Hometown: The Roch, MI (aka. The Crotch, aka. Crotchscratcher, aka. Crotchmolester, aka. Rochester)
Currently Living: Clawson, MI
Height: 5'8
Weight: Ha ha, yeah right
Favorite Color: Blue (preferably navy)
Profession: Researcher
Favorite Nickname: Trick, Sloan
Favorite Drinks:Vodka Tonic, Guinness, Diet Dr. Pepper, Dirty Martinis, red wine
Favorite TV Show: Friends, Sex & The City, Project Runway, The Amazing Race, Iron Chef America
Least Favorite TV Show: A Baby Story, I Love Lucy, Martha Stewart, Everybody Loves Raymond, every hour long drama
Favorite Books: The History of Love, Beloved, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Fight Club, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The of Being, SurUnbearable Lightness vivor, Empire Falls, The Corrections, The Bell Jar
Favorite Movies: Little Miss Sunshine, Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Wordplay, American Beauty, Life is Beautiful, Amelie, Breakfast Club, Singin In The Rain, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sleeping Beauty, Dancer in the Dark, Duets, The Virgin Suicides, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Austin Powers I, II & III, My Best Friends Wedding, Moulin Rouge, Tommy Boy, Billy Madison, The Shining, Gone With The Wind, Bridget Jones' Diary, Chicago, Love Actually
Guilty Pleasure Movies: Xanadu, Dirty Dancing, Overboard, Groundhog Day, Steel Magnolias, 10 Things I Hate About You, Bond movies, Footloose, Clue, Murder By Death, High Spirits, A Cinderella Story
What I Do Too Much: Check email, crossword puzzles, complain about my job to friends and family,
Obsessions: sushi, Indian food, ranch dressing, toenail polish, song lyrics, hands, awards shows, symmetry, avocados, maps, dreams, This American Life, the display in my car that tracks my MPG
Pet Peeves: loud eaters, slurping, gulping, arrogance, snoring, bad grammar, repetition, late mergers, ripping cardboard, the word "chunky", intolerance, couples in a restaurant sitting on the same side of a booth, pop-up ads, privacy manager, men that drive without shirts on, being foolish, unfairly jumping to conclusions, being made fun of, cat-calling, people who type too hard
Greatest Fear: crossing bridges
Relaxing Activites: late night drives to sing by myself, headstands, hot baths,
Wish I Was: Ansel Adams, Jenifer Aniston, in love, living alone
Prized Possessions: ring from my grandparents, flower pot of my Grandma's, electric blanket (temporarily broken), tongue scraper, my bed
Craziest Thing Ever Done: getting a tattoo, strip Jenga
Things I Eventually Want To Do: skydive, buy a guitar, learn how to play the aforementioned guitar, take flying lessons, travel to France, write a novel, learn how to play the harp, tap dancing lessons, run a marathon
Thursday, December 21, 2006 The dust has only just begun to form crop circles on the carpet....Multiple things....
First, if you have an opportunity, if she's in your area, Go see Imogen Heap!! The boy and I went the other night and were enjoyed it muchissimo. When I was listening to her CD earlier in the day I found myself thinking, "How exactly is she going to get all of this electronic kind of sound to her songs?" (particularly with "Hide and Seek"). And lo and behold, she had all kinds of neat little toys to loop her singing or distort her voice. It was pretty impressive. When she sang "Let Go" with just the piano and the French horn, I very literally was moved to tears. So go go go! She was fantastic!
Second, I just found out today that one of the papers that I am a co-author on was accepted for publication. Yippee! Now just one more big beast to go and then I can clean my docket of things that have been staring me in the face for a year.
Third, last weekend my familia celebrated Christmas. Yes, apparently we missed the memo that Christmas was in fact the following week, but who doesn't love a mid December Chrismahannaukwaanzakah celebration? In truth, the 'rentals came into town last week to visit and weren't staying through Christmas, so we celebrated early. That's not to say that we won't be celebrating again on Sun and Mon. Oh no. Any excuse to get together and eat obscene amounts of food is all good with us. So we had an absolutely great time, with, for some reason, my dad being the brunt of jokes for the weekend. Like everytime he would refill a glass of beer and walk away from it for a minute, my siblings or I would wolf it down so he would return to an empty glass and have to get another one. Or, after opening gifts, when we were waiting for my dad to come back downstairs, we all (all 13 of us) prepared our wrapping paper artillery and had an attack on padre when he returned. Ahhh yes, those moments of being a grown up 10 year old.
Fourth, I went to visit my other brother and his wife in Buffalo. Which was a great couple days (multiple hour car trip through the expanse of Canada excluded). They recently bought a new house which was gorgeous and a new ShihTzu puppy who, I'm still wishing, I had stuffed into my backpack and made a run for it. We would have been long past Niagra Falls before they would have noticed that she was gone. Ok, so we probably wouldn't have made it down the driveway. But still! It was a very very nice couple days.
Fifth, my favorite girl in the whole widest world, Steph returned from Italy this week, and not only did she bring back a gorgeous cashmere scarf as a gift for me (which I'm wearing right now btw), but she had a welcome home shindig last night. Where we were serenaded by carolers. They were hard core with guitar and all. So we stood on the porch with glasses of wine in hand and enjoyed the lovely tunes and had a great evening.
Sixth, as my secret Santa, Amy bought me a pedometer (sneaky gal listening to what I had to say and all). And it's fair to say that I'm obsessed. It's recommended that you walk 10,000 steps per day, and lemmetellya, that's a lot friggin harder than it sounds. On average, I probably only walk about 5,000-6,000. So I pretty much end up having to go for a walk in the evening to make up the difference, which is probably what I should be doin anyway. But still, I park as far away as I can, I take the stairs. Also, things that one should be doing anyway. But I'm a freak now, it's fair to say (so far today: 1,465 steps).
Seventh, as I always do, in the spirit of yearly wrap-ups, here is my Top Ten fav CDs of 2006:
And yes, Imogen's CD came out in 2005 but too bad. She was featured onsoume soundtracks this year so that's good enough for me. Oh, and without a doubt, my guilty pleasure song of the year was "Buttons" by the Pussycat Dolls. I can't help myself.
Alright kids. This took me a long time to do, so I'm going to get back to work now. Hugs and kisses.
8:55 AM
Wednesday, December 06, 2006 Watch me unravel, I'll soon be naked....And yet another wonderfully nauseating story to file away in the annals of "You deal with that at your job??!!
So apparently my research subject yesterday thought it was appropriate to sleep without any pants on. And I don't just mean in his skivvies, because I've had that happen in the past. But full-fledged, nekked, dropped trou in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of our lab. It was creepy creepy. He seemed normal at first, but then seemed to ask more than normal if there was a video camera in the room, if it was recording, who all is watching it, where in the ceiling it was. And he also didn't seem too inclined to use the covers so much either (NOTE: This is exactly why we put an additional sheet between the person and the comforter).
I don't know if I just misunderstood him and that him telling me that he just sleeps in a t-shirt and me assuming that meant t-shirt with somethin' on the bottom. Or if he figured we were doctors and nurses and were probably used to nude people all the time. But all I know is that I didn't need to see any old-man pubes (and thensome) yesterday. (I think I threw up a little in my mouth just writing that).
Interesting story #2. This morning on my way to work at 5:30am right down the street from where I work was an interesting site. About 2-3 dozen cop cars flying all over the place. With lights on, turning around in the middle of the street, running lights, flashing lights into people's cars. Turns out that a prisoner escaped from Detroit Receiving Hospital armed with a gun this morning. Riiiiight as I was driving by the building. Apparently he wrestled a gun away from a security guard and stole an ambulance. So the road I needed to take was blocked off as I was waiting to cross the intersection. It was strange that the only other cars I passed while going around the block were all cop cars. So that was my interesting morning.
It's been a wiley couple days around here. I'm so tired I can hardly even see straight, but I get to just keep doing it over and over again til I drop. Fun stuff!
12:59 PM
Monday, December 04, 2006 So we keep on waitin', waitin' on the world to change....Quick comment while I have a moment to vent: U of M got SCREWED. I can't even express how much I want to kick some AP and coaches ass. There's just no reason for Florida to be above them other than the fact that everyone is too chicken shit to acknowledge that the BCS DOESN'T WORK. Every damn year there are controversies about it. It's as though they were picking anyone who wasn't Michigan just because they shirked away from a Rematch. So what if the two best teams are from the same conference and one isn't the conference champ? That should be a testament to how competitive the Big Ten actually is. And what if Florida would have lost on Sat? Would they just have kept moving on down the list to pick anyone other than Michigan?
Comparison: U of M lost 1 game to the #1 team by one field goal. You really can't have a better season that that other than to be flawless. Florida on the other hand struggled every single week and lost their one game to a now #9 ranked Auburn by 10 points. That should say it all.
3 last things:
1. Had Ohio State lost to U of M back on November 17th, there is NO DOUBT IN MY MIND that Ohio State would still have been chosen to play in Glendale and the thought of a rematch wouldn't have freaked people out so much because they were such favorites all season. Why are the Wolverines ot given that kind of respect for their season?
2. I wonder if Lloyd Carr had been such a baby about things if it would have swayed people like Mr. Florida Crybaby did. Thank god that he had so much grace and class in accepting the decision. Like he said, "It's not the Michigan way."
3. I hope Florida gets stomped into the arid desert ground in Arizona and has to dig their asses out and return to the Sunshine State with the gator tails between their legs. I never thought I would root for the Buckeyes, but I would like everyone to see what a mismatch this is going to be so all those so-called-analysts can take a moment and think, "Huh, maybe this was a bad call."
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 Groove is in the heart....Welcome to November! My apologies for leaving you believing that my life has been so dire and miserable for all of this time. But I have my moments, what can I say? When in fact, things have not been so bad I suppose. Provided I don't bounch any more checks, I should be fine for a little while.
