Joys

The best thing about today was that it rained*. A LOT. With lots of thunder and (presumably) lightning. But what really made it so great was that it was still raining when I left work**, and raining pretty good. As I left, there were a bunch of people hanging out in the lobby, at least some of whom were waiting for a lull to avoid the soaking that they would have gotten otherwise.

Not me, though. I embraced it. (It's water. I don't melt in water). I embraced it so much that I puddle-jumped and puddle-stomped my way home, which admittedly is not that far (one city block, more or less) but was very puddle packed. And I didn't just jump in one. Or jump with any kind of reserve. I went all in, full-fledged five-year old, and it was AWESOME! It's amazing how jumping in 2-3 inches of water can soak you up to your knees. Also, it is totally worth it.

So, moral of the story? Turn your rainy day into a great one and hop in some puddles.


*It wasn't a bad day. It was a fairly normal day and more good than bad. 
**but not thunder and lightning. I had to enjoy all that from work.

A new place

This last weekend, I traveled to Massachusetts, where I spent some time in Amherst, the Cape Ann area, and the Boston area. Of course there was way too much to do and not nearly enough time to do it in and so there had to be some picking and choosing. So, how do you decide what to see when there is so much to choose from?

Given the fact that I'm an archivist and Massachusetts is jam-packed with history, you'd think I would want to hit up all the museums and historical locations. And it's not that I don't like any of that. But lately (meaning the last few years-ish) when I travel, I just want to see the place, get a feel for what it is. I don't really want to see the tourist attractions, at least not if it comes down to seeing the place or seeing the tourist sites. I have just been really into seeing the world as it is, rather than curated stories of the past. It may be a phase--check back in in another 5 years or so.

One of the reasons (one of the very important reasons!) for going to Boston was to visit some friends and they were very kind and patient with my constantly shifting plans. I kind of picked out a couple of things that I really wanted to do and we filled in the blank from there. So, what does a weird traveler like me do when there's a million things to choose from?

• look for lighthouses on Cape Ann, fail to find them, but see some nice beaches anyway and take that opportunity to get some photos.
• get a tour of the National Archives in Waltham, where my friends are working. 
• visit Lexington, which is historic but it was a historic where you could be in the place, know what happened without having to be told a ton, and just kind of take it in.
• swing by the Lexington Cemetery, which is really fascinating in terms of layout and led to curiosity about symbolism in headstone decoration.
• visit the Boston Common and the Public Garden I particularly enjoyed the flags put up for Memorial day. It was very touching. 

A flag for each Massachusettsan who died in a war

• check out the Boston Public Library, which also counted as visiting an art gallery.
• tour the Mapparium. This was one of the very few things that was an absolute must on my list. It was awesome! Somehow, looking at the globe from the inside really changes your perspective on how big things are, and how close or far apart they are. Maps are always disproportional, globes do better, but from the inside out is a whole new perspective.
• amble through Back Bay then eat at Uno's, because what better place to visit a Chicago-based pizza restaurant than Boston.
• play some board games with your friends, which was delightful. It was nice to have some down time and I love playing games! 
• walk along the Charles River, which is very scenic.
• go to Mount Auburn Cemetery. This was a totally unplanned stop--I didn't even know it was a thing, but we went and it was beautiful. Then I came home and looked it up on Wikipedia and am even more impressed! Also, super thrilled that I got to see it even though I hadn't planned on it at all. And we got to go up in the tower, which gave me a great view of the city (which I missed out on at the Skywalk Observatory, because $21? Really? But it worked out perfectly because the Tower did the job). And there were a lot of cool experiences as we ran into people.

So, probably not what anyone else would have done but for me, it was the perfect trip, but still too short. I got home and just wished I could have spent another week--not a week of sightseeing, but just a week with good friends, enjoying a new place, but mostly being with friends. 

My only regret? I didn't eat any lobster. Guess I'll have to go back. 

Family Ties

Every now and then, I like to log on to FamilySearch and just click back as far as I can on a line. Any line, doesn't matter which. And, apparently I had time to kill today* because that's what I did.

