An Ode to Clara

Well, okay. Not quite an ode. More like a tribute. Or a love letter.

Clara is a ball of sunshine. She's always ready to give advice and listen to my ramblings. She's a great late-night working partner and is always keen to share a bowl of spicy ramen. Clara is a deep, thoughtful, caring human being. She has a way with words-- written words-- and can write the socks off almost anyone I know. She is a genuine person and is fun to be around. She makes me feel like a real person when I want to curl into ball and let the world spin around me.

Clara's blog is as adorable as baby shoes. Her posts are always insightful, thought-provoking, and deep. Her ability to find images to go along with the posts is astounding, and she is a GREAT regular poster (something I aspire to be!). She is not afraid to write her mind, even if it's a one-line appeal, a journey, or a heartbreak. Clara, half the time I read your blog I want to reach through the screen, across the country, across the world, and give you a gigantic bear hug. And because, Clara, for some reason your blog won't let me post, I've written you this ode. Or tribute. Or love letter.

It's to let you know that I'm here for you, no matter what. It's to let you know that even while you're in Denmark and missing everyone just like I am, we still have each other. And when we go back to school for the spring, you and I will be the people with the stories to tell, the life experiences, and the battle wounds to show for our trips. Plus each other. 'Cause you'll always have me. So don't fret, enjoy your trip, and cheer up some! Because even though it's a terrifying new experience (at least for me, it is), you're there to have some fun.  :)


Also, an aside: no worries. There is no before and after; there is only now and what comes next.

A snuggly tribute & muddy adventure

On of my favorite blogs on the entire internet is Spoon Facts (spoonfacts.blogspot.com), a tribute to the most spectacular and comfortable of all pastimes: spooning! My dear friend and author of this blog, however, hasn't posted in a looong time, and so hopefully this next expression of love for (platonic) spooning and Lil' Spoon will inspire her to write more, and soon!

In college we're at the age where hormones are raging and we're all yearning for some human contact. Obviously. No one can deny this. We can, however, deny our most carnal of urges and just go for the luvverly platonic stuff. Namely, spooning! Spooning is the most fantastic way to tell someone that you're there for them. My hall is full of spoon-addicts-- if asked, "if you were a utensil, which would you be?", we would probably all answer, "well, our most favorite curved soup-and-ice-cream compliment, of course!" and all cuddle together in our proverbial silverware drawer. We love each other, and it's probably because of how much we spoon. I know things about my hallmates that most people at our school don't know-- one girl always worries if she's smothering you with her hair, and if you even mention being a little spoon to one of the guys he'll lecture you on how he always has to be the big spoon, or else. A hall adoptee used to wear Polo Black for our late-night snuggs sessions, and another one always loves to hold your hand, whether it be a normal hand-grasp or warlocking (refer to Spoon Facts if this reference is lost on you). In short, spooning brings people together. And reading about it is highly entertaining. Come back, Lil' Spoon!

And because trying to segue from spooning to jumping around in mud with rain boots is giving me a headache, I'm just going to jump right in (er... no puddle pun intended?). We've been getting a lot of rain in this part of the country recently, so a couple of days ago the nearby canal oozed-- nay, galloped-- into the surrounding landscape. My dad and I went for a walk near a ranger station we thought would be far enough away from the canal to avoid most of the flooding-- we wanted to dam up engorged streams but not have to squelch through miles of murk-- but ended up in the thick of it! The canal expanded about a mile past its borders and filled the slight valley we had planned to peruse. It was pretty wonderful, actually. We found a wooden walkway that had floated off its supports and was just hanging out in the water and followed it to its end. It was so exciting because there was nothing under it but water, so as we walked on it it sank a bit, and looked really sweet when we jumped on it and the water shot through the gaps between the planks. We spent the rest of the day unplugging streams of collected leaves and started trudging home when the sun set... all in all, a wonderful way to break up the ho-hum days.