So what to catch up on from the past month? Well, I don't know. I ran a relay for the Detroit marathon which was much fun. I think I'll have a hard time doing anything other than that from now on. There was a slight inkling desire to run another full marathon, but when we were waiting for the rest of our team at mile 26 to all run into the stadium together and I was watching people's misery written all over their faces, it all came rushing back to me and I remember all too well that agony. So I'm back to staunchly being in the "Hell No" category. Plus, when you do a relay, you can finish the whole thing in 4 hours and 9 minutes. How badass are we?
I can catch up on my sports? And lemmejustsay, it was a tough weekend for a Wolverine. And I'm allll for the rematch. The only team U of M has lost to was the #1 team. Who else has a better record than that? No one. And that's how it should be mother trucker. Although if Ohio State were to lose, boy oh boy would they cry foul.
I can catch up on the fun happenings of a Sunday cooking Polish food? I can catch up on the fun happenings of the boy's birthday last weekend, complete with 4 CDs of party music that went with us whereever we went? I can catch up on the funniest thing I've ever seen, that being Suzy dancing to Dee-Lite in the middle of parking lot, while I watched through my rear view mirror? I can catch up the freelance editing I've been getting paid to do? I can catch up on the day-long drive to Indiana only to turn around and come right back? I can catch up on my presentation for my final class (oh don't worry, I'm not done yet)? I can catch up on the wonderful weekend the boy and I spent house-sitting for friends of his (think jacuzzi tub and flat screen tv)?
See, I've been a busy girl. But I don't want to watch the blog be so shamelessly neglected. I promise I'll recommit. I promise. And I know I keep saying that. But this time I mean it. I have actually found a rekindling of a creative vibe in my body and have gotten back to writing on a regular basis again. So maybe I'll vent that creativity back into this. Although I'm sure you're thinking, "This sucks, what creativity does she think she's talking about??" But you'll see. Just wait.
10:13 AM
Thursday, October 12, 2006 The future's no place to put your better days....And a big sigh. Amongst grrrrrrs....Sick of it. Sick of it all. The same laments for years. The same issues for years. Is this how boring everyone's life is? Even a new problem would be fine to handle. I will trade you financial woes for a broken arm. Deal? With my luck, I'll probably break my arm tomorrow and then have to deal with both.
7:27 PM
Monday, October 09, 2006 You were there, and it was good in the beginning....I think that, quite possibly, the best way to start off a Saturday morning of tailgating (yes, our asses were there by 9am, and yes, the game started at 4:30pm) is with the good ol' Captain Morgan and cider. I will refrain from giving you the ratios of rum-to-cider, but suffice it to say that it was enough to have most/all of us a little bit intoxicated by 10am. Which led into the rest of a fantasticly perfect fall Saturday. We had a nice group of teachers, roommates, significant others, old friends and even some former students rally up in Ann Arbor - Spartans and Wolverines alike. I actually think us Wolverines may have been outnumbered. We drank, ate obscene amounts of beandip, played a brutal game of spoons (this was around that 10am mark, so it was rather amusing as well, with a couple diving plays across the card table that may have left some bruises). And then there are those of us who weren't smart and didn't put on sunblock when everyone else was and had a wicked sunburned face complete with awesome sunglass rings around the eyes.
The boy had never tailgated at UofM before, and was kind of creeped out by the amount of crazy preparation that some people put into their tailgating -- the guy with the ENORMOUS grill that had about 5 tiers, 4 side burners and pots and that was a separate hitch on the back of his truck, the people with the 10-foot tall inflatable Sparty, the people with their flat screens set up in the back of their SUVs, the people with a maize and blue Michigan satellite dish (where the fuck do yo even buy something like that??). It is always a sight to behold at how manic some folks are. Shoot, we didn't even splurge for tablecloths this year. We were happy to have remembered a bottle opener.
But the day flew by (seriously, what the hell did we do all day??) and by game time, there were some seriously tanked folks where we were -- the guy in the mesh shirt (oh yes, a SEE THROUGH mesh shirt) was hunched over passed out in a chair. I hope he didn't have tickets to the game cos I don't think he made it. Since none of us acutally had tickets, we saddled up, maneuvered our way out of the golf course and went and watched the game at Amy and Dave's. This allowed us to actually watch the Tigers KICK THE YANKEES' ASSES at the same time.
So I don't know if I could have possibly dialed up a better day. Except for the raging headache that I incurred late in the afternoon on into the evening in spite of the multiple Aleve and many multiple bottles of water I consumed. And except for the obnoxious stomachache that I also incurred (the boy as well. We're going to blame it on the gorging on beandip). So I was content to lay motionless for most of the evening, since any amount of standing or walking made the pulsing action of my headache more painful. And the boy and I were content to smile and chuckle about what a fantastically fun day it was. In spite of his non-tailgating ways, I think he had more fun than anyone. So thank you all who came and played with us for the fun fun day!!
****************************
Multiple oddities and happenings:
~Last week when I was at the grocery store, the woman behind me in line was critiquing the food I was purchasing. And not in a quiet-to-herself kind of way. In more of a "Oh, you really like fresh vegetables," way. Or a "Oh, you're buying chicken broth, are you making soup this week?" way. Or a "Oh, you like yogurt, I can't really get into it," kind of way. She had a nice disapproving look and comment to dish out when I plopped down the 12-pack of Labatt's on the conveyor belt. I'd like to point out that all she was buying was about 30 bags of frozen mixed vegetables.
~After I left the grocery store and when I was turning into the drug store parking lot to run more errands, there was a police chase that went rolling right on by me at about 60+ mph. I don't know why someone would think they could outrun 3 police cars on a 35 mph road that has traffic lights every quarter mile or so. I don't know whatever happened. I didn't see it on the news or anything. But not necessarily something that happens everyday within 5 minutes of my house in the middle of boring suburbia.
~Attempt #1 at sushi making: not so successful. I have my mat and my seaweed wraps. All the gear except for the right rice. And I didn't wrap them tightly enough and the rice was warm so it made the seaweed wrap warm and difficult to cut. So as soon as I went to slice them up, they all fell apart and I ended up eating the pile of mess on my plate with a fork. Oh don't get me wrong, it still tasted damn good, but I'm just that good yet. But don't you worry. I will be. Oh yes, I will be.
Alright kiddies. It's Columbus Day (do you know how it started? If you read Devil in the White City you'll find out) and no one is at work today. So I need to get back to work, since I'm the only one here and all. Happy Monday!
10:17 AM
Monday, October 02, 2006 Cos I miss you, yeahhhhhh, I miss you....Alright. I'm getting a little sick of this spinach ban bullshit. Cos I tend to eat spinach...ooohhh...every day or so. Maybe every other day. I know, what can I say? I love it. I'm a little obsessed. Popeye is my muse.
So I'm starting to go through withdrawl. Being forced to eat other vegetables like broccoli and zuccini? (Although I would eat grilled zuccini everyday if I had to as well. That is, if I could soldier through the winter months and grill in the cold. And I'm not allowing George Forman to be a sufficient replacement here). They're just not sufficient replacements.
But I have a new mission for what I eat. I always rant and rave about how damn obsessed I am with Indian food and sushi. So I have decided that instead of making the crap that I normally do, I'm going to learn how to make Indian food and sushi well enough to make it more affordable and to not hate my own cooking so much. That way, on days like today, where I'm insanely craving that delicious buttery taste of salmon nigiri or the delicious hotness of wasabi and soy sauce, I'll have it allll at my fingertips.
Don't think I'm not serious. I'm pricing rice cookers as we speak (with this saucy little red number at Target only $15!!). I'm going to buy my sushi mat, seaweed, and that good spicy sauce they use for the spicy rolls next time I go to the Japanese store (yes, there is THE BEST sushi place by me that I frequent a lot that happens to be a grocery store. And a video store. And a bit of a drug store too). And I already printed out the recipe for my favorite Indian dish, palek paneer. However, since I can't buy friggin spinach, that recipe may be put on the back burner for a while (no pun intended).
The only problem with this? It's in conflict with the good ol' South Beach. So I'm going to have to be the first crazy person to try California rolls with brown rice or naan with wheat flour. Which I'm sure will just taste awesome!
Just wait, oh yes. Soon. It will alllll come to be. I will become a worldy chef of not-so-epic proportions.
By the way, have you ever noticed that when you're trying to diet and eat healthfully, you watch significantly more Food Network? There should be a research study done on that. Because even shows I normally would roll right past (Showdown with Bobby Flay) I will sit and watch from start to finish (especially when it's a chowder cookoff. Mmmmm....chowder). Just to see all the beautiful things that I'll never eat. **sigh**
Also by the way. Did you know that women whose ring finger is longer than their index finger have been shown to be better athletes? Says so right here. Is yours longer? Cos mine is. But I think my athletic performance might actually prove the theory wrong....
4:54 PM
Friday, September 22, 2006 No body every warned you, or told you what to do....It seems as though it's been a while since I've had any genuinely bizzare events happen that give me a, "WTF??!!" kind of a feeling. Maybe it's because I haven't been paying attention. But one came looking for me yesterday.
When I was walking back from the library on campus to work, I have to walk past the entrance to the parking structure of our hospital. After a certain time, they have these roll down gates that block the entrances so people can't just walk in. So as I was walking past, there was a guy who seemed to be standing in front of the gates trying to get in, which looked suspicious to me. But instead, he stepped a little off to the side, onto the grass, and just dropped trou. I don't know what he was doing for sure considering that I was a bit far away (thank god) and wearing my glasses with my piss poor prescription (thank god), but I swear that he was going #2. Now, I admit that his shirt was really long and his pants were really baggy, and he may have just been squatting to rest his feet? Or stretch out his quads? But either way, it looked exacty how I imagine I look when using the facilities while camping. The best part was that there were 3 police officers standing no more than 25 yards up the driveway not really batting an eyelash. They were probably thinking there was something wrong with me considering that I had this completely puzzled and disgusted look on my face when I walked past all of them. Freakshow. I get a little bit of a dry heave just thinking about it even now.