Of course, the farther back you go the more dubious the information gets. You start hitting these things where the mother is also the niece or the husband died before the wife was born. You know how it is. But it is still always entertaining to see who you are purported to be related to. Once I followed a line back to a Gandalf in about 200 AD. That was fun.

Today's playing of the "Who Am I (not really) Related To?" had some great hits. My favorites include:

• Odin Woden Woutan, King of Asgard**, who according to FamilySearch died in 300 AD. Clearly, they didn't watch Thor: Ragnarok
• the Myth King of Kvenland--I'm not sure what the Myth is referring to (the King is a myth? He is the king of Myths?)
• a frost giant (whose genetics clearly skipped me, as I'm a whopping 5' 5" if I round up)
• and the Overlord of Anglo-Saxons. 

Also in my supposed ancestry are lots of kings and queens of the Scandinavian countries, Turkey, Syria, Mesopotamia, France, Germany, and various British tribes, etc; Boudicea (multiple spellings), another Odin Woden Woutan, who died in 306 AD and was not listed as the King of Asgard; Hoard of Denmark; King Gorr of Alfheim; one Kwxyd; and Franklin P. Lucifer, parent of some Roman somebody or other who was born in the late BCEs. Of course.

I also love how many entries in the hundreds AD are just, "Mrs. ________________". You have "Big Ole Important Dude with a Fancy Title", and "Mrs. Big Ole Important Dude with a Fancy Title." "Mrs. Tertulius" was somehow one of my favorites. "Hello, let me introduce you to Tertulius, head of the Roman Empire. And his wife, Mrs. Tertulius."

It is kind of interesting to see how I start out in Europe and end up in Egypt and Tunisia and Jerusalem. Supposedly. While the lineage is probably very bogus, there is probably some semblance of truth to the geography. At least to a degree. And probably more likely if you really do tap into the royal lines,*** because they really got around.

Anyway, even though it is almost 100% not likely to be true, I think I'm still claiming Franklin P. Lucifer. And maybe Odin Woden and the Myth King. Because, why not?


*I didn't really. Well, I mean, I did. But I definitely could have found something significantly better to do with my time than this fun little exercise. 
**I think I should now get free admittance to every Marvel movie ever. 
***I had a patron come into work one day claiming she had traced her ancestry all the way back to Adam. Speaking as an archivist who knows a thing or two about the absence of good documentation, I'm saying the likelihood of doing that is next to whatever is 5 steps away from impossible. If you do tap into royalty, you can get decently far back, because royalty was important and so their life got written down, but that has to be the legitimate line, not some poor out of wedlock line. And maybe, maybe if you happened to tie into the line that is given for Joseph or Mary in the New Testament, you might be able to trace back, but even then, I'd be super skeptical. So, congrats, but no. I'm going to kill that dream right now. 

Stuff happens

Someone I know has been dealing with an injury the last few weeks (or months, depending on when you start counting). One day he said, "I just wish I knew what God wanted me to learn so I could learn it already and be better."

Now, there are two things that crossed my mind when he said this. First, maybe God wanted him to learn to treat an injury when it first occurs, instead of 7 months after the fact, but what do I know.

Second, sometimes stuff just happens. God doesn't make it happen because He wants us to learn something. It's just life. Stuff happens. Sometimes things happen. You get the flu, even though you got the flu shot. You don't get every job you apply for. Traffic is bad. You have bad days, you don't sleep well, you get old. Stuff happens. It's not like God is up there saying, "Oh, now it's time for him [or her] to learn about failure, so I better make sure they don't get that job offer."

Nope, stuff happens and it's not part of some celestial predestined curriculum. Yes, He wants us to grow and become better, stronger people through these types of events. He wants us to turn to Him for help and to demonstrate Christlike traits as we navigate our way through the stuff that life throws at us. But he isn't playing mind games with us, forcing us to figure out what it is He wants us to learn and then learning it. And, since that's the case, learning it faster isn't going to make the flu or injuries or anything else go away once we nail it.

So, folks, when life goes south, all you can do is buckle in and be your best.