In Motion

Summer is coming to a close, as evidenced by the chilly nights we've been having. This morning, I woke up to a cloudy sky and cold, damp weather - you know, the kind perfect for sleeping in. =P Haven't had those in a while. I even wore a sweater for a good part of the morning. Sorry about the blogging hiatus. I spent the past week in a motel due to plumbing repairs in my apartment, and the change in environment wasn't very conducive for blogging. At first I thought a motel stay would be fun since my brain subconsciously associated it with travelling and adventure, but I soon figured out that motel stays are only fun if you spend most of the day out, not cooped up in it. =P Still, it was a change of scenery and we made the most out of it. We fully utilized the TV once, and the bathtub once. I know, I'm getting old and these things don't amuse me as much as they used to before. Ah, the disenchantment that comes with being an adult! Give me a fast internet connecti...

I now know why guys are terrified of asking girls out. Having made more friends over the past few weeks, I've also tried to spend more time with them outside of the book club. That, however, means I have to put myself out there and ask acquaintances if they would like to go for coffee or hang out. Before that happens, though, I usually spend a few hours worrying if I'm appearing too eager to make friends. I don't want to be that clingy puppy dog/overeager beaver that people hide their annoyance towards and feel bad about declining invitations from. =P Asking someone out also means putting them in a position where they're obligated to respond nicely because it's the polite thing to do, and I really don't want to put any pressure on anyone. Yes, I know I'm the one with loads of free time on my hands and others have more pressing schedules. That only adds to my hesitation. In all honesty, I probably worry too much about other people's perception of me. ...

While my husband is slaving away at his laptop to write a paper, I hand wash some clothes, write some Amazon buyer reviews, check out Kroger's weekly deals and eventually turn to blogging. My days are filled with more human interaction now and the past few weeks have been good. We try to serve at every opportunity the church offers us as long as it doesn't affect JW's work, and I've been getting to know more people from the Book Club and also through hosting people at our place. I like hosting people - it makes me feel like I'm utilizing all the space (and rent) that we have for a good cause. Ironically, the more activities I get myself into, the more I feel like I have too much downtime. Our nights have become more boring and besides reading or watching something on Netflix, there isn't much to do together with JW. Maybe I should just leave him alone to finish his book or play Battleship . =P The other night, we played Scrabble against a bot. It was fun but...

I am thankful that I can speak three languages. It certainly helps a lot in Malaysia, and it's relatively easy for me to communicate here in the States because I can speak English. Here, though, my English doesn't sound like standard English. For one thing, I don't have the accent; for another, my rhythm, intonation and pronunciation is usually different from Americans'. I have to think twice every time I say "three" or "through" because all my life I've been enunciating those as "tree" and "tru". In case you're wondering, it's something like "thuh-ree", but smoother and quicker. Which is why I avoid saying it if possible - it just takes too much time to get right. Helpful synonyms include "a few" and "some". =P The worst part is, conditioning myself to pronounce the "thuh" sound makes me say ALL words beginning with "T" like that. Sometimes I accidentally catch mys...