1. Have you ever been to summer camp? Yeah, when I was a kid
2. Have you ever made a s'more? Yeah, I prefer to stick the marshmallow in the fire and watch it burn though LOL
3. Have you ever slept under the stars (no tent/tarp)? No
4. Have you ever had a member of the opposite sex sleep over at your house? Yeah, when I was a kid, though I had to sleep in a different room than them though (I understand why now, but not back then, which annoyed me
5. What type of bed do you have (queen, twin, bunk, etc.)? A full (I think) four-poster bed!

Ughhh it's supposed to be in the 80s for the foreseeable future..the weather service put out a heat advisory because it could get up to 89 and people/animals here aren't used to that. Trying to sleep when it's that hot is awful. Work's new building gets hot, but we put lots of fans out, which helps some. Customers are getting annoyed we're not accepting donations yet (me and Bill are still trying to unpack everything!), but they like the new building too! I saw on Facebook that a new bookstore opened downtown on Friday! I'll have to check it out someday (shh, don't tell my bosses LOL)

I had my regular doctor's appointment this week and she said my blood pressure was high..considering the craziness of the last new months, I'd be surprised if it WASN'T high haha. Hopefully it'll settle down soon. My cholesterol was also high, so she told me to exercise 20 minutes a day..mom said she'll give me her bike. I'd be more likely to do that than take a walk lol. Hopefully that'll help some

( june 9-13 )

On Friday night, mom ended up coming down with the stomach flu (I could tell she wasn't feeling well when she picked me up). At one point I heard a giant CRASH, and rushed upstairs to make sure she was ok. She didn't answer when I first knocked, so I was freaking out and was like "MOM?!? ARE YOU OK?!" Eventually I heard a very weak "..no." I'd never heard her sound like that before! She also said that she had fainted, and I was like "do you need to go to the hospital?? Can I do anything for you??" She said no, and I felt sad there was nothing to be done except wait it out. She ended up passing out twice more! Yesterday when she came downstairs she said that was pretty much the worst night of her life. :( I left food at her door Ryan had gotten for her, and a note that said "feel better! amo te!" ("I love you" in Latin.) I love leaving notes for people lol, it's fun!

I felt anxious all day yesterday, worrying I'd be next..sure enough, I came down with it very early this morning, and just sat in the bathroom for hours. SO much fun. D: Eventually I knocked on mom's door, and she guessed I was sick too. She's feeling better, but not 100%, but this time it was her turn to take care of me haha and got me some turmeric ginger tea and 7Up, which helps with upset stomachs (didn't know that!). I don't like carbonation, but I hate an upset stomach even more. I've been taking sips of it throughout the day. I was also FREEZING, shivering like crazy! Mom took my temperature and it was 94!!! That is actually hypothermic!! She got me an electric blanket, which helped a lot..soft, warm and cozy!! I'm definitely not going to work tomorrow, because I'll still be contagious for a few days and it takes awhile to recover. I got tired of laying in bed thinking about being nauseous, so I decided to update here, which is a nice distraction lol

( 2024 survey! )

21. Have You Ever Given, or Received, a Perfect Gift? Yeah, those are so fun to give/receive!

22. When Is the Last Time You Did Something Nice for a Stranger? Recently probably

A book set in the future: The Ice Ghost by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (Feb 1-4)

A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list (Iceland): Outside by Ragnar
Jónasson (Feb 5-6)

A book from a genre you typically avoid: How to Survive in the North by Luke Healy (Feb 7-8). A comic book about the Karluk expedition, where Steffanson abandoned his men and a bunch of people died..crazy

A book set in the snow: Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates (Feb 10-13). This book literally gave me nightmares..everyone was getting their heads chopped off. O_o I usually like locked-in mysteries, but this one freaked me out lol

A book with a neurodivergent main character: I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder by Sarah Kurchak (Feb 13-15). Parts of this book were relatable, like her saying jeans felt like being in an iron maiden, but unfortunately is was pretty boring too

A bildungsroman (coming of age novel): The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene (Feb 15-17). Yeah I read this way after it was popular, but books are immortal, so it doesn't matter lol. I enjoyed it (I had already been spoiled years ago what happens at the end), and the movie was really good too!

A book recommended by a bookseller: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Jan 20-Feb 18). This was the next book club book at work, but it matched a prompt anyway. I probably wouldn't have picked up the book on my own, but it was pretty good. It's fun to talk to the book club regulars about books!

