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Didn’t mean to forget to mention volunteering yesterday. It went well. The program is neat (though I’m not sure I fully understand everything that’s going on or its purpose, but I don’t really need to for a 3-week stint). My only complaint was that the kids kinda all talked over each other and there was less discipline than I would have liked, but then again I pretty much run a tighter ship when I’m in charge. (The kids at my last  complained when I wouldn’t let them say “shut up” anymore – oh, the injustice of it all!) Saturday will be interesting, because that’s when we’ll actually turn the computers on and get to work. Yesterday was basically introducing the project, writing down ideas, and getting to know you stuff. I’ve got to find out from  if there’s a better way to get out of the building after close (than the way I took). At any rate, this opportunity has at the very least scratched that itch of mine to “do something.”
One last “poop” for the day (would you prefer I didn’t use that word? I could use my standard “crap,” but every once in a while, a girl needs variety, don’tcha know) – the clerical who answers phones is going to be out again tomorrow morning, which means I get to do it. This is not what I signed on for. I don’t wanna wake up early to be in and answer phones at 8. Wah. I know, I know, whiny butt that I am.
To stop at Cub, or not to stop at Cub. That is the question. (Hmm, methinks it might be a bit too cold for me to want to do that. Regardless of how much egg nog is calling out to me. Everything but that and the Breathe Right strips I can get at the co-op, and there’s no waiting at the bus stop there. Yes, I am that dork with the Breathe Right strips and the humidifier running next to the bed. That’s a cute picture, huh? Otherwise I get all stuffy-nosed in the winter, and that’s no fun. Is it nap time yet? This is quite the long parenthetical remark.)
- Would you die for your best friend? Would you die for a loved one? I think so, but we can’t actually be sure until we’re in the moment.
- What personality traits are you proud to possess? What personality traits are you ashamed that you possess? I have the bad habit of thinking about myself more than others. I am super-shy in unfamiliar social situations, to the extent that people think I’m a b*tch, which is really too bad, because they should wait to get to know me before deciding that. I am a patient person, though that is a trait I have had to learn over the years. I wish I wasn’t as high-maintenance as I am (I blame the hair). I’ve learned to hold my tongue and keep my temper in check, and I’m quite proud of that. I hope people would notice that I’m compassionate and loving and … not accepting of everything but tolerant nonetheless. And fairly open-minded.
- Would you rather have a mansion or a house? Would you give up your heart or your soul? Just a tiny little bungalow, thank you very much, where the upstairs is only the master bedroom and bath, and downstairs is everything else, and it fits just perfectly on one of those tiny lots in the city where there’s just enough space between houses that if yours was any bigger they’d be too close but they’re not. As far as the second part goes, to what/who am I giving up my heart or soul? If we’re talking about giving it up to a person, I’d give my heart as readily as possible (hey, I’m working on breaking down those walls and getting rid of baggage, but it’s not exactly an overnight process). I’d only give my soul to Jesus, though. So I guess “heart” it is.
- What are your two favorite flavors of ice cream? If you invented the next two ice cream flavors, what would you call it? Vanilla Bean (with the little brown flecks in it that make it look “authentic,” even though they’re probably fake), and at the moment Chubby Hubby (ooh, do I have some of that at home? I’ve got to check the freezer, because I think I do….). I have no idea what ice cream flavors I’d invent or what I’d call them. Something with animal crackers would be fun though, and the word “zoo” could be in the name.
- Would you ever want to walk on water? Would you ever want to walk through fire? I think that in a tropical locale where the water is that lovely shade of turquoise and you can see the white sand under the water, it would be cool to be able to walk on water. However, if we’re talking about Lake Superior and it’s dark black waters that scare the crap outta me, no thank you. And, at least metaphorically, I have walked through fire. Real fire? Eh, it might be cool, but I bet it’d be a let-down. I mean, what do you gain by walking through fire? At least walking on water you’d see some cool stuff.
Random Joy
- What song(s) would you like played at your funeral? I’m hoping that my funeral is far enough in the future that any song I picked out today would seem ridiculously out of date. But, if I get hit by a bus today on the way home from work… maybe “I Will Remember You” by Sarah McLachlan, and “Spoken For” by MercyMe.
