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.)

popularity: 11%

Well, I finally feel like I can relax a bit at work. The mailing is out, the other clerical is working on her part of the contracts, and there’s generally more breathing room.

So let me update you on my Thanksgiving. came over Wednesday night. We didn’t have concrete plans - “Rent” was on the list, but I decided I’d rather be awake enough to enjoy it, and the 9:45 showing wasn’t as enticing as it could have been. Thursday we went to his place so he could make his “famous fruit salad” (I’d testify as to it’s wonderfulness, but about half of the ingredients I don’t eat - thankfully no one pointed out that I didn’t have any on my plate). We drove out to his grandma’s for dinner and I got to meet his mom and stepdad and grandma and some various assorted aunts/cousins/etc. Friday his dad cooked another fabulous turkey dinner. We bummed around, went out for Italian, perused Best Buy (at 8:30 it wasn’t nearly as crazy as one could have feared)…. Saturday meant sleeping in, and after finally stopping back at my house to love on the cats (and brush my teeth - fabulous!), we went for an outing in St Paul. We drove over to the Science Museum with hopes of seeing the 3:00 showing of the Omnitheatre’s “Mystery of the Nile.” However, they were sold out until the 5:00 showing, so we decided to go walking. We visited the ice rink (which reminds me that I really need to go into my basement and find my ice skates and bring them to work, so I can skate for free on my lunch break if I want to brave the cold), Field’s, my Starbucks, and the library. Saw this lovely reindeer in front of the library:

When we got back to the Science Museum, the 5:00 showing was sold out and we decided to bail in favor of going home to make dinner. We made a lovely mac & cheese casserole (or “hot dish” I suppose, but I don’t think I’ve been Minnesotan long enough to use that phrase) that I perhaps put a little too much mustard in. One of his friends came over, we watched a movie, and the boys played video games. Took this picture of dinner because would have been proud - doesn’t it look so wholesome?

There you go, that was basically my weekend. Maybe there was other stuff I forgot. can tell you all about it in the comments if that’s true. Sunday when I got home I worked on ’s hat some and loved on the cats (they felt quite neglected from my four-day absence).Now is fumbling about trying to figure out how to print on legal (which is surprisingly more complicated than you’d think - apparently tech support didn’t set up our computers to be able to print legal, or at least not to certain printers), and I just really don’t have the time or patience for that. But if I express my impatience, he’ll send the file to me and ask me to print it for him, and that’s even more ridiculous.

Gave a tour of my office today to after lunch - kinda freaked my co-worker out a bit (I love doing that!). That’s the fourth workplace tour I’ve given, but only two in this building ( and saw the old offices). I know, you’re thrilled. But see now I’ve been done with lunch for, like, over an hour, and there’s still three hours left of the afternoon. Goodness. What ever will I do with myself? Yeah, there’s stacks of work here. I meant how am I going to handle that long of an afternoon. (That 7:30-4 shift is looking mighty good right now, other than that whole 7:30 part of the deal. What kind of job can I get where I work about 10-4? Anyone? Bueller?)

popularity: 12%

Fashion Police be darned, I’m wearing pink shoes today and I don’t care that they don’t match my outfit. Pink shoes are just fun. will agree with me on this (are you wearing your pink shoes today too, just by chance?).

Oh boy, I’ve got to go make photocopies and collate and staple and paperclip and send out a mailing. I know you wish you had my job. But ’s in my neck of the woods today and invited me to lunch with a friend. I love lunch dates!

And just because I haven’t mentioned her yet - , how are you doing these days? How was your long weekend? I hope your phone call last night was good! Sorry I was making dinner when you called - we’ll catch up soon I hope!

Oh, and a quick “poop on you.” made their Christmas plans, and it looks like yet another year will go by where I don’t see her until at least New Year’s. And to that, I say “poop.” They’re in Iowa the 23rd through the 27th, and then Illinois until the 30th. One of these years I’m going to see her in the same room with … (the last time I remember this happening was, perhaps, her wedding in 2003). But for fun, my aunt and uncle are coming up to visit the weekend before Christmas, which is nice since I wouldn’t get to see them when I’m home (because that side of the family is having Christmas on, no joke, the 9th). Can’t wait until next year - it’s ’s turn to host the family Christmas party, and she’ll actually plan it at a reasonable time so that at least I can be there (and hopefully too, but we won’t cross our fingers). And just in case anyone thought it’d be a good idea for me to just wait and go home while is there after Christmas, there are two crucial elements as to why that’s a horrible idea:

1. Christmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa’s (I know I complain about the meal, but in 20 years I’ve only missed once and it’s probably my favorite family tradition ever) followed by the midnight candlelit service at church
2. The fact that would be home alone on Christmas day if I didn’t go there, and that’s just such a sad thought I can hardly bear it. It’s bad enough that it’s just the two of us, and then when plans work so that I go over to ’s for part of the day, it makes me sad to leave her behind. I’d say we need to get her a man, but that’s a whole other issue… (she might actually be pickier than me, if one can imagine).

