On a soap box...

Back in the city in which i have chosen to live.

Is it an odd thing that i love the way my apartment smells? Like one of my favorite soaps, clean laundry, and coffee.

Several threads are present in that statement. Let's ignore my coffee issues and occasional inability to put away laundry. Instead, let's address the fact that soap is a(n) fascination/obsession of mine. When i am stressed, i buy soap (usually bar soap, though sometimes shampoo) as a form of therapy, with a direct correlation between the levels of stress and soap. Post-prelim, for example, i did not need to buy soap nor shampoo for about 6 months. This is a large amount of soap for me. i've never tracked the average length of time it takes for me to go through a bar, but i guesstimate it to be slightly less than 2 weeks. i mentioned said habit to my lab's manager, who inquired as to why this is. i dunno the exact reason. Perhaps it is that showers are generally relaxing, and the metric of a shower may be assessed via heat of water (scalding) and quality of soap. It might also be tied to the fact that i'm type A about cleanliness (though not clutter). Anyway. i have and will pay ridiculous amounts of money for decent soap. Lush is a favorite for bar soaps, as illustrated above, as well as particular types of Dial and oatmeal soap. How i do run on.

It was great being home, and there's never enough time. Spent lots of time with my dad and brother. (i mentioned in an email this afternoon that doing so makes me feel understood and normal; it's one of those things where you can have a conversation that starts mid-thought with just an expression.) Dug and filled some ditches, pulled some electrical wire. Caught up with my roommate and roommate-in-law; ingesting some excellent fresh hot sauces and salsa, playing with my new camera, and eating Blue Bell ice cream (also reference this). All this and more.

It's never officially a new year, either, until your hands smell like gunpowder. Roman candles for 2012, on my parents' driveway around 1 am.

Okay, gotta unpack. Song for today might be Josh Ritter's Thin Blue Flame. It's one of those epics of a song that you can listen to over and over and continually find new bits of delightful imagery, songs that you wonder how the singer remembers all of the lyrics until you find yourself singing it a few days later, nearly whole. Others of the type include Counting Crows' Mrs. Potter's Lullaby and Iron and Wine's Trapeze Swinger.  In my head i liken them to modern versions of Gilgamesh, but will admit that's a little grandiose.