- Do you ever give nicknames to inanimate objects? oh dear, yes. Cars have often been named, and lots of inanimate objects have, at the very least, genders. also, while they’re not inanimate, my cats have middle names (though they don’t technically have last names), just so that when they’re being really bad, I can use their “full name,” or just the middle one, because “Romeo” sounds much too sweet, but “Joseph!” can really be belted out (likewise for “Matea” versus “Louise”).
- Why are women so catty? I think that (to play the blame game) society has set us up to always be in competition with each other. Who’s prettier, who dresses better, who has a better job or boyfriend or house, etc. I’ve always said groups of 3 women are the worst, because usually it’s 2 against 1 and someone’s always left out, because that’s just what happens. Conveniently, this hasn’t happened with
 , and I, but I think we’ve also worked to not let that happen. As far as cattiness goes, I blame women’s magazines.
- Would you prefer to work hard and earn a million dollars that you could be proud of, or inherit it? Eh, I really have no need for a million dollars. Enough to pay off my student loans would be nice though. And I could really care less where it came from (if, for instance, my grandma gave me a lottery ticket for Christmas and I won, that’d be OK by me). I know a lot of people would place more value in the earned money, and I understand why, but I just don’t feel that way about money. About other things, yes (like education, friendship, trust, respect, etc).
- Do you consider you life more important than that of a hobo? I don’t consciously and intentionally consider my life more important than anyone’s (except when I remember that the world really does revolve around ME – just kidding!). To quote , “all life has value.” And while I don’t apply that to, say, spiders and raccoons, I do believe in the inherent value of humanity, that God created each and every person with a purpose and loves each of His creation equally and more than we will ever comprehend. And it’s my job to attempt to see people that same way (I am, by the way, very, very bad at this).
- I’ve always been afraid of the dark (don’t laugh! only actually in places that I’m not familiar. like in my house I’m perfectly comfortable walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night without turning on any lights. Old churches are the scariest when completely dark).
- People should not talk on cell phones while in my presence? OK, maybe that’s unreasonable. how about anywhere that I’m trapped with them – the mall, the bus, that sort of thing.
- The one thing I look forward to every day is checking my email. simple pleasures.
- My first meal of the day usually consists of coffee from Starbucks. I never said I ate healthily.
- It seems like paperwork; keeping the house clean; feeding cats; paying bills is a never-ending job.
- The last time I painted a room in my house/apartment was a lovely shade of sage green (much better than the “grass” green in the apartment before, which was really a bright lime kinda color).
- The next time I paint, I’d like to paint my bathroom white. Of course, we’ve been in the middle of this project for months now, so it’s not that much fun anymore. My second choice is… living room (not at current house, of course, because I never spend any time in there), and perhaps the lovely shade of purple that
 painted one of the walls in her bedroom.
- Stuffed:: Bear
- Armstrong:: Stretch
- Bruise:: -d
- Content:: editor
- Musical:: embrace (???)
- Assistance:: needed
- Scrambling:: for a grip
- Battle:: of the all-stars
- Extended:: over
- Discount:: surplus
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend with friends and family. I had to work really hard to come up with a list of things I’m thankful for – not because there aren’t plenty of things to go on the list, because they are, but generally I forget about them or am really bad about acknowledging them. So here’s my list of what I’m thankful for:
- Wonderful goodbyes – to kids and adults at who were so generous with their love and good wishes for my future; to a career path that no longer made me happy; to not having a spare moment spent thinking I should be doing something else; to the cute Mercury Topaz I borrowed for the school year (and it’s “Have A Liking For A Viking” bumper sticker); to co-workers during our reorganization (both those who annoyed me and I was happy to say adios to and to those who will be missed)
- New parts of my journey – new career path (though delayed); new friends; having spare time to lounge about (and not feel guilty); learning new skills
- Transformations – my relationship with
 ; promotion at work; life outside of church; life without a car; not being the single one
- People – all of my wonderful friends, for whom I am entirely grateful for your friendship and love, for all the advice and compassion and laughs we share, for all the memories good and bad — I hope you all know exactly how much I love and treasure each of you
- More people stuff – that
 has had another healthy year;  finally got a job (and kept it); that my grandpa wasn’t in the hospital at all this year; all the people I know going through chemo etc and all the strength they’ve shown; my cats (they are too people – just ask them!)
