Welcome To The Hand Wash

Well both of my laptops have decided to have problems. I forgot one's cord at work and the other I don't even want to discuss. Go me and electronic problems...again. Hopefully I actually did leave the laptop cord at work or I am in big trouble. Anyway this week's lecture - I mean blog post - is on laundry. Honestly I have been thinking about this one for a while.

My apartment complex technically has laundry rooms. This is very much a technicality. There are only two washers and dryers in a room every three buildings. This isn't too bad, except that the hours posted mean that I can only do my laundry early on the weekends. This is why I typically do my laundry at my parents house (my dad has been talking about adding a quarter machine for me to pay them with). I usually choose to do it at my parents house because a) it's free and b) mom wants me to visit more often.

The laundry machines at the apartment aren't awful, but they are also not as nice as the ones at my parent's house. They are exactly like the ones from my alma mata, except more expensive. They also break down about as often as the ones at school did. They are not terrible and I can live with them, but they also cost money and are not the most gentle on really nice clothes. This is why I have taken to hand washing some of my clothes. Thursday is hand washing day.

Hand washing clothes is a great way to get nice clothes clean without worrying about ruining them. It is also easier to get rid of certain stains (e.g. blood, sweat, oil...etc). Hand washing also has the benefit of giving your arms a great workout. Here are some of the things I have learned to do while hand washing:

1) Always wash your clothes in a clean sink or bathtub. You won't get other stains in your clothes if you so this step first.

2) Hydrgen peroxide, white vinegar and baking soda are the best for getting rid of stains. Hydrogen peroxide is great for getting blood out of anything. You just have to be careful with colors. All three of these home products can cause fading in colored clothing. However they are also really good at keeping white clothes white.

3) Woolite or other gentle detergent is better for hand washing than other brands. It keeps clothes from getting too uncomfortable.

4) I almost always hand wash my clothes in cold water.

5) I always thoroughly wash and moisterize my hands after washing my clothes. My hands get really dry, so it is important to put lotion on them.

If you start washing your clothes ( to save money or protect your clothes) always talk to someone who has prior knowledge of doing so before you start. You could accidentally end up ruining your favorite silk shirt. Also the internet is also a very good resource. I found a lot of information on getting rid of some of the worst stains from online help guides. I hope this helps.

Welcome to Remembrance

If you read my post two weeks ago, you would know that my grandfather died on Halloween. Yesterday was the funeral. It was beautiful. The weather was gorgeous and we did not have any problems for the internment. The flowers were in full bloom for fall and there wasn’t a bunny rabbit in sight. Dad even added a cigar butt for grandfather. He said he wasn’t going to waste a full one on him. 

The service was more about remembering my grandfather’s life rather than the fact that he had died. He had done so many things and touched so many lives. I loved the story about how my dad and grandfather had wanted to go to the World’s Fair in New York and my grandfather said no they were going to travel around the world for a year. My dad and uncle were not thrilled and insisted they would rather go to the World’s Fair. 

My grandfather was a very blunt and straight forward man, but he also had a great sense of humor. He was a teacher and a minister. He was a mentor and friend. I wish I had asked him for more stories about what he had done throughout his life. I know he was never impressed with the city of Paris. He met the Dalai Lama and worked with the United Nations. He always burnt the coffee and drank it black. He knew how to get things done and never shied away from hard work. 

My family all came to Lancaster for the funeral. It was the first time I had seen a lot of them since my oldest cousin had gotten married. I stood in the reception line between two of my cousins (one girl and one a boy). A number of people seemed to think that my male cousin was either my brother (plausible) or my husband (ummm what?). First of all he looks a lot older than me. Second we look enough a like that it should be obvious we’re related, but it was okay. I had a good laugh about it.

I think my favorite part of the day was hearing about how my other male cousin was introducing himself. He was “Daniel son of Alan son of Alfred of the strong men of Catasauqua and protectors of mayonnaise.” I don’t know why we’re the protectors of mayonnaise, but it seems to fit in with the food we had. 

I am glad that I got to hear about my grandfather and see all of the people who came to the funeral. My father was very insistent that we greet everyone. I am glad he was. I got to ring the church bell with my baby cousin and pretend I was seven years old again. All of us grandchildren visited the old house and saw that the university that had brought it had turned it into an office for the language department. We even recreated a picture we had taken after a party that had taken place before my sister had even been born. There were a lot of memories and stories shared. 

When I got home and looked on my fridge and saw the wedding “Save the Date” card a friend from college had sent me. It reminded me that even though my grandfather had died, life was still going to continue on.  Grandfather was likely watching over me (in his own way) and just waiting for the next randomly hilarious thing to happen. However he will likely start watching my back after he gets through Saint Peter’s books. He never could resist making sure the books were clean.

