Brew Time

I have mentioned our lovely neighbor in a few posts. The day we were moving in, he came over and offered to help, thereby moving all of the heavy furniture with Kevin after we had just driven 4 hours, and I could take breather and move some of the boxes against the walls of our house. He then asked, "do you guys like beer?" because he is a home brewer, and ever since then, we have wanted to take advantage of his knowledge. The time has finally arrived. Home brewing is happening! It's more exciting for Kevin than it is for me, but it is pretty exciting for me to see how excited Kevin gets. (because, it's the little things). The first batch is at our neighbors house, and will get kegged. The second batch is in our second bedroom closet, simmering with hops. This batch will get put into bottles. And speaking of bottles, our kitchen has been somewhat over-run with bottles getting cleaned and prepped for beer. All very exciting. I write boring research papers, Kevin makes beer.

The Kit. The Kit at work. (I hear the bubbles are good.)

Thank You for Being My Audience

When I figure out how to do a 3-D
presentation, I'll let you all know.

One of the things I'm incredibly grateful for is being able to try out my speeches and presentations on an audience. And by audience, I mean Kevin. I really dislike being in front of people and making presentations, and I spend a lot of time preparing for these kinds of things. When I practice with Kevin, I even get nervous sometimes, and start to stutter a bit. But really what I value the most is that he listens and provides feedback, despite the fact that I know the subject material is kind of boring to him. Most of what I study in school is kind of a snooze-fest, I know. So I can't say enough how much I appreciate that he is my mini-audience.

Looks Like We Made It

Unbelievable. Spring has made it to Michigan. And it's not just evidenced by the calendar. The birds have been singing away more often, the snow is virtually gone, and temperatures are almost always above freezing. Living in the Midwest, this is truly a miracle. Transitioning to spring here bears much more weight than the NW, where seasons tend to blend into one another and slide between minimal degree changes for months. The change into spring in Michigan is obvious, and I am thankful to have this kind of sign. Soon, the bulbs we put in the backyard last year will tell us if they made it through the winter too.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

That's right. It's the most wonderful time of the year. March Madness. Today, the games began (if you don't count the "first round") and already I was glued to my, er, phone. I have an app on my phone so that I can watch games, you know, while I do homework. Needless to say I had to take a couple of breaks because of the UAB / Iowa State game. But I've got my bracket filled out, and I'm ready to go. I was raised to watch college basketball, so I kind of can't help myself. Also, part of me kind of believes that if it weren't for March Madness, Kevin and I would have never met. (It's a long way around to explain how we met, but March Madness, specifically The Final Four play a key role in our meeting. I'll tell you sometime). Ah, the happiest season of all. And while I don't make all my picks based on heart, (Go Heels!) I do make some that way (I have MSU going farther than they should). But Wildcats, I'm picking you to take it all home.

Lansing Hipster

I can promise you I do NOT look like this

So something interesting happened a few weeks ago. I learned that many of my friends and classmates here at MSU and in Lansing consider me to be a hipster. This is weird for me. When I learned this, I wanted to blurt out, "Have you seen a hipster?!?" Then I kind of started to accept that there might be reasons why they see me this way. I started to scrutinize my appearance, then came up with a list of things. Maybe it's my glasses. (But I actually use my glasses because I can't see without them. And many days I wear contacts). Or maybe it's the bird thing. (But I actually AM a birder, I don't just put birds on things. When I do, 90% of the time I can identify what kind of bird it is. I mean, I used to listen to bird calls on CD so as to learn them better). I ride my bike, and yes, it has a basket on it. (But I wear a helmet when I ride, and it's one of those tech-helmets with a visor. And also my bike has more than one gear). Maybe it's the couple of sweaters I have that look like they are from the 80s. (I have no rationale for this). Or maybe it's because I roll my jeans. (But I do this because it's tiring to have to hem every single pair of pants I own). And, well, maybe it's because I have hot magenta streaks in my hair. (Although I did this because I thought a little color would get me through the rest of the Michigan winter). Whatever it is, I am now a hipster in Lansing.

The Great Melt

In winter, when the plows come at night,
they pickup carts. Then, when the snow
beings to melt, the great "grocery cart
emergence" happens.

One of the hardest things about this winter was having a simple pleasure stripped away from me. Walking. Who knew that when I am unable to walk from Point A to Point B I become extremely grumpy? Walking is how I got around a lot in Seattle. My little rule was that if a place is 3 miles or less than where I am headed, then I can certainly walk there. (Of course, riding my bike is also an option, but not in winter). Plus walking allows for time to listen to the world around me, or a podcast. Now, the great melt is happening, and I am beside myself with joy. The front lawn is visible, we can use our entire drive way now, I don't have to dig a little cubby for the garbage can, and the sidewalks are clear! They are beckoning me to walk! Let's go Emiko! Walk to campus! You love this! They are telling me how dry they are, and that there is no fear of slipping and falling. I am so happy. Just as soon as I get over this flu... Sidewalks, it's just you and me.

Friendsgiving

I'm not sure what you do on the weekends, but here in Lansing my weekends mostly consist of 1. homework & reading 2. grocery shopping 3. watching TV (I'm 9 seasons into Murder She Wrote) 4. thinking that it just feels like any other day. Although I should add, that on Sundays we often get together with our neighbors to play games. This Sunday, however, they had a Friendsgiving. That is to say, they had a bunch of friends over and cooked a Thanksgiving meal just for the heck of it. Unfortunately, I was not able to go because I've fallen sick again. I know, AGAIN. And it's bad, real bad. So, Kevin went across the street for Friendsgiving while I stayed home and did homework (while watching Murder She Wrote). He popped back home after about 30 minutes with a big plate of home-cooked food, and I have to say, there is nothing more healing than gobbling up Thanksgiving food in March when one has the flu. It was so comforting. For dessert, a steam bowl for my nose.