old people.

i went running yesterday. after a huge summer storm blew through, it was actually cool for a change. the safest route i've found to run around my house is through the retirement community next to my subdivision. it makes a big circle: nursing home in the middle and little duplexes and condos all around, basically. during my run, i noticed a couple of things:

- we all know that [most] old people have a distinct 'old people' smell. i happened to pass one of these yesterday. i see this older, frail but nice looking woman walking her dog that resembled a mop, dressed in a bright blue track suit. thinking how i might want one of those outfits when i hit her age, i did the nod and smile as i passed her. then i almost choked. i was a good 10 feet away and in motion, and the old people smell took my breath away. literally. i contemplated this as i kept running; what creates such a powerful smell?

- the next thing i observed was an aged good 'ol boy, riding around in his rascal (you know, those motorized wheelchair things), carrying his pet (it looked like a mix of a rat and a little dog). the best thing was i came up behind him. and what i noticed almost took my breath away again. he had a license plate attached to the back, with the letters 'oldfart' embossed on them. yes, please. 

i like this little community. i cross over into it and it's kind of like i'm in a different world. old people everywhere. by the time i run, it's near sunset, and they're all sitting on their front porches, drinking lemonade, or watering their lawn. groups of women walk around as well, laughing up a storm. no part of me wishes away my youth, but it's going to be ok to be old. infact, part of me is excited for when that day comes. yeah, i won't function as well, and heaven forbid i somehow acquire that 'old people' smell, but it's still life and still living. and maybe if my kids don't like me too much, i can move into some community like this one, and say hi to young girls who run. (in a completely no creepy way, of course) maybe i'll even have a neighbor with a sweet rascal that he'll let me take out every once in a while. 

while i'm trying not to freak out too much about 'real life' being less than a year away, i know that life still happens. all i can do is try and take one day at a time, and before i know it, i'll be in my bright blue track suit and barely able to lift a gallon of milk. and i'll try my best to enjoy and soak up every day that leads up to that. 

a special weather statement.

today's 'severe weather alert' from weather.com:

...TEMPERATURES HEATING UP ACROSS MIDDLE TENNESSEE...

THE TEMPERATURE IS EXPECTED TO REACH INTO THE MIDDLE 90S THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS A GOOD PART OF THE MID STATE. THIS IS A 6 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURE SO FAR THIS SUMMER IN NASHVILLE HAS BEEN 97 DEGREES BACK ON JULY 21ST. SO FAR THIS MONTH... TEMPERATURES HAVE MANAGED TO AVERAGE JUST ABOUT NORMAL FOR JULY. RAINFALL HAS TOTALED NEARLY 4 INCHES THIS MONTH...WHICH IS ABOUT A HALF INCH ABOVE NORMAL.

WITH AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES REACHING INTO THE MIDDLE 90S...HEAT INDICES ARE EXPECTED TO APPROACH 100.

REMEMBER TO DRINK PLENTY OF WATER IF YOU MUST BE OUTSIDE FOR EXTENDED PERIODS DURING THE HOTTEST TIMES OF THE DAY AND...TO WEAR LIGHT COLORED... LOOSE FITTING...CLOTHING... AND USE SUNSCREEN TO PREVENT SUNBURN.

TEMPERATURES ON WEDNESDAY WILL BACK OFF A FEW DEGREES WITH AN INCREASE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

i want to kiss the man who created air conditioning. 

hello highway.

since i do live in the music city...

i'm going to mix two of my favorite things for you, top 5's and music. 

here's [in my opinion] some of the top 5 musical selections of the summer/everyone needs to add to their library:

1. hand built by robots - newton faulkner (whole album)

nearly every time i listen to music i want to listen to this cd, it's that good. most of his tracks are a guy and a guitar, but they'll make your head spin. if you don't believe me, watch this. 

2. i'm yours by jason mraz

poppy, probably. unbelievable song, yes. 

3. real blasty - kyle andrews (whole album)

this isn't actually in stores yet, but i will attest, it's amazing. it's got a one man band feel, synth and such. could be bright eyes-esque, but unique in his own. check this out. be looking in the next couple of weeks for the cd to be out. and become his fan on facebook. 

4. interventions and lullibies - the format (whole album, or at least the first song)

near perfect summer album. great band from arizona, sadly not making any more new music. the first song (the first single) epitomizes summer/sunshine pretty much for me.

5.  i'd rather dance with you by kings of convenience

thank you blake, for this introduction. a product of the summer music swap. the song makes me want to do a little jig around the office. 

if you want to sample any of this, may i suggest youtube. just search it and pick the most legit. a lot of artists have their own youtube page now. welcome to the take over by social networking. 

if you do follow any of my advice, let me know. i enjoy feedback, of any kind. 

happy listening. 

