’s high school graduation - it was fun! We flew in to Detroit and drove to the Lansing area on Friday. On Saturday we went to visit family in the area, and on Sunday we went to the graduation ceremony. Here’s a pic of me and Trav at graduation:

I’m trying to get better at taking pictures like this one - with the camera at arm’s length - so we can have both of us in more pictures.

We had a great time driving halfway across Michigan on Saturday (some of our best memories are of spending time in the car togther, just talking and talking and talking). On the way we stopped at place called Dublin Jerky Company and bought a ton of jerky… they’re really nice there and will give you a sample of any kind you want. We tried a whole bunch of them - including crocodile and pheasant! We ended up with venison, kangaroo, beef, double-smoked beef, double-smoked elk, applejack beef (marinated in apple cider vinegar and Jack Daniels) and honey ham turkey jerky. Oh and we got a bag of jerky chew, too (it’s ground up into little bits). Some of the jerky had just come out of the smoker and it was still warm. MmmmMmMm delicious!

Our visits with family and friends were fun, too. It was really good to see everybody and share a wonderful meal. The other “vacationy” part of our trip was spending some time in the hot tub and pool at the hotel… very relaxing.

And of course there was the whole reason for our trip - to see Tia graduate! She looked so proud when she saw her Dad down next to the student’s seats, taking a picture of his now-not-so-little girl. We also got a video of her walking up to get her diploma and of the students throwing their hats into the air at the end. Very fun! I especially like the ending of the hat video because the picture first gets blocked by people leaping to their feet, and then it gets jiggled by the roar of the crowd and the stomping of feet on the bleachers. You can hear me cackling with delight right before the end. I tried to post it to YouTube but it failed… I’ll try again soon and update this post with the link.

In all, an excellent trip. Leisurely travel schedules, no lost luggage, and the best travel companion I could ever ask for. It’s good to be home, though, and I can tell the critters missed us a lot… they’ve been demanding my attention - which I’m happy to give - all night. And it will be good to sleep in our own bed, which I’m going to do right now! Nitey nite.