A 235 Year Old Document

Using the free and fun Wordle tool (found: here), I plugged in the words from our nation's Declaration of Independence to create this interesting word cloud and to learn that the most frequently used word in the Declaration was "LAWS" followed by "PEOPLE," "STATES," "AMONG," "RIGHT," "TIME, and "GOVERNMENT."

It is fascinating to see the the Declaration in this way. Even though the introduction includes famous and feel-good statements like "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, ...with certain unalienable Rights, ...Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness," the document boiled down to it's most basic parts reveals an obsession with order and rules, and almost certainly, a government among the people.

Soiled Adult Diapers

On my day off I'm relaxing on the couch and watching an episode of Hoarders, an episode about a woman who used diapers and filled her small bathroom with them for two years instead of having the toilet repaired. Naturally, I'm wondering some things as we continue searching for real estate. Would we be able to tell if a bathroom was once filled to the brim with soiled adult diapers? If feces and urine ate through the bathroom floor, would we know it? Would it make a difference in our buying decision if we knew that the previous occupant tied herself to a medical toilet in her kitchen where she slept each night?

New Years Goals; 2011: UPDATE

Well, it's half-way through the year and time to update my New Years Goals that I posted in January. I've modified them only slightly, and marked off the ones which are complete. 

1. Post these goals on my blog (1/6/2011)
2. Give an update half-way through the year (6/25/2011)
3. Give a final report at the end of the year
4. Get a job!!! (May 20)
5. Enroll in a regular fitness class or join a gym
6. Go on 12 planned dates with Dusty (3/12)
7. Travel to a unique park or national forest or historical site or museum each month (6/12)
1. National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton
2. Hopewell Culture National Historic Park, Chillicothe
3. Armstrong Air & Space Museum, Wapokeneta 
4. Indian Lake State Park
5. A.W. Marion State Park
6. Ohio Riverfront Park, Marietta
8. Walk 500 miles outside of regular daily activities (57/500)
9. Buy a used banjo (opted for a guitar instead - May, 2011)
10. Learn to identify 20 new species (10/20) 
• House Sparrow, Dogwood Tree, Mourning/Turtle Dove, Purple Archangel, Goldfinch, Titmouse, Gerbera Daisy, Grackle, Buckeye, American Lotus
11. Write in my journal once per week (10/52)
12. See five musical performances live (3/5)
1. Drums Downtown VIII, Columbus (February 18)
2. Shoefly, Circleville (May 7) 
3. Remington Ryde, McConnelsville (June 16)
13. Buy a used bicycle (March 11) 
14. Fly my sister Melanie to Ohio (maybe in October?)
15. Plan a road trip to Maryland/Washington D.C. (maybe in October?) 
16. Go camping
17. Fly a kite
18. Write ten more blog posts than I wrote last year (23/65)
19. Read two books of poetry (0/2)
20. Join a book club (February 16)
21. Read 12 books (6/12)
• see these books and my reviews on my 2011 shelf:
  
22. Learn 12 new songs (2/12)
23. Join a garden club
24. Grow ten species of plants (5/10) 
• Primrose, Gerbera Daisy, Chocolate Mint, Ginger Mint, Aloe
25. Try a new recipe each month (4/12)
1. Vegetarian Red Lentil Kufta (red lentils, bulger wheat, onion, olive oil)
2. Boston Baked Beans (navy beans, bacon, onion, maple syrup, ketchup, brown sugar, ground mustard, Worcestershire sauce)
3. Tzatziki sauce (Greek yogurt, cucumber, dill, olive oil, lemon juice)
4. Sweet Easter Bread (flavored with a little bit of lemon and orange zest and decorated with a red-dyed egg)
26. Invite others over for dinner three times (0/3)
27. Practice with Rosetta Stone once per week (15/52)
28. Attend the Feast of the Flowering Moon Festival in Chillicothe (May 27 - 29)
29. Attend the Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival (September 9 - 10)
30. Attend the Circleville Pumpkin Show (October 19 - 22)
31. Learn about this year's issues and vote on November 8th (registered to vote 3/2011)
32. Interview three of Dusty's great-aunts/great-uncles (0/3)
33. Transfer 2008-2009 digital photos from computer's hard drive onto labeled discs 

Cute Overload

It would irresponsible of me not to share my newfound love of Parry Gripp's music. Whenever I feel down, all I have to do is hear this heartfelt music and watch this confident hamster:





Whenever I need a laugh, all I need to do is sing along to this upbeat song and watch how the world has gone completely insane:




And whenever it is time to feed my kitties their din-din, I sing this song and try not to die of cute-overload:

Green Investors

Well under way is the search for our second real estate purchase. We enjoy working with lenders and real estate agents, touring prospective properties, and brainstorming about investing. We heavily use the the Zillow Real Estate website to find what's for sale, in conjunction with Google Maps to "walk around" via Street View and to plot driving routes to actually walk around the place in person.


The Columbus area has a lot of potential for investment. Unfortunately, with loss of jobs in the region, large portions of the city are in decay. Yesterday evening we found ourselves on a severely degraded street on the east side of the city of Columbus. While the fourplex we had come to see was in great shape, it was truly, as Dusty put it, the diamond in the rough. All of its neighboring buildings had boarded up windows and doors, their walls were painted with graffiti art, and one was a burnt shell, gaped and sagging and exposed to the elements. Despite the obvious hazards in the neighborhood, people were outside of their homes drinking 40s, playing basketball, listening to music, and socializing with one another. Although it looks like it should be a dead neighborhood, lots of people are still living here, and they are doing it with spunk.

We found ourselves eating fried chicken in a nearby restaurant and talking about the risk of buying in this neighborhood. The fourplex we had come to see is fully occupied and freshly painted. All of its windows and doors are intact. The annual income from its tenants is $20,000, and while the current owners have kept it well-maintained, we couldn't justify buying a property that might meet the same fate as nearly all of its neighbors. We thought it might be fun to buy up the whole street and initiate a community rehabilitation project, but ultimately, we are green investors and still getting to know what possibilities there are for us. Buying up a whole street will have to wait a little while, until we have enough capital to play with. Until then, we will continue to look far into the future.

Ohio State University: First Thoughts

WOW -- this is definitely my first choice. Ohio State has the research and international opportunity that any serious anthropologist would die to get in on. The bustling campus has views of the Columbus skyline and the Olentangy River, and it's home to the state's favorite football team: the Buckeyes. Quickly becoming internationally known, OSU's acceptance rate is in the 55%-60% range, and the faculty are not just teaching students but also performing research and consulting throughout the world. I'd be crazy not to go to this school.

My Birthday Weekend

We spent my birthday at Indian Lake with Dusty's family, and

Listened to bird calls high in the treetops,

Skimmed the lake on a cousin's motor-boat, fresh air whipping my hair straight backward and drying my eyeballs faster than I could blink, 

Spotted fluffy baby ducklings with their mother, and herons standing tall and still in the channels beyond the lake, 

Sipped wine and chatted with all the relatives, 

Relaxed by the outdoor fire after dark in weather that was perfectly cool and bug-less.