North Dakota

All posts tagged North Dakota

Whether the weather is hot, Whether the weather is cold, We’ll be together, whatever the weather, Whether we like it or not.

Published January 29, 2019 by Malia
close up of snowflakes

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hello, Polar Vortex.

Something’s been bugging me today.  What is it about weather that makes us all so competitive?

What do I mean by competitive?  Try telling someone who lives at least one state north of you that it’s cold.  You will be met with a response along the lines of, “Really?  You think it’s cold?  Try walking to class when it’s -20.  Your sweat will literally freeze.  You have no idea just how cold, cold can be.”  Mention that the weather is miserably hot and you’ll get, “It’s not really that hot.  Right now, in Afghanistan, it’s 120 in the shade.”

I have lived all over the mid-west.  I’ve lived through tornadoes, blizzards, and 100% humidity.  I lived in North Dakota and walked to class in -20, and, yes, my sweat did freeze (it was super weird when I got inside and experienced the thaw of the sweat.  I know, I know, tmi.).  I lived in southern Illinois, and remember school getting cancelled for what, once I lived in Nebraska I learned, is considered a dusting of snow.  I lived in Kansas, and while everyone else spent the winter bundled up in heavy coats, I was perfectly comfortable in a hoodie (there was only one time that I agreed that it was downright freezing).  I live in Nebraska, and every year the weather gets even weirder.  Right now it’s -5 outside,  this coming Sunday it’s supposed to be 50, and a week from now they’re saying it’ll be 25 and snowing.

Personally, I prefer the cold to the heat.  You can always put on more clothes, and throw an extra blanket or two on the bed.  When it’s hot, you can only take off so much, and even then it’s still too hot.

I don’t know why weather brings out the competitive side of humans, but it always does.  It’s like we’re determined to prove that we’re the toughest because we’re surviving a particular weather condition.

The only thing I know for sure, is that it doesn’t matter if you live in Florida, North Dakota, or anywhere in between, once it rains or snows, everyone forgets how to drive.

Here I Go Again

Published October 9, 2017 by Malia

When I started this blog in 2012, it was because the year before I had moved 500 miles away from home to North Dakota. It was my way of letting people back home know I was okay, and hadn’t completely lost my mind. See, if you move to North Dakota, and claim that you actually love it there, people 500 miles away who dislike the frigid north, tend to wonder about your sanity.

I did love North Dakota, which came a complete surprise to me. I was running away from home, because the last years of my life had been mostly a giant pile of dog poo. Sometimes it was literal dog poo, but I digress. North Dakota was the only safe place available to me to run away to, so I ran.

I moved home from North Dakota at the end of 2012, and tried to keep writing regularly. Over the last few years, I got married, tried being a stay at home wife, went back to work, filled the house with pets, and tried to figure out what the mystery pain in my tummy is. Over the last three years I haven’t written much. In fact, lately I’ve not written at all.

I need to start writing again. See, life has continued on, even though I’ve been less forthcoming as of late. Life has been exhausting, sometimes scary, sometimes frustrating, and mostly overwhelming.

So, for better or worse I return to here. I feel the need to try to make sense of the overwhelming and to share cute puppy pictures while I’m at it.

Say “Hi” to Gracie, my 11 year old puppy!

I’ll Never

Published January 28, 2013 by Malia

Never is an interesting word.  Have you ever found yourself thinking, “Well, I’ll NEVER do/be/go/live that/there?”  Why, why, why do we say it?  It’s like we’re asking to be doomed to that fate.  Notice, most people don’t use never in a positive manner.  It’s always, “I’ll never be stuck in a dead end job.”  “I’ll never live in North Dakota.”  “I’ll never marry that person.”  You get the point.  Never seems to be this prophetic word.  I wonder what would happen if you said “never” about things that you actually want to have happen?  “I’ll never live in Hawaii.”  “I’ll never lose the weight.”  “That person will never marry me.”  Of course, that seems like it might backfire.    