Well, I'm in the process of crafting a thoughtful and detailed entry on the state of my mind right now. Mostly as a result of having to go back and read 5 years worth of blog entires in order to edit, and partly a result of just taking the boy and life into account lately. Maybe I'll get around to that later on today.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 Alcohol, my permanent accessory....Well I guess it means it was a successful birthday weekend when you end up getting a cold and spend 4 days sounding like you're honking like a duck, snoring when you sleep from being stuffed up, and generally feeling really really awesome. And hot. Ok, fine not really, but nonetheless, I've felt like crap. But it was worth it...oh, was it worth it.
Thursday night (birthday night) treated Kelly, Suz and I to dinner and drinks all around town in Birmingham. We had the most fantastic dinner at Streetside, which has yummy seafood, and as a testament to how great their food is, I woke up on Friday morning and the very first thought that came into my mind was, "oooo...scallops...". But we gallavanted about town and by the end of the night came to discover that we had not paid for a single drink. Not that we were workin that angle or anything. What would happen is we would order our round of drinks and somewhere along the way, some guy came over to talk (to Suzy)and discover it was my birthday and there would be shots all around and drinks and then when we would go to leave and cash out, someone would dive for the bill and take care of it all. So we had an absolute blast the whole evening.
When I came home, the boy met me at my place where we had one of our infamous, impromptu dance parties until 3 in the morning. Just the 2 of us. Dancing. Like fools. In our living room. At one point I looked across the room at him with mouth wide open in a goofy smile, doing some kind of running-in-place-part-aerobics move and couldn't have been happier. And why does our dancing always turn into aerobics?
Friday, we had a sizable posse (family and friends) head out to go downtown for dinner and a performance. The performance was actually the boy's -- he's a performance artist. We have all heard so much about it for months (songs and all), so we were all very excited to see it all in motion. The show was great and the night was a lot of fun. I know I've mentioned this in the past, but man has Detroit come a long way. There was a Tiger's game that night, and from where we were sitting, you'd have thought it was the funky downtown of Chicago or something. It was just a cool thing to sit outside of a bar and be in the middle of a very cool happening city.
Saturday, I made a repeat appearance and the boy's show with Amy and Dave who couldn't go the night before. But not before we sat and watched the greatest UofM game on tv at the Hard Rock. Accompanied by yummy Oberon and the most enormous plate of fried appetizers I've ever seen. Can't go wrong there. By the end of the night though I was getting to feeling pretty damn crappy with a sore throat and was happy to just go home and sleep.
So I've started undertaking two rather sizable tasks. One being going through the blog to de-identify it. By taking out everyone's last name that I've ever mentioned and to get rid of some of the more identifiable things I've written about various stuff. Which pretty much means reading 5 years worth of stuff that I've written. So it's a rather slow and tedious process. My other sizable task is that of putting all of my cds on my computer. One of the greatest b-day gifts I received from all of my family was an iPod. I've always said I would never buy one for myself, so they took it upon themselves to bring me into the new millenium of technology. So in order to have the fantastic playlists that I'm envisioning in my head, I need to have all of my cds in iTunes. Which is an enormous pain in the ass. It's been 3 days, every minute that I'm home, and I'm not even half done. I didn't really consider ahead of time if my computer is going to revolt in overload protest, but it seems ok so far. So if I'm lame and not writing, it's because I'm rereading all of my lameness over the years or staring at the little orange symbol telling me that it's importing a song. I'm cool. What can I say.
Well, I have work to do, and the fact that I'm sitting in the backyard with the portable home office all set up out here ensures that I should get little to nothing done. Hasta for now. My most sincere thanks to all who came out to play with me this weekend. I loved every single cotton-pickin' minute of it. Sanks!
3:24 PM
Monday, September 11, 2006 And I'll keep on runnin', this never-ending race....Well ladies and gentlemen....we survived the triathlon. And for the first time in all of the athletic endeavors that I've undertaken in the past few years....I loved it!!
The day started with any number of dumbass Suzy and Lisa moves. First, we woke up late, which doesn't bode well when the race site is about an hour away. Then, I'm a dumbass and have been using my roommate's bike and helmet, I had a big panic attack because I couldn't find her helmet in the garage. At 6:30 in the morning the day of the race. So I had to dial in a favor to our cheerleader, Amy, who was coming to uhhh...cheerlead? to bring a helmet for me. How hard would it have been for me to buy a damn helmet...ohhh...maybe beforehand? Not that hard, but did I mention that I'm a dumbass? So once we were finally tri-bound, because Suz and I are cool and "S-M-R-T" we thought we had the bikes all tied up tight on the bike rack, only to have to pull over to the side of the highway because one of them was dangling off. Those bungee cords are tricky little bastards.
Once we finally arrived, anxiety-ridden, we could finally focus on the rather sizable task at hand (ok, so I was still anxiety-ridden until Amy arrived with the helmet shortly before they closed the transition area). The swim went great for both Suz and I -- I came in 7th overall for all the women (out of around 85ish I think) and Suz came in seconderfourthish for her age group. I loved the swim, except for that moment toward the end when the 1st place male swimming the same distance who started about 5 minutes behind me passed me. Bastard. And although we both busted some serious ass on the 14.7-although-eventually-around-16-to-17-mile bike, there were some hinderances that made that part not too enjoyable.
First off, I was off on the bike at what seemed towards the front only because there weren't a lot of people around me when I was getting my clothing on and there were lots of bikes still in the transition area. But it's kind of hard to tell who's doing what event because there are people who are doing the long distance version who were finishing the swim around the same time as we were. So the signs on the bike course were posted incorrectly at first, and the sprinters turned around way too early and figured it out once we had gotten almost all the way back to the beginning. So I probably ended up doing 2-3 miles more than I was supposed to. Which sucks, because not only was my bike time slower than it should have been, but then I was frustrated and playing catch-up.
Second off, this was my first triathlon, and I don't have a five zillion dollar, space age metal, 4lb titanium road bike with wafer thin tires. I have a borrowed clunky mountain bike (which I would never even bring anywhere close to a mountain since I loathe even the smallest incline). So I think that I only passed 2 people on the entire bike course even though I was busting my ass and riding harder and faster than we ever ever did in training. Well, maybe 2 and a half people. Ohhhh, that evil 11-year old half.
So while I was trying to catch-up after my lost time, I was clipping along pretty well and managed to pass a little 11-year old boy who was friendly and said hi and told me I was doing a great job. Cute right? Nice pleasant mannered young boy who can do a triathlon? Sounds like an amazing kid. Well I don't know why the kid chose me of all the slow-bies with the awesome non-road bike, but he latched on to my rear tire and didn't let go the entire time (not literally).
Now I suppose I could try to read something good into this situation. Maybe he thought I had a nice ass in the bike seat and wanted a closer look. Maybe he liked my mingling aroma of lake water and sweat. Maybe he just figured I looked like the easiest pickins of everyone who had passed by him thusfar. But seriously, this little shit drafted off me for miles and miles and miles. Once I caught up to Suz, we were both annoyed beyond belief and didn't know what to do about it. Drafting is illegal in these events, and they're supposed to call it and disqualify anyone who's doing it. However, every single person who rode by us (he was drafting off both of us at this point) just cheered him on, and said things like, "Way to go kiddo!" and "Keep up the good work!" And instead, when Suz and I were riding next to each other, some dude rode by and yelled at us, saying it was a safety hazard. I, in that moment, was hoping his bike seat was doing its civic duty leaving his cojones black and blue. I know, it's evil and I shouldn't wish that kind of misery on people, but at least I didn't wish for a pole to shove into the spokes of his tire right?
So Drafter McDraftee found someone to chat with towards the last couple miles (yes, that makes almost a full hour with someone attached to my ass. **And insert dirty joke here**). The run went pretty well. I felt much much better than I had on any of our training runs, and didn't find myself wishing at every step that I wasn't running, which is how it usually works. I just stuck to slow and steady and finished happy and proud (and yes that little shit did finish in front of me, but not Suz). So we were crazy pumped up and on this great high for the rest of the day. (Enough for Suz to clean her entire place and enough for me to take a 3 hour nap). But I actually really enjoyed the whole event and would most definitely do them again in the future. That is, once I can sell a kidney or ovary for enough money to buy a better bike.
Oh, and if anyone offered me a hot oil massage, I wouldn't care about thongs, Mr. Universe poses or the boy's objections. I'm a massage whore. What can I say?
8:03 PM
Thursday, September 07, 2006 I guess I got to beat myself up again....
Notes from all over:
~ Suz and I are doing our triathlon in approximately 45 hours. I'm getting a little nervous. I don't know why. I have to keep reminding myself that it's not going to be worse than the marathon. Nothing could be worse than the marathon.
~ I almost ran into a deer on my bike on Monday. Had I been a fraction of a second quicker there would have been a massive deer-on-human collision in the middle of Paint Creek Trail. Or had the other little deer hiding in the trees decided to bolt like his buddies, then it probably would have been Suz with the collision. But it was enough for me to slam on the brakes and let out a couple screams.
~ As a result of said bike ride with the wild kingdom encounter and the 3-mile run immediately following, both Suzy and I have been hobbling around like we just did 8 million lunges. And needless to say, I'm completely baffled. We've biked the distance (and more than) before. We've run the distance (and more than) before. We've done bike/runs before of almost the same distances. We took the same route as we have before. So what is the damn difference that has rendered my legs unable to go down stairs, sit down without wincing, and dread peeing? I don't get it. Baffled. All I have to say is that my legs better not have any traces of pain come Saturday, because I don't need anything else that's going to make this venture anymore challenging.
