a gift for love

The first of many changes: For Valentine's Day (and my brother, Matt's birthday), my sister, Sara, who is visiting, and I took a little trip out this morning and donated my hair to Locks of Love. I needed a cut and although, I love my long hair, I am glad a child with cancer will get a wig with some of my locks! I truly hope that he or she will have the opportunities and adventures that I do in life; and see as many places as that hair has visited!

For posterities sake, here's the "before" picture Sara took for me.

some changes

On 21 February, it will be a year since I worked last. From that date in 2008, I have had quite the year. I hope that in hind sight I see less of the frustration and manic job searching; the nearly 250 jobs or companies I applied to, and more of the blessings in having time off. Listed below are some of the wonderful notables from the past year of my unplanned unemployment:

• My flight pattern since I was at McMurdo Station: ZCM-CHC-AKL-SYD-BNE-LAX-SEA-BLI, YVR-YYZ-ORD-SDF-ORD-DEN-MIA-PAP-MIA-DEN-PDX-SEA-BLI, SEA-DFW-GRU-DFW-SEA, BLI-SEA-DEN-SEA-BLI. I love to fly!
  
• I took two road trips: One by myself to California, and one with Storey, in Australia.
• Brazil. Simply Fantastic!
• There are a few new and way-old friends who I never expected to hear much from again, but who have become quite dear to me. Thank you specifically to, Janelle, Maria, Leeps, Amanda, and Scott.
• I have been able to see every member of my immediate family, including Sara who moved closer to me in Seattle.
• I served with my church in Haiti. Unforgettable.
• Finding my great coffee spot in Boulevard Park!
• I spent a wonderful amount of time with the children of my friends and cousins (thanks Aaron & Jen for the photo)!
• My 30th birthday rolled around!
• Somehow, I managed to stay financially afloat. You know that story in the Bible about the woman who's oil is miraculously replenished...
• Coffee...mmmm...
• I have been able to spend about four months in Washington, which is the closest I have to 'home.'
  

Things will be changing here on my blog and in my life this week. I am both excited and apprehensive about moving forward in my life. As I have been looking for a job, there have been a few people at the top of my list who have taken extraordinary amounts of time with me or made me feel valuable when I was most down. Thanks again for the patience and positivity; you know who you are!

my observations

Hunting down jobs is like going after a bee with a pitchfork.

In general, life is a mostly sunny day.

When I type a " :) " I really, actually, physically smile.

oatmeal follow up

I have been running errands like the proverbial headless chicken the last couple days; a sick chicken that enjoys oatmeal. More on the busy week soon, but I happened to be at Target again, today, and, while I was more interested in picking out toothpaste and mouthwash on this particular trip into the store, I did notice a little yellow tag sticking out of the shelves by the oatmeal that said something like: "new lower price." I couldn't resist, and walked down the isle to take a closer look. Low and behold, my oatmeal, that on Monday was $3.15 is now back at $1.19. Too bad, I already bought the extra large canister at the competitor!

So, perhaps someone actually listened to my complaint. Who says you can't change the world?

this is inflation-ary

A little background here: I eat oatmeal pretty much every morning. Most of the time I throw some apple sauce over it, sometimes I go out of my way to add some other fruit. This breakfast is pretty much a routine.

Yesterday I went to Target to buy my oatmeal with a few other items. You can imagine that when I realized my cute little 18 ounce canister of the commodity bounced up from $1.19 to $3.15 within the last couple weeks, that I was a tad shocked! Not only can you buy more than twice that much at Fred Meyer for $2.49, but the store brand now costs more than the Quaker brand by nearly 75 cents. Now, I don't work in food commodities anymore, so maybe the price of oats sky rocketed in the past month, but nearly tripling the price seemed rather outrageous!

So, I wrote a little note to the kind people at Target and received this response:

Dear Andrea,
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and feelings with us about the price of the oatmeal at our Bellingham Target store. I'm sorry to hear of your disappointment.
Occasionally, prices change due to factors beyond our control. Whenever this happens, we try to minimize the impact it has on our guests as much as possible. To help us serve you better, I've shared your comments with our Buyers and Store Operations team.
We'll keep doing our best to provide you with the value you've come to expect at Target.
Sincerely, Peggy

I'm not sure that there is a way to "minimize the impact" of a 264% price increase; suffice to say that I will find another place to buy my oats.

not for the faint-hearted

Something of note recently came to my attention. Of all the fascinating people in Antarctica, Joe, who I met last year on The Ice, is back again this year as a shuttle driver. He is also celebrating his 80th birthday! My friend, Kris, wrote a nice post about him. Happy Birthday, Joe!

on the pacific coast

On the Pacific Coast, we like to eat clam chowder. One of the famous brands for this delectable treat is Ivar's Seafood restaurant. Their chowder is thick and creamy and delicious.

However, for those of us who cannot frequent the Ivar's so much, there's always a good homemade recipe. I visited my friends, Dave and Chelsea two weeks ago and had some fantastic clam and corn chowder with them. Yesterday, I cooked up a batch and it turned out quite tasty. So, I recommend you give this recipe a shot, too. Use your big pan, it makes a generous amount.

PS. I used 'seafood' stock if you can find it. Only one of three grocers I visited carried it.

presentation and reception

Recently, I have been reflecting on the art of gift-giving and, more pertinent to my place in life, receiving.

I was a pretty good volleyball player in junior high and high school. Often times, after games people would give me compliments and I would brush them off or bring up all the errors I could think of. Finally, one evening, my dad told me that I should say 'thank you' and accept the compliment.

You would think I learned my lesson about being a gracious recipient from that point on; and it certainly gives me reason to pause and appreciate what other people give to me. However, I have walked around with a conception throughout my life that it's ok for me to extend myself toward others, but I don't need to receive anything back.

I love to send notes and letters. I feel guilty about how many birthday cards I am sending with 'belated' wishes, or not at all. I know what it feels like to get a "real" piece of mail in the post. I like to send thoughts, prayers, wishes.

But, here I am, more recently, learning again, to be so grateful for a little encouraging e-mail I might receive, for all the people who have let me stay in their home for a night, or a week, or more, for the occasion to have lunch out with a friend, or for the Starbucks card that shows up in the mail, or stopping by some one's house for an hour, or a few. It is certainly nice to be thought of; nice to know people take time to remember me. Instead of feeling bad that someone went out of their way for me, I remember what I feel like when I give something to someone else. We are blessed to bless others.

This concept was emphasized on Sunday when we were all given a challenge to bless others because we are blessed, based on Matthew's Great Commission. This also ties in with "to whom much is given, much will also be required," and the concept of philanthropy or tithing. When we are endowed with gifts or treasures, we should give back.

One more thing I found valuable last Sunday: Jesus uses the broken people in the Bible; he also uses us.

my penguins

Lest you think I haven't been creative lately. I found these stuffed penguins at Christmas with the most hideous green and red scarves and hats. So, I fixed their apparel and made them cute.

encountering encounters

I went to rent a movie (that hasn't been released yet) today. It was a bit disappointing that I left the store without it.

I did, however, notice that Encounters at the End of the World was on the shelf as a new release. It took me by surprise to see, not one, but four copies of this social documentary, and all four were checked out. This made me smile.

If you wonder why I am so fascinated by this, it is because this movie was filmed while I was in Antarctica, and I know nearly all the people featured in this film. And, I have a (probably coffee stained) copy of the Antarctic Sun with the producer, Werner Herzog's signature on it.

I know I've mentioned this flick before, but go rent it for an extraordinary and interesting look into the society at McMurdo Station and beyond.