Catching Up

Published December 4, 2012 by Malia

Alrighty, I’ve been avoiding writing.  Which, I’ve come to realize, is super lazy on my part.  So, this post is going to read a bit like my Random Saturday Musings.

-My last post was my 100th post since I started writing this blog!  It kind of blows my mind that I’ve reached this many posts, and that people I’ve never met have actually read a majority of my posts.  I’m so fascinated by the way that the internet connects people all over the world.

-I’ve got 10 (more like 9, now) days left here in ND.  I really should probably start packing.  On the bright side, I didn’t bring that much with me, so I don’t have as much stuff to pack.  I’m also really struggling with the fact that I have to say “good-bye” to some incredibly amazing people.  I feel like I’ve spent most of my life saying “good-bye,” and it just doesn’t get any easier.

-I’ve been filling out quite the pile of job applications.  So far, I do have a few job possibilities.  I’ve had a few people wanting to set up interviews, but don’t want to wait the week and a half for me to get home to do the interview.  That’s a bit frustrating.  However, almost all of them have told me to give them a call when I get home; so, not a complete loss.

-I had an interesting realization yesterday.  I suddenly found that I don’t care what other people think about me.  It was an incredibly random realization.  I’ve spent my whole life trying to please everyone and be what everyone wants me to be.  That’s a very exhausting existence.  I also think that trying to keep everyone happy contributes a great deal to struggling to accept and love myself.  It’s nobody’s fault that I feel like this.  I just hate it when people aren’t happy, and I have single-handedly tried to make everything better for everybody.  I’ve known in my head for a long time that this is a pretty impossible task, but it’s only just now actually sinking in to my heart.  I’m still me, I’m just no longer going to base how I am on whether it makes other people happy.

-My NaNo novel turned into a real tragedy.  By 11 p.m. on 11/29 I had written a  little over 37,000 words.  My computer insisted it needed to do a restart, and so I made sure it was saved and backed up, and I let my computer do it’s thing.  When I opened up the file, I showed that I only had 22,269 words.  You know that scene in Little Women where Jo discovers that her novel is being thrown in the fire by Amy?  That’s exactly how I felt.  Thousands of words had disappeared.  People smarter than me with computers gave me advice on locating my missing words, but it was all to no avail.  Those words were just gone.  No explanation.  So, I didn’t make the 50,000 word goal.  I did, however, write a lot.  I wrote more than I’ve ever written in my entire life on one subject.  Plus, I have enough of my first draft left, I’ve been able to start work on my second draft.  I’m super excited about this novel, and I can’t wait to put it out there for the world to read!

-Exciting news on the weight loss front.  I weighed myself yesterday, and found that I’ve only got 119 lbs. to go!  This means that since I started sharing with ya’ll that I was working on losing, I’ve lost 14 lbs.  in 13 weeks.  I think that’s pretty great!  I can definitely tell that my clothes are fitting better.  I’m also not constantly feeling hungry (which is a new, unique experience).  I think this is mainly due to the diabetes meds, but I’m not complaining.

-I’m very excited to get back to working with the puppet team.  I’m super pumped, because we’ve been given the necessary items to be able to travel and do performances.  I can’t wait to see where we’re going to get to go and minister.

-Since this blog was initially conceived with the idea of keeping people at home up to date with my life here in ND, the blog’s mission is going to get tweaked a bit since I’m moving back to NE.  I’m definitely going to continue writing it, but I’m also going to share some of my photography (I love to pretend that I’m good and force my photos on anyone willing to look at them),  and I’m toying with the idea of doing some vlogs.

 

Random Saturday Musings

Published September 29, 2012 by Malia

-Tonight is the final Doctor Who episode that will feature Amy and Rory Pond as companions.  Even though Amy isn’t my favorite of the companions, I still find this kind of sad.  There’s been all kind of rumors of how the Ponds are going to depart.  I wouldn’t be surprised if one or both get killed, especially since the one thing that keeps getting repeated is that there will be no return of the Ponds after tonight’s episode.  I find it fascinating that one of the things that this show does really well is make you care about the characters.

–Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is making me really weepy today.  I enjoy this movie, but it doesn’t usually turn on the waterworks.

-I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I really love my penguin pillow pet.  I really only got it because I thought it was cute, but I’ve discovered it’s great for cuddling with while sleeping.

-I never realized that in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory there was a character, towards the beginning, that is at the psychiatrist.  The character is called “Hofstadter.”  This is also the same last name as the character Leonard on Big Bang Theory, and Leonard’s mother is a psychiatrist.  I don’t know if this is just a weird coincidence, or if it was a tip of the hat to Willy Wonka.

-Another fun fact, the kid who played the original Charlie Bucket grew up to be a veterinarian.

-I’m not obsessed with these movies (in fact, the original really freaked me out when I was little, and I’m still not a big fan of it).  They’ve been running them on t.v. this afternoon while I’ve been working on homework.

-The other night the newscaster used the term “interweb” which he followed up by saying, “We’ll be back tomorrow, same bat channel, same bat time.”  It kind of make me homesick, cause my Saturday night routine at home is to watch two episodes of the Adam West Batman.  Also, I’m wondering if the newscaster lost a bet.

-I can’t believe how warm it has been.  It’s especially crazy when you consider that I’m in North Dakota and October is a day and a half away.

-I survived my first speak test in Spanish.  My reading went fine, but I paused way too much in the conversation part.  My professor said I write well, so I just need to figure out how to speak as well as I write.

-I’m really weirded out by the Skittles commercials I’ve been seeing.  The gal making out with a walrus and the girl who picks a skittle off the skin of the boy infected with Skittles-pox and then eats it are both really disturbing.

Friday Night Questions

Published September 21, 2012 by Malia

–Sherlock on a Friday night?

-Why is it that after you hit your twenties it seems that almost everyone you know is either engaged, married, and/or pregnant?

-Girls think boys are weird and complicated; boys think girls are weird and complicated; is it possible that we’re all just weird and complicated?

-Am I the only one who finds that video games aimed at kids are challenging?

-Anybody want to go see Finding Nemo with me?

-Why do the good times always go too fast?

-Why does North Dakota have to get so chilly so early in the fall?

-Is the whole balancing an egg thing on the equinox true?

 

Books and Such

Published September 13, 2012 by Malia

The days are starting to get cooler.  It’s inevitable, of course.  North Dakota is land of much cold.  Apparently, we were spared from having a super cold last winter; there was really only one day I remember it being completely unbearable.  Much as I dread the cold, after such a hot summer I’m treasuring the chill the in the air.

I’ve mentioned before that I really love my job, and today was no exception.  Things were a little slow this afternoon, but that was okay because I got to do shelf reading.  Basically, I have a row of books that I get to go through book by book and make sure they’re all in order.  I realize that this probably doesn’t sound terribly fun, but I find it to be a soothing activity.  (Yes, I’m just that weird!)  Working in the library, I frequently find myself feeling very small (and not just because I’m so short I have to have a stool to reach some of the books).  It’s a marvel to me to be surrounded by the words written by so many people.  Thousands and thousands of people who all wrote something that will outlast them.  Today I encountered something written hundreds of years ago.  The author is long gone, but they wrote is still needed by someone now.  How amazingly epic is that?

Speaking of books, here’s something delightful I found on Pinterest:

A Big Adventure

Published September 12, 2012 by Malia

Okay, if you’re like me, a trip to the DMV is hardly my idea of a good time.  Which is why I was kind of dreading going and getting my ND license.  The last time I went to the DMV, I spent over an hour waiting in line just to start the process of renewing, and then another half hour waiting to pay.  Granted, this was in Omaha, which has a couple hundred thousand more people than any town in North Dakota does.  Still, even when I went to the DMV in small town western Nebraska, it was not a pleasant experience.  That’s why today was such a pleasant change.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to go alone.  A very good friend needed to go there as well, so it was already less scary.  Turns out, there was no reason to be scared.  The DMV employees were really nice and pleasant to work with.  The process went so smoothly, I found myself wondering if I was in the right place.  Even the license is pretty.  Apart from my picture, that is.  Somehow I ended up with my pigtails out of the picture, so I’m just this big round head.  Plus, my eyes are half shut, so I look stoned.  However, I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s pleased with their license photo, so I’m not gonna let it bother me.

