Sci Fi Old Woman

I had a conversation a few days back with a friend about boots. She told me this story about how she saw this girl wearing these fabulous boots and how it perfected the outfit. "She looked like a character out of a Sci Fi Novel" she said. I think deep down I decided I needed to prove that I could have that sort of look. A few days later this emerged. It is by far the most comfortable outfit I've ever worn.



You can't tell super well but those are supposed to be wrap pants. Here's another image of what the pants look like.



I made them last summer out of some super soft, stretch cotton rayon mix and they're light, breath easy, plus I feel a little exotic (That might be partly because half the images of wrap pants online are people who look like yoga instructors or belly dancers)

The top is an equally comfy over-sized light jacket that I've decided to fasten with a random silky ribbon I had in the back of my hair accessories box. I think it looks a little bit martial artsy that way. Martial artsy exotic is kind of sci fi right? Even if people disagree they should still be jealous because its so light, flowy and luxurious at the same time.

Speaking of clothes, I'm excited to sew a Renaissance Festival costume for myself. I've always wanted to go (see my bucket list if you've forgotten) and I heard about a great fabric store that sells discount fabric that I'm excited to raid. Plus, the whole idea of sewing this sort of dress makes me feel nerdy and domestic at the same time (a good combo, if I should say so myself).

And on the line of domestic, I think I'm picking up some very granny-esque habits. For example, I've started going outside for lunch to sit in the sunshine and feed the birds. Granted, its a little bit dangerous since they're EVERYWHERE and come in ENORMOUS SWARMS... Its kind of like the old movie the birds.



Except with smaller birds and they really are attacking bits of crust rather than small children.

But yes, I've been working on some cross stitch... My lack of fashion... ultra domestic outburst... chickodee feeding habits. Just you watch and soon I'll be whipping out the leopard print stretch pants and neon pink feather boa blouses... Although if I wore the right boots with that could I be a Sci Fi Granny?

Painting

I posted this on facebook too, but I'm going to post the picture of my painting here too, just because I'm rather proud of it. A special thanks to Bob Ross for the painting lesson.



I had a realization about painting earlier this week. I've been listening to an audiobook on Winston Churchill and it mentioned that he was an excellent painter. Adolf Hitler decided to go into politics but only after he failed to get into art school. Further research may be required but I'm inclined to think there may be a correlation between success in winning wars and being a good painter. Hopefully if there ever is a WWIII I can whip out my oil paints and show the world I have what it really takes to bring victory to the nation.

Texting...

Judge me as you will but this is my blog and my honest opinion. I'm sure there is many good men who have this habit, but just like "bros" and guys with mustaches, its just not my thing.

I don't care for extreme texters. Although they may think the attention is an effective way to sweep a girl off her feet, it kind of kills the magic for me. I feel like texting should be kept to the minimum and here's why.

1) Many people (such as yours truly) don't have unlimited texting. It seems like a lot of the guys who have asked for my number lately think texting is a great way to get to know me. But if you use 4 intro to the conversations texts and 3 okay, see you later texts just to get things going... you have 3 texts left before you go over my daily quota...

2) Plus it will likely take all day to have a real conversation that would have taken 5-10 min on the phone. I don't respond to texts very quickly. I'll get a text at 11:45pm and just curling up to go to sleep or I'm at work. A few hours later they're like "Why didn't you respond?" and act like I've rejected them for time and all eternity. If they tried giving me a call at least they know right off the bat that I'm too busy to talk.

3) Consider how much more attractive it is to hear a rich bass voice say "Hey baby, hows it going?" than to read the same words in a text. Calling on the phone is already not ideal because you lose body language. With a phone call at least you have the tone of voice, the manner in which they say things to give you clues to the deeper meaning. Texting... you've got nothing.

4) It reeks of cowardess. Men who are alright texting a girl to ask her out will also be the sort to break up with her through a text. I feel like it takes interactions that ought to be personal and meaningful and makes them feel cheap. That's like finding out your sister is engaged on facebook.

Moral of the story: I'm fine getting a text if its to check up on things but I REALLY wish more people would just bother calling. Its fine to double check things or if you're meeting up with a girl friend but when a guy wants to impress, texting compulsively is down there with cat calling and cheesy pick up lines...

Chewing Gum

Mother dearest sent me a package recently. Here are the contents of said package.