~ My mom was in town for 2 weeks, which partly explains the absence. We had such a such a great time while she was here -- We had a big spaghetti dinner the night before the Crim (a race up in Flint that Suz, Laura, Kevin, Brian S., Shelly, Gary and Graham and I all ran) and had a good time being silly. Later that day after the Crim, Blancho showed us how to make pierogies. So look out, this little Polack is going to be firing them up. (Now don't interpret that to mean I'm making another whole batch. Oh no. I'll just be unfreezing the ones we made. Are you kidding? Making those damn things took all friggin day. With lots of flour and dough all over the place. And if you're Amy, you ended up with flour handprints on your ass). I had everyone over for a BBQ, which was incredibly anxiety-inducing to host 15 people at our li'l house, with the threat of rain. But the weather held out and we recommenced the family tradition of aggressive badminton games. When the birdie didn't stick in the racket that is. Plus we just kind of hung out, went to dinner, and had a couple bonus days, since her flight was pushed back in thanks to Ernesto.
Well, time to get back to work. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm not leaving my job? That all this drama for the last year had a big culmination of nothing. What can I say? They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. How can you turn down a big fat raise and an office? Where do I sign.
If I'm not around here tomorrow, wish Suz and I luck. We're probably going to need it!! Hasta.
12:33 PM
Tuesday, August 22, 2006 And I think it's going to rain today....
Last Saturday was one of the last few days that Suz and I would have an opportunity before our triathalon to practice doing a full swim/bike/run (although not entire the full distances of all, but pretty close). We had planned for it all week, and all week, it was sunny and mild and perfect for outdoor exercising. Welllll, not quite so with Saturday. I woke up in the wee hours of the morn to the sound of the rain on pavement and car tires kicking up water and noise. But we were both stubborn, sat around most of the morning waiting for it to wane, and then went anyway. Although I'd like to point out that it hadn't really "waned" at all. I was soaking wet by the time we got the damn bikes into the car.
But we tried to rationalize that we started with the swim anyway so we were going to be wet for the rest of it already. So what's a little rain?
Well, yes, the swim was, well, wet. But the bike and run were equally as wet. When we got on out bikes to start the second leg, we both had to laugh at each other at what silly girls we are, not to mention how frightening we looked. But that was only while we could still see. Because once we took off on the bikes, the first half of the ride was a nice steady pelting of misty raindrops into our eyes. And I don't typically train by riding bikes on hills, and the park we were at was far more hilly than I seem to remember. So by the time we got to the run, my pants were falling off my ass from the 5lbs weight of water that they were carrying and I was sufficiently tired. But we soldiered through a couple mile run to complete the most amusing few hours that I've experienced in a long while. I suppose that you're advised to train in all kinds of different conditions, and it's damn sure that I'll be ready for rain now. Shoot, sunshine will feel like a picnic (I almost wrote "...will feel too easy," but I know that certainly won't be the case).
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Friday night Suz and I babysat our niece and nephews while my sister Laura went out to dinner with her husband and some friends of theirs. By the time they got back, the kids weren't in bed yet (hey there great babysitters!) but were in the process. Sort of. We would have made them go to be after the Tom and Jerry movie we were watching.
But my niece went upstairs first and we were surprised when she started screaming from her bedroom saying there was a mouse behind her door. Of course when we get upstairs, there's nothing there, and we all seem a little convinced that she was either just imagining things or that she didn't want to go to bed.
Well imagine my surprise (and sudden pangs as a bad auntie) to discover that, lo and behold, their cat caught a mouse in the basement on Saturday. And yet more trauma for my niece, was that she was the one who came upon the cat with the mouse in its mouth and batting it around while still alive and struggling. Geez, that traumatizes me just thinking about it. So I think there's a moral here somewhere and I will probably take what the kids say a little more seriously next time.
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So I'm having some serious serious work drama this week. Actually for the past couple weeks. Remember how I've been lamenting that I was supposed to start this other job? (How could you forget, I've been complaining about it enough). Well, that's supposed TO ACTUALLY HAPPEN September 1st. However, I'm being wooed to stay. Very convincingly wooed. Plus, I just discovered that there's no increase in pay in the new job, which wasn't my original understanding. So I have a tough decision that I have to make...oooohhhh....yesterday.
I don't know why I'm so overwhelmingly distraught by the whole situation though. When I met with my boss last week though, he always gives me so much to think about. Which position is really going to be best for my interests and career? Which situation do I see making me the happiest? What do I want to be when I grow up? Sadly I don't have answers to any of those questions. But I suppose that I will need to come up with some right quick. Like today quick.
Well, I have a bike ride staring me in the face this morning, so have a lovely day and wish me luck. Not just on the bike ride, but on all the other crap too.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Yet another example of dumbass celebrity news having their priorities way the hell out of whack:
On Entertainment Tonight today they were discussing the exposure of the foiled terrorist plots. And Mary Hart had an insightful observation about the devastation that could have been unleashed on thousands of people:
[paraphrased, but said with the utmost of all seriousness]: "There's no indication yet how this news will affect the box office of the opening this weekend of World Trade Center."
Way to always keep an eye out for that bottom line.
(Note: This is in no way to imply that I'm actually still watching this crap. But Jeopardy! was a rerun....).
9:28 PM
This just in, where to begin, grin and bear it, it's bare and grim....Short bits for today:
~ One place I would never want to be this weekend: They're holding auditions for SuperNanny at Oakland Mall. Can you just imagaine having that many rotten children in one place at the same time? My biological clocks comes to a screeching halt just thinking about that. **shudder**
~ On Sun, the boy was rehearsing at his friend's house and I tagged along for kicks to just do some work while I was there. What did I do instead? Play with his friend's ADORABLE new little kitten. I could have just squished him he was so dman cute. Not so cute: the tiny little pinpricks all over my hands from his nails.
~ When I was driving home the other day, there was a fake rubber hand on the shoulder of the highway. I couldn't help but think of Kingpin.
~ So remember how I mentioned previously that I enjoy the variety of triathlon training? Strike that to exclude biking. I seriuosly suck at biking. Everytime I hit a hill I suddenly can't breathe and my legs turn to mush. Makes me appreciate those Tour de France guys a little more.
~ On that note, I can't even begin to tell you how upset I am about this whole Floyd Landis bit. I was so willing to defend him, but as a scientist knowing how the tests work that they ran, the chances are so slim that they had errors twice. Unless someone really is trying to shaft him and the results are being falsified. But that weekend after he had that amazing comeback, I sat on Suzy's deck, telling everyone that was over how it was the most amazingly inspiring feat of athleticism I had ever seen and his determination was just astounding and on and on. Nice that I was all gaga about it.
Alrighty dighty. C'est tout. Happy trails.
3:06 PM
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 I'm tired of runnin' let's walk for a minute....So apparently I'm asking for more bodily pain and aspire to have insane goals that I would laugh at in others (laugh at in a "You're out of your mind" kinda way). Well, I'm planning on doing a triathlon in September.
Now, before you remind me how much I loathed running the marathon 2 years ago (or how much I asked you to remind me how much I loathed running the marathon 2 years ago), I'll point out to you that the distance is substantially shorter. It's a sprint distance, meaning 500m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run. So technically, it's only ~3 miles running, not 26.2. Those crazy Ironman peole can just go ahead and be crazy.
But so far, I've thoroughly enjoyed the training. It's a nice variety to decide which discipline to do on any given day. And I'm comfortable being able to do any of the separate legs on their own. It's just putting them together I'm not all that sure about. I went biking last Friday and did ~16 miles and discovered what my weak leg is going to be. Man do I suck at biking. I'll ignore the fact that it was up into the 90's when I went.
So I'll keep you posted about the progress of the training. Suz and I have a bike/run on Sat, and hopefully it's not as mother-truckin' hot then as it is now, or else we're going to be doing our training before the sun comes up. And if I have issues riding a bike in the daylight, I think riding in the dark might be hazardous to my health.
They had the Lifetime Fitness triathlon on tv last weekend too. I got incredibly inspired. Allthough I'm guessing that I'm not going to be running any 5:30 minute miles (and that was the chicks!!).
Thursday, July 27, 2006 That girl was a one time teenage drama queen....Yesterday, it became glaringly apparent that I need to stop watching crap entertainment news programs in the evening. Immediately. Or my brain is going to start melting into a pile of goo, as the asinine behavior of celebrities becomes more and more pathetic. Or more like it, the pathetic reporting of the behavior of celebrities has become more asinine.
Let me draw your attention to the straw that broke the camel's back. A story that has been presented every day this week on Entertainment Tonight. It seems that everyone's favorite plus-sized-and-lovin-it comedienne, Mo'nique, had some life-altering, soul-destroying, eternally-devastating humiliation at the hands of the folks at United Airlines. With the dramatic presentation of this story, you'd have thought that the pilot got on the overhead speaker, and after announcing their flight time and cruising altitude, slandered Ms. 'Nique with a bevy of the most attrocious slurs imaginiable.
The real story? One of Ms. 'Nique's "team" (yes, this is how she in fact refers to them. Her "team" consisting of makeup designer and hair stylist. Right there, most of my potential pity vanishes, but I'll get back to that in a minute) put her blow dryer in one of the overhead bins in first class, where Ms 'Nique was sitting, instead of in coach where her beloved "team" member was sitting. The flight attendants called them out on it, they got hostile, and all were kicked off the flight.