In other news, I’m being reminded just how much of a literal reader I am.  This Brit Lit class I’m taking isn’t my first lit class.  In fact, I’ve taken several lit classes, even though I wasn’t an english major then.  Granted, the last lit class I took was about eight years ago, but even then, I took everything literally.  A book is a book, a door is a door, a sword is a sword…you get the idea.  I guess I’m just going to have to work harder to see what the author may or may not have meant, but my teacher believes they meant.  If anyone has any advice I’d appreciate it, otherwise I’m just going to start assuming that everything in books is symbolic for something phallic.

The Joy of Song

Published August 28, 2012 by Malia

I have a pile of homework that I’m slowly making my way through, so here are some videos to entertain you all.

First up, the U.S. Olympic Swim team lip syncing (some of them better than others) their way through Call Me Maybe.

Next, North Dakota Bois.  This is a pretty fair take on this state.  If that’s not enough reason to watch, Kristen Stewart has a “cameo” in it.

And finally, Jensen Ackles “performing” Eye of the Tiger on Supernatural.

And back to homework.

Unpacking

Published August 19, 2012 by Malia

Well, I did it.  It was hard.  I started losing it when I said good-bye to my cats this morning, and then it was all I could do to not fall apart when I said good-bye to my parents.  I don’t think people with siblings understand how hard and scary it is to leave your parents when they and you are the closest family each other has.  It’s especially hard leaving knowing how much havoc  it wrecks on mom’s health.  I wish they’d develop teleportation units and make them available for everyone so  I could go home whenever I want.

I survived the 500 mile drive, and had some amazing help getting all my stuff up to my room.  I felt like I brought a lot, and when the van was being unloaded it certainly looked like I did.  However, once I started unpacking, it looked a little less like I’d brought everything and the kitchen sink.  Now I’m sitting in my room that’s 3/4’s unpacked.  I’m really tired, but I’m also loving my room.  It occurred to me tonight, that while this isn’t the first time I’ve been in my own room in a dorm, it’s the first time I intentionally set out to get one.  Always in the past I’ve been open to sharing the room with someone, but after last the fiasco known as last year, I was determined to be on my own this year.  I’ve got a fridge and television (that’s actually my computer monitor).  This year marks a turning point.  I’m kind of on my own.  Does that mean I’m growing up?  Well, let’s not jump to conclusions quite yet, but there are certainly changes in my life and brain that are making me feel that I’m truly beginning to move on from being stuck in high school.

Overall, I’m pleased with the room.  It’s quite spacious, and has loads of shelve and closet space.  The only slightly irritating thing is that the outlet that I wanted to plug my fridge into doesn’t accept three pronged plugs.  Due to the set up of the room, it’s the most ideal place for the fridge, so I think I’ll be venturing to Walmart tomorrow to seek out an extension cord.

I’m really, really glad I’ve got an overabundance of fans.  This dorm has a wonderful heating system (something important in ND), but there’s no air conditioning.  It does get warm in ND (really, I’m not making this up), and the fact that some people’s heaters are broken and won’t shut off adds to the general heat of the building.

I’m slightly weirded out by the fact that I can hear people walking above me.  It’s been many years since I last lived anywhere other than the top floor of a building.  This dorm is pretty solidly built, so I’m not hearing much walking (either that, or people are just not around), but it still kinda makes me jump when I hear someone walking on my ceiling.

All in all I’m excited and very tired.  Sure, I’ve got a few things I need to get, but overall it’s shaping up to be a good year.