2 good things

good things happen in nashville. let me tell you about two of them. 

sunday, aaron got back in town again. that night aaron, natalie, and i ended up at trey's house [trey is one of aaron's good friends]. after trey made delicious blended beverages, we all sat around his kitchen table and just talked for 2+ hours. we didn't have a plan once we got to trey's, just to hang out. but we just ended up hanging, and talking for a long time. conversation swayed from nonchalant things, like our drinks and the weather, to the fact that aaron and trey travel all the time, to more serious things, like politics, homosexual marriage, and our faith. and it was quite refreshing. 

i feel like most of the time, people feel that they have to have plans for things. we're going to go to dinner, then go here and watch a movie, or go to this bar, or go DO whatever. rarely ever,  people just BE. now, you might say, 'i just hang with my homies all the time. we just meet and chill together.' yes, this happens, but i've found that, often, when people gather together, they feel they need to do something. so they turn the tv on, or bust out a board game. all which are fine things. but i think sometimes you just need to stop, sit, and look at each other [and not the so very awkward 5 minutes of uninterrupted eye contact*]. have a legit conversation every once in a while. 

all i really want you to do is to encourage you to be intentional. sit down and talk with friends. see how they really are. don't wait for random times to have good conversations, make them happen. 

[rachel steps off her soap box.]

another good thing about nashville is the amount of parks here. for those that know me, i adore parks. this past saturday, one of my housemates, jenny, and i went for a nice long hike/walk in a park for a couple of hours. yes, it was ridiculously hot, but it was good. i loved talking to her and getting to know her better, even though she's getting married on saturday. and it was nice to be out of the house, out of the office, and just enjoying what's around us. 

if i can encourage you once again, go take a walk. i don't care where, just go move your feet. 

other things happening as of late:

- it's HOTT here. and yes 2 t's are necessary. it reached 102 yesterday. 

- i'm going to see batman at the imax tonight. pumped. 

- i've only got a three day work week this week, as i'm going to ST. LOUIS this weekend to visit one BLAKE ELIZABETH BACHMAN. (caps for emphasis of excitement)

- i'm approaching one month of being the 'temporary executive assistant' here in the office. and i'm getting to know the guys [chris and pasty] better. i pulled a prank on chris not that long ago, it was pretty great. 

- i only have a week and a half left in my current house. the sublease is up on aug 1, so i'm starting to look for another place to live for my last week. someone's couch, here i come. 

- the summer music swap is still in full swing, round 3 here we come. 

- and i've got fedex-ing down to a science. 

**

* from the movie baby mama. if you haven't seen it, make that happen soon. 

** sorry for the lapse in posting, i promise there will be more to come soon, and more frequently. 

[don't] bite me.

you read this to know about my life in nashville. we'll here's something that's happened recently: 

i've been eaten alive. by mosquitos. for real. 

there must have been a couple of very hungry mosquitos in my bed/room last night who saw my body parts as a 5-course meal. i hope they all died from gluttony. in between counting the numerous bites, trying not to scratch, and cursing their existence, i decided to figure out exactly what good (if any) mosquitos serve.

here's what i found from the american mosquito control association (amca), under their frequently asked questions:

What good do mosquitoes do?Mosquitoes fill a variety of niches which nature provides. As

such, placing a value on their existence is generally inappropriate. Although the fossil record is incomplete, they have been known from the Cretaceous Period (about 100 million years ago) in North America. Their adaptability has made them extraordinarily successful, with upwards of 2,700 species worldwide. Mosquitoes serve as food sources for a variety of organisms but are not crucial to any predator species. 

If mosquitoes were eradicated, how would this affect the ecosystem?
Given that Nature abhors a vacuum, other species will fill the niches vacated by the mosquitoes after an initial shuffling period of variable length. Be advised, though, that species replacing mosquitoes may be even worse - it's extremely difficult to predict. Mosquitoes' ability to adapt to changing environments would make them all but impossible to eradicate.

What attracts mosquitoes to me?
Why some people seem to be more attractive than others to mosquitoes is the subject of much repellent (and attractant for traps) research being conducted nationwide. Carbon dioxide is the most universally recognized mosquito attractant and draws mosquitoes from up to 35 meters. When female mosquitoes sense carbon dioxide they usually adopt a zigzagging flight path within the plume to locate its source. Once in the general vicinity of a potential host, other cues predominate, including body odors (sweat, lactic acid, etc.) and heat. Odors produced by skin microflora also play a part in inducing the mosquito to land. Over 350 compounds have been isolated from odors produced by human skin. Either singly or in combination, many of these compounds may be attractants - and many may be repellents. As you can see, the situation is complicated and will require many years of testing before it can be sorted out. Visual stimuli, such as movement, also factor into host-seeking. What can be safely stated, though, is that ingestion of garlic, vitamin B12 and other systemics has been proven in controlled laboratory studies to have no impact on mosquito biting. Conversely, eating bananas did not attract mosquitoes as the myth suggests, but wearing perfumes does. People drinking beer have been shown to be more attractive to mosquitoes. Limburger cheese has also been found to be attractive. Scientists have theorized that this may explain the attractancy some mosquitoes find for human feet.

i still hate them. but i know it is alright, the world will still go around if these pesky bugs don't exist. then i don't feel so bad loathing their existence. back to [not] scratching. 

may she rest in-ternet peace.

on my blog, i will honor the world's oldest blogger, who went to the internet afterlife. 