Now, let's break down why this story is disturbing on so many levels:
1. I don't know if I've ever heard anything more pathetic than getting upset because your blow dryer was being put in a different overhead bin. 2. I don't know if I've ever heard anything more pathetic than THIS MUCH time being devoted to something as friggin stupid as a blow dryer. It's seriously been on the show every day this week. They keeping talking about how they "broke the story". 3. How diva are you that your "team" has to sit in coach while you sit in first class? 4. Honestly, if you hear this woman talk about it, you'd think that the flight attendants sacrificed her first born. She sounds like her best friend died. She's talking about how grateful she is to all the support she's received. She's talking about how people should band together to boycott United. She's talking about the lawyer she hired. GET A LIFE PEOPLE! IT'S A FRIGGIN BLOW DRYER!! What kind of planet do you live on that this is the most significant thing that you have to deal with? That you are that pathetic and desperate for any kind of publicity that you will chalk up something so stupid into being this horrible victim.
So that's why instead of boycotting United or Mo'Nique (as I'm tempted to do) I'm boycotting all entertainment news. I will never again by a US Weekly or People magazine at the grocery store - even if I'm in a particularly long line and the cover story is something tempting like "Is Suri Deformed?" I will no longer change channels in the evening to inevitably end up on Ryan and Guliana on E!. I'm done. I will passively hear the gossip on the radio as my alarm goes off or on glance over it on MSN when I log out of my hotmail. But I'm done with sad pathetic celebrities who think their lives are so tragic and important.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Poppa was a copper, momma was a hippie....Ahhh, the hippies have come a long way. Particularly, the hippies of Ann Arbor.
Sunday evening treated the boy and I to an interesting evening of music, and a slightly creepy hippie commune. A friend of his, Tim, was playing with Curtis Eller, toted as the "Angriest Banjo Player in New York." The boy and I didn't really know where we were going, and me, having only seen musical performances at theatres or bars, figured something of the like. Well, turns out that the locale, however it ended up being, was the common room of this co-op thing on the outskirts of Ann Arbor. But the strangest thing about it, was that they looked like $300,000 condos. So much for the sharing-all-things-equally ethos of the hippies. Unless they share all things only if you're in a certain tax bracket.
So we sat in the common room (which was really a common building with game rooms and child play areas), with lemonade served, children in diapers and overalls running around, girls tap dancing as part of the percussion section (I acutally thought that was pretty damn cool), with a cricket (noticeably not in tune, but really damn loud for a cricket) making his presence known inside the room, and enjoyed some good ol' banjo music. He was actually very very good and incredibly amusing to boot. The boy's friend's band (got that? Enough possessives there for ya?) played beforehand and was very good as well. So needless to say, it was an interesting evening. Kind of surreal and odd, but who doesn't love a little odd now and then?
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For whatever reason, at my gym yesterday, they were playing soft rock adult alternative hits from the 80's. And picture, if you will, a very out-going African American woman belting out the tunes like it was nobody's business. Like she knew the key changes for Mike and the Mechanics and all the musical nuances of Simple Minds. You'd think that she at one point sang back up for Hall and Oates, because I've never seen anyone sing "Kiss on My List" with such vigor (although there was a moment up north over the 4th of July where I believe there was some pretty animated singing of "Maneater").
Speaking of, I just heard an interview on the radio last week with the one guy from Hall and Oates (the one who doesn't sing? Hall? Oates? Hell if I know). What's up with them haunting me lately?
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I'm less crabby about my school stuff this week. But boy, has my motivation flown right out the window. I'm back to a few nights this week too. Time to see how the work-night-work-next-day routine works. This might be short lived.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006 Better stop now before I start crying....And just so I don't have to complain to anyone else on the phone about the same damn thing over and over (as the three of you I've already hit will be glad to hear), I'll just say it once: I won't be done with my degree program by the end of the summer. I'm not wanting to go into details about why this is (and this time there are multiple reasons) but needless to say, I'm a little short of devastated and mid-meltdown. I wasn't that upset about it when I talked to the salient individuals about it in the past few days, but the more I've had time to sit on it, the more upset I am.
I'm so tired of all of this. I hate being reduced to a whiney complaining heap that has not progressed anywhere in so long it may as well be 4 years ago. Absolutely nothing is different. I think I'm actually regressing. Maybe someone can figure out how to take my other degree away. At least then I had a lot less debt and had some amount of shiney optimism in the world and people around me. But I think I just might be the most bitter, cynical, crabby person around. How do you put up with me? I don't even like being around me. I wish I had the option not to be. Because I would kick me to the curb mighty quick.
You know what's the saddest thing about it? A small part of me is beginning not to care. I have the beginnings of an apathy and indifference that kind of frighten me. There's a sense of "Fine, fuck it," that I don't recall every having before. I've always been motivated to get whatever needed to be done, done. But now, whatever. No amount I've been doing has managed to surpass anything, so I may as well just sit and be blase and become half-assed like everyone else around me. It works for them right? Fuck, why don't I just stay exactly where I am forever. Then I'll never have to be motivated to do anything ever. And at this point, that's just fine. Whatever. Bring on the passivity.
5:49 PM
Friday, July 07, 2006 Is it any wonder that I'm tired....I've been crabby to be home and back at work this week after having the most fantastic weekend. At the end of the year, Suz and I usually go through and say what our favorite days of the year were. Well, this past weekend will be at the top for sure. We all went up north to the same place that we all used to go as kids that none of us have been to for years. So we were able to relive our childhood by doing all the things that are ingrained in our memories: getting ice cream at Ray's, going for a walk on the dock, playing putt-putt, making spaghetti and salad just like our grandma used to (although I don't think she used Ragu, but we argue on the side of simplicity for this one), having dinner at Joe's Pizzeria, riding the giant slide (with a couple rug burns as casualties for Suz and the boy), playing dominoes, spending a day at the beach we always used to go to, making smores, lighting sparklers, burying the kids in the sand, getting Slush Puppies, and watching the sun set.
Needless to say, we are grown ups now (supposedly. I might question a couple of us), so there was a bit of an adult spin on things -- maybe a little more profanity (mostly on my part) and maybe a lot more beer, wine and whisky. And maybe a few more dirty jokes. But they're just so easy to make when you're playing putt-putt (c'mon, playing the back 9? Just too easy). But it was a nice combination to be able to see our own memories through the eyes of the kids. Kind of a unique perspective.
The strangest thing about the weekend, and in some ways the best, was the way that time stands still. Even though I have these memories about all these experiences from 20 years ago, almost everything up north is exactly the same as it was. They have the same damn slush machine for pete's sake! And when Suzy and I pulled up to the putt-putt course the first day we were there to see if it still existed, I think we were both in shock that it was EXACTLY THE SAME, in all it's orange, beige and green glory. There's something comforting to know that in some places life doesn't just evolve and blow away into something all together different. That there is at least a little bit of static stability somewhere in the world. In spite of its occassional creepiness.
So yes, I think the entire fam had a priceless time this weekend. I know I did. I still think I'm a bit grouchy wishing that I was skipping rocks and eating BBQ potato chips on the beach. And I have a feeling I'm not alone. Thanks to all who came and made it priceless!
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Ahhh...my cat and mouse game has come to an end. For the past 4 years that I've worked here, I've never had to pay for parking. But they've finally caught up with all of us research folks who had the red badge (for volunteers and students) and who didn't have to pay for parking and swapped them for the yellow badge. I've been avoiding our administrator like the plague so she wouldn't take my red one, but she hunted me down this morning. Dammit. Although I feel pretty confident that the guy at the information desk who avows his love for me every day will continue to hook a girl up with a validated parking ticket.
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The dorkiest thing to come out of my mouth in a very long time: when returning the set of dominoes that I bought (yes I know. Let me point out that no, I'm not a 70 year old man) saying to the customer service lady at Target, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize these were double fifteen dominoes. I was looking for double nines." She kind of looked at me like I could quite possibly by the dorkiest person alive. She may have even been chuckling under her breath.
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It's Tour de France time again! And even though Lance isn't in it and most of the top contenders got the boot for alleged blood doping, it's still pretty damn exciting. It's almost more exciting knowing that it's anyone's game.
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Well, I'm back to early mornings at work, hence the reason I've been here since 5am. But I have approximately 56 days until I start my new job. Have a good weekend.
9:00 AM
Thursday, June 29, 2006 Believe it or not, I'm walking on air....Ladies and gentlemen. I have an announcement to make. It's the moment you've(I've) all been waiting for. I would like to announce that I HAVE A START DATE FOR MY NEW JOB.
Can you believe it? Yesterday there was this big flurry that apparently my start date had been set to July 1st (yup, that'd be Saturday). So I was getting this barrage of calls and emails trying to figure out why I was quitting without any notice. But things are mostly set and I have 2 months to get my act together and hand off the reins of one job to move to the other. Yes, 2 months is a long time but it allows multiple things to occur:
~ Me to finish school at the same time I'm switching jobs. ~ Me to finish school without have to fork up the $1,000+ tuition if I were to leave my job before the semester is over. ~ My boss to have enough time to find a replacement for me. ~ Me to hire in at a higher salary having a completed Master's degree under my belt (which I need to use lately since I've lost a couple pounds and my pants are hanging off my ass).
And most importantly...
~ To concurrently celebrate being done with school and starting a new job. My birthday conveniently falls right around that time too. Suffice it to say that I plan on being intoxicated for most of the end of August to mid-September (while my mother is in town, conveniently).
I'm optimistic this time. But still hesitant to start the fireworks. Maybe for this weekend at least, I'll just stick to sparklers.
Speaking of, I'm leaving work in 1 hour and then it's off to the lovely Northern expanses of Michigan. It's actually not that far away, but far enough to sit by one of the Great Lakes on a beach all weekend. I'm going up north armed with Scrabble, a book, a fierce determination to kick some ass at miniature golf, the boy, and a crapload of margarita mix. I cannot wait. Have a happy 4th and I'll see you round these parts next week. Sorry there is to be no blogging from up north. I don't think the motel (oh yes, it's a motel) we're staying at has high speed wireless internet.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 Help me get my feet back on the ground....Snippity snippet day to catch up. Here's how random my last batch of days has been:
~ I went to a birthday party with speakers blaring polka music all afternoon.
