Goodbye, Death Valley.

So I wrote this about two weeks ago, but I wanted to add pictures and I loaned my camera to my sister, so I had to wait.

I just got back from a fantastic field trip to Death Valley in California.  We left early Friday morning and got back late Sunday night.  Through a series of events, I wasn't able to bring a tent.  But it was ok because the weather was perfect for sleeping outside.  The sky was clear, the stars were beautiful, the moon was just past full.  There was a bit of chill, but after the heat of the day, that was welcome.

We walked on sand dunes as high as two hundred feet.  We examined the sands, looking at their grain sizes and compositions, and guessed where we thought they came from.  Then trudged back to the vans in the scorching heat.

It was so hot! I thought I was going to die.

We ate lunch on a crater, where our bread toasted itself in the heat.  Then drove on a bumpy dirt road for nearly an hour at speeds that almost rattled my teeth out.  I seriously thought the vans were going to fall apart with us in them.  Then we saw the tracks that rocks make as they travel across playas.  I still think aliens are involved somehow.

Do you see the rock at the end of the trail?

We walked below sea level and tasted the rocks there.  Nice and salty.  Then we came home.

We are about 280 ft (85m) below sea level.

Yum ^_^

As glad as I was to come home, I wish that the field trip could have continued.  Reality is so difficult to navigate, it's always nice to have a break.

Trying to be Responsible

I moved my computer away from the tv. 

It was kind of a big production because I had to clear off my desk.  Somehow it became covered in junk.  I don't know where it all came from, it was just there.  I also had to move a pile of clothes off my chair.  Also, maybe I had to move some clothes off the floor so I could get to my chair...  There's a possibility I have too many clothes.

So, now I am going to be super productive, right? 

I certainly hope so, because things are happening with school, and stuff (mostly school), which means that I should probably watch a heck-a-ton less tv and do a heck-a-lot more homework.

Except, since moving my computer back where I won't be as distracted by tv, I have written a blog post instead of doing homework.  Whoops.   

I am in Love with My TV

There's this thing that I do called school that has killed any time that I have.  Except that really there's this other thing called TV that is the real culprit.
I'm sort of addicted.  And by sort of, I mean really a lot.
Basically, I am watching TV and going to school on the side.

There's this show that I really like that is on late at night, pretty much when I should be going to bed (actually, when it is on, I should probably already be asleep), and I just can't stop myself from watching it.  Even if I have seen the episode they are showing, it sucks me in.  My willpower disappears and I am glued to the TV screen.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to go to TV rehab soon.

A couple of days ago, I tried a new thing, I brought my computer down by the TV so I could do my homework during the commercials...  It didn't work.
I watched most of a Dick Van Dyke Show Marathon.  I also watched more TV and did less homework than before. 

What brilliantly, devious person came up with the idea of TV show marathons?  How is a person supposed to get anything done?  It's hard enough when the show plays once a week, or once a day.  But if it plays 18 times in a row, what's a person supposed to do? 

There's no escape.  There's only one solution.  I'm going to have to drop out of school.

Also, The Dick Van Dyke show is hilarious.  You should watch it.

I think sometimes I think too much

Sometimes I lay on the floor in front of my computer and I pretend to do homework, but really I'm listening to the TV playing downstairs, wondering what show my sister is watching and if I will regret it if I go down to see.

This weekend has been good.  I listened a lot.  And some things became clear to me.  I have to make some decisions, decisions I thought that I had already made, but I'm not sure if I decided the right thing, so I have to decide again.  These decisions scare me.  What if I am wrong?  What if I don't choose right?  What if there is no right and it doesn't matter what I decide, as long as I really decide, instead of decide by not deciding?  If that makes any sense.

I'm afraid of the future.  It's scary and full of possibilities and uncertain and I'm afraid I will ruin it.  But since I can't stop time, I guess I will just have to face my fears and move forward.