[taken from the bbc article.]

An Australian woman - reputed to be the world's oldest internet blogger - has died at the age of 108, officials say.

Olive Riley had posted more than 70 entries about her life since she began her blog in February 2007.

She shared her thoughts on modern life and experiences of living through the entire 20th Century, including two world wars and the Great Depression.

In her final entry on 26 June, she described singing a happy song at her care home with nurses and a visitor.

Olive Riley died in the nursing home in New South Wales on Saturday "Our dear friend Olive Riley passed away peacefully... She will be mourned by thousands of internet friends and hundreds of descendants and other relatives," a note on her website - http://worldsoldestblogger.blogspot.com - said.

food, water, and news.

typically at work i've got a lot of time on my hands. with the vastness of the internet before me, i've found myself doing something i've always wanted to do: completely immerse myself in the news. being a human on earth, i would like to know what's going on around me. not only around me at my current location, but also countries around the world. things are happening, and i think it's important to pay attention to those. 

my hands down favorite place to get my news is from the bbc. british do a lot of things better, and at the top of that list is news. i've found they give the most unbiased look at what's going on around the world. and unlike cnn or foxnews, they report on the world (which, in my opinion is much more important than dumb u.s. celebrity stories). and one of my favorite things, if you don't happen to have a lot of time, their spacial layout makes it easy to see photos, read headlines, and a brief sentence about the story. and you can easily click on other areas of the world and get more specifics about those countries. please add this to your list of daily sites to visit.

one thing i've noticed in the news lately is discussion of the rising price of food. it's been on the top of the list of things to tackle at the G8 summit (and if you don't know what that is, please read this. it's kind of a big deal), people in nepal are dealing with hunger as being a new part of life, motown in detroit is becoming growtown as the people in the area are taking it upon themselves to grow their own food to save money, and the stories keep coming everyday. yeah, we complain about the increasing price of groceries, but seldom do we stop to think about the impact on the rest of the world. and they say the era of cheap food is long gone. 

now i'm not trying to be debbie downer and make you hate yourself for eating lunch. but i think i just want  to increase awareness. i sit here and think what can i do to help, buy less food and send the money to some organization, only eat as much as some young woman does in rural africa, mail my leftover food to 'hungry child' in india. i could. but i don't know if it's the best way. and to be honest, i don't really know what to do. i read these stories, and then just sit and stare at the words, thinking how many people have no idea what others go through. then i realize these are the problems my generation is going to have to deal with. 

i could also go on about the availability of fresh water for most of the world. believe me, i saw some of the spouts in india, but i'll just reference you to organizations like blood:water mission. they're doing great things.

when we think about problems the world has, a lot of people think aids, terrorism, genocide, all very bad things. but most people don't realize that lack of food and water is as much of a problems as these other things. simple food and water. 

ok, i'm sure i've made you feel bad enough (in my defense that was not my point), but i hope i've inspired you to read more news  and be more aware of what is going on around you. this is just one example of news, there are many more, some of those very funny (i'll reference what i've posted on facebook for that).  this post is very link heavy, but i challenge you to click them all and at least see what they're about. you'll be a better person for it. 

and just incase you want to laugh. 

top 5

if you haven't seen high fidelity, you should see it sometime soon. i'd say it's one of my favorite john cusak films, by far. something they do in the movie, which i've come to love / claim on my own is top 5's. i love doing top 5's - for anything. and i figure it's about time to introduce them here. 

i made my third weekend in a row home, but this was probably my favorite thus far. we put another tally in the 15+ year tradition in the sawyer family: going to herrington lake. for what feels like forever, my family and two other families of close friends have trekked down to a lake house one of the families owns for a weekend of water, blowing things up, and yummy food. 

here's the top 5 things about the weekend:

1. fireworks - they get better every year. especially cause recently we get them from china, directly. 

2. food - pretty much the weekend revolves around food traditions. spaghetti, fresh chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, the best beef ever, perfect watermelon, i could go on. 

3. the house itself - it comes completely outfitted with any sort of entertainment you'd need. pinball, video games, ping pong, pool, darts, you name it. and there's a lake outside. 

4. movie/dvd selection - the house comes with a mini blockbuster, and somethings almost always on. you think it'd get annoying, but it works for this weekend. 

5. jet skis + water - love them both. a lot. 

be on the lookout for more top 5's. at the moment, it's back to the grindstone in nashville. the phone keeps ringing, i keep answering, and things still need mailed. all in a days work. 

city life.

now that i have a real job in a legit city, i get to experience all the perks of real city life. one of them is city traffic. my fave. here's some photographic peaks into the 45 minutes i spent hanging in nashville after work yesterday. 

what i saw a lot of. this is demonbreun and highway 40 i think. 

my feelings towards sitting in traffic for nearly an hour. thank you ipod for keeping me sane. 

let's hope today i can time my commute home better. we'll see.