A book by a blind or visually impaired author: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Feb 18-21). A group of 80-year-olds in a retirement home help the police solve murders haha, it was so funny! The police officer would be talking and one character would be like "did you have some cake, dear?" I hope the rest of the series is just as good!

A horror book by a BIPOC author: The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown (Feb 21-22). This was supposed to be horror? Dead of Winter freaked me out way more lol

A book with the word "leap" in the title: The Cat, the Cash, the Leap, and the List by Sue Campbell (Feb 23-24)

A book about pirates: Cutthroat Island by John Gregory Betancourt (Feb 24-25). When I typed in "Cutthroat Island book" on Amazon, I didn't expect to ACTUALLY find one! It's one of my all-time favorite movies and always will be, so I was very pleased to find a novelization! "Bad Dawg!!!" :D

A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete: South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery by Lynne Cox (Feb 25-28). She talked about Amundsen along with her swims in 28 degree water (WHY??). Amundsen is kinda overrated to me, though he was a pretty good explorer. Scott is just way more interesting to me (Feb 26 was my 6th anniversary of going to Cherry's grave! One of the best days of my life and still makes me emotional to think about <3)

( the prompts )

TWELVE BOOKS IN ONE MONTH heck yeah!!! Most of them were short, but still..so cool! When I told mom how many I read she was like "you're crazy!...but in a good way" LOL. I've read 22 books so far this year :D

A lot of people see my opal necklace and say "it's so pretty! It's bad luck to wear it if it's not your birthstone though." Uh..thanks?? Also, that's ridiculous, and after the 40th time of someone saying that it has gotten really annoying. Just say it's nice and move on lol

28. Do You Believe in Ghosts? Sure, since I've seen one lol

29. Are Digital Photographs Too Plentiful to Be Meaningful? No way! I have plenty of pics of the same glaciers from different years, but they're all meaningful and have fond memories of whatever trip I was on when I look at them. Film cameras were always stressful because I was always afraid I'd run out of film before the trip ended haha

March 1. Can You Separate Art From the Artist? They seem to be..intertwined? They have other traits too, but of course I'll think "Van Gogh!" when I see the Starry Night

1. Do you tend to remember book titles or authors the most? Both, I have lots of practice from working at a bookstore :P
2. Do you play any memory games to try and improve your memory? No
3. What is the very first movie you remember seeing in a movie theatre? A Goofy Movie, possibly
4. What sense do you tend to rely upon the most? Sight, for one
5. When was the last time you felt lonely and what made you feel better? Recently..someone to hang out with

Mom was definitely not happy when I told her about what happened yesterday. There's been a newish tenant a couple doors down from me who keeps letting in unsavory people, who then trash the place, slam doors, and who knows what else. It feels like the building has been abandoned by management. It's made me felt annoyed and unsafe, and yesterday proved how unsafe it's gotten. I called the building manager earlier, and she did get video of the lady who came into my apartment and gave it to the police. She said she's aware of the situation with that one tenant and are "going through a process," whatever that means. She also said she was promoted, and has been working in another office, and they're trying to hire someone else to manage where I live. When mom came with me to get my stuff, there was someone sleeping in a chair, and knocked on the door of that tenant when she woke up. When we left, there was a guy either on drugs or mentally ill waiting in the entryway for someone to let him in. Mom was horrified. I think that while that tenant is living there, it's too unsafe for me to be there, and might stay at my parents' house for a bit. Mom talked to the police, who said they would contact the building manager as well, hopefully to speed the "process" up. I hope something is able to change, I want to feel safe at home again! What a stressful situation..

( 16. What's worse: laundry or dishes? )

Well, now it's my turn to have covid. One of my coworkers seemed stuffy on Friday, and on Monday we found out he had covid. The person who sits next to him looked pretty sick on Monday, and we had to send him home. Yesterday my throat felt a bit weird, but I thought it was just the smoke..until later that night, when my throat started hurting and feeling like I was getting a cold, and I was tired. Eventually I took a covid test and yep, positive. I guess it had to happen eventually, but still..ugh. Being vaccinated is probably helping..it feels like a cold really, and I never lost my sense of taste or smell. I hope I don't have to be isolated for too long, I'll get cabin fever! Mom dropped off some groceries..having to be six feet away made me feel even more infected. D: I'm glad I won't miss much work, since it's a holiday weekend. Hopefully I'll recover quickly!

