Light Bulbs

Sometimes I do things that I think sell me out. One is that I don't wear a lot of t-shirts. The second is that I have a hard time not wearing mascara. The third is that I cannot eliminate the word y'all from my vocabulary and it kind of bothers me that they don't have it in German. Fourth, when I am back in the states I frequently use the phrase "or" at the end of a sentence because it is a common way to end a sentence in German, "Oder?" - it's kind of like the German equivalent to America's "You know?" which I in turn also do in German, "Weiss du?"

Fifth... this is more of a feel, but one time I was at Magnolia Cafe in Austin with my friend Jamie. At the time I was living in Waco, and in and out of classes at Baylor. I don't really remember the context of the conversation, but I remember him making some sort of snide comment like, "People only have to look at you to know that you're from Waco." Which was about the most insulting thing you could say to an Austin girl... Thankfully our friendship more than survived it, though I am pretty sure that he would still tell you that people look at me and think I went to Baylor.

My point is, somehow I feel like my fascination with light bulbs might be the Sixth thing that gives me away. I'm not sure why. But I sense that it does. I am blond hair, blue eyed, I wear a fantastic pair of Ariat two tone cowboy boots all over this city, except when it's cold or warm in which case I wear UGGS or Rainbows. I am typical. I am relatively preppy. And I love light bulbs. I mean - on the atypical side; I also was born and raised in Texas by carnivores and I don't eat meat. I don't drink milk. And I haven't had milk chocolate in a long, long time. I hang out in third world countries, and I have a fascination with light bulbs. You know what? If the light bulb thing sells me out - call me stereotypical... believe me, I have been and will be called worse.

The truth is, right now, I will take all the light that I can get. And in the end days of this dark and dreary winter, I am drawn to every light I see. Hanging from windows, ceilings, scaffolding, or awnings... If it is a light I am probably drawn to it. And if I am drawn to it, then I am probably going to take a picture of it. Sue me.

It does make me think of my favorite part in A Bugs Life where they are flying somewhere and there is the bug zapper and one bug says to the other, "Don't fly toward the light it will kill you!" and the other bug says, "I can't help it, it's so beautiful." Then you hear the buzz and zap of the murderous blue light. I always laughed really hard at that part. That probably doesn't speak very highly of my character... Not very typical Baylor of me for sure. Take that Jamie!