~ I watched Suz complete a triathlon on Sunday. Needless to say, I'm sold. Stay tuned cos I'm planning on signing up for one in September and probably the leg of a relay in August. The swim leg.
~ I, along with Brian S., Chuck, Kelly and her mom enacted some dolphin calls while cheering Suzy on at the triathalon. And some well coordinated cheers.
~ I've been privileged to be the occasional cowbell player for the boy's musical rehearsals. Sadly, I cannot get through 5 knocks of the bell without busting out into giggles.
~ We had a bird set up shop in our fireplace. A fireplace with glass doors so that when you walked into the room, he was just kind of sitting there, fancy bird cage style.
Ok. That's it. I'm boring. What can I say. I'm going up north this weekend with the familia to relive our childhood where we used to go when we were all little. It promises to be a fantastic weekend! I should get back around here before then. Smooches.
7:43 PM
Friday, June 16, 2006 I can't remember the last thing you said as you were leaving, and the days go by so fast....I recently had a sharp pang upon realizing that things move on without you. That people you used to share everything with have faded, almost to the point of full loss. Certainly to the point of unfamiliarity. Or the point of cordial politeness instead of that manic ease and fun that you always used to have.
The change has been imperceptible in degrees. Maybe less phone calls. Or less effort to see them. Then you get to the point where more than a year has gone by and you realize that you no longer know anything about what they like anymore. Who they hang out with. If they're happy. You mostly just hear about their ongoings through other people. So you can feel like you still have an inkling of their life. So you can feel like you actually still know. But you mostly wonder if they're the same person at the core. And if reconnecting with them would be horribly awkward or if the fundamentals of their personality are maintained.
My inherent reaction is to feel wretched that I've ever let things drift this far. I always feel bad for my own failures. And I fully justify that someone else could hold it against me for failing to stay in touch. Yet at the same time, there's no reciprocation. They've lost me just as much as I've lost them. They no longer know who I spend time with. The things that I've laughed and cried over. I'm sure they hear just as much of my ongoings through others too, and I mostly wonder if they think that I'm the same or not. I am and always will be a believer in taking charge. I have no cause to complain that people have drifted. My sentiment is, I let them drift.
And so it is a common thing to blather on about -- losing touch with friends. But so it is. Time marches on. I suppose we all choose who we want to make that effort with no matter what and who we let drift away. I guess they eventually get mingled into memories. I suppose that it would be just an email or phone call away to change it. But haven't I already let them drift? Or maybe, they've already decided to let me drift.
3:27 PM
Monday, June 12, 2006 I can tell that we goin' be friends....Ohhh...and so Monday drags me down again after such a fun weekend. Even though I know full well that I should be devoting more time to contructive work over the weekend, I justify it allll away. For example, "Well, it's unheard of to do work on Friday night! I just busted my ass all week, I deserve a night off!" Or another example, "Well, I have to clean the bathroom and do laundry on Saturday, and that should roughly take....all day. And by the time I'm done, it'll be time to go out." Or, perhaps one more example, "Man, I swam today and went for a walk, and have been out in the sun all day. I definitely think a Sunday evening nap is in order." So as you can tell, I took the slacker vibe to the limit this weekend. And now Monday blows.
Then, there was even that moment yesterday. Driving with the windows down, dancing to G Love and The Staple Singers, making jokes with the boy about his trunk being open (never gettin' old!), knowing that my face was sunburned, thinking about a fantastic morning, that I was certain that I couldn't be happier. It's that exact moment. That one. Right there. That one that's getting me through my Monday. That's reminding me that amongst the turmoil of all the bullshit that we deal with on a daily basis. That those moments are still there to be had. When it honestly feels like there isn't a giant weight on your shoulders. When you (and everyone you're with), can shove it all aside and just sing all the words to "Booty Call" and not give a crap about anything else except getting the words right or singing them as loud as you can. That's what it's all about.
Well, it's time for me to head to the gym. And only because I'm beginning to amass pictures and such for my thesis presentation (we'll ignore the fact for now that it's no where NEAR being started/done), I'll give you some really bad bird flu jokes. Enjoy.
Thursday, June 08, 2006 I don't mind, the thing that bothers me is someone keeps moving my chair....Ladies and gentlemen. Something has finally come to the suburban metropolis of Detroit that we've been starving for. That we've been deprived of. That we've driven hundreds and hundreds of miles to get.
Oh yes,
The new IKEA store opened yesterday.
Now, we can all become clones of each other and have more uniform home furnishings that the rest of the country has been privvy to for years. Now, I too can have Hensvik bookcase like my neighbor (but it's actually kind of fugly). Or I can get the Hej candleholders that everyone and their mother has. Or if I'm in the market for a bed frame, a Kongsvik should do. Now, I too can have the finest of Swedish craftsmanship just a short drive away.
I'm tickled pink with delight at the thought.
And apparently, so are a bunch of dillholes who live in this area. Can I just tell you, that the opening of the IKEA store has gotten more local news coverage than any other news story for WEEKS (even moreso than the Pistons losing). There was a 2 mile backup yesterday morning on the highway where the IKEA store is, just from GAWKERS. But perhaps people weren't gawking at the blinding blue and yellow store facade, but the fleet of police on hand, the helicopters overhead, or the hundreds of people waiting outside the store for it to open.
People started lining up to get in on Sunday night. Mind you the store didn't open until Wednesday morning. But OH WAIT!! If you're one of the first 100 people in line, YOU GET A FREE CHAIR!! Holy fuck! A CHAIR, YOU SAY!! I WILL GIVE UP THREE DAYS OF MY LIFE TO WAIT IN LINE FOR A CHAIR!! That's how crazy these people are. Do you have a job? Children? People were even SELLING their spots in line for $100. THE CHAIR COSTS $79 PEOPLE!!
To capture it quite nicely, when they were talking about the store opening yesterday on the news and the variety and abundance of furniture selection available for those shoppers at IKEA, the Channel 7 newscaster actually said the words, "I hope they can find a life there too." Amen, Frank. Amen.
I wonder how soon I can get there.....
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So even though I'm even more busy than I was just a few short weeks ago, I'm doing my very best to keep my mental state more stable than it was before. But my schedule is very comical lately. I'm at my main job half the week and then I split the other half of the week between my second job and my internship. But that's when I don't come home from work every night just to do more work. Even writing this blog is sucking a significant amount of time away from what I actually should be working on. Ahhh yes, I'm just laughing and laughing and laughing at it all.
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Other notable haps of the past few weeks:
~ Swimming in a lake. Like actual swimming not just paddling around. ~ Chilling in a hottub. ~ Going to a Polish festival (NOTE: fair/carnival rides have come a long way since I was young. But I'm still pretty certain that I would vomit on the Zipper. Again,). ~ Frolicked on the swings (they still make me motion sick). ~ Multiple backyard BBQs. 3 to be exact. ~ Had my feet mulched by mutant mostquitos during said BBQs. ~ Drank way to much wine twice during two of said BBQs (apologies owed to Pnut for, what I recall to be, a rather drunken phone conversation, and the boy, for passing out sans nookie). ~ OUR ROSE BUSHES ARE BLOOMING!! I'm back to being the maniac that comes skipping out of her car when she gets home from work to smell the roses. ~ The heartbreak of the Pistons being eliminated by the Heat. If I ever pass Shaq on the street, he better look out, cos I just might kick his ass.
Alright. That's it. I can't think of anything else. Here's another empty promise: I'll write more.
Until then, I'll leave you to gaze fondly upon this:
Thursday, May 25, 2006 Sing me, something brave from your mouth....What the hell was the crapfest that was American Idol last night?? Maybe I'm just impatient and don't like the thought of my brain melting away watching a less-than-bright gal freaking out over a lobster or watching Meatloaf sweating before he even starts singing. Shoot, I would have even clicked over to Lost if I had even a remotely vague clue about WTF was going on on that show other than they're on an island with a polar bear and a hatch. As it was, I probably ended up watching more episodes of Top Chef that I've already seen than than of the actual American Idol show. Am I happy with the winner? Honestly, I could care less. I'm happy with my Kelly Clarkson, and that's all good for me.
Well, I start doing my internship thing today (which is the last requirement for my degree program), so I have a whole new job to attack. And all new people to get to know, all new tasks to learn how to do, and a whole new schedule of hours to work into my currently already crazy schedule. The best part though? I've already talked to my boss and I'm only slated to be in the lab 2.5 days/week. I acknowledge that it sucks that I have to take my vacation time to do this, but I'm ok with taking time off to not be in the lab. That makes my mind happy.
On that note, it's back to work for me.
Goooo Pistons! (note: I love the fact that they're playing Miami, just to hear the commentators' shock whenever Shaq makes a free throw. Genuine surprise comin' out of their mouths).
9:04 AM
Tuesday, May 23, 2006 Many precede and many will follow, a young girl's dreams no longer hollow....I was caught very much off-guard today while listening to a CD. I keep hearing all about the Dixie Chicks new cd, so I dug out my old ones to listen since I haven't in quite a while. I was surprised to find myself near tears while listening to "Wide Open Spaces," only because it put me right back in a moment that I had forgotten about for years.
Right after I graduated from college, I had been offered a job out in San Diego, and the last night that all of my roommies and friends in Ann Arbor went to the karaoke bar before I left, they let me close out the night singing this song as my send-off. I hadn't thought about that night or that moment in years, and just hearing that song put me right up there, mic in hand, looking at the faces of people that I cared about so much that I was going to miss so much, with the faint smell of a bowling alley as the backdrop. It's funny how things never quite work out they way you used to think huh? I wonder what happened to that girl who was infinitely excited about the expansive possibilities that "took the shape of a place out West." Well here she is, with a whole different set of expectations, things that excite her, and possibilities than just a few short years ago. But such is life I suppose. Had I ended up 3000 miles ago, I would probably be saying the same damn thing. I guess as long as I plod along making the most of every moment as it is, then I can look back on any expanse of time without a second guess. I don't really like beautiful beaches, perfect sunshine and the breath-taking ocean anyway. They have crabs.
