But what is this economy thing? Often, it’s talked about in terms of GNP, which is the total dollar value of final goods and services. We’re told this number is supposed to be big. In grade school, I remember hearing about the GNP of different nations. Ours was great. For other countries, we laughed at their little numbers.

In what way does this system measure the health of a nation? Since GNP only looks at things that have a monetary value, it seems possible that it risks measuring the non-health of a nation. The truth is that many of the things that indicate a quality of life, a richness and fullness of life, and a reflection of basic values simply cannot be measured by money. On the other hand, illness – both mental, physical, and spiritual – can be measured financially.

I love restaurant food. I love my food to be covered in cheese and grease and contain magic-restaurant calories and be made by someone else and brought out to me. Increasingly, I’m less interested in the part where it’s made by someone else. I really enjoy being at home, and I really want to know what’s in my food (even if it’s cheese and grease). I want to save money by making things at home. All sorts of reasons. Sometimes this leads to frustration, though, as the stuff at home tends to be “healthier”, and doesn’t always satisfy me when I have a craving for junk food.

The other night, I was hungering for something restaurant-y, but I didn’t want to head out to an actual restaurant to get it. I opened up my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook determined to make myself something yummy. I don’t have very much experience cooking, but I was sure I could find something. The very first item in the very first section (appetizers) was pizza rolls. Ah ha! Cheese! Meat! Bread! Hard to go wrong.

A friend recently asked me about why I was living in a van. Didn’t I like living in a house? I said, yes, I had liked my house okay, but I was never there. Between work, being at my boyfriend’s house, etc., I was only there a couple of nights a week, and then mostly to just grab some stuff or to sleep.

I had an odd little moment where I realized that that’s mostly what I’m doing with the van, too. With temperatures being so high, I’m mostly just in the van to grab some things or to go to sleep. I spend my time at my boyfriend’s house, working online at Chick fil A, or spending all day at the gaming bar on free ladies day. So why the van, if I’m not living in it any more than I was living in my house.

I realized that expectation is the difference in what makes the van more comfortable for me. Having a whole house creates a certain set of expectations just by its being and by your having it.

I had planned to trim up my dreads come summertime, but even though it’s still winter, they were starting to get heavy. Especially after bathing, when they’re all wet, my dreadlocks are very heavy. When it’s warm, they feel like wool on my neck. Which is partly literally true – the yarn wraps are wool.

Anyway, after a shower the other day, I decided the time had come, season notwithstanding. I picked 6 inches as the right number. I took each individual dreadlock, measured up six inches, and snipped it off.

I’ve been reading about Formspring a bit lately, and seeing other people with Formspring pages do their thing. I’ve finally decided to jump on the bandwagon. You can find me at formspring.me/erosissa – What’s the deal with Formspring? It’s very, very simple. You get to ask questions, anonymously, and I will answer them. It’s silly, but it also seems fun. I’ll probably post fun questions I get and their answers here, as well. Feel free to pop over there and ask me anything.

Here’s an awesome video of a super-slo-mo dread flip. As a person with dreads, I love everything dread related, and this was a fantastic find.

I found this post in my drafts. Apparently, I never posted it. It’s 5 months later now, and I’m well settled into my new home at The Wallow. What has happened and what has yet to come? Here’s the draft I wrote back in August:

“I won’t be moving to my new house in Tennessee until October. So much waiting! I’m reading up on bees and pigs in the meantime, as well as prepping for Burning Man and Alchemy, which happen between now and then. There’s lots to do, but I’m spending a lot of time daydreaming away, too.”

I heard a commercial on the radio the other day for a car dealership. Usually, I don’t listen to commercials. I change the station as soon as they start. This one caught my mind wandering though, and managed to sneak in a line. Here’s what I heard the moments before I got to the dial: “We have every car, from entry level to the car that says ‘You’ve arrived!’”

Burning Man is touted as a no-commerce event. It’s also viewed as a hippie/freak oasis miles away from the “default world”. The closer it gets to the event, though, the more grumbling I hear from people who are a little cynical about the ideals, because there is an insane amount of commerce going on.

A random thing that made me smile – celebrities upside down!