I’m currently working on a rather large and time-consuming rehaul of Amadaun.Net. New content will include actual art, photographs, and a small selection of stories and poetry. A design has been created but I’m already questioning just how much I like it so by the time I get around to finishing everything, it might already have changed. We’ll see. Don’t expect anything for awhile, as I said, it’s pretty time-consuming (of time that I currently don’t have).

What time I do have is usually spent neglecting school, procrastinating on the site, playing World of Warcraft, painting, and taking long naps with the Love of my Life (who likes to steal the blankets and kick in her sleep). Sleeping is generally hard when you have a cat who believes it’s his right to situate himself as a hat on your head in the middle of the night, and another cat who will loudly inform you at 4:30 in the morning that she is hungry. Ash rightly said this morning, with her head buried beneath the pillow, “Dog is man’s best friend because they let man sleep.” Which is true. The dog will sleep till noon, right along with us. The ferrets and the rats are nocturnal and make it damn near impossible to stay asleep with their scratching and rustling and fighting (no, not together). Which is why we take long naps during the day and stay awake all night.

I can’t wait till we get a house of our own and we aren’t all cooped up in one room (and have to deal with a male housemate who doesn’t flush the toilet). We’ve been looking at apartments for the summer in Ashland and the Twin Cities, but we haven’t found much we can afford (or that allows the number of animals we have). We both want to go to Tennessee but it’d be harder finding jobs there. If anyone has some insight to these locations and possible places to rent, please let me know.

Other than that I’ve been painting again so just maybe I’ll start opening up some commission work. I’m not sure if that’s being too optimistic or what, but cross your fingers and hope.

That’s it for now. Be well.

Hi! Yeah, I’ve been pretty much gone for a long time now. No time for blogging and little time for writing reflections on my computer. This has been quite a year though. I’ve been to many new places and met a lot of new people. I ended a long-term relationship but found love unexpectedly and have been enjoying that ride with a passion I never thought I had. I have re-thought what I want to do with my life and have come to several different options, and I’m also wondering if the Northwoods is really the place for me.

The New Year brings about a lot of promises. I can’t wait to see where it all goes, for good or bad. Breathe Deep, Seek Peace. It’s been my motto for years now and I’m still chanting it in my head when I get too stressed. This year challenged it in a lot of ways and many times I failed at lettings things go, and I’m still holding on to grudges that I know shouldn’t affect me. But what can you do but keep pushing forward?

Here are a few topics that I hope I get to write about at some point in the new year: Montessori schools and teaching techniques, updates on World of Warcraft (I haven’t played in almost four months!), Jethro Tull and Nami Tamaki, the Presidential elections, and possibly some different Natural History topics on some animals and plants. So stay tuned! I’m going to try and get back in the habit of blogging once I get back to school and a steady internet connection.

Hope everyone has a great end of the year.

So I’ve been at the Audubon Center for the Northwoods for two months, but really it only feels like two weeks. Time flies here, partly because we’re so busy, and partly because I don’t own a watch. But the experiences I have had have been so amazing so far. It’s really a learning and growing experience that I need. Actually, I think everyone needs these kinds of experiences. Really.

I’ve been canoeing in the Boundary Waters and I’ve gone on a five day canoe trip down the Mississippi. I’ve met some incredibly nice and talented people, and some people who just aren’t the nice folks in the barn (including a farmer who hates educators and women). I’ve seen a Rendezvous of voyageurs and helped facilitate teambulding for a teachers retreat (where all the adults were older than me and far more experienced). I’ve challenged myself in more ways than I could count, both physically and mentally. I’ve climbed up a high ropes course without breaking down into a mess because of the height, and I managed to survive five days with a group of high schoolers in the middle of nowhere with no bathrooms and little sunshine.

I don’t want to leave. December is coming too fast. But everything happens for a reason and this has been a wonderful experience I will never forget. I don’t think fall block should be limited to Outdoor Education majors. Everyone should be given this chance. It’s amazing.

And that’s it for now. Quick update and nothing more. Hope all is well out there in space!

So I’m going on hiatus for awhile since I’ll be off campus for four months doing the Fall Block thing (which means I’m in the middle of nowhere jumping off rocks and learning about trees and having a good old time being outside as much as I can).

Though I’ll leave you with a joke that I found hilarious and you’ll probably just think I’m a freak or something:

“Alice Algae and Freddie Fungus took a lichen to each other and now their relationship is on the rocks.”

Mwahahaha. Yeah, I’m probably the only one who would find that funny. GO NATURAL HISTORY! I’m a nerd.

Back on topic, you won’t see me for awhile so I hope you enjoy the beautiful fall season and the changing of the leaves and remember to live. It’s good for the soul. I’ll see you in January.