I may have covid, but at least my curtains are kinda fancy LOL:

My curtains are too thick to be super drapey and elegant (they're for keeping out the summer light when trying to sleep), but still..cool! (Yeah, the orangeish light is from the smoke..gross)

( 29. What makes a good friend? )

Today's trivia: Canadian actor James Doohan, best known for playing Montgomery "Scotty" Scott on the original Star Trek series, served in World War II with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. As a commissioned lieutenant, he led his troop up Juno Beach as part of the Allied Forces' D-Day invasion

Last night after dinner I felt kinda weird, but figured it would go away after I went to bed..nope, I woke up at like 1 or 2 something feeling super nauseous. ( cut for TMI lol )

I'm so happy a lot of you guys like Gregorian too..I'm not alone! I played some for mom and she liked it too lol

Day 65: Your favorite song by an actor turned singer: Hmm..I'm not sure..

Day 66: A song you like to clean the house to: Metal songs like Ghost River are pretty fun lol

Today's trvia: In China, the pronunciation of the word for the number four is similar to that of the Chinese word for death. Many buildings in China skip a fourth floor, just as U.S. builders sometimes omit floor 13

I dealt with the WORST customer I have ever come across today. She's never pleasant to begin with, but today..ugh. She had 10 books and like usual the 11th one was free, which I put to the side. She had 9 books left over and I asked her if she had a punchcard..she said yes, but just gave me her credit card. After I finished putting her books in bags, she asked about getting a punchcard. I interpreted her as not wanting one (even though she said yes) since she just gave me her card, so I said "do you want one?" She VERY rudely said "well YEAH." I got a card out but she wouldn't stop yelling at me! She was like "I should have NEVER let you check me out, you pulled that last time I was here!" Huh?!? Pulled WHAT?? No one's ever said that to me before, so that hurt. I tried talking her down and explaining how many punches she had left but she STILL wouldn't stop yelling and being rude to me. J.R. was standing there too (someone was buying a refurbished computer and was waiting for me to be done) and I looked at him and we both ran to get Becky. Becky tried talking her down, BUT SHE STILL WASN'T LISTENING TO US. At that point I got someone to cover for me and went outside to cry and recharge for a few minutes. Becky and J.R. couldn't believe how nasty she was to me. Somehow Becky got her to leave with a smile..but UGH, why be so rude?? One time that lady told me she was at the store and asked the cashier to double bag her food..I guess she forgot and that lady's bag broke in the parking lot. She went back in and yelled at her and made her clean it up. She said the cashier looks terrified whenever she sees her. WELL I WONDER WHY. There's no need to be nasty, it just ruins people's days! Ugh. I'm worried she's gonna tell other people what a "horrible cashier" I am and to never shop there. Well I refuse to think I'm a horrible cashier and I always try to be pleasant to customers, and will continue to do so. Some people just are nasty for whatever reason. At least my day was brightened when INGRID walked in!! She's Bonnie's friend from Tennessee, and went camping with us earlier in the year. She such an awesome and fun lady, it was SO good to see her again! We'll have to go to dinner! I hope tomorrow is a better day..

( Name five places you've been )

Today's trivia: Uganda has the youngest population in the world, with over 78% below the age of 30 years

Apparently the bathtub is comfy?? Haha!

Ughhh I got a letter in the mail saying I have jury duty in January. I don't wannaaa..it's so tedious and bleh. Whine whine. It could be interesting but I'd rather go to work :P

( day 13: what If you got arrested for murder, whom would you call with your telephone call from prison? And why? )

This pic was taken in the Brooks Range yesterday or the day before. Ugh, that is so not ok in July. *shudders* This July has been the second wettest on record so far..what a disappointing summer, I feel cheated. :( This morning I woke up a to a perfectly blue sky but like an hour later it got cloudy and rained again. I really wish it would stop..we need some sun before winter!!

( 20. Do you wear glasses? If so, what are they for? )

Ugh, I've been sick the last two days. I probably caught it at work. I spent a lot of the day yesterday in bed. Though eventually I had to get out cause it makes me crazy being stuck inside. Mom came over and we found a couple geocaches and went out to dinner. I was wiped when I got home so I went to bed SUPER early..like 7 or even earlier. I still didn't feel super great today but I went to work for awhile anyway..I hated the thought of being stuck inside again! I've been taking lots of vitamin c and stuff, so I hope it goes away quickly..

Krystin's leaving (*tear*) and going back to school so the bookstore has two positions open for bookstore manager..so I applied. I may not know how to do everything, but like Nina and mom said, I've already overcome so much (like being terrified of the cash register but loving it now)..I could probably learn it easily. Plus finally being a true paid employee of the bookstore? Heck yeah! We'll see what happens..

( 5. Tell us your three favorite colors )

Today's trivia: New Zealand was the first country to allow women to vote, in 1893