So yes, I'm a big fat liar although my pants are not on fire. But I didn't deliver the timely Jason Mraz concert review. Sorry, but sometimes things just take on a different dynamic than you had originally thought they would and the last thing you feel like doing is playing happy-go-lucky. (BTW, he was fan-frickin-tastic and there was that extreme moment of bliss when he was playing "Song for a Friend" as the encore that I thought Suzy and I were going to frighten away all of the people around us with our delight and exuberance. But thankfully Kelly, Adam and Chuck don't scare so easy).
Well, I'm the only one at work right now, hence the blogging. I would lament to you about the makings of my summer work schedule, but no no! I've turned over a new leaf and I'm not whiney-work-Lisa anymore. She's on vacation while who-doesn't-love-3-jobs-Lisa has taken her place until August. This version of me finds humor in everything. Particularly her own idiocy. And the idiocy of others. And the idiocy of randomness (ex. I had a man without legs tell me that he liked my shoes this morning).
Bring it on! I will engulf you all with a bear hug and swallow it all up as though it were palak paneer (obsessed!). And churn it out for all to read. Hopefully it won't end up resembling what I imagine palak paneer would look like regurgitated. Not that it looks that great as it is. But oh so tasty! That's what I aspire to: oh so tasty!
Thursday, May 18, 2006 Well I've seen a thousand things in one place, but stopped my counting when I saw your face....First things first:
WTF IS WRONG WITH THE PISTONS???!!!
I was watching the game on Monday with my mom and was swearing like a trucker. She was on the phone with my sister Amy and had to tell me to relax with the cursing. So as soon as I get on the phone with Amy to chat, the first thing she says is, "What the fuck is going on with the Pistons??!!" Ahhh, that's my sister for ya. Blood of my blood. I'm gonna be pretty pissed if two of the teams with the best records in their respective sports get axed so early in the playoffs. I love love love Pistons playoff time!!! Do Not Want It To End Yet!!
Well then. Back to the normal. I touched down back into the lovely state of Michigan last night. I was on the airplane during, not only American Idol, and not only the Piston's game (although the pilots were giving game score updates throughout the flight. Concerning? A little bit? They're watching hoops up in the cockpit?? Perhaps they should be, ooohhh, I don't know....FLYING THE MULTI-TON AIRPLANE THAT'S CAREENING THROUGH THE AIR HIGH HIGH UP ABOVE THE GROUND?), but the finale of the Amazing Race. I originally thought I could hold out until I watched a recorded copy, but as soon as my mom called to make sure I landed ok, I forced her to tell me who won. Hell yeah for the hippies. Who doesn't love a dirty hippy now and then?? Especially when they're damn hilarious.
The boy picked me up at the airport last night and I don't know if there are happier moments than seeing someone that you miss that much. Because then you don't give a damn if you're making out in the active loading area of the baggage claim.
Well, I have a busy (?) day back at work, that I was ready to get started bright and early. But when you're co-workers don't roll in until 10:30am or so, it kind of slows down the morning a bit. Hence the blog. BUT, we're going to see Jason Mraz tonight with some free tix and a slight possiblity of meeting Mr. A-Z himself. So it's going to be an awesome night and I'm pumped to see him perform his new songs. I have all my fingers and toes crossed for "Song For a Friend". I'm sure Suzy does too. I'll give the concert recap tomorrow. Promise.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 It's always better on holiday, so much better on holiday....Well, I'm currently on my last full day of my week getaway to Florida. As all vacations, it has gone by way too fast, and I think that's because we've been keeping ourselves super busy while I'm here. Usually when I come down to visit the rentals, after a few days of waking up at 10am, reading my book on the lanai, and eating as much fish and seafood as I can, I get a little stir crazy and remember why I don't miss living with my parents. But that feeling hasn't set in yet.
On Friday, we drove ourselves allllll the way down to Key West for a friend's wedding (my roommate's sister), who I've known since I was about 8. And I must admit, hands down, that it was the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to. Ever. And ever. If anyone ever tells you that a beach wedding is overrated and not worth it, you can tell them to take their stuffy indoor wedding and shove it. I've never really thought they were super-fantastic either, but once I saw the bride with orchids in her hair, all of the bridal party in flip flops, and the couple saying their vows with their feet in the sand with the backdrop of the ocean, I'll admit it, I'm a convert. (Once I have the pics my parents took, I will post them to back up my claims). The night was perfect with a pleasant breeze, and one can more easily excuse the wild congo line to "Hot Hot Hot" as just being a side-effect of the environment. So, it was a wonderful evening, in spite of the 7 hour one-way drive from Orlando to Key West. (Side note: You'll be pleased to know that I managed rather well over the multiple hour trip through the bridges of the Keys. Mostly because the "bridges" were mostly just islands, and the ones that were legitimately suspended over water were not that high for me to panic over. Except the "7 Mile Bridge". I didn't care for that one too much, in height, or in length).
So since we returned on Saturday, I've just been lounging around. Reading. Eating seafood. Yesterday, my mom and I went to Disney World, and although I've mentioned this everytime I've visited and we've gone there, I still get that stupid goofy excitement like I was a 7-year old. Just the excitement of seeing Cinderella's castle (which they've jazzed up by the way), makes me a bonafide little kid again. But Blancho and I had a great time -- it wasn't too blistery hot, as we all know that I become the worlds biggest crabass when I get hot (one should not poke me with butterfly garden stakes at that moment). And we went on most of the rides (although I didn't get my wish of the Dumbo ride, since the wait was 40 minutes and all) and got soaked on one of the water rides, leaving me smelling like recycled, sour water for the rest of the evening. But I enjoyed watching little kids wave at the animatronic dolls in "It's a Small World". And the guy waiting in line for "It's a Small World" with a t-shirt that said, "Smoke a Fatty." Ahhh, nothing says quintessential children's attraction like a good old marijuana reference. But it was a great great day, and I wish I could pretend to be a little kid more often.
Well, it's going to be cloudy and rainy here today, so I don't know what we'll end up doing. (Note: this is not me complaining that it's cloudy and rainy, as I am aware that it has been raining, pretty much non-stop in Michigan since my plane left the ground last Wednesday). But I come back to reality tomorrow, with hopefully a more relaxed mindset, and a bit of a tan to make my co-workers feel bad that I was on vacation and they weren't (feel free to add your own, "Na na na na na na" there as needed). I hope you've had a nice week, and that you can jet away sometime soon for a self-indulgent, nothin-but-nothing week. It's totally and completely worth it. At least it makes me complain in my blog a lot less. Which is a good start.
Saturday, May 06, 2006 You outta be proud that I'm getting good marks....So when it's all said and done, I should be graduating from grad school with approximately a 3.9 GPA (owing only to an A- in biostats and a B in economics. Damn you supply and demand!!!). I know I've constantly said that my program was really easy, but I think in general, it's just the dynamic of grad school itself that I find easier to cope with. Maybe it's because I went to a huge university as an undergrad and became just an id number with a grade and never really made any kind of attempts to get extra help from a prof. And now there are only about 100 people in my entire program that makes it more personal and easier to get feedback and pretty much do exactly what they tell you to do. I think that's part of the equation too. Just doing exactly what they tell you to. Maybe I was more of a free thinker as an undergrad...that or I didn't know how to listen (I'm guessing the latter). But if I had to put money on it? I honestly think that they just give everyone A's. Because it looks good for the school and the program to have a slew of seeming-smarty-pants coming out into the real world. Well don't worry, I'll fool them all.
I currently have 2 proposals that I have to write, that should be done before Tuesday, and yet, pretty much every moment between now and Tuesday already have plans, meetings, and work associated with them. So instead of having that panic in my chest on a Saturday morning acknowledging how much I have to do and how I should be spending these few spare moments getting anything I possibly can accomplished, I'll just sit here and have another cup of coffee, and look out the window, and keep listening to Elliott Smith. There's plenty more time to be overwhelmed. But I'm trying not to do that before noon.
By the way, I've come to the conclusion that being busy makes you the most wretched, selfish person ever.
Well, I need to refill my mug and get back to work(?). Sure let's just call it that for now. It's the best work I'll do all week. Hope you're all alive and kickin' out there.
9:21 AM
Yes, I am in fact still alive. Although sometimes I wonder.
I know, it's been over 2 weeks. So shoot me. Please?
I'm leaving for vacation in 8 days. And I have 22 days worth of work to do between now and then.
I'm going to a wedding in Key West with my parents while I'm visiting them in Florida. I'm trying to get my hands on some quaaludes or Valium for the torturous multi-hour trek over hundreds of bridges. I think it's going to be my worst nightmare realized. Like whoever made those keys looked into my nightmares and recreated it, except with the illusion of pretty blue water.
I'm done with my class. I never have to sit in another classroom ever ever again. Can I get a hey-o!?
I got an extension for my thesis project until the end of the summer. I guess that's good, but that means I have to work on it all summer.
I'm officially in love with Ben Gibbard and the way he keeps time with his feet. And no, that's not the boy's name. Although I could see if he would respond to Ben...but somehow I doubt it.
Have you ever eaten at a Nepali restaurant? You get to sit on the floor without shoes on on cushy pillows. And if you're really lucky, the owner will come over and give you his thoughts on life and death and karma.
Does anyone know how to get wax off of clothing?
The boy is supposed to meet my parents at some point this weekend.
I'm obsessed with grilling.
I'm just barely getting back to the point that I don't want to tear my lungs out when I run a few measly miles.