- For the bend in the road up ahead (you just never know what’s actually going to happen next, and right now that’s an exciting thing)
- No major life crises this year
- For not having to move
- For all the people who have challenged my views on life, my assumptions and stereotypes, and helped me remember that there really are good people out there (specifically, quality guys, who I was beginning to think had ceased to exist)
- For the ways I have been able to watch others grow and change, and occasionally get to know that I had a part in it
- Knowing that my next church is my choice, that it’s OK to take a break, and the wonderful feeling of longing I get sometimes to be part of that community again
- For the positive attitude that has only increased this year (for a couple of good reasons), and how different life feels when seen in that light
- For all the ways God has helped me to grow, heal, learn, become….
- For the promise of tomorrow
It is apparently purple sweater day here in downtown St Paul. I didn’t realize this when I got dressed, but managed to fit in anyways. I saw no fewer than three purple sweaters in the ten minutes I was in the Skyway. But not everyone is as cool as me, because they can’t all be wearing purple-and-black argyle socks.
- What’s your earliest childhood memory? I’m posting a photo for this one.
- What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon? I’m not sure. I remember fighting with over whether or not we had to watch Looney Toons (because I wasn’t a huge fan, and she was), and that we both agreed on the Smurfs and… perhaps Care Bears or something about a treehouse…?
- Did you ever have any themed lunch boxes, Pj’s, sleeping bags or other childhood items? Were you ever made fun of for your choice of theme? I had a Crayola sleeping bag. I know that my lunchbox was blue, but can’t remember what was on it. We didn’t get a lot of stuff like that, though.
- Looking back, which fads were your favorites and which ones make you hang your head in shame? Four words: M C Hammer pants (aka Harem Pants). made me a pair in a teal-and-purple paisley. That could quite possibly be the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever admitted here. I was really just a huge dork. Other horrible fads: the side pony-tail, junior high bangs, blue eye shadow, pants that had such narrow ankles it took another person to pull them off my feet…. Can’t think of any favorite fads. That’s sad.
- What was your favorite kiddie cereal? Malt-O-Meal (which is why there’s a box in my cupboard at home).
- Heads up :: !!!
- Kicker :: That’s the…
- Aggressive :: truculent
- Getting ugly :: things are…
- To be continued :: anticipation
- Twist :: double chocolate
- Form :: field
- On the road :: again
- Import :: export
- Flowers :: for Algernon (haven’t read that book in forever)
I forgot to mention that apparently yesterday was National Hit On Strange Women day. Who knew? I missed the memo. I also missed the one that said that heels and a skirt was an open invitation for men to talk to me. My mistake. And here I was just getting used to and comfortable with dressing up for work.
Leaving work via the escalator, this guy walked down to where I was, and said something to the effect of, “I couldn’t help but notice…” and then I missed the rest (and wasn’t about to ask him to repeat), but it involved looking up and down my legs. He was cute, but seriously. I just smiled, put my headphones back on, and walked away.
Then, while waiting for the bus, this old man (we’ll get to how old in a moment) decided that he wanted to talk to me. Now, I had to take my headphones out just to see what he said, which he saw and noted, but then he continued talking. At a certain point I just put them back in and continued conversing with him (because I couldn’t figure out how to make it stop). The conversation involved… not being originally from Minnesota, and unfortunately he’d grown up in Chicago as well, so he had to talk about that, but then he’s been here 30 years (and you’re probably not even that old, are you, to which I shook my head – this here should have been a sign to leave me alone, old man!). Then he wanted to know my sign (apparently we’re incompatible, because he’s got two brothers that are Cancers), and if I was married, and then started talking about how I was going to get snatched up (he was kinda rambling at this point and I was only half paying attention, what with me not caring and listening to my headphones and all) and I mentioned I had a boyfriend (another hint for him to go away, which he didn’t recognize). Perhaps this was the time when I should have just said, “I’m a lesbian,” and seen if that would have made it stop. I’ll have to suggest that to  , who’s story is next. At last his bus came, which unfortunately was mine too. I hung back (but wasn’t going to wait for the next one because I’d already been waiting 15 minutes and my legs were cold! Upon getting onto the bus, he saw me walk by, yelled my name (presumably for me to sit next to him – um, no), to which I completely ignored his existence and hid in the back of the bus. He got off one stop before mine (which is scary enough).