-The old version of Persuasion (not to be confused with the awkward kiss one. Here's a refresher of that film if you forgot about how awkward that gem is http://jillschuler.blogspot.com/2011/05/awkward-kiss.html)

-Some cross stitch embroidery floss (appropriate to do needlework while watching a Jane Austen film)

-Fruit leather (its more like apple chips since its crisp and made from apples... I've already eaten half the pile mother sent)

-Gum

So, this gum is what I want to focus on because its a little bit baffling. It looks like this...



and it really does taste like the dessert. Remarkably so... as in you can taste the spices and the crust and everything. Its so convincing that it makes me a little concerned because I remember this memorable movie scene from my childhood.



Now, I'm secretly concerned that this gum will make me inflate into a big green limey Jill... If at some point you note my skin is green, its not because I've decided to expose my secret alien identity as a "little green man... er, woman" but because the lime juice was too much... K, thats all.

The songs I just can't stop singing.

I am procrastinating... so here are some songs that I've had stuck in my head all week. My coworkers probably are getting tired of some of these, especially since I don't know all the words to all of the verses and I really haven't broken my old habit of singing whenever I go off into my own little world... aka a lot.... Well, here are some of the songs I can't shake.

Half of Les Miserables. I feel like that musical has been stuck in my head since Middle School. Susan Boyle likes Les Mis too.


This one is one of my roommate's favorite's and then one of my friends posted it on facebook and now its VERY stuck in my head.


When I sing this song, I feel like there ought to be doing some sort of interpretive dance.


Suddenly Seymour got an encore in HemePath when I was doing WBC differentials the other day. They had the movie version of that song which is good too but I thought I'd spare you her inappropriate cleavage and their making out at the end of the song.


I haven't seen this movie, but I like the play. A lot of my "its stuck in my head" music is from musicals, in case you hadn't noticed. I think the bit at 3:50 is rather amusing... I don't know if I would react much better than she did.


This is kind of a slower version of this song. I like how bluesy and soul filled it is. Kind of makes me miss blues dancing...


Well... back to responsibility

New Look

I've stayed up too late... but now my blog looks delightfully nerdy. For those of you who aren't Med Techs (probably all of my readers), those are blastocytes because my life is a BLAST. ::Cheesy audience laugh here:: But yeah, I figure my blog ought to better reflect my personality so voila! Enjoy.

Arizona is bad for my ego

I don't know why but lots of people at church and work keep giving me, what I feel, are exaggerated praise. People said nice things to me in Utah, but I feel like its gone up a notch out here... What they say is true in a sense, but not to the degree they declare.

Examples of what people have said
1. You should audition for America Idol. You sound like an angel.
2. I need you to teach me to draw. I can't believe you whipped that out of no where. That's a rare gift.
3. The pathologist said you're smart. He doesn't give complements out lightly so take that for what its worth.

What Jill thinks about it
1. I have a fine enough voice but I certainly wouldn't say I could go professional. I don't project well and frankly I have no ambition for fame on the stage.
2. I'm that sinner that's doodling during church every Sunday. They're cute but I certainly wouldn't make it into an illustration or animation program.
3. Do you remember that time we read "Nurture Shock" at book group? Yeah... I'm pretty sure Dr. Valdez ought to say "Jill has good vision. She found that bacteria in the middle of no where."

Well, this doodling, compulsively singing, Med Tech needs to go to work. Hopefully it'll be slow because of the holiday and I can finish my Sysmex training... :P

Tribal Dancing

Sometimes I have very vivid imaginings of what it will be like to be a parent and today I had one I thought I'd share with y'all.

So I was at the Phoenix Musical Instrument Museum today. If any of you are in this neck of the woods you should check it out since its fabulous. Its ENORMOUS and you wear these head sets so you can listen to all of the different musical sounds of different parts of the world and watch videos and they dance and wear crazy costumes and then there's the exploration room and you can jam. Neat stuff. On my way out the door I noticed that for kids under the age of 5 the museum is free.

WELLLLL.. Suddenly I can see myself and my group of youngin's taking a field trip, discussing how people make music out of what they have available (steal drums, conch shell horns, the household pet, etc.) (In case you can't tell that's a set of bagpipes made from a calf. You can even see its tail still)



and how today we'd go home and make our own instruments.... Well, clearly we wouldn't use our household pets but at least out of what other stuff we have available. Then we'd have a tribal dance with pots, pans, paper towel rolls, etc. and demonstrate for daddy when he came home.