I cannot keep a single straight thought in my head.
Friday, April 14, 2006 Baby, you've been going so crazy, lately,nothing seems to be going right, so low, why'd you have to get so low, you're so, that you've been waiting in the sun too long, but if you sing, sing sing sing....
Interesting haps in the last week? Sort of.
After having a fantastic weekend complete with Frid-err- Saturday night dinner in honor of Pnut being back in town (where as always, the conversation still makes me laugh thinking about it now - my favorite gymnast Indian, MaryLou Mehta), I kickstarted my Monday with a ticket from my favorite police department. I was pulled over on my way home from work at 2am, conveniently when the bars are closing down, on a stretch of Woodward where I know all the cops camp out. I even had my cruise control set at 45mph and everything. But I got nabbed for having a headlight out, and the cop was nice enough to give me a warning for that considering that I actually had the new bulb in the car with me. What he wasn't so kind about was the fact that my plates are expired. What I'm not so happy about is the fact that I never received anything fron the Sec'y of State about renewing, and it didn't even cross my mind considering that it expires on my dad's birthday, not mine. He was lucky to get a card less than a week late. So I'll be having a trip to the court to argue that one. If it keeps $100 in my pocket, I'll take the chance.
Did I mention that we have a new dog? My roommate is keeping her brother's dog for a while, so we have a new member of the household. She's cute: some kind of German Shepard, lab mix, but a smaller version. She can catch a frisbee like nobody's business. I hardly even notice she's here except for the occassional nudge-under-my-elbow-please-look-at-me-and-pet-me move. The bad thing though is that the boy is allergic. So I'm trying to keep her out of my room as much as possible too.
Did I mention that I'm going to Florida in a few weeks? I'm going to a friend's wedding in Key West and then staying with the 'rentals for the duration of the time. Conveniently, I'm gone the week before our big deadline at work. I have some choice words lined up if anyone gives me shit about it. Maybe for once it'll inspire people to not procrastinate? Maybe? Concept? Not being late with everything? Go figure.
Did I mention that it's supposed to be 80degrees here today? It's been so gorgeous this week and sunshine frolicking has been in full effect. Although it's that time of year where I torture my feet into sandal submission. A small price to pay for my cute new black strappies.
Well, I'm actually "working from home" on my relegious holiday, so I should get back to that. OO! The showcase showdown is on!
11:22 AM
Thursday, April 06, 2006 I'm so much closer than I have ever been....Updates abound:
Soooo it's looking like I'm going to be getting a big fat INCOMPLETE for my thesis project this semester. It's so much my own fault for thinking I could get this all done in one semester. I'm waiting to hear from my advisor about how things are going to be arranged for me to finish it next semester as well. I told ya there was just too much for me to try to get done all at once.
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When I went out to dinner with my sisters last Thursday, Amy and I were dressed EXACTLY THE SAME. I'm not just saying that we had similar colors on or anything but this is how it gets broken down: ~ Black gauchos (which I'm fanatically in love with btw) ~ Black ballet flats ~ Black wife beater (Amy's had a bit of a pattern on it) ~ The same neckalce, hers in bronze, mine in pewter (there's a good reason for this though. I bought her the necklace for her birthday the week before and stood in the mirror for a good 5 mintues debating if I was going to give it to her or keep it for myself. I overcame my selfishness and wrapped it up anyway, with a sad sigh. Only to go back to the store I bought it at the very next day and buy the same necklace in a different shade). ~ I had the same jacket on (velvety short blazer) in a different color, but changed right before I left for dinner.
Not so much of a common outfit to copy each other huh? Yes, we are freaks.
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It's official, I've never ever laughed as hard at drunk people dancing as I did on Fri night. There was one girl that the boy and I termed "Seizure Girl" because this poor girl had no rhythm, was drunk, but somehow seemed to think that she was the best swing dancer ever. Ever person watching her could only look on in amazement. The one guy dancing with her was actually looking for some help from anyone around because he just didn't know how to handle it. Damn damn funny. We also witnessed the most classic drunk-going-in-for-a-high-five-but-not-having-enough-balance-to-actually-hit-the-correct-person's-hand-and-just-kind-of-stumbling-past-them move that I've ever seen. It couldn't have been more perfect if it was staged. I just think about it and get a little teary-eyed with chuckles. Everyone needs a little amusement every day.
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Random musical commentary: Although I appreciate Pink's efforts to make a girl empowerment song making fun of stupid girls, how exactly does she not fit into the cadre of chicks that she's mocking again?
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I've learned how to use the Task function on Outlook, and it's fair to say that I'm obsessed. For any person who relishes in the ability to cross things off lists, this is the tool for you, my friends. I find myself writing a task (ie email so-and-so) just to immediately complete it and knock it off my list. There's some strange sense of satisfaction with looking at the list at the end of the day and go, "Hell yeah! Look at me go dammit! Booya!" Ummm...yes. I get a little sadly excited about things like that, as you can tell....all the sad little things in life are what I cling to with a panicked sense of urgency these days....
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Warning: there is always the risk that if you read a book in the bathtub, that it will get wet. There is also the risk that you will drop the entire book in the bathtub as well. Sorry Suz, I owe you a new copy of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.
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Well, I'm half asleep at my cube today having worked until 6am this morning and arriving back at work at noon, so I'm going to go now and prop myself up so that it looks as though I'm doing something productive. I kinda am. Sorta. I'm adding more tasks to my list. Isn't that productive?
2:57 PM
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
In response to a comment from Thursday's post:
I have taken measures to minimize the amount that I disclose about the persons or entities that I'm talking about (I don't even use my boyfriend's name for Pete's sake), however this is a mostly recent change on my part. I will therefore be removing most of the older content from this site -- which is something I was planning on doing at some point anyway. Very few people read the older stuff, and I have it all backed up for my own means. Eliminating that would eliminate most of the identifiers to track anyone/anyplace/anything down.
As for my diatribe. Certainly everyone has moments where they need to vent about their employers. Part of my reason for doing it in this sort of forum is that I'm sick of hearing myself complain. Which I do on a regular basis to all family and friends. So in the essence of not whining on the phone to 5 people a day, here I can write it once and they can read it at their leisure. And although not specified that carefully, I actually like my "employers" very much indeed. I have no issues with either of the bosses I currently work with. It happens to be issues completely unrelated to them and in a more generic sense that have incited the complaints. I'm more frustrated with a general situation that has mulitple different things contributing to its continued presence. So my diatribe wasn't intended to single anyone out for anything in particular, but mostly a general annoyance.
There is more that I could say on this topic (sad overuse of Googling people when bored), but I won't. But your comment is noted, and will be taken into consideration when I'm deciding to eliminate certain salient features of this blog.
And others should also be aware: there's no such thing as "Anonymous" on the internet.
12:49 PM
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 You can turn off the sun but I'm still gonna shine and I'll tell you why....I'm being plagued by a green ball. I don't know if it's one of the shiny children's toys they sell in those tall bins at Toys-R-Us that made a break for it, or if it's someone's evil sit-up torture device that they kicked to the curb. Either way, it was wedged between my car tire and the curb last week. I removed it so I wouldn't flatten it when I drove off only to find it wedged between the tire and curb of a car parked further down my block. Where it stayed for a day or two (while the illegally parked car accrued a couple parking tickets). And imagine my surprise to discover the green bouncy ball in our backyard this morning. Which is a rather tricky feat considering that the majority of our yard is fenced except for the driveway. Maybe someone knows that I need cheer and is trying to evoke happy childhood memories of mine by having a ball chase me around because I would almost be inclined to believe that someone threw it over the fence. Or maybe the ball just likes me. Either way, I released it out to the street again today, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it seated politely in my desk chair at my cube tomorrow morning.
Evidence of me being a sap, easily moved by childhood memories: a music video with Curious George made me cry the other morning.
Evidence of wonderful people knowing I need good cheer: Suz and Amy sending cards, and Pnut sending a card, complete with a crossword puzzle and Starbucks card. Ahh...everyone knows me so well. Thank you ladies!!!
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For Amy's birthday last Fri, the boy took it upon himself to celebrate a fondness of Amy and Dave's (and mine, and should be everyone else's), that being Will Ferrell as a member of Blue Oyster Cult playing the cowbell. So Amy was lucky enough to receive, not only a CD containing all songs with cowbell, but her very own cowbell, complete with stick and gloves (for those realllly rockin' out moments). There promises to be hours of endless entertainment with just a simple musical instrument.
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For my field work that I have to complete as the last part of my Master's program in the spring/summer, I'm required to have all of my immunizations updated and a recent TB test. Got all caught up on that today, however I think my arms are going to fall off now. Oh, and it's a good thing that the people working at the health department don't make comission per patient they serve, because there wasn't a whole lotta spring in their steps. But the one woman was spry enough to yell at an old man who turned up the volume on the television so he could better hear Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Thursday, March 23, 2006 Please please please, no more maladies, I'm so tired of crying, you'd think I was a siren....Three more months? Three more months???!!! THREE MORE MONTHS! I have to deal with all of my crazy mother trucking co-workers at my job that I loathe for 3 more months. I swear I am going to have a mental breakdown before June 30th. IIt's been almost a YEAR that this has been going on. That I've been getting promises without any kind of yield. Everything just keeps getting indefinitely postponed. I know I've said I was at my wits end before, but I am in fact sitting here at work in tears. If only there was some way that I could just have a day. Shit, even a couple of hours to just turn off my mind and not be so overwhelmed with all of this stuff. But I can't even make any of it go away.
All I want to do is crawl into the corner of my cube and cry right now, but oh no. I have 1000 freakin things to do and I'll be here until ohhh about 4am tomorrow. And then I have to wake up and jaunt on back down here tomorrow. #12, #12, #12, #12.....
3:47 PM
