what i learned this week

i learned a lot of things about my new home this week, but there are a few that stand out, namely:

1. if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it will be different. we used to say this in syracuse, but here it's more pertinent. i had a meeting with someone at 10:30am the other day. i left my apartment in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, cos it was about 65 degrees farenheit. at 12:30 it was in the 90's. around 4pm i went to the grocery store, without first changing clothes, and thought that i was going to keel over. however, that evening it was 50 degrees. this, i'm told, is normal weather for this town.



2. the scenery here is beautiful, the air is pristine, and you can't drink the water. i don't quite understand that phenomenon, but it's true. okay, i guess it's a matter of opinion, but the water here has a taste that i find particularly unpleasant, and it's hard, really, really, hard. i sometimes wonder if i could get my daily supply of calcium by drinking the tap water. admittedly, i've been spoiled: nyc is reputed to have some of the best-tasting tap water in the country. i don't know if it really is that high up on the list, but it's higher than here. i have a water filter on the tap, and i put filtered water into a refridgerator-based water filter, and i sometimes still find myself adding fruit or powdered drink mix to the water, to dilute the taste.



3. life is slower here, and that can be kind of frightening, in an odd way. everyone is so laid back that i find it almost stress-inducing, but i guess that's something else i'll have to adjust to. i often want to zoom around people, esp. in the supermarket, because i feel they're going to slowly, but then i ask myself, what's my rush? unless mother nature has me on speed dial again, or i'm hungry, there's no reason for me to rush. my schedule is open, i'm free as a bird, i might as well take my time and relax. i just have to keep reminding myself of that, at least until classes start and i have deadlines again.



4. when people here ask "how are you?", they want a real answer. unfathomable, i know, but true all the same!



5. the most interesting thing i think i learned this past week, however, is that there are seagulls here in pocatello, idaho. stop and think about that for a moment: seagulls. in a land-locked state. in a town not near a large body of water. it is believed that they come from a neighboring town called american falls, but no one knows why they choose to come here. (but i don't think it's for the water!)



6. crows are kinda spooky. i blame alfred hitchcock for some of that feeling, but when one lands on the overhang to your apartment and starts cawing as storm clouds are rolling in and then it flies off and the sun comes out and the storm never materializes, it just makes one wonder. or it makes me wonder, anyway, since i lived through it. maybe hitchcock knew something about crows that i don't. hmmm...

that's all for this post, folks. stay tuned for next sunday's update, which will most likely be me panicking over the thought of classes starting in 2 days. i voluntarily placed myself in a postion where i'll be receiving homework. sometimes, i wonder about myself. but other times, i just know.