Welcome To Your Identity

 It's Never What You Think...

I was thinking about writing about my war on UPS this week, but then bunch of odd coincidences happened that have caused this post to steer in a completely different direction. I don’t know if anyone else who is a recent graduate is going through this, but I am finding the more people I talk to, the more they also feel uncertain about their future. I am not just talking about losing a job or going through a tough time. I mean that there is a whole future ahead of them and they have no idea what to do with it. 

I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea who I am and who I want to be. I know who I was in college and high school. Heck I may have had a small identity crisis when I was seven (I somehow never realized until then what gender I actually was). From that small stepping stone I was able to shape who I was up until middle school. When high school started I decided that I didn’t care anymore what people thought about me. I tried to keep my head down and concentrate on my studies (anyone heard of the IB program?).  I did manage to make a small name for myself senior year by becoming the head of the Model United Nations Club. It was stressful and fun. 

My college identity was fairly similar to my high school one. I was somewhat unconcerned with my (nonexistent) reputation and I wanted to focus on my studies. I did have to get my ego deflated a little bit, but I tried to just enjoy my time and not flunk out. College was great for self exploration and sometimes I wish I had done more. Now I’m just not sure what I want or who I want to be. 

Alright I sometimes imagine myself as future queen of the world, but it’s just a fantasy. I don’t think I would like the lime light. I over analyze myself way too much; I don’t need the media to add to it. 

At the moment I would describe my mental state as standing at a crossroads on a foggy night without a flashlight (though I'm not there to make a deal with a devil). I know where I am and where I came from, but I have no idea which direction I should take or where it might lead. I would also compare myself to Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. I find I take myself way too seriously and nothing seems to go the way I plan. Luckily I also have a great group of people who have my back. 

I hope to eventually get my bearings and blaze a trail for my life. I just don’t want to wake up one day and realize that life has totally passed me by. At the same time I don’t want everything planned out so that I never have anything spontaneous happen. I need a balance of both. As my uncle said, "sometimes I wish I was five years old again and could get on my bike and just ride without a care in the world."

I think all of these introspective posts are happening because a lot of things have been going on. I've started meditating and it is helping me calm down and clear my mind. Thank you all for reading. I hope this helps someone other than myself.

Welcome To Halloween

Fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. The movies, the costumes, and the atmosphere are all what make the day awesome. I was really looking forward to my first Halloween on my own. However it did not turn out quite as I had planned. 

Halloween at school had usually consisted of the college being decorated with pumpkins by one of the secret societies (at least I think that’s who did it) and everyone dressing up in costumes. Parties usually took place the weekend prior to the holiday. If you lived in an apartment off campus, you usually had trick or treaters. It was nothing over the top, not like the winter holidays.

To get ready for Halloween, I brought a few small festive things. I got some nice jack-o-lantern hand towels, a bowl with witches on it, and a pumpkin. I did not carve the pumpkin because I did not want to clean up after it, so instead I took a sharpie and drew a graveyard scene on it. It is currently still sitting in the center of my dinning/card table. I also brought some candy even though I was not sure if I would get trick or treaters or not. 

The day started out eerie. There was a full moon and it was very foggy. It was hard to see while driving, but I did make it to work in one piece. By the time I got out of work, all of the clouds had moved on and the sun had come out. It was a beautiful drive home, but everyone seemed to be on the highways. It took forever to get back to my apartment.

I enjoyed seeing the few kids out in costumes and the decorations. Unfortunately I did not have a single trick or treater. I still have most of the candy I brought (which was not a lot), but now I have no idea how to get rid of most of it. I do not really like candy (though I will eat it). 

Though I did not have anyone begging for candy at my door, it was a bit of a blessing. I found out not too long after I had gotten home from work that my grandfather had died. I am still a bit in shock that he died. Now whenever I think of him, I remember the Halloween he was watching my sister and me. I was dressed as a vampire and I think my sister was something cute and adorable (she usually was). He was a retired minister, so I was a little surprised when he told me that I did not have scary enough makeup. He added really cool blood trails dripping from my mouth and I looked so scary (as any seven year old could) that I scared the next door neighbor’s son so bad he refused to go trick or treating that year. I gave him some of mine. 

I spent the rest of the night watching Halloween specials (this is what I had originally planned to do) and talking to people (mostly my family). It was stressful and relaxing at the same time. Maybe next year, with Halloween on a Friday, it will not be so weird. Now I have to plan for Thanksgiving. I hope my sister cooks again this year. I am not sure I am ready to cook a turkey just yet.