OK, there will be no more delaying. Except perhaps for a quick trip to Starbucks. Collating a mailing. More contracts to be entered. A banana to finish eating. Oh, the sheer joy of it all!

popularity: 15%

I just finished my second stack of contracts. Yay! Out of the 29 I’ve entered in the last 2 days, 8 have had no problems or questions. Eight. That’s not a very good statistic. Of course, I took all of the ones I thought would have variances. But still.

I get to leave in half an hour! Yay again! And get to go contribute to the greater good. Saturday too. Back on track, more true to me. I’ve never had money to give, but I love to give my time. (OK, love is relative I suppose, depending on the cause. But even with that last crappy spring at where I really was just unhappy and didn’t like my co-workers and could barely wait to leave, I still loved the time I gave to the kids. ‘ll back me up on that.) There are far fewer volunteer opportunities available to me now that I’m bus-bound. I can’t deliver meals for Open Arms (though I couldn’t really before, either, since they’re in Minneapolis and how would I get there and back and make the deliveries over my lunch hour?). The youth shelters I know of are all in Minneapolis (and really just didn’t work out for me anyways). People at work have tried to convince me that my job is contributing to the greater good, but it’s so very hard to see that when staring at a database all day. Direct customer contact, that’s what I need (though not in this specific field, because while I’ve gotten comfortable around people with disabilities, I find it difficult to deal with people who have developmental disabilities and sometimes emotional ones too - I know that from the phone work I’ve had to do here - I just have little patience).

Wow, I’m just babbling today. I think I’m excited about not having to type any more contracts today. And I have no chores to do at home tonight - even my laundry is done! So I’ll just be knitting away on ’s hat. Five inches of red before I get to the fun stuff. I’m maybe halfway there.

popularity: 11%

Phone answering co-worker not coming back to work as originally planned. Poop. Because I wanted to be on phones all day. Plus, she’s supposed to be entering in 1/3 of these contracts right now. Argh.

popularity: 12%

We’re looking to hire a temp here at work for a few weeks, and I don’t even think it would have to be full-time, just someone to help us get un-buried from the paperwork and the vacuum left by the numerous clerical “vacancies” we’ve got going on (you know, the two positions that got eliminated, and then the one lady who’s been out getting chemo and just came back but has been out sick again all this week and we just don’t know….). So, if you’re looking for “Christmas money” as put it, let me know. I can’t think of anyone specifically who actually has the time to do this, but perhaps randomly someone does and I don’t know about it.

popularity: 11%

(because I didn’t have any yesterday, or at least any that I wrote down)

(you knew it was going to start with roommate crap, didn’t you?) has taken to leaving most of the lights in the house on before she leaves for work. I used to not mind the kitchen one, but when you add the living room one and the hallway one, all of which I have to turn off before leaving, now it’s just annoying. And wasteful. And lazy. But that is her modus operendi.

The beautiful kitchen table that I so enjoyed eating at (and said as much to both roommates, in hopes of keeping it clear) has been taken over. Again. I did not throw a fit on Sunday or yesterday like I wanted to. However, the 2-day-old pizza boxes must go now. Now. I may have to come up with some sort of table decor to get the point across that a kitchen table is for eating at, not storage of your crap. (I might be more understanding if our apartment wasn’t so frickin’ huge that there are tons of other storage spaces, and if we didn’t have counter top space like most apartment kitchens, but we do.)

told me a few weeks back that she’s been using my mayonnaise that’s in the fridge, but not to worry because she’s got another one in her cupboard for when the now-shared one is empty. It took actual conscious thought to control my temper on that one (it helped that was there, at least I think he was, because really, no one needs to witness that). I realize that we’ve got lots of shared stuff in the fridge. OK, not lots. Mostly butter. And sometimes salad dressings become communal. And then there are the times when decides that my milk and eggs are communal, but that’s another story. But there’s a very specific reason why my mayonnaise is labeled with my initials (and it’s not so that I remember it’s mine - that’s just a side benefit). I’m quite picky about crumbs in my mayo (butter and margarine and peanut butter and probably jelly if I ate it, but that’s besides the point). I had been getting confused when using my mayo the last few times as to why there were crumbs in the jar, seeing as how I’m absolutely against the idea and find them disgusting (I think it goes back to this babysitting incident in junior high, when there were clearly mustard swirls in the mayo jar and I just couldn’t handle it - the whole rest of the house was disgusting anyways, so it was just the icing on the cake). So, without sounding like a complete freak who needs to be institutionalized, how do I communicate to said roommate that the crumbs need to stay out of the mayo jar or we can’t share? It’s not being unreasonable, is it? (Especially when the concept of the shared mayo was never actually broached with me in the first place?)