was riding the same bus (though I wasn’t positive it was her when she got on), so when we both got off and walked home, she told me the story of how she just got hit on while riding the bus as well. This guy, as an opening line, asked what it would take to get her number, to which she replied she didn’t have a phone (and then, unfortunately, her brother called on her cell, at which point the guy said, you lied to me, and she said yep, but this didn’t deter him), and then she told him she doesn’t date and he responded that he wasn’t looking for a date. Because yes, that’s just what ever girl wants, sex with some random skeezy guy from the bus. Seriously? Where do these people come from?
there are never enough complaints in the day, I’d like to throw out there that last night before falling asleep I had to take some Advil for the shoulder pain (from the flu shot) and the impending headache behind my left eye. And ten minutes after waking this morning, the headache came back (thankfully not the muscle soreness) and so I took some Excedrin. And it really didn’t bother me for the rest of the day. Until now. The headache’s back, and it’s no longer that sharp pain behind my left eye (which is annoying) but a dull throb all over. More Excedrin, please!
I’ll be fine in 15 minutes. Just had to get that out, and my co-worker has left for the day, so I have no one to complain to, except my ever-captive audience….
Our washer was fixed yesterday, Praise The Lord! Actually, I came home, went out the back door and checked in the basement and it wasn’t, so I was marching back into our house angrily saying to , “I’m going to kill our landlords!” Of course, at that moment, the guy walked in the back door to fix it, probably just in time to hear “kill our landlords.” Great (though what did they expect when they took almost two weeks to fix it?). But I don’t care, I got to do four loads last night and got to wear pants to work today (casual pants, too!), and regular shoes (first day this week I didn’t have to wear heels). Hallelujah!
I did notice, however, while putting clothes away, that I still had enough underwear for almost two weeks, and socks for… a month, if not more. T-shirts too. Good to have the basics (though they wouldn’t keep me warm and don’t make up a work-appropriate outfit). would be glad that, should I be in an accident and have to go to the ER, I will be wearing clean underwear. (I don’t think she ever said that to us, but it’s a mom-ism nonetheless.)
I said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m a knitting GENIUS! Last night I taught myself how to cast-on (which made me feel pretty smart), and then I taught myself the “seed” stitch, and then followed a pattern that makes these pretty diamond shapes in the ribbing. will be so proud. (Because I needed to complete the transformation into her, and this was the last step.)
- Is it approaching winter where you live? Sad to say, but I think it’s here. There’s snow on the ground. It was 10* when I left my house yesterday (but 32* today).
- What season do you like the best? Fall. Spring comes in at a close second, as well as the first half of summer (before it gets unbearably hot and all you can do is sit around and sweat).
- What is your favorite thing to do to relax in the upcoming winter/summer? Drink hot cocoa. It sounds silly, but I think it’s the perfect winter “activity” (especially because it doesn’t involve being cold and having numb extremities or being hit in the face with snow).
- Favorite brand of jeans: Toss-up between Old Navy and New York & Company. I can always count on Old Navy for inexpensive pairs, but sometimes the styles are a little too… teenager-y. But then New York & Company had to go and have all sucky styles this season, so I can’t depend regularly on them either.
- Magazine you read regularly: Real Simple
- If a button came off your clothing, could you sew it back on? Um… yeah. And hem pants. And… well, make my own clothes if need be.
- Have you ever had a curfew? In high school my curfew was 10 on weeknights and 12 on weekends, though I almost never needed it (I can think of a handful of times when I was out until almost-curfew). Freshman year of college we had a curfew of midnight on weeknights and two on weekends – I know that sounds weird, but it really was a great thing, especially for certain boy-crazy roommates of mine who would never have gotten any homework done if they didn’t have to be back to sign-in at the dorm. Lots of people complained about it, but some people need structure, I think. Also, as long as your grades were good enough (or you didn’t get put on behavioral probation), you didn’t have a curfew second semester.
- Most dangerous thing you’ve done: Um… I’m not really the dangerous type. Can’t think of anything off the top of my head. Wait… I can be less-boring than that. OK, the summer after my freshman year of college I dated this guy who was 27 (I was 19), and didn’t let my parents know about it, and we’d met online so it could have been dangerous I suppose. But I met him in a public place and drove my own car and didn’t let him know where I lived, so I was relatively safe. My parents still don’t know, though. His name was conveniently the same as another one of my friends, so I would just say I was going out with X. It wasn’t technically lying. I suppose that could have been a dangerous thing, if he had turned out to be a wacko. Luckily for me, he wasn’t, had three sweet kids, and on a trip to Russia married a girl named Olga. Oh well.
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thankful
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