Yep, I think this plan is a winner. All I have to do is hunt down a husband and have kids.... Ummmm.... yeah, I'll have to work on that.

Interior Design

I really like the duplex my roommate and I decided to move into last December. I've lived in apartments that have felt homey but they didn't ever LOOK homey... Well, they did in a sense but they still gave off the poor college student vibe.

Well, I'm proud to say that my new house actually looks like a home. After a deep cleaning, whipping out my tool kit to hang some pictures and such, it actually looks like a place a real adult would choose to live. I feel like I'm moving up in the world. Everything is basically done except my bedroom.... And for some reason I just can't manage to get it done.

The main problem is that its HUGE!!! Its bigger than the living room or the kitchen and has this fabulous tall ceiling. I could easily fit a tree in here. I think I may just need to get one because above the shelf we have these tall. Here is a picture to demonstrate.



Its huge!! I really like the shelf thing above the close except I'm too short to get there on my own. So here is the master plan. I'll put a tree in there, maybe a rope ladder to get to my stuff... or a trampoline... or both




Maybe I should give up lab work and start a career in interior design.

Bob Ross and Real Romance

I can't sleep so I'm going to post two things I've been thinking about real quick and then try to go back to sleep again.

First of all, I am a nerd. How nerdy you ask? Nerdy nerdy... as in I'm on hold at the Library for Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting" sort of nerdy. People make fun of him but really, I think they're secretly jealous of a sensitive man with artistic talent and big hair. I've always wanted to pick up oil painting and well, here is me taking action. It may turn out fun, disastrous, or both but either way it'll happen.

Second train of thought, I talk a lot about dating and marriage and love and you hear a wide spectrum of things guys do that are "romantic". As nice as the poetry and flowers and chocolates are, I don't feel like they capture real romance. My old coworker once told me her idea of a romantic evening with her husband would be doing yard work or the laundry together. In those small moments when you're trimming back the shrubbery or sorting darks and whites, you aren't really doing the chores, you're building a home together. Like many a girl I have dreams of what it'll be like to fall in love and what happily ever after will be like. In those dreams though, I've never seen myself gazing across a candlelit table at some suave tuxedo'd man. I see myself dancing in the kitchen with a broom and having my spouse sweep me off my feet literally. I see us having a sock ball battle in the bedroom after a lively laundry folding discussion on the true origin of the sock monster. I envision waking up in the morning to the sound of howling children, looking over at some snoring, grizzled, bed-headed hunk, kissing him softly, and knowing that in spite of all its craziness, our life together is more beautiful than anything I could have created on my own. For now, dear snoring, grizzled, bed-headed hunk, whoever you are, I am going to sleep, to bask in the sweet dreams of someday when you'll show me what real love really is.

Like putting away Christmas Lights

I love being home with my family. There is something so good about being with those who know you so intimately and knowing they'll love you no matter what. Laughing until your stomach hurts (I think nonstop family time would be the best way to reach bucket list item 138), an abundance of conversations that mean everything but have absolutely nothing to do with anything, catching up... although this always leaves me feeling a little bit nostalgic.

Do you ever feel a little sad when you see how everyone has changed? Its not really a bad thing, life is beautiful because we are constantly able to mold ourselves into who we want to be, but it leaves a certain feeling... like watching a dusting of snow melt away or seeing the last of the Christmas decorations return to their boxes. You know that something beautiful happened and you aren't seeing things in their full majesty, just glimpses of how we all have become new people and then we go our different ways again. I call home plenty and I know I'm supposed to be in Arizona but part of me wishes that His plan were different. I still feel like I miss so much.

When I was at church last Sunday I remembered this poem I wrote a few months back. I've already posted it here before but I'm reposting it because its my blog and I can do whatever I want with it... at least I could if I were better at html. I need to research things so those huge pictures don't eat up the things I've put in the margins... So anyways, here's the poem.

Coming Back Home

When I come back home
it feels like everything should be exactly the way I left it.
The way its always been.
Sheltered, protected,
Preserved like a historic brick building
An ancient monument,
Forever in a snow globe,
My memories trapped in a timeless bubble.

Yet each time I come home
I see that fragile bubble has popped.
The businesses and buildings have shifted about like pieces on a checker board
Those friendly old faces seem the same
But the people behind them aren't who they used to be.

New faces are everywhere.
They look at me as if I'm the novelty
They don't know that this is still my place.