The bus was mucho late this morning. I was aiming for the 8:11 #65, but never saw it go past even while walking to the stop (where I usually watch the buses drive by since I left just 30 seconds too late). So the 8:14 #21 finally came, at 8:19, and it was much too cold and windy and snowy of a morning for a late bus. And then not four blocks from my pickup stop we met up with the 65. How did that happen? Ten minutes went by and it only got 4 blocks? The whole rest of the trip went normally. I’m so confused. Thankfully, I did not have hat hair upon arriving to work, and Tammy was quite friendly at Starbucks and asked if I was coming back later (since I never go before work, but I wasn’t sure when I was going to get a break this morning with being on phones and all).

I’ve been getting tons of spam comments yesterday and today, all from “refinance your mortgage” or something similar, and the only comment is “A.” That’s it. No link, no nothing. Just the username “refinace…..” So I can’t even find a website and complain. Of course, their comments are totally useless without a link somewhere, so I’m not sure what’s going on there, but they’ve all been rejected, so hopefully they’ll figure out soon enough that whatever it is they’re trying to do is ineffective.

That’s all I can think of for now. In the comments, leave your complaint for the day!

popularity: 10%

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

popularity: 11%

Today at work is going to be another busy one, especially since the all-important monthly mailing has to go out by 2, and I’m leaving at 3:15 to go volunteer. But I’m not as stressed out about it as I was yesterday. Since I got those 14 contracts into the system yesterday, I’m fairly confident we can get the rest in by Friday. Now the only concern is whether the system will actually be ready to go live by Monday. Ha!

So… yeah. I got nothing. I know I should tell you all about Thanksgiving, but I also really need to get that mailing done and that monkey off my back. Hopefully later today (but I’m on phones until at least 11:30, joy of joys).

popularity: 10%

228: number of spam messages in my Bulk mail folder this morning

3: number of spam messages that sneaked their way into my Inbox

1: number of life stories I’ve heard from potential consumers today, including a lovely complaint about the lack of 61-year-old female sex symbols in society. No kidding.

5: number of hours I’ve been entering contracts into the system today

12: number of contracts I’ve entered into our new system today

2: number of emails I’ve composed today that were not work-related

3: number of emails I’ve received today that were not work-related

34: number of minutes I was late to work this morning

2: number of sweaters that want me to take them home from Fields’

popularity: 11%

So yeah, a bit busy at work this week and the next. We’re “converting” all of our contracts with a particular type of vendor to an online-based system. That’s fancy talk for “Kelly’s going to be doing a lot of typing.” All 50-or-so contracts need to be in by the end of the week. And, oh, that’s right, the other 150-ish for the second type of vendor, and the online system isn’t actually even functioning yet for that one. Woo-hoo.

Yes, I had a fantastic Thanksgiving, and I promise to, at some point, tell you all about it. Just not while I’m at work. I actually turned someone away today, telling them I absolutely couldn’t do something for them, and told some other people I wouldn’t be able to get to them until Thursday at least (and that was a hopeful estimate - likelihood is that it’ll be next Tuesday at least).

No complaints here though, except for that brief time on Wednesday when I really got homesick and wanted to go to Illinois for the holiday weekend. I think I can count on one hand the number of times in my life I’ve been homesick. That’s OK. Only 26-ish days until I go home for Christmas. ( tells me has figured out their Christmas plans, so that means I’ll be able to make mine as soon as she fills me in.)

popularity: 10%

Random Joy

1. 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.
2. 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”).
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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).

popularity: 15%

1. 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)_. 
2. 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_. 
3. The one thing I look forward to every day is _checking my email. simple pleasures_. 
4. My first meal of the day usually consists of _coffee from Starbucks. I never said I ate healthily_. 
5. It seems like _paperwork; keeping the house clean; feeding cats; paying bills_ is a never-ending job.
6. 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)_. 
7. The next time I paint, I’d like to paint my _bathroom_(room) _white_ (color). 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.

popularity: 15%

1. Stuffed:: Bear
2. Armstrong:: Stretch
3. Bruise:: -d
4. Content:: editor
5. Musical:: embrace (???)
6. Assistance:: needed
7. Scrambling:: for a grip
8. Battle:: of the all-stars
9. Extended:: over
10. Discount:: surplus

popularity: